Space Mines: Difference between revisions

[[File:minefield_796minefield 796.jpg|link=Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|right]][[Space Is an Ocean|Space is, of course, an ocean]]. And sometimes your [[Space Navy]] needs to block access to a [[Space Station|port]], a space lane, or even an entire planet. How to do this? Why, [['''Space Mines]]''', of course. These are like their [[Sea Mine|seagoing counterparts]], but ''[[In Space|IN SPAAAAACE!!!]]''

Just like there are several types of [[Sea Mine|Sea Mines]]s, so there are also many types of [['''Space Mines]]'''. Most common are proximity mines, that go off when a ship gets too near, and contact mines that go off when they hit a ship's hull. Magnetic mines are attracted to metal hulls. Homing mines are essentially missiles that sit around until they detect a ship's engine or weapon energy signature, then angle themselves at the target and let fly. Some mines are miniature weapons platforms that open fire when ships get too close. Remote-detonated mines can be set off by a waiting vessel when a target ship gets in range. Nuclear mines have nuclear warheads in them. Then there are mines that rob ships of power (dampening fields) instead of just exploding. There are many other variations and combinations.

In real life, there would be some [[Fridge Logic|major limitations]] to this trope. However, since [['''Space Mines]]''' seem to be an ubiquitous part of [[Space Opera|Space Operas]]s, sometimes the savvy writer thinks of the above limitations and writes around them - and real-life applications have even been discussed in military circles.

* Sea mines are deployed under water, greatly complicating the task of detecting and clearing them. There is no such barrier to visibility for [['''Space Mines]]'''. Unless there were some sort of mitigating factor (sensory disruption, cloaked mines, etc.) space ships could just pick them off with long range guns/lasers/missiles/decoys/whatever. May be partially justified by the fact that, unlike enemy ships, they can be inert, dormant and undistinguishable from generic space debris until they're close enough to strike.

* Everything with mass has gravity. In space, little things that are relatively close to each other tend to clump up -- thisup—this is how planets and stars are born. The mines would need some way to fight or negate the effects of gravity on each other that also wouldn't run out of fuel.

*** The Klingons established an illegal cloaked minefield in "Sons of Mogh." The mines are dormant and have to be remotely activated in event of war -- andwar—and would effectively cut DS9 and Bajor off from support from elsewhere in the Alpha Quadrant.

* ''[[Freelancer]]'' has a few minefields, which have their own haunting ambience theme whenever the player is near or within one. These minefields are less like a field of mines and more like a thick, spherical meshwork of explosives, which kill any intruding spacecraft<ref> that aren't using cheats</ref> ''very'' quickly.

* ''Stars!'' minefields attack enemy ships traveling above certain [[FTL|warp speed]] and thus prevent a sudden invasion -- aninvasion—an important part of the game. Ships equipped with [[Ramscoop]] engines suffer more damage; those that aren't tend to rely on fragile fuel transports, and since mines, like missiles, aren't fully negated by [[Deflector Shields]], unarmored ships are killed easily. Specialization in mines is a ''[[Planet of Hats|primary]]'' racial trait, "[http://wiki.starsautohost.org/wiki/Space_Demolition Space Demolition]". These guys have all 3 mine types, minelayer hulls, lay mines on the run and are much more capable both of surviving mine attacks and using their own mines offensively. They also use minefields as detection arrays -- ifarrays—if used correctly, this makes sneaking up on them almost impossible: move fast and get blown up, or move slowly and be detected early. Or run into normal and heavy mines, have surviving ships stopped by speed traps and detected -- unabledetected—unable to repair without blown up transports or even run away due to still being stuck in the middle of 3 overlapping fields. Conversely, [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|War Mongers]] don't have such defensive weapons at all.

* In ''VGA Planets'' ships with torpedo tubes can lay mines. Efficiency depends on [[Tech Level]]. It can be expensive in terms of restocking ammo, though mines that aren't swept can be scooped by another ship or even another allied player's ship, so it sometimes allows to reload empty torpedo tubes in the middle of nothing. Both laying and sweeping minefields are fleet orders, i.e. ships have to stand there and not do anything else other than defending themselves. [[Silicon-Based Life|Crystals]] race also have web mines -- thesemines—these stop enemy ships at random, so the fleets break apart and steadily drain fuel, so the victime can get stuck for good.

* While most science fiction applications of [[Space Mines]] are ridiculous in practical application (see the [[Space Mines/Fridge|fridge logic page]]), it might be feasible to set up [[Space Mines]] in certain high-traffic orbitals, e.g. geosynchronous orbit. Other targets would be those used in an orbital insertion after launch from a major ground-based spaceport. You could also position them at Lagrange points due to their use in the Interplanetary Transport Network.