Anti-Piracy Rockets....Good or Bad Idea?

[Spacescifi]

 

 

The concept: Rocket nozzles inside the ship in various hallways that can blow back boarding parties.

If boarded, let's just say the pirates get some lovely rocket plume time....may even blow them into the wall or out the nearest opening they made.

Perhaps the ship could even be made to recapture some exhaust gases and reuse them for later?

The Setting; Space freight has a piracy problem with boarding....because freighters are basic dumb AI that only take the same routes without any crew.

Question: While obviously possible, is it a good deterrant for spacesuited pirates? Or not?

Assuming piracy was so rampant that there is a 25% chance every trade run the AI freighter will be boarded and stuff stolen.

Pirates do not disable the frieghters, they just steal cargo off them and make off profits with them.

There is no profit in taking over a freighter since freighters are trackable anyway.

 

Edited May 30, 2021 by Spacescifi

[Scotius]

It could work... once or thrice. After that, everyone but the dumbest pirates would take the time to breach the hull directly next to cargo bay. It's not like they wouldn't have days, or even weeks to do that in deep space.

But if you have such acute piracy problem, it would be simpler to mount weapons on the outside and shoot the would-be boarders.

[kerbiloid]

Anti-piracy chips in uncrewed space vessels make the problem of piracy virtual.

Upd.

"Your order to board the cargo ship id=46R87A454 is rejected by the local traffic control node.
The pattern  of your behaviour is considered suspicious. The manual vessel control is deactivated.
The propulsion unit, the reactor, and the communication system are temporarily disabled and put under the automatic control.
The traffic control vessel will soon arrive for investigation, please stand by and don't leave your quarters.
Thank you for understanding and co-operation"

Edited May 30, 2021 by kerbiloid

[FleshJeb]

AI ship, no active life support on board, pirates wearing spacesuits, poke holes in spacesuits.

EDIT: Or you could just make sure Gully Foyle is on board. I heard he's not a fan of pirates: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stars_My_Destination

Edited May 30, 2021 by FleshJeb

[kerbiloid]

Magnetic floors.

The space pirates wear magnetic boots. 
Just activate the magnetic floor and make them stick to it.

[RCgothic]

The question arises why not just use guns.

The standard sci-fi trope is flechette or shotguns or other low-penetrating munitions to avoid breaching the hull. And that's on the inside.

Approaching a modern day spacecraft having an external armament would be insane. No current or planned spacecraft could weather a spray of machine gun bullets. 

Also, setting up an orbital rendezvous with a craft that doesn't want to be rendezvoused with is exceptionally difficult using conventional orbital mechanics.

Edited May 30, 2021 by RCgothic

[YNM]

7 hours ago, Spacescifi said:

If boarded, let's just say the pirates get some lovely rocket plume time...

Or it could melt the ship's metal and results in sinking. idk.

Or you can explode the fuel...

Honestly kind of wondering why they haven't used drones really. Strap some firecracker to it, produce enough distraction, board the ship with no-one holding them back, before you know it you're in the controls.

[wumpus]

The line "rockets red glare" in the Star Spangled Banner refers to actual rockets being used against Fort  McHenry by the British in 1814.  I'm reasonably sure piracy was still an issue then, but I'd be surprised if this was used historically.  Canister cannon loads seem more appropriate (although it would be quicker to reload your rocket for other boarding planks).

https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/rockets-inspired-francis-scott-key-180952399/

[inevitable Scott Manley link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0deqePQAD8]

 

[Spacescifi]

 

Well..they could be useful on Earth as a temporary halt to invading soldiers entering your lair if you are a supervillain.

 

Put a bunch of rocket nozzles down the hallway and light them up when the heroes or soldiers came running in.

 

Meanwhile you light your escape rocketship in a hidden bunker to get away.

Edited May 30, 2021 by Spacescifi

[kerbiloid]

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=ru&tl=en&u=https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Фугасный_огнемёт

[DDE]

 

[kerbiloid]

Reminds me of the Robocop 2 commercials.

***

Back to the thread: X-rays or gammas are more effective.
Don't scare immediately and don't damage the ship.

Edited May 30, 2021 by kerbiloid

[Spacescifi]

6 minutes ago, DDE said:

 

 

Oh...but an actual rocket methalox plume would do worse!

[wumpus]

4 hours ago, Spacescifi said:

 

Oh...but an actual rocket methalox plume would do worse!

Don't forget your hydrazine RCS thrusters.  Less fire, more evil.

[MKI]

22 hours ago, Spacescifi said:

The Setting; Space freight has a piracy problem with boarding....because freighters are basic dumb AI that only take the same routes without any crew

If there isn't any crew

- Just blast your propulsion as radiation (if thats how your engines work)

- Accelerate/stop faster than any human can sustain themselves (sustained 10gs anyone?)

- Don't have hallways/be accessible

- Self-destruct

- Play a game of chicken, except you always turn in.

 

Would be pirates boarding a ship forgot they are frail flesh-bags. 

A lot of these problems are "solved" by hacking, but then you have a whole other set of problems if your AI ships are getting hacked. Also some of these tactics aren't always going to work financially, as self-destructing means you lose all your investments... but then you might already be losing your investment if pirates are involved.

[kerbiloid]

10 hours ago, Spacescifi said:

but an actual rocket methalox <snip> would do worse!

Yes. In "Whiskey" bottles. Pirates are drunkards.

Also, much safer for the ship.

Edited May 31, 2021 by kerbiloid

[DDE]

3 hours ago, MKI said:

- Accelerate/stop faster than any human can sustain themselves (sustained 10gs anyone?)

Standard SF artificial gravity opens up the opportunity for many creative uses, and I only remember Andromeda ever exploiting it to neutralize a boarding party.

[FleshJeb]

2 hours ago, DDE said:

Standard SF artificial gravity opens up the opportunity for many creative uses, and I only remember Andromeda ever exploiting it to neutralize a boarding party.

I only ever remember it being exploited in the opening sequence of Barbarella.

[jimmymcgoochie]

Using rockets inside a ship of any kind sounds like a terrible idea- one faulty wire or accidental button press and you fry your own crew.

The simplest solution is to stick a few guns on your ship- if we're talking about ocean-going cargo ships then a light autocannon with a simple stabiliser will outrange any pirates with assault rifles and RPGs, and out-aim them to boot as they try to stay standing up on a speedboat bouncing over the waves; in space there are no waves to mess up your aim, but any ship that tries to approach another will be very conspicuous against the cold black vacuum of deep space, giving the defending ship plenty of time to aim. A spacecraft also has the advantage of being able to spin on all three axes, making a close approach/docking/boarding considerably more difficult.