The Reaction Control System(RCS) is a set of manuevering thrusters located along the Reaction Wheel of the ship, allowing the ship to perform fine maneuvers. RCS consumes propellant, heat and electricity.
| Name | Price(E$) | Repair Price(E$) | Thrust(kN) | Exhaust Velocity(km/s) | Prop Consumption (kg/s) | Power Consumption (MW) | Thermal Consumption (GW) | Mass(kg) | Flavor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NDSTR | 1250 | 200 | 600 | 7 | 85.7 | 1 | 2.1 | 20 | Pulsed Thrust |
| NDVTT | 2500 | 400 | 500 | 7 | 71.4 | 1 | 1.8 | 30 | Variable Thrust |
| RAK-K37 | 3125 | 500 | 200 | 15 | 13.3 | 5 | 1.5 | 70 | Pulsed Thrust, Integrated 1GW Generator |
| MA150HO | 4375 | 1500 | 150 | 30 | 5 | 40 | 2.3 | 80 | Variable Thrust, Integrated generators, renowned for reliability |
| RA-K44 | 6250 | 1000 | 400 | 15 | 26.6 | 15 | 3 | 75 | Pulsed Thrust, Excessive Wear |
| EI Ion | 8000 | 3000 | 120 | 50 | 2.4 | 40 | 3.0 | 90 | Variable Thrust |
| ERS-NAGHET5020 | 8500 | 3200 | 210 | 27 | 7.8 | 50 | 2.8 | 130 | Variable Thrust, Gimballed(20d) |
| MA350HO | 10000 | 3500 | 350 | 25 | 14 | 60 | 4.4 | 120 | Variable Thrust, Integrated generators, not as reliable |
| EI AGILE | 12000 | 3000[verify?] | 120 | 40 | 3 | 60 | 2.5 | 120 | Variable Thrust, Gimballed(35d) |
| RA-K69V | 18600 | 1500 | 400 | 12 | 33.3 | 25 | 3.6 | 150 | Gimballed(25d), frequent maintenance, unlocked by talking to a racer. |
All thrusters take 4 hours to repair* and 1 hour to replace.
*The number of mechanics you have hired affects repair time. See Category:Equipment for more details.
Optimal thruster selection largely depends upon one's personal playstyle. Stock thrusters are often cheap and reliable, but won't be performant. Higher thrust equipment typically comes with monetary, electrical, and heat costs, as well as being less reliable and cheap to repair. On the other hand, more efficient or reliable thrusters often sacrifice total thrust output.
Notes
- Gimballed thrusters have an increased range of motion that oftentimes allows them to provide increased effective thrust.
- Tuning can help improve the performance of RCS, especially in unwieldy ships - see Tuning guide.
- Sufficiently powerful RCS can output more thrust than a relatively weak main drive
- The RA-K69V can be overtuned to 200% of it's thrust instead of a 150% maximum like most thrusters. Note that wear increases substantially above.