Ship Landing Mode

Any time the ship is about to land on a nearby planet or other M class environment, Landing mode Mode is initiated. Benign situations involve a variation on Cruise Mode rules, while emergency situations involve a follow-on subset of Red Alert rules.

Operational rules include:

* Level 4 automated diagnostic series are run on all ship's primary and tactical systems at the beginning of each shift. (Key systems may require more frequent diagnostics per specific operational and safety rules.)
* At least one major power system to remain at operational status at all times. At least one additional power system to be maintained at standby.
* The shuttlebay is maintained at launch readiness with at least one shuttle vehicle maintained at launch minus five minutes' status.

Emergency situations may Arise while landed and generally require greatly increased activity and energy production, and personnel movements within the starship. Once landing is ordered, the following special operational rules are observed if a red alert status is called:

* Warp power core to be brought to full operating condition and maintained at >90% power output. Level 3 diagnostics conducted on warp propulsion systems at initiation of Red Alert status, Level 4 series repeated at five-minute intervals.
* Main impulse propulsion system is brought to full operating condition. All operational backup reactor units are brought to hot standby.
* SIF/IDF systems are set to high output for all velocity regimes, including low warp or sublight velocities.

During benign situations, Landing Mode may be initiated by the Commanding Officer, Operations Manager, Chief Engineer, or the Tactical Officer, depending on the exact nature of the vessel mission. In its emergency version, this mode may be invoked only by the Commanding Officer. All automatic preparations, as initiated by the main computer, may be made without the actual call for landing, in order to prepare both components for rapid response times.

LANDING PROCEDURES

If the senior officer aboard the Solstice makes the decision that the attempt must be made, special sets of crew procedures and stored computer commands will be implemented. While extensive computer modeling has been taken into account in creating the landing programs, no guarantee as to their effectiveness can be offered. SIF reinforcement of the framework is necessary to avoid exceeding structural limits during atmospheric entry of a Class M planet.

Without at least minimal reinforcement, aerodynamic loads associated with most entry profiles may result in spaceframe destruction prior to landing. As it was deemed too costly to subject a spaceframe to a full-up atmosphere entry test, the computer model is the best available reference.

Starfleet has recorded a total of three data sets from previous starship hull landings, and these were extremely helpful in the design of the computer routines.

A complex set of terrain touchdown options reside in the main computers, taking into account such factors as contact material, air density, humidity, and temperature. If there is an adequate amount of time for sensor scans during the approach, the sensor values will be compared to those in memory, and the appropriate control adjustments can be sent to the impulse engines and field devices. Beach sand, deep water, smooth ice, and grassy plains on Class M bodies are preferable sites; in contrast, certain terrain types have not been modeled, such as mountainous surfaces. Other non-terrestrial bodies may possess survivable surfaces, and their suitability as landing sites will depend on the specific situation, computer recommendations, and command decisions.

Naturally, many planetary types will possess environments so hostile to crew survival that remaining in orbit will be a preferable option, unless emergency landing is mandated by tactical considerations.

Prior to landing on a Class M planet (as only one example), the structural integrity field and inertial damping field would be set to high output, with the SIF also set to flex the vehicle in small, controlled amounts for shock attenuation. The deflector grid will be set to a high output as well, with its field decay radius configured to optimize the Starship's final slideout distance while applying a controlled friction effect.

During approach the computer would take atmospheric readings and make adjustments along the descent, and command the deflector field to perform airflow and steering changes. In the event computer control is limited, the Flight Control Officer (Conn) should be able to make manual attitude control inputs from his/her panel.

The IDF would be configured to "jolt mode" during emergency landing attempts, if they exceed certain preset translational limits. The deflector field is designed to protect the vehicle hull, though only up to the specified load limits when the hull must make contact with the ground. If the SIF, IDF, and deflector grid are all functioning during landing, they can add a great deal to minimizing impact forces.

The structural strain of landing is absorbed by the ground hover footpad System, a set of four stabilization pads which work in concert with the warp engines to suspend the ship over the terrain.

Once the suspension field is powered down, the full weight of the ship compresses the ground, and would be akin to the weight of a 20th century aircraft carrier in Dry dock.