Dr Forbidden, head of DDS ResearchToday the DDS is on the cusp of a whole new generation of genuinely game-changing technology. Over the last few years we have been working on rebooting the powertrain at the heart of all DDS spaceships. Now the powertrain is the power system that provides energy to all ship systems and is the most vital of all systems of course. Four years ago i started a series of projects aimed at redefining powertrains for the next generation of DDS vessels and now we are starting to see these projects come to fruition. I will address all 4 in turn.
Micro-Cell
Traditionally DDS (and other) space ships are powered by an array or battery of nuclear fusion reactors. This has worked well for the last few decades but the technology is starting to show its age. Ever greater power demands plus the need for greater damage management in conflict means that the monolithic approach to power generation no longer works as perfectly as it needs to.
Thats why we have developed Micro-Cell technology. Put simply this will replace a large array of reactors (which can be damaged by one shot by an enemy crippling a ship) with a distributed network of smaller reactors. We hope to field test Micro-Cell on the forthcoming Infinity trials ship. Instead of the array as used in other Type 35s it will have 8 smaller reactors spread throughout the ship. It is hoped this will make the ship more resistant to battle damage and will also be more efficient as power will be generated closer to where it is needed in many cases.
Recycling Scoop
We have tried ion scoops before, on the Rome and Pentekonters more notably. These inject the free ionised hydrogen that exists abundantly in space, is then processed by a condenser aboard the ship for feeding into the reactor. The technology works but the density of ionised hydrogen is just too low to have any meaningful benefit and we will be discontinuing use of the ion scoop over the next few years.
The Recycling Scoop works in a similar way but is fitted at the rear of the ship and injects expelled energy from the ship's engines. The gases are then recycled and processed. We hope we can reduce fuel consumption by around 8%, which of course will have a number of strategic benefits. Field trials have already begun on a Provider transport and the results are promising. Unlike the ion scoop the Recycling Scoop is fairly small and can be hidden away by the engine outlets.
Liquid Metal Power Grid
Wires have been used to transfer energy for centuries, they work well but we think we have found a way that works just that much better. The Liquid Metal Power Grid uses a plasmic state metal for power distribution to key nodes. This will be up to 35% more efficient and can also be smaller than existing main grid wiring. We hope to begin field tests next year.
Wireless Power
Many systems on the ship are wireless, and with Open Architecture 3.0 systems auto-configure when activated, communicating with other systems wirelessly. However power is still given to these systems by wire on the most part.
Some lower power systems have used wireless power for some time but now we have perfected improved technology and protocols to allow even ultra-high power levels to be safely provided by wireless power links. This will make ships more battle damage resistant and will be the final piece in the distributed system model. We will be field testing some of these new wireless modules soon.
I'm really excited about these new technologies, each on their own will have a noticeable effect on DDS ship performance but together they could revolutionize DDS ship operation and design in the next decade and beyond.
