SENSOR PLATFORM TYPES

           The need for large numbers of sensor platforms to fulfill the total coverage of the Federation Sensor Network has led to the development of mass produced sensor platforms, as opposed to the early days of the federation where each platform was unique.

The movement to a mass produced sensor platform system meant that a standard reliable product could be distributed, which would behave in known ways, as it would be tried and tested. Also these platforms are now made to accept plug-in replacements or upgrades, which greatly extends a platforms lifetime, as improved instruments could be easily installed without expert knowledge, this also means that the maintenance times on these platforms is also much reduced.

Despite the mass production of sensor platforms, there is no one ubiquitous design, there are in fact many different designs which are mass produced, these roughly fall into three different categories, these are system sensors, close system sensors, and specialized platforms. Each of these categories occupies a different placement within a system, and have different sensors accordingly.

The most powerful and most numerous are the system sensor platforms (SSPs), this type of platform lies well outside of the systems sun usually on the boundary of the Oort cloud. Each system has at least six of these platforms, this minimum number provides very good coverage (when arranged 90° apart from each other, the points of an octahedron), but the addition of further sensors greatly improves resolution as sensors can cooperate together.

This type of sensor platform is dominated by the large mass sensors, that allow it to very accurately detect spatial curvature, so much so that a single platform can detect the normal above light drive of a small craft over half a light year away. The mass sensors are divided into two different types, the most sensitive are the stacked mass sensors, which are the most powerful and sensitive types, though there field of view is very limited, these sensors are responsible for the large spires on these deep space platforms. The other type which are in effect simpler, are radial mass sensors, these project outwards from the platform, and the whole structure spun. Though the resolution of these sensors is not as good over distance as a stacked mass sensor, they give an omnidirectional coverage, and in certain respects are better for determining small objects. Both of these large mass sensors are affected by heat, and perform much better in deep space, which is why they have come to dominate the system sensor platforms.

This type of platform also has a standard range of other instruments, generally including, radio, infrared and optical telescopes, and infrared, visible and ultraviolet spectrometers. Most system sensor platforms do not carry highly sophisticated magnetometers or particle analyzers, though they carry powerful radar sounding equipment. These other instruments are second to the mass sensors but increase the versatility of the platform.

The second type of platform are the close system sensor platforms (CSSPs), these platforms unlike the deep space SSPs are place usually in the ecliptic and usually not further than 20 AU from the systems star. These sensors are unsurprisingly designed to monitor the planets of the system and the sun, and where there mass sensors are cruder than the SSP’s the other instruments are much more advanced. The most powerful tools that the CSSP’s have are the range of telescopes that they carry, which enable them to spy on the entire spectrum, however these powerful telescopes rely on bending space to gather light, and the coils that generate this curvature sorely interfere with mass sensors. For this reason CSSPs have their mass sensors on long booms well away from the platform, these sensors do not have the resolution of the SSP’s but as most of the system’s objects lie with a few light hours of these stations they are more than sufficient to provide high detail of planets.

The CSSP’s strength is in the electromagnetic spectrum, which makes it ideal for monitoring the changing chemistry and weather of planets, and also the behaviour of the central sun. There is no general number on the amount of these type of platforms required per system, but even a planetary blank system should have three to observe the systems sun, if there are planets then more sensors stations would provide better information, in very complex systems there can be upwards of twenty CSSPs which not only have orbits around the sun but also around resident planets.

The last major category, the specialized sensor platforms cover the atypical varieties that don’t fit into SSPs and CSSPs. There are many types of specialized sensors platforms, some are specifically designed to monitor stars, these are generally used if the sun’s behaviour is complex and therefore under study. Another major type is the Planetary Mass Sensor Platforms (PMSP), which take the powerful mass sensing instruments of the SSPs are shield them for close system use, these types of platforms are used to monitor tidal forces, or to observe subsurface volcanism and water flow.

This category also includes the fairly unique sensor platforms that buck the mass produced trend, these are generally created because an object needs particularly special observation, these are generally described as Scientific Observation Platforms (SOPs).

Together these three major types of platforms form the principle dedicated units of the FSN, and contribute a permanent service, where as ship coverage is used as and when. The maintenance time of the sensor platforms used to be performed by contracted craft who would be refit with the relevant manufacturing ability, but after 2155 these went into decline as the Orca fleet began to assume this function, as their designs included the necessary workshops. Most large sensor stations have supra-c propulsion units, which means they deploy from the construction, and return for reclamation, this means that the touring ships needs only perform maintenance and refueling (CSSP’s may be solar powered but like other platforms have fusion drives). It is estimated that sensor platforms consume less than one ten thousandth of total fleet task forcing, and as most of these runs are to check the health, and not to make repairs this can be reduced greatly in times of crisis.