ZENIT Space · Qi Vanguard Fleet
Zorak’s three-layer shield concept pairs an outer burst reserve with SERAT heat recovery and inner hull damage mapping. The simulations show where the energy goes during a strike and what it takes to respond again.
Three-layer conceptReference strike · Meteoroid debris
In the earlier ZENIT debris simulation, a 41 g fragment reached the shield at 620 m/s. The modeled response sent it outward at 310 m/s after a 12 ms interaction.
75% removed25% carried away by the rebound
Over 12 ms, the rate of energy removal averaged 493 kW. That figure describes the change in the fragment’s kinetic energy.
01 · Solid impacts
These comparisons use the earlier model’s limits of 5.91 kJ of energy removal and 38.1 N·s of impulse for one fresh sector. The sector upgrade uses higher trial limits.
Earth benchmark
887 m/s at the manufacturer’s reference condition. Source 1
35.1% removed. The round continued inward at about 715 m/s in the head-on case.
Earth benchmark
46.7 kg at an assumed arrival speed of 800 m/s. Source 2
0.040% removed. The shell continued inward at about 799.84 m/s in the head-on case.
Illustrative burst case
Ten copies of the reference fragment reaching the same sector together.
7.5% removed. A focused response turned back one fragment out of ten. It carried 1.97 kJ outward.
Energy removedCarried outwardStill inbound
A burst from the TNT-filled M795 releases about 45 MJ at the source. The load at Zorak would depend on the mass, speed and arrival pattern of the fragments that cross its path. Point defence is assessed by how much of that material still crosses the hull’s path after interception. Sources 2–3
02 · Radiation and directed energy
The field-only simulation assigns zero attenuation to photons and neutrons. The material and charged-particle examples show separate physical effects under stated assumptions.
Illustrative material layer
Each test sends 1,000 J/m² of radiation toward a reference layer of aluminum with an assumed areal mass of 1 g/cm². The results use NIST photon interaction data. Source 4
| Radiation | Removed from direct beam | Energy straight through | Estimated heat |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 keV X-rays | >99.99% | <0.01 J/m² | 970 J/m² |
| 100 keV X-rays | 15.7% | 843 J/m² | 35 J/m² |
| 1 MeV gamma rays | 6.0% | 940 J/m² | 26 J/m² |
Energy removed from the direct beam can be scattered or deposited in the layer. The heat column estimates deposition from the direct beam.
Optical example
A one-second pulse at the 60 kW benchmark emits 60 kJ. For every 1,000 J/m² that reaches an assumed opaque surface with 90% reflectivity, 900 J/m² is reflected and 100 J/m² heats the surface. Source 5
90% reflected10% heat
Charged-particle example
In a separate example with an assumed transverse magnetic field integral of 1 T·m, a 100 MeV proton turns about 39° and a 1 GeV proton turns about 10°. Their kinetic energy stays the same in this magnetic-only model. Source 6
A 15 kt nuclear detonation represents about 63 TJ of total source energy. To estimate protection at the ship, the model would need the arriving photon and neutron spectra and their transport through the vessel’s material layers. Yield source
03 · Shield architecture
GENI-10 manages first contact and uses a dedicated burst reserve to redirect debris within the sector’s response limits.
Distributes the response load and transfers heat through a dedicated SERAT buffer. The Field Compression Monitor tracks temperature, leakage and reserve during recovery.
Compares hull sensor readings before and after a strike to locate regions that need inspection.
NEXUS marks the location of a suspected impact or damage and the reading that raised the flag. Regions with missing readings show as unassessed. Inspection confirms whether a flagged region is damaged. Spacecraft impact-sensing reference
When the trial energy and impulse limits are both reduced to 50%, a following M33 hit loses 2.96 kJ, or 17.5% of its incoming kinetic energy. It continues inward at about 805 m/s. The reduction is an imposed test condition.
04 · Fleet qualification map
The Qi Vanguard Fleet assigns five functions to each of the three main Outverse layers. The checks below define what a test should demonstrate for each of the 15 functions.
L3 · Outer
| Function and job | Pass check |
|---|---|
| L3.1 First contactIdentify the incoming track, first contact time and shield sector. | Replay a known trajectory across sector boundaries and recover the correct first contact sector and time within the test tolerances. |
| L3.2 Sideways steeringRedirect the trajectory when there is room for a clear pass. | Verify that the outgoing track meets the specified clearance from the hull and nearby vessels within the sector’s impulse allowance. |
| L3.3 BrakingReduce incoming speed within the available work and impulse limits. | Reconcile the measured or modeled change in kinetic energy with the braking ledger and verify that the response stays within its work and impulse limits. |
| L3.4 Rebound controlControl and verify outward motion after braking. | For the half-speed reference case, verify the outward direction and final speed. A full rebound requires enough work, impulse and thermal headroom. |
| L3.5 Residual debris handlingTrack the fragments that continue toward the vessel after the field response. | Account for every fragment in the ten-fragment replay and report the count and kinetic energy still inbound. |
L2 · Middle
| Function and job | Pass check |
|---|---|
| L2.1 Load distributionAllocate the response across the affected sectors. | Apply simultaneous loads to neighboring sectors. Verify that each allocation fits its local limits and the vessel’s shared power and cooling budget. |
| L2.2 Transient energy handlingRoute braking work, outward push work and losses to their respective paths. | Reconcile the full-capacity reference ledger of 20 kJ taken out during braking, 5 kJ returned to outward motion and 15 kJ net removed. Track heat separately. |
| L2.3 Heat bufferingHold deposited heat within the active sector’s available thermal headroom. | In the higher-heat model, accept a 23 kJ pulse into a fresh 25 kJ buffer and withhold a full response when a subsequent pulse would exceed that capacity. |
| L2.4 CoolingTransfer buffered heat into the SERAT cooling path between strikes. | Run the full-capacity one-second repeat-strike case at the 25 kW per-sector target and verify that buffer load stays within 25 kJ over all 120 pulses. |
| L2.5 Sector isolation and recoveryIsolate a degraded sector and restore it when its health and allowances recover. | Inject a sector fault. Verify isolation and continued hull reporting, then verify that full response resumes only after the sector passes its health, work, impulse and thermal checks. |
L1 · Inner
| Function and job | Pass check |
|---|---|
| L1.1 Impact locationPlace detected hull contacts on the vessel map. | Inject contacts at known hull positions and verify the reported sectors and location error against the test tolerances. |
| L1.2 Strain sensingCompare structural readings before and after a strike. | Inject a known local strain change and verify that the correct hull region is flagged for inspection against its calibrated baseline. |
| L1.3 Thermal sensingLocate abnormal hull heating. | Replay a localized temperature rise with normal system heating present and verify that the map identifies the affected region. |
| L1.4 Leak detectionLink a pressure anomaly to the relevant compartment and hull region. | Inject a leak indication and normal pressure changes in separate cases. Verify that the indicated compartment is flagged and the normal case is classified correctly. |
| L1.5 Damage mapping and confidenceCombine the readings into a map with an evidence status for each region. | Replay normal, anomalous and missing readings. Verify that the map distinguishes no change detected, inspect and unassessed. Confirmed damage requires inspection evidence. |
Compare any proposed physical sublayer on the same vessel with the same strike conditions, power allocation and cooling budget. Advance it only if the test shows more debris clearance, shorter recovery or more accurate hull damage localization within the shared sector targets.
05 · Approved concept targets
The approved Zorak revision gives each active sector a short-burst reserve and a separate thermal buffer. The figures below define the single-sector simulation targets.
L3 · Outer protection
Braking work tracks how much kinetic energy the field handles on the way to zero speed. Net removal accounts for the energy carried back out by a rebound.
L2 · SERAT
The higher-heat test converts all braking work to heat and adds losses equal to 20% of net energy removal. A full pulse therefore adds 20 kJ of braking heat and 3 kJ of assumed losses.
| Strike and interval | Cooling | Complete pulses before the first limit |
|---|---|---|
| Full-capacity strike every 1 s | 25 kW | 120 of 120 |
| Full-capacity strike every 1 s | 20 kW | 1 of 120. The second would put 26 kJ into the 25 kJ buffer. |
| M33 round every 0.85 s | 25 kW | 120 of 120 |
| M33 round every 0.80 s | 25 kW | 4 of 120. The net energy allowance ran short on the fifth hit. |
| Two reference debris fragments every 0.90 s | 25 kW | 1 of 120. The impulse allowance ran short on the second pulse. |
In the single-hit trial, the fresh reserve rebounded the M33 round at about 444 m/s and turned back two of ten reference debris fragments arriving in one sector. The intact M795 benchmark continued inward at about 799.60 m/s.