6 ms·
What about the heat given off by the ship? http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/spacewardetect.php http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/spacewar
by cli 14y ago
What about the heat given off by the ship?
http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/spacewardetect.php http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/spacewardetect....
Quote: "If the spacecraft are torchships, their thrust power is several terawatts. This means the exhaust is so intense that it could be detected from Alpha Centauri. By a passive sensor."
- icebraining 14y ago(I'm not sure if I've down or upvoted you by mistake; if the former, I'm sorry) On the other hand, and unlike here on drag land, accelerating and then shutting down the engines while proceeding at full speed is possible in space.
- cli 14y agoTrue. However, the spacecraft would still be radiating heat for quite a while, as I suspect the primary method of heat dissipation would be radiation. I suppose the spacecraft could carry some form of coolant, and eject it once the engines are shut off, but then the spacecraft would need to eject it while it is very far away from the enemy craft lest the enemy detect the ejected hot coolant. But then the spacecraft could not alter its trajectory, and so it would have to rely on the enemy craft keeping a constant trajectory.