Editing Void-Sphinx (section)

==Propulsion==
The propulsion suite of the Void Sphinx fighter is comprised of three major systems: the warp drive, impulse engine, and reaction control system (RCS) thrusters.

The Void Sphinx uses an enhanced small craft engine, with two microfusion reactors and a mater / anti-matter
reactor assembly (M/ARA) in a sealed unit, along with deuterium and anti-deuterium storage.


===Reaction Control Thrusters===
In vacuum, Newton's laws of motion can be observed in a nearly pure environment, and in a much more obvious fashion than in an atmosphere. Once a Fightercraft has established a vector, for instance, it will continue to move in that direction and at that speed for a practically infinite distance, unless thrust is applied to change its momentum.

For this reason, the Void Sphinx has a linked group of twenty-four RCS thrusters mounted as far as practical from the fighter's center of gravity. Because of the fighter's low mass, the RCS thrusters provide angular momentum, and thus, agility which can not be matched by larger ships.


===Impulse Engines===
At sublight speeds, the fusion reactors power the impellor coils, which lower the apparent mass of the fighter, as well as activating the energetic plasma which serves as reaction mass for propulsion.

The actual impulse thrust emitters are located on the trailing edges of the engine mount pylons, providing for thrust vectoring.


===Warp Engine / Nacelles===
As defined in the Design Specification, the sealed M/ARA core used in the Sphinx has a maximum cruise mode output of 150 cochranes, enabling the craft to reach a speed of warp 4.5 at maximum output. In this mode, the range of the craft is practically limited more by the pilot's endurance than by the fighter's.

In burn-out mode, this output increases to a maximum of 2000 cochranes, enabling the craft to reach a speed of warp 9.9. As the name implies, burn-out mode can not be sustained for lengthy periods. The craft's supply of deuterium and anti-deuterium is consumed at a rate which increases on a geometric scale as velocity increases, and the increased violence of the matter-antimatter annihilation reactions causes damage to the dilithium crystals within the intermix chamber. At maximum velocity, the ship's power plant will deplete its consumables literally within minutes. Damaged dilithium crystals must be removed and replaced by qualified engineering crews onboard the squadron's duty station. These damaged crystals can be restructured in a Starship's engineering core, to enable them to be reused.

Due to the likelihood of damage, the Void Sphinx is equipped with four warp nacelles, though it is capable of making warp speed on any one. Designed for the Void Sphinx, the craft's nacelles are the latest in propulsion technology. They use low impedance warp coils which lessen the craft's effect on subspace, as well as lowering the effective power needed for a given mass / speed matrix. Each nacelle contains a complete set of four warp coils, creating a bulky, bulldog look. Under normal conditions, only one coil in each nacelle is actually in use. This arrangement increases the angular distance between the lobes of the warp field, leading to increased maneuverability at hyperluminal velocities, though it lowers the overall efficiency of the system. For increased efficiency, and higher straight-line sprint speeds, the warp field can be flattened by reducing to a standard two-nacelle operation. Should circumstances dictate, any one or all four of the nacelles can be jettisoned.

[[Category:Database]][[Category:Fighter Command]]