Electric "Ore Burning" Mass Driver Engine

[Zosma Procyon]

I just suggested a tripropellant engine that would use ore as one of its resources, and I just remembered one of my favorite exotic propulsion methods: Mass drivers. Want to move an asteroid on the cheap?Land a robotic probe with a mining drill, and what amounts to a big coil gun on it. Drill up rock and use the coil gun to throw it in whatever direction, and Newton's First Law pushes the asteroid in the other direction. Why not write this into the game? The resources would be electricity and ore, and the engine would probably look a hoop skirt attached to a box or cylinder. It would produce low thrust like the ion engines and Nerv, but also like them would have very high efficiency and burn time. They'd also be large and heavy. The animation for the "drive flame" would probably be a similar to the dust clouds that the drills make when in use.

[Gargamel]

5 hours ago, Zosma Procyon said:

Why not write this into the game?

Because it's too obscure for stock.   Excellent idea for a mod though. 

[Tonka Crash]

Mass drivers already exist in the Mining Expansion Mod

 

[mattinoz]

Also, USI Asteriod Recycling Technologies ART has one as well. USI is basically stock in my book.

 

[JadeOfMaar]

KSP's part catalog is based on things that happened or could have happened in the past. It's a safe bet that nothing that hints at sci-fi in any amount will become stock. You're much better off finding mods for these things.

Related: In all the time that KSP has been around there is yet to appear: a stock engine that can help you cruise in Eve's atmosphere; a single exotic stock resource that's partial to Eve and Duna and NOT to Kerbin and Laythe.