Mass driver

A mass driver was an efficient technology for moving large objects or large numbers of objects through space. Mass drivers have been employed for cargo transport and as a weapon.

History and specifics[edit | edit source]

Cargo transfer[edit | edit source]

On reference stardate 0/04, Clavius Mines on Luna began firing ores and other materials into Earth orbit with a mass driver. (ST reference: Spaceflight Chronology)

In the 21st century, mass drivers were used on Mars to propel cargo up to orbiting DY-100-class freighters. But by the late 21st century, transporters had rendered the technology obsolete. In the 2370s, antiquated mass drivers had become a tourist attraction in Viking City on Mars. (Last Unicorn RPG module: A Cadet's Guide to Sector 001 Earth)

Weapons[edit | edit source]

12,000 years ago, Dassik used mass drivers for orbital bombardment, obliterating the homeworlds of several civilizations, including the Bogosrin. Surviving races in the sector eventually found safety by creating the Web of Worlds and founding the First Federation. (TOS novel: The Face of the Unknown)

In 2164, a mining outpost on an asteroid near Rigel I used its mass driver to shoot loads of ore at USS Pioneer. The weapon tracked across the entire asteroid, enabling it to fire along different trajectories. As Pioneer's deflector shields weren't designed for such an attack, a second volley damaged their impulse reactor and polarized hull plating. They shot out a portion of the driver's accelerator track to stop a third volley, but a fourth took out their power grid. USS Endeavour rescued them, firing phase cannon blasts all through the track, disabling it. (ENT - Rise of the Federation novel: Tower of Babel)

Starfleet's accelerator cannon, a precursor to photon torpedoes, was basically a ship-mounted mass driver for launching missiles. (FASA RPG modules: The Four Years War, Return to Axanar)

A primary invasion defense for the planet Carnak was a space station with a mass driver, the Carnak space cannon. In 2267, the weapon shot negatively polarized meteor salvos at the starship USS Enterprise. (TOS comic: "Where Giants Tread")

Unusual uses[edit | edit source]

One thousand years ago, dying Zachra aboard the rogue planetoid Zachriel used a mass driver to disperse a trail of relay stations containing an AI embodying their cultural history and personalities, a last-ditch effort to save their species. Debris from one of these "Breadcrumb satellites" was discovered in orbit and on the surface of Arcturus V in the 24th century and brought to Starbase Hephaestus by Tara Jenner in 2371. (Star Trek Adventures RPG module: These are the Voyages: Mission Compendium Vol. 1 mission: A Plague of Arias)

In 2377, Soloman converted a force field network on Venus into a mass driver in order to redirect a dangerous lava flow away from terraforming outposts and into high orbit. (SCE eBook: Ishtar Rising)