How to do powerplant repairing- solar power sails

[Teh Smoo]

New hardpoint module: solar power sail.

Fits in the gun hardpoints. Light- 1 ton each sounds about right.

When deployed, a system extends a large web of struts, and wraps a thin solar panel material around it. Obviously you have to be completely stopped, or the thing un-deploys or is damaged. Perhaps more than one is needed, and the modules co-operate. The entire module is basically a power cable attached to a self-expanding array of struts, that covers itself with a liquid solar panel material, and then can collapse back down for storage in the hardpoint.

Upside: Provides enough power to offline the PP, and online an AFMU. (Discount for AFMU power usage?) PP can then be repaired.

Downside: Occupies an entire weapon slot. Have to be at a dead stop in normal space, near a sun. If you move, alarms go off, and then the deployed array is torn away when the power cable snaps- it floats in space near the ship.


So, with life support, AFMU,and limpet synthesis, 2 AFMU can repair all the normal modules and themselves. Limpets can repair the hull. And solar sails can drop down the jump range by 1-2 tons, but allow powerplant repairs. Potentially very useful for explorers.

For PVP, you can replace 1 or 2 guns with solar sails, supercruise near the star, drop out of SC and stop completely, and with an AFMU, repair the powerplant. Which sounds completely useless, to me.

 

[Lucius-Darcia]

An intresting idea to repair the last un-repairable module^^ I like it, let's just do it right and make everything repairable for explorers.
I was thinking about a secondary powerplant/battery myself.

 

[concentric]

Nice idea! Also that you have to get close to a sun for it to work. Functionality could also depend on the star type.
I just wonder if you'd really have to be completely stopped. Certainly it would have to be in normal space but as long as there's no debris floating around, is there actually anything that would harm the sail? At least no air afaik ;-)

 

[Teh Smoo]

I suppose it doesn't matter if the ship is moving, as long as you're not thrusting.

Well, you could require the ship to be spinning with FA off. Deploying the sail would deactivate the engines (so you can't accidentally destroy the sail, it would be delicate), and everything but life support and the smallest AFMU, so you could repair the PP.

Have it be a 0.5 ton, class 1 hardpoint. So standard explorer gear would be a mining laser and sail, most anything has at least those two hardpoints, and the Hauler is a terrible explorer anyway. Anything with enough space for an AFMU will have well more than 2 hardpoints.