Martian Independence: Orbital Bombardment Possibilities

[Noisy Rhysling]

if the crate isn't much heavier than cargo then recoil would blow away the crate and give only small delta-V to supply

There a way to deal with that, but it's probably more complicated than you want.

 

[GTOM]

There a way to deal with that, but it's probably more complicated than you want.

Well there can be multiple means.
A slow but not so resource demanding way is that fighters shift between Deimos and low orbit.
If everything launched from Deimos had good sensors, thrusters, electronics etc, they could precision strike surface targets without fighters.

The ideal would be a middle solution, combine orbital spacecraft ability with not so slow resupply (although Olympos Mons fortress can also play a major role in supplying)

 

[SlowThinker]

If everything launched from Deimos had good sensors, thrusters, electronics etc, they could precision strike surface targets without fighters.

Not really, the Marslings can have antimissile weapons, so if you wanted to hit something with a ballistic/spaceborn missile, it would have to have high maneuverability, flares, high intelligence, basically it would have to be a fighter.
The U.S. and Russia still use fighters and bombers in Syria even though they have full control over space and intelligent missiles.

 

[GTOM]

Not really, the Marslings can have antimissile weapons, so if you wanted to hit something with a ballistic/spaceborn missile, it would have to have high maneuverability, flares, high intelligence, basically it would have to be a fighter.
The U.S. and Russia still use fighters and bombers in Syria even though they have full control over space and intelligent missiles.

Yes. So i guess the supply crates could also have some basic thrusters and guidance to match orbit more closely with fighters through a bieliptical transfer or something like that.
Also supply from Fort Olympos could be launched with a big coilgun, then boost even closer to orbital speed.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

I picture a cylinder with reloads all over the outside. Think of a ear of corn. The cylinder is mostly compressed gas. The "kernels", or reloads, are fired in pairs, equal force to keep Newton happy. One or both are fired directly at where a fighter will be, and the fighter snags them as they arrive. The other, if not directly where the reload will be, has to do some maneuvering, or the reload is just ignored. There could be "blanks" for the worst case orbital trajectories, one fighter getting reloads and the blank just going off into space.

Complicated-ish, but all just a matter of engineering, no new science involved.

 

[GTOM]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phobos_(moon)

"The most prominent of these is the crater, Stickney, (named after Asaph Hall's wife, Angeline Stickney Hall, Stickney being her maiden name) a large impact crater some 9 km (5.6 mi) in diameter, taking up a substantial proportion of the moon's surface area. As with Mimas's crater Herschel, the impact that created Stickney must have nearly shattered Phobos."

Can it be a realistic concern that some 100km/s nukes could finish the job, and shatter the moon?
Tech level in my story isn't enough to build megastructures, or (large) moon killers.

 

[Drakkith]

Can it be a realistic concern that some 100km/s nukes could finish the job, and shatter the moon?

Yes, a number of nuclear weapons could shatter a small moon such as Phobos. Underground tests here on Earth have indicated that a 'cracked zone', the region wherein the rock is cracked, exists with a radius of 80-120 meters per kiloton of weapon yield. Outside of that, a zone of irreversible strain exists 800-1100 m/kt in radius.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_nuclear_weapons_testing

 

[stefan r]

Yes, a number of nuclear weapons could shatter a small moon such as Phobos. Underground tests here on Earth have indicated that a 'cracked zone', the region wherein the rock is cracked, exists with a radius of 80-120 meters per kiloton of weapon yield. Outside of that, a zone of irreversible strain exists 800-1100 m/kt in radius.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_nuclear_weapons_testing

that is per kt^⅓

There should be some differences in a porous material.

 

[Drakkith]

that is per kt^⅓

Oh. I thought those were citations.