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| Operation Ark's mission plan | Apr 2009 |
| A comparative look at the BC(P) vs BC(L) | Apr 2009 |
| Where is the RMMC boot camp located? | Apr 2009 |
| Do you plan ahead for which characters die? | Apr 2009 |
| Elizabeth III is <em>not </em>an irrational nut-job | Apr 2009 |
| Order of Battle: Third Clash - The Great Visit Reserve | Apr 2009 |
| Wealth and opportunities in the Solarian League | Apr 2009 |
| More on the Keyhole platforms | Mar 2009 |
| How much has the Maya Sector's military capability improved? | Mar 2009 |
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Pearls of Weber
A collection of posts by David Weber containing background information for his stories, collected and generously made available Joe Buckley.
Single-drive fusion-powered missiles
- Series: Honorverse
- Date: November 14, 2004
Is anyone going to build a single-drive missile with a fusion power plant?
Almost certainly not. A fusion plant is larger than the capacitors required to store the energy required by a single-drive missile. It's smaller than the multiple capacitors required to power the multiple drive systems of an MDM. In addition, adding the necessary hardware to kickstart the fusion plant before launch would require a substantial up-sizing of the launchers firing them. The only real argument in favor of putting a fusion plant aboard a single-drive missile would be that it would provide both the power density and the endurance required to take full advantage of the EW capabilities provided by Ghost Rider. That isn't a minor consideration, but for a ship which would be firing single-drive missiles, that's not likely to be as significant a concern. Those vessels are going to be smaller and less capable, whatever they do. If the idea is that somehow switching to a fusion-plant drive and single-drive missile would produce a smaller single-drive weapon, that wouldn't happen.
