Official "Discuss the latest page" thread

[CorvusCorax]

flashing a light through a window in morse code
I think at close range this literal setup might actually work in space. If the ship is powered down, and there is no nearby star behind, then the flashes should be easily noticeable on the black background.

Depending on the light source this is very easily noticed on that range. People have successfully "flashed" the International Space Station from the ground using both searchlights and a laser pointer. Over a distance of several hundred kilometers if not thousands.

https://www.universetoday.com/93987/ama ... e-station/

There are some caveats, the space station must be in the right light conditions (otherwise reflections on the station windows makes it hard to see anything outside) it must be night where the light-source is located and of course someone needs to be looking.

In this case it's a much closer distance, and on top of visual cameras the station has a whole sensor array pointed at Niobe and is looking at it "intently" - I'm pretty sure a directed flash-light signal from a cockpit window would be noticed even with starlight in the background. Unless the angle is such that the sun (or whatever the star is called) is getting reflected from the hull (or directly behind the ship) overshining everything around it.

If you want to sneak up on a station, the best approach angle to stay unnoticed is probably the same as an aerial sneak attack: Come directly from the direction of the sun.

[CorvusCorax]

Hey, I was right!


Whisper is

ON

a different vessel.

(but not on board )

wtf ?!?!? LOL

[Felixscout]

If you want to sneak up on a station, the best approach angle to stay unnoticed is probably the same as an aerial sneak attack: Come directly from the direction of the sun.

Well if it was the ISS probably yes if they don't have some sort of general search radar.

But a station in the CD universe would have radar, lidar, and probably a sensor focused on the sun that could detect solar intensity which an incoming vessel would affect. So no one is approaching unnoticed unless you are "stealthing" and not emmiting any radiation. And even then you can still be "seen" if someone is looking.

[CorvusCorax]

If you want to sneak up on a station, the best approach angle to stay unnoticed is probably the same as an aerial sneak attack: Come directly from the direction of the sun.

Well if it was the ISS probably yes if they don't have some sort of general search radar.

But a station in the CD universe would have radar, lidar, and probably a sensor focused on the sun that could detect solar intensity which an incoming vessel would affect. So no one is approaching unnoticed unless you are "stealthing" and not emmiting any radiation. And even then you can still be "seen" if someone is looking.

Of course. Nevertheless, it might make a difference whether the station notices you 1000 km out or only 100 km out.

The station has one big advantage . It doesn't try to hide. Everyone knows its position, it's probably even on most "maps". As such, there really isn't any limit to their use of high powered active sensors - to a degree that would be completely unsuitable in a field combat scenario because you tell everyone in 1 AU radius where and what you are.

That being said, the search space at large distances just becomes extremely large due to the square-root rule. So no matter how powerful their active scanners, at some point a target will only be seen if someone is actively looking just that exact way with a narrow beam scanner.

Of course a jump signature will make everyone look that way, I'm unaware if there's such a thing as a "stealth jump drive" that allows you to jump in without a major blip on everyone's passive sensors. Combine that with some active and passive stealth, and you have the ultimate spy ship.

if there is, it's probably top secret classified tech

[bobismeisbob]

Of course a jump signature will make everyone look that way, I'm unaware if there's such a thing as a "stealth jump drive" that allows you to jump in without a major blip on everyone's passive sensors.

Even if there's not a way to suppress or mask it there would be ways to obfuscate it. Jump in at the same time and 'behind' another ship (that ship will see you but your jump might not be seen by the station as a separate thing, especially if that ship does something to make it's jump 'messy') or jump in at the same time as a fleet of ships but on the other side so they're not looking at you because they've got their attention elsewhere.

Those all take resources and coordination though for a single ship to sneak in you could just jump in on the other side of the local star from the station then fly in stealth mode for a few months across the system. It'd be a big mission but if you're trying to get in somewhere important and have the time it'd work.

[CygnusX1]

There is one more thing that a station can do to cover its blind spots (like the nearby star): put some buoys around the station to just check those blind spots. By "around" I mean - spread out in a range of, say, 1-light-second. Then, such a ship will be noticed early, even if it is invisible from the station directly.

This would also work against the idea of jumping behind another ship.

Back to the Comic: wow, this is some interesting setup!
I am sure the station will notice the second ship. But they may not notice Whisper on it! I wonder if the idea came from how a jak arrived on Niobe when Kari was rescued at the very beginning?

Also - did the Scimitar actually launch, or is it running on a pure momentum as Niobe is halting (relative to the station)?

[EndsBeginning]

Okay I was surfing while YouTube had a playlist going in the background. I clicked on the link as ME2's Suicide run started playing. Perfect combo.

[Aegeus]

That being said, the search space at large distances just becomes extremely large due to the square-root rule. So no matter how powerful their active scanners, at some point a target will only be seen if someone is actively looking just that exact way with a narrow beam scanner.

Of course a jump signature will make everyone look that way, I'm unaware if there's such a thing as a "stealth jump drive" that allows you to jump in without a major blip on everyone's passive sensors. Combine that with some active and passive stealth, and you have the ultimate spy ship.

It doesn't seem like there is, but a lot of systems have convenient electromagnetic anomalies or nebulae that can conceal a jump, like what they did at the Battle of Farhaven, and after that you can approach at sublight speeds. The final run to the target still won't be stealthy (insert the obligatory essay on how stealth in space is unrealistic), but if you can achieve strategic surprise when you jump then losing tactical surprise isn't too big a deal.

[CygnusX1]

Oh, I love those projectrho pages!
However, Crimson Dark is more on the "Space opera" side rather than hard sci-fi. Also, ships can bend space, which probably could also be used to affect light and make one's invisible, at least from one side.

[CorvusCorax]

Is Whisper on the outside of that fighter because it's a one-seater? Or because she wants to jump off and infiltrate the station EVA style?

I suspect the latter. There's problem though. Ships, including this fighter, will have some sort of inertial dampeners to make high G manouvers bearable on the crew.

I doubt whispers augmentations can do that to the same degree though. Which means - for her to jump off the fighter and unto the hull of the station, the respective reference frames must be at a relative speed of less than around 10 m/s (and that's already taxing the augmentations hard) - lest she become a kinetic projectile. After all she should also be able to hold on magnetically and not bounce off like a space-pin-ball.

For that the fighter needs to come to a near stop in very close vicinity to the station. Won't that make her the proverbial sitting duck for the point defense turrets?

Unless they discovered a blind spot close to the hull where the turrets can't reach >;)