DS2-Orbital Bombardment

Just a quick question on orbital bombardment. This may be covered in MT but I
only have FT. How many kilometers above the surface would a ship performing
orbital bombardment be stationed.

Thanks

It is in MT. In varies, but you need to be in low orbit, which for a FT game
is a standard orbit. Geostationary is too high for accurate
bombardment (and prevents you simply obliterating the enemy in SG/DS
games). Ortillery platforms become available every 6 turns in DS (roll d6 for
when it first becomes available).

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Commodore Alfred K Hole - RNS Indy's Folly (CB)
Task Force Admiral Peter Rollins - RNS Waterloo (MKW)
Fleet Admiral Alberto Doyle - NKV Vesuvius (LFI)

> -----Original Message-----

> Christopher K Smith <smithck@mindspring.com> wrote:
        There's more detail in MT, but I no longer have MT. :-(
        Because off-board artillery doesn't deviate, no matter where the
target is on the table top, and because Orbital artillery does deviate, then
the range must be longer, may be two table lengths up in the air at least. So
minimum distance must be 20Kms straight up. If the spacecraft is dodging
opposing enemy forces, and firing at a slant across the table instead of
straight down, then the distance could well be a lot longer. Orbital artillery
in DSII scenarios is available every six turns as Brendan mentions. So what's
the distance from earth's surface for a roughly circular orbit that is six
times 15 minutes or 1.5 hours in duration? Any physicists on the list that can
tell us?

> On 11 May 99, at 16:19, Andrew Martin wrote:
So
> minimum distance must be 20Kms straight up. If the spacecraft is
I alwayts wondered about the ack of deviation of ortillery. OK so they are
probably using some sort of smart projectile, but if standard artillery can
deviate, why can't ortillery that is coming down from 10 times the range?

> Orbital artillery in DSII scenarios is available every six turns as
It's not that straightforward unfortunately. Firstly you can do an orbit in
the same time at different heights by travelling at different speeds.
Satellites don't do that but a powered spaceship could. Secondly it rather
depends if you are orbiting with or against the planets rotation:). If they
aren't using their own power and are against the rotation a 1.5 hour orbit is
*very* low.

                        TTFN
                                Jon

> Jonathan White <zzalsjfw@fs2.mcc.ac.uk> wrote:
On and off table artiller in DSII doesn't deviate. It hits the area
designated. Ortillery or orbital artillery does deviate. It can miss the area
designated and go somewhere nearby. I can't remember the exact
procedure as my new DSII book hasn't arrived from Australia yet :-(.
In MT, the orbital artillery weapons system doesn't need ammunition, so I've
assumed that it's a beam weapon, like the class 1 and better main weapon
systems in FT. As to why ortillery deviates, I've assumed that the atmosphere
bends or diffracts the beam unpredicatably when the beam is fired at long
slant ranges with high power or that communications between the space navy and
the army get a little confused.

> It's not that straightforward unfortunately. Firstly you can do an
Satellites don't do that but a powered spaceship could. In the rules in MT,
the ortillery platform seems to be in orbit. Which seems to fit cyberpunk
views of orbital weapon platforms in low quick orbits.

> Secondly it rather depends if you are orbiting with or against the
How low? Let's take the average and use a polar orbit or do all three cases,
with, against and across the rotation of the earth. Didn't Sputnik orbit the
earth every 90 minutes? I could be wrong as I was very young at the time and
my digital stop watch wasn't working...;)

> Secondly it rather depends if you are orbiting with or against the

You are assuming circular orbits rather than more eccentric ellipses, I take
it?

And is there a game-mechanics reason we need to know how high up we are?
Time interval has already been defined. We can just say "two hundred miles up"
or whatevr other figure anyone needs for story purposes, true?

> Andrew Martin

> Secondly it rather depends if you are orbiting with or against the

IIRC most satellites in what is called 'low Earth orbit' (of ~100-400 or
so miles up) zip around Earth in ~90 minutes. The Hubble hangs out at ~370
miles and orbits every 96.5 minutes (that's one satellite I gots da facts for
:)

Mk

I watch the NASA channel on satilite....they mentoned that when the shuttle is
in
orbit, the day/night cycle is only 90 minutes...45 minutes of day, and
45 minutes of night. The shuttle orbits at about 120 miles (I think...)

Donald Hosford

> I am NOT my long lost twin wrote:

> >>Secondly it rather depends if you are orbiting with or against the

> Andrew Martin [SMTP:Al.Bri@xtra.co.nz]
Any
> physicists on the list that can tell us?

This is an easy one, mate. 90 min orbit is about the same as the Space
Shuttle, altitude around
300-400km.