Quantum Vacuum Plasma Thruster (WIP)

[Sun]

And by WIP, I mean I JUST downloaded Blender.

Hello everyone. You may have learned of the QVPT, or Quantum Vacuum Plasma Thruster. I am here to present to you: the Quantum Kraken Solar Thruster. It's the same concept, but worded differently. The QKST will have the same thrust as ion engines(pre-ARM). But, the main difference is: infinite ISP as long as you can maintain enough power. Which ten SP or OX-4 solar panels can do. My planned tech tree node for this is the same one as the ion engine.

Development starting soon!

Edited August 2, 2014 by Sun

[CaptainKipard]

That sounds OP. Are you sure you have your energy requirements right?

[Dat_Spacewaffle]

I agree with Kipard, 2-4 solar panels are way to few. atleast 10 panels. or put it at the very end of the tech tree

[Initar]

I agree with Kipard, 2-4 solar panels are way to few. atleast 10 panels. or put it at the very end of the tech tree

Well Nertea of Real Future Tech don't want to add this engine to his pack (it has to have a functionning equivalent IRL), but the nuclear reactors from Near Fututre Electrical could provide a "scale" for power. (sry for my bad english >.<)

[Taki117]

Well Nertea of Real Future Tech don't want to add this engine to his pack (it has to have a functionning equivalent IRL), but the nuclear reactors from Near Fututre Electrical could provide a "scale" for power. (sry for my bad english >.<)

PSST HEY! You mean one of these?

[m4ti140]

Well Nertea of Real Future Tech don't want to add this engine to his pack (it has to have a functionning equivalent IRL), but the nuclear reactors from Near Fututre Electrical could provide a "scale" for power. (sry for my bad english >.<)

It has a functioning IRL equivalent, it had for years now but the inventor was considered crazy and no one even looked at his (WORKING) engine. That was until NASA built it themselves and it worked.

The thing is, ATM it is much less powerful then ion engines and even if will be boosted by using superconductors, it would still be less powerful. So, you might consider making it less powerful then stock ion thrusters (or give it simmilar thrust to the ion engines before buff) for balance reasons.

Edited August 2, 2014 by m4ti140

[nli2work]

KSPI had them about right. Current real life best thrust is 0.3N/kW; current KSP ion drive is ~110N/kW. assuming KSP 1EC = 1kW.

To get any real useful thrust out of a plasma drive you need a lot more than 10 solar panels. :/

[Guest]

I'd say, let it use 10 panels... Gigantors, no less. The power requirements should be truly enormous.

[Naf5000]

Bare in mind this thing is producing two units (Kilonewtons?) of thrust. I doubt it could actually push a structure large enough to let ten Gigantors face the sun at any usable acceleration, and KSP doesn't have extra solar systems to make a slow-accelerating long-lasting probes useful.

[Guest]

Struts weigh next to nothing. Cubic struts weigh nothing. It's gonna be a really weak, really hungry little engine. Old ion engine was good for satellites, and this would be too. It's not any sort of interplanetary thruster, it's a satellite attitude control engine.

[Mekan1k]

It might be good for small satellites- apparently, the faster this thing goes, the more force it can generate due to differentials in vacuum pressure.