Editing Blue Giant:Starship Attributes (section)

===Mass Thrust Drive===

[[#Star Flight|Star Flight]] technology takes the starship out of normal space and places it in either a wormhole, subspace, or hyperspace depending on the type of drive. Fusion drives do not work very well as a method of propulsion in these circumstances. The ship needs a Mass Thrust Drive, which acts like a rocket, throwing mass one way to make the ship go the other.

All ships with the  attribute need at least a Hydrogen Mass Thrust Drive which allows the ship to travel at the speed listed under Star Flight. The Hydrogen MTD can be replaced by a more efficient booster system – represented by the [[#Mass Thrust Drive|Mass Thrust Drive Attribute]].

All Mass Thrust Drives work by ejecting a stream of matter out of the back of the ship. The denser the matter, the faster the ship can move. Each level of the MTD attribute increases the speed of the ship by 10%. The mass used is generally stored as huge rods of shielded material at the back of the ship. The mass is considered fuel, and needs to be replenished. (Hydrogen doesn't need to be replenished as it can be collected in interplanetary space as the ship moves under power from the Fusion Drive. Thus ships with a hydrogen MTD run cheaper than those with this attribute.) An advanced MTD will add its percentage speed bonus to both the Space Flight and Star Flight speed values.


A level 0 Mass Thrust Drive uses Hydrogen.

A level 1 Mass Thrust Drive uses Carbon Boosters, usually a graphite or diamond rod, but in an emergency a tree trunk will do. Silicon or anything with a density of > 1 g/cm3 is fine.

A level 2 Mass Thrust Drive is a Xenon Drive. Iron, Tin, Titanium, & Xenon are all good. (density > 4 g/cm3)

A level 3 Mass Thrust Drive is a Cobalt Drive. Cobalt, Copper, Silver or Lead are good. (density > 8 g/cm3)

Drives of level four and above are expensive to operate and draw attention due to their rarity.

A level 4 Mass Thrust Drive is a Light Military Drive. Mercury or Light Radioactives are the preferred fuel. (density > 12 g/cm3)

A level 5 Mass Thrust Drive is a Advanced Military Drive. Gold, Plutonium or Uranium are used. (density > 16 g/cm3)

A level 6 Mass Thrust Drive is an Iridium Drive, used mostly on racing vessels. Iridium, Osmium and Platinum are used, usually as alloys mixed to the exact requirements of the finely tuned ejection system. (density > 21 g/cm3)