Space Station
Sarna News
- Bad ‘Mechs - Sentinel
- HEXTECH Review - Wave 3 Brings More Urban Options To Your Battlefield
- Your BattleTech News Round-Up For March, 2024
- Crashing 'Mechs With Jennifer Brozek, Author Of The Rogue Academy Trilogy
- Getting The Word Out With Rem Alternis, Catalyst Community & Marketing Director
- Read more →
Space Stations are (semi-)immobile facilities in space that fill many roles including zero-g production, habitation, and even defense. Many space stations orbit planets or moons, and can be categorized into several groups including low-orbit, geosynchronous-orbit, or stable-point.[1] Others are deep-space stations far from any planetary body; this is particularly true for recharge stations at jump points.
Contents
Classification
Although there is no formal classification of space stations, a few particularly common "classes" have emerged:
Cargo/Passenger Terminal
The most common type of space stations, they can be found either in planetary orbit or at the nadir/zenith jump point. Their primary purpose is to facilitate the transfer of goods and people between ships and the surface.[2]
Factory/Shipyard
Orbital factories and shipyards provide for the manufacture and maintenance of JumpShips and DropShips.[2]
Battle Stations
Carrying an impressive array of weaponry and facilities for the repair and launching of Aerospace Fighters and Small Craft, battle stations are primarily designed to defend a planet from attack, whether in planetary orbit or at a jump point. Most were destroyed during the course of the Succession Wars.[2]
Space Habitat
Most space habitats were constructed during the First Exodus to serve as stepping-stones for the exploration and terraforming of new worlds; in the succeeding centuries, many were abandoned and cannibalized for their parts and technology. Of those which remain, most are either in close planetary orbit or located at a Lagrangian point. The Clans built space habitats to house sibkos for their aerospace and naval bloodlines.[2]
Recharge Stations
Also known as a "Jump Station", these space stations are found at jump points, as their primary purpose is to recharge JumpShips.[2] Recharge stations use solar collectors similar to Jump Sails and store the collected energy in power banks. A recharge station will typically hold four to six such banks, and each one can fully recharge the largest Kearny-Fuchida Drive. While energy transfer is not instantaneous, it will still cut down idle recharging time for the valuable JumpShips, and possibly allow for simultaneous recharging of a drive core and a lithium-fusion battery.
The most common transfer method is for the energy to be beamed to the JumpShip via its jump sails, with full recharge taking 150 hours. This only makes sense at dim stars where it would otherwise take the JumpShip longer than 150 hours to recharge via its own jump sail though.
Another method involves the JumpShip physically connecting to the station, whereupon its drive can be quick-charged. This can theoretically damage or destroy the K-F drive as if the ship were to use its own power plant to quick-charge the drives,[3][4] but the overall risk is much reduced when using a jump station, and even the most cautious (and thus slowest) recharging in this fashion cuts down recharge time. The physical connection can be established by directly docking the JumpShip to the station, but the use of a cable connection is more common.
Space Station Production
| Brand | Planet | Company |
|---|---|---|
| BattleSat | Luthien | BBP Industries |
| Capitol | Galax | Federated-Boeing Interstellar |
Known stations
- Alyina zenith recharge station: in the Clan Jade Falcon. Still operative in 3060.[5]
- Andurien zenith recharge station, still operative in 3058.[6]
- Arcturus system, in the Lyran Commonwealth space, had a zenith recharge station, still operative in the 3142, taken intact by Clan Jade Falcon forces.[7]
- Blue Star (system) Nadir recharge station, mentioned by a anonymous ship captain, apparently a Blakist.[8]
- Coventry nadir recharge station, still operative in 3058, used by the Jade Falcons during the Battle of Coventry.[citation needed]
- Delacruz system, in the Draconis Combine space, had both zenith and nadir recharge station, The first, named "Admiral Hourusho Kensii", still operative in the 3039, was scuttled by his Combine defenders during the War of 3039 and destroyed.[9]
- Gambilon nadir recharge station, still operative in 3069.[10]
- Gatchina zenith recharge station, still operative in 3058.[11]
- Grand Base zenith recharge station: in the Capellan Confederation. Taken by Andurien marines during the Andurien Wars.[12]
- Granera zenith recharge station, still operative in 3058.[13]
- Great X system, in the Lyran Commonwealth space, had a recharge station, still operative in the 3055.[14]
- Harrow's Sun system, in the Federated Suns space, had a recharge station, still operative in the 3139.[15]
- Kanzaka system, in the Draconis Combine space, had a nadir recharge station, still operative in the 3067, but destroyed total or partially due to a scuttling of Draconis forces, destroying the Clan Snow Raven Warship White Cloud.[16]
- Kessel system, in the Draconis Combine space, had a zenith recharge station, "Simla Station", still operative in the 3039, taken intact by Davion troops during the War of 3039.[17]
- Kittery zenith recharge station, still operative in 3059.[citation needed]
- Hesperus II station: Assaulted and captured in 3057 by a mercenary team lead by Grayson Carlyle, as part of the Lyran offensive against the Free Star Republic.[18]
- Marlowe system, in the Federated Suns space, had a zenith recharge station, still operative in the 3139.[19]
- Mica Majority recharge station: in the Periphery. Is unknown if was of Olympus class.[20]
- Milnerton system, in the Free Worlds League space, had a nadir recharge station, still operative in the 3137.[21]
- Nashuar, in the St. Ives Compact had both zenith and nadir recharge station, still operatives in 3062, and used by the Capellan forces during the Capellan-St. Ives War.[citation needed]
- New Home station: Recharge station in the nadir jump point, located in New Home, in Chaos March. Still operative in 3058.[22]
- Northwind zenith and nadir recharge stations: Still operatives at the beginning of the Jihad.[23]
- Procyon system, in the Chaos March space, had a zenith recharge station, still operative in the 3057.[24]
- Rest Stop system, in the Deep Periphery, had no habitable planets, but a nadir recharge station, a rest and recharge place, still operative in the Dark Age.[25]
- Romita zenith recharge station, still operative in 3058.[26]
- Ross 248 system had both nadir and zenith recharge station operatives in the Dark Age.[27]
- Ryerson recharge station, still operative in 3058.[28]
- Shimoseki recharge station, in the Draconis Combine space had a recharge station, still operative in 3058.[29]
- St. Loris zenith recharge station, in the St. Ives Compact, still operative in 3062 and used by the Capellan forces during the Capellan-St. Ives War.[30]
- Gondola Station, in Zenith Jump point of Skye system, was still operative in 3134 until it was attacked and almost destroyed by a warship of Clan Jade Falcon during his final attack on Skye in 3134. [31]
- St. Jean had a station at the zenith jump point, but it is unclear if it was a (functional) recharge station.[32]
- Terra stations. The system had two stations, named Versailles, in zenith point, and Brandenburg, in nadir jump point. They're still operative in 3058. [33]
- Thuban system, in the Lyran Commonwealth space, had a recharge station, still operative in the 3055.[34]
- Wapakoneta system, in the Federated Suns space, had a recharge station, still operative in the 3139.[35]
- Zhongshang system, in the Lyran Commonwealth space, had a nadir recharge station, still operative in the 3055.[36]
See also
References
- ↑ Total Warfare, p. 26
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 BattleSpace - Sourcebook, p. 21
- ↑ BattleSpace, p. 47
- ↑ DropShips and JumpShips - Operations Manual, p. 34
- ↑ Natural selection p. 315
- ↑ Double Blind p. 75
- ↑ A Bonfire of World p. 177
- ↑ Jihad Conspiracies p. 50
- ↑ Historical War of 3039 p. 53
- ↑ Total Chaos, pp. 75-76 "SEED OF DISCONTENT"
- ↑ Double Blind p. 159
- ↑ Historical Brush Wars p. 53
- ↑ Double Blind p. 157
- ↑ Natural Selection p. 209+
- ↑ Redemption Rift p. 260
- ↑ Field Manual: Updates p. 65
- ↑ Historical War of 3039 p. 260
- ↑ Operation Excalibur p. 252-310
- ↑ Kill Zone Redemption Rift p. 260
- ↑ Battletech Field Manual periphery p. 109
- ↑ To ride the Chimaera p. 13
- ↑ Double Blind p. 49
- ↑ Dawn of the Jihad p. 85
- ↑ Chaos march Sourcebook p. 22
- ↑ Interestellar Expeditions: Interestellar players 3 p. 71
- ↑ Double Blind p. 157
- ↑ Interestellar Expeditions: Interestellar players 3 p. 25
- ↑ Double Blind p. 155
- ↑ Black Dragon p. 121
- ↑ The Killing Fields p. 134
- ↑ Blood of the Isle, p. 161
- ↑ Trial of Faith
- ↑ The Fall of Terra, p. 57
- ↑ Natural Selection p. 195
- ↑ Kill Zone Redemption Rift p. 260
- ↑ Natural Selection p. 148