I-224-Oliver: Spanial, Control (Captree N-Space to Jump Point)

Well, like most academically-trained experts coming face-to-face with the practicalities of life, there’s the simple answer and the more complex, technically correct answer…

The Technically Correct Answer

Some factoids.

• For background: 
  • A spaceship has several main points of radiation emission detectable by passive sensors, in approximately increasing order:
    • It reflects visible light.
    • The power plant and batteries emit EM radiation (mostly heat conducted through the hull, but a scattering of other energy types).
    • The thruster emits light, heat and lesser amount of higher-spectrum radiation (ie Gamma and X-ray).
    • Active sensors are easily detectable when in use.
    • If the ship jumps, it will emit an EM pulse – similar to going active on sensors – that may be analysed to detect its destination.
• Therefore Ipan is correct that shutting down the thruster will make the ship less obvious.
  • However, as Jennie observes, this alters the time at which the ship will arrive at her planned jump point and so alters the jump plot.
    • It’s unclear to Oliver how significant that is.
• Lowering use of the ship’s high-energy systems use will reduce the activity from the fusion reactor, making the ship more difficult to detect.
• The most stealthy thing to do is to shut down the main reactor completely (which will shut down the thruster whether desired or not), but Oliver lacks practical experience regarding whether this is something that can be done quickly, and if done, how long to restart it.
• He recalls a random factoid from a class in advanced higher education that was part of where he got his Electronics Operation (Electronic Warfare) skill from…
  • … theoretically, an appropriately tuned pulse from the active sensor array when the ship jumps would spoof the accompanying EM radiation from the Hyperspace jump process to confuse any analysis of the ship’s destination.
  • But, if the pulse is too obvious, it would be a red flag to anyone who did happen to check that the ship was trying to hide its destination.

The Simple Answer

Muting:  Reduction in EM signature is possible in several stages through different measures, but Oliver lacks practical experience to say definitively how far they should go.

Spoofing a jump:  Yes, but it’s difficult to get exactly right.

Spanial Control

Given the above, he has a chance to present options to Karmen.  Or not.