Orbital Nightcloak
Name/Model# : | Orbital Nightcloak Mark I
Designer/Manufacturer : | Imperial Department of Military Research (Notable Scientist - Renn Volz)
Combat Designation : | Satellite-Based Electromagnetic Absorption Network
Scale : | Starfighter
Length : | ?
Skill : | Space transports: Remote satellite piloting
Difficulty : | Difficult
Crew : | None
Cost of Defence : | Not available for sale
Availability : | 4
Weapons : | Electromagnetic Absorption Weapon Space Range: Orbit to Surface Blast Radius: 5 km [See Note for details] Damage: See Background Information
Sensors : | Passive : ? Scan : ? Search : ? Focus : ?
Shield/Hull Rating : | Shields None. Hull 3D
Note : | Stated Nightcloak blast radius impossible with only thousands of satellites to cover entire planet, as each only covers 78.5 km^2. Using planet Earth as example; assuming perfect sphere with radius 6,463.1 km [Earth radius 6,378.1 km, Mesosphere extends 85 km from surface]. Approximately 6,686,856 sats required. Therefore, Nightcloak satellite blast radius must be no less than 50 times greater than listed figure for thousands of sats to achieve complete coverage. EGWT and NEGWT incorrectly state that hundreds Nightcloak sats achieve complete planetary coverage. TCOPL***Pg 346, 356 - radio waves for communication pass through Nightcloak.
The Orbital Nightcloak is a network of satellites when activated plunge a sieged world into complete and utter darkness to break it and its inhabitants. This network, thousands of satellites strong distorts and absorbs all incoming electromagnetic radiation within the ultraviolet, visible and infrared spectrum and stops it from reaching the planet. An average temperate world beret of solar heat cannot survive for more than four days. Effectively, this weapon's effects against a targeted world are opposite to that of the Visual Electromagnetic Intensifier, which literally cooks worlds. While the Orbital Nightcloak was the brainchild of Renn Volz, he did not participate directly in its creation. Rather, his theories were exploited by other scientists at Maw Installation who believed that this weapon could be developed within the year. This experimental weapon entered the Imperial inventory just after the Battle of Yavin. There are two methods of employment of this weapon. The first is to deploy the satellites in a stationary orbit on the planet's dayside, thereby creating a permanent night. While the second is to completely envelope the targeted world. Witnesses report that upon the networks' activation, a series of black blotches form in the sky, which continue to grow until the planet is blanketed in complete darkness. Since the warming rays of the sun are cut off from the planet below, temperatures quickly drop. Within a day, once temperate regions experience snow fall. In three days all plant life begins to wither. As the siege continues, all plant life starves and dies. In two weeks the surface is temperature is 100 degrees below zero. Within three weeks, the planet effectively becomes a perpetual ice cube. Unlike the first method of deployment, the second effectively isolates the targeted world from the rest of the Galaxy, as all communications (except radio waves) and sensors are blocked. This is achieved via the system's advanced jammers. With the planet blind and deaf, it has no means of knowing what awaits it on the other side of the orbital shroud. This weapon is intended to demoralize and subdue the targeted planet into capitulation or if absolutely necessary, elimination of its population. For primitive populations obedience is almost immediately secured. While just days or even weeks are required to break more advanced rebellious worlds; depending on that population's ability to endure the unendurable. In the event that the total elimination of the inhabitants is required; the planet and its resource are recoverable, albeit in an ecological crippled condition. Warlord Zsinj employed the Nightcloak is a novel tactic. Instead of plunging an unruly planet into darkness, Zsinj arranged for the satellites to be arranged in a cube pattern in deep space, in order to hide the remnants of the SSD Razor's Kiss, renamed Second Death, which was painted with the Iron Fist's identifiers. In this gambit, New Republic sensors could not penetrate the Nightcloak, thus they were unaware of the decoy SSD posing as the Iron Fist. While the true Iron Fist safely left the area, the New Republic was led to believe when the Nightcloaked Second Death exploded that they had carried the day and had destroyed the SSD Iron Fist. However, this network is not without its fallibilities. The Nightcloak does not prevent the passage of ships or weapons fire. Thus, planet-based starfighters or anti-orbital turbolasers may attack the network of satellites and destroy enough of them to cause the shroud of darkness to collapse. Or dispatching ships to run the blockage in order to inform other worlds that it is under siege. Although this weapon is completely self-sustaining (as it feeds off of solar energy), it does suffer a number of unfortunate drawbacks. Firstly, nothing smaller than an Imperial Star Destroyer is required to transport the Orbital Nightcloak satellites. All the satellites within the network must deployed and setup in a matter of days as well. Deployment is achieved via releasing the satellites from the ship, from which their deployment thrusters move them into their precise position within the network. Furthermore, due to the interdependent control systems of the network, should only a handful of the satellites be destroyed the Nightcloak collapses. In the case of Dathomir, the Millennium Falcon alone, over a course of 20 minutes of constant firing managed to destroy enough satellites to bring down the onyx shroud. To overcome these weaknesses, the final report released by Imperial Department of Military Research recommended that an orbital bombardment escort force, including TIE Fighters and anti-starfighter ships remain in orbit to deal with planet-based fighters. As of shortly after the Battle of Yavin, work began on integrating dummy satellites into the network to help confound the enemy. Additionally, efforts were initiated on designing the Nightcloak system to be modular; which would allow its continued operation should a section of it be destroyed. It is believed that the integration of dummy satellites into the network was achieved. The fruits of the continued research on the Nightcloak system produced the Mark II Nightcloak satellite. While its predecessor was defenceless, the Mark II features targeting computers and short-ranged laser cannons to protect itself from attack. Furthermore, enhanced routing systems allow the destruction of up to 10 percent of the satellites within the network before the Nightcloak collapses. Therefore, its utility as a planetary attack weapon has been immensely increased. As to the Mark II's release date, it was developed by the Imperial Remnant in the years following the Battle of Endor and after Warlord Zsinj's demise.
Sources: CTD***Pg 55 / EC***Pg 78 / EGWT***Pg 104, 105 / ISB***Pg 5, 67 / NEGWT***Pg 101, 100 / RESB***Pg 79 / TCOPL***Pg 316, 317, 323, 325, 333, 345, 346, 356-358
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