Space-Based Weapons

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Space-Based Weapons

Technology > Application > Weapons > Space-Based Weapons

Space-based weapons are those designed for use in orbital, interplanetary, and interstellar space. A very large proportion of modern weaponry is space based since the majority of Terragen civilizations lives in space in one form or another, from large habitats, to orwood trees, to open space complexes designed for the comfort of vecs and vac-adapted humans.

Space-based weapons may employ kinetic strike, beamed energy, or various types of explosion to perform their function and can often operate over distances that would dwarf any merely planetary scale weapons system.

Articles

Archangel Corvette - Text by Darren Ryding
One of a million transapient corvettes in the Archosaurian Empire, noted for the eerie cyan glow of their heat deflection armour.
Aron Tech VX12 Trans-atmospheric Fighter - Text by Thorbørn Steen
Popular nanotech fighter first created by Aron Tech.
Autowar - Text by Tengu459 (2018)
A type of automated, self-replicating cybernetic warship
AW (AutoWar seed) - Text by Thorbørn Steen
An AW or AutoWar seed is a missile launched into an opponent's solar system, often without eir knowledge. The emergence of the autowars is sometimes aligned with the arrival of an extra-stellar invasion fleet, but especially against foes of lower tech level autowars are quite capable of taking over or eradicating a system entirely on their own
Biowar - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
An organic warship, a sentient, self-contained, evolutionary, self-replicating superbright bio-autowar. Like autowars, biowars can form long-lived populations and make regions of space hazardous long after the original conflict is over.
Biphase Charged Particle Cannon - Text by John B
Often called a beekpeek or a beekpek, from its acronym. A particle beam weapon for ships or installations that fires relativistic electrons and positrons in rapid succession.
Boombooster - Text by Todd Drashner
Modified application of ACER technology used to rapidly launch or redirect automated weapons or other devices.
Boostbomb - Text by Todd Drashner and Adam Getchell
Total conversion bomb.
Capital Ship - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
A term used by the Terragen Federation, the Laughter Hegemony states, and a number of other polities to refer to an interstellar warship of the first rank in size and armament. Examples include the System Control Ship, the Dreadnought and Superdreadnought, and finally the Pocketstar and the Battlestars (although some would define these latter as ISOs rather than ships).
Ceres Astrospace Delta - Text by Grant Thomas
Long-range exoatmospheric fighter used for planetary and orbital defense. Designed and built by Ceres Astrospace and later manufactured under license.
Chillers - Text by John B
Chillers are a family of technologies used to reduce ship temperature (and, hence, IR radiation) to the background level.
Combat Carrier - Text by Todd Drashner
Class of relativistic warship designed to transport and support smaller combat craft over interstellar distances.
Corvette - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
A military warship of fairly small size, cheaper and more lightly armed than a destroyer, usually used for fleet or convoy escort, or for showing the flag or gunboat diplomacy in a smaller polity.
Crescent Class Cruiser - Text by M. Alan Kazlev and 'Total Annihilation'
A 15th to 17th century combat spaceship of dramatic and eccentric design. It is long obsolete but is popular in the present era among wealthy historical weapons enthusiasts.
Cruiser - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
A large (generally, over 100,000 tonnes), fast, heavily armed reactionless drive warship capable of both independent operations and of support of the main line of battle.
Disassembler - Text by M. Alan Kazlev, updated by Steve Bowers 2024
A system of very-small-scale devices, able to take an object apart a few atoms at a time, while recording its structure at the molecular level. Often employed as a swarm or part of a swarm. This could be used for uploading, copying objects (when used with an assembler system), a dissolving agent or a weapon.
Dominator Class Ship - Text by Darren Ryding
One of the capital ships of the Archosaurian Empire, recognised by its dark, broad mothlike 500 metre wide form.
Exoatmospheric Fighter - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
A small planet- ship- or orbital- based hybrid air- and space-craft, usually short- to very short range and armed with lasers and automatic cannon. Crew may include one or two bionts and several dedicated ai, or the whole vessel may be ai controlled. Propulsion is via jet or nanobank turbine for dense or slow atmospheric flight, ramjet or scramjet for hypersonic flight, and chemical, fusion or amat rocket for vacuum propulsion.
Gauss Gun - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
A generic term for kinetic weapon that uses a magnetic charge to accelerate a projectile.
Hellbore - Text by Adam Getchell
An advanced plasma weapon that fires a bolt of monopole-contained plasma at near fusion temperatures.
Implosion Weapon - Text by Adam Getchell with additions by Todd Drashner
Near-mythical godtech weapon system that is believed to operate by altering the dimensionality of space-time.
Laser Weapons - Text by Luke Campbell; additions by Steve Bowers
Laser weapons come in many varieties.
Leviathan Class - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
These MPA capital ships were the largest warships of the Version War until the construction of the Juggernaut class.
Magmatter Dreadnoughts - Text by Dave, Ryan B (Rynn), Todd Drashner
A class of magmatter warcraft initially built and operated by the Low Archai (S4).
Military Strategy in the Posthuman Era - Text by Anders Sandberg
Introductory notes for Virch Course Environment EA3880: History of Interstellar Warfare and Strategy, University of Corona.
Mother of Machines - Text by Anders Sandberg and M. Alan Kazlev
Self-emergent autowar clade, recently embarked on migration to the galactic core.
Nuisances - Text by Liam Jones
'Nuisance' and 'Annoyance' the names for models of warships that are preferred by the Sagittarius Preservers.
Optical Phased Arrays - Text by Luke Campbell and Steve Bowers
An optical phased array (OPA) uses phase technology to produce a wide range of optical images and emissions.
Particle Beam Weapons - Text by Luke Campbell
Particle beam weapons fire a rapidly pulsed stream of relativistic or ultra-relativistic subatomic particles or atoms (known as bunches), causing damage both through direct heating and severe radiation exposure. Particle beams can pose a radiation hazard to all bionts and non-radiation hardened electronics in the vicinity of the beam's point of incidence and, in atmosphere, near the path of the beam itself.
Plasma Weapons - Text by Adam Getchell
Plasma weaponry becomes practical with the advent of controlled nuclear fusion, and is distinguished from other high energy weapons by the use of fusion-grade fuel.
Railgun - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
A ship or vehicular mounted kinetic weapon that uses magnetic fields to accelerate a shell at very high velocity
Relativistic Kinetic Kill System (RKKS) - Text by Todd Drashner, with additional material by Luke Campbell
RKKS (pronounced rocks) are a relativistic weapons system consisting of an unmanned launch vehicle and dense projectiles.
Restriction Swarm - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
A nanoswarm designed to keep a planet off-limits from outsiders (or to protect the rest of the universe from the people inside).
Sensors for use in Space Combat and Defence - Text by Steve Bowers
Active and Passive sensors for space warfare and defence.
System Control Ship - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Massive relativistic warship used for controlling or occupation of colonies or solar systems at interstellar distances.
USS Randolph CSGN-04 - Text by Aaron Hamilton
The USS Randolph was the first of a class of powerful (for the time) interplanetary cruisers built by the United States of America to reassert past military dominance.
Yi Sun-Sin (System Control Ship) - Text by Aaron Hamilton, adapted by Steve Bowers
The Eridanus League used System Control ships like the Yi Sun Sin in an ultimately futile attempt to maintain order and cohesion over worlds many tens of light years apart.