Editing Fusion drive

{{Status|Canon}}

The '''fusion drive''',<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 16''</ref> also known as a '''fusion engine''',<ref name="maw">'''Halo: Combat Evolved''', campaign level ''[[The Maw]]''</ref><ref>'''[[Halo: The Flood]]''', Chapter 1, ''page 33'' (2003 paperback); ''page 36'' (2010 paperback)</ref> is a type of spacecraft [[Maneuver drive|maneuver drive]]<ref>'''Halo: Warfleet''', ''page 14''</ref> which serves as the primary form of sublight propulsion on most [[human]] spacecraft, whereas the [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine]] is used for travel at superluminal, or faster-than-light, speeds. The fusion drive system generates both power and direct thrust for the ship.<ref name="hwf">'''Halo: Warfleet''', page 33</ref>

The primary component of a fusion drive is an [[Wikipedia: Inertial electrostatic confinement| inertial electrostatic]] [[fusion reactor]] or a series of such reactors. The reactors on UNSC warships fuse [[Deuterium]] and [[Helium|Helium-3]] atoms{{Ref/Reuse|hwf}} to generate a stable and abundant supply of superheated [[plasma]] within a magnetic containment field.{{Ref/Reuse|maw}} The plasma is channeled into a series of exhaust manifolds, which vector it out of the ship's engine nozzles along with added water or hydrogen reaction mass to provide propulsion for the ship.{{Ref/Reuse|hwf}} The drive system utilizes inertial-electrostatic containment and higher-order manifolds to mitigate fusion backblast,<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/forums/db05ce78845f4120b062c50816008e5d/topics/reality-of-halo-plasma/401b13b9-f097-45f3-a0a3-227d8f7d130a/posts '''Halo Waypoint:''' ''Reality of Halo: Plasma'']</ref> while magnetic fields and thrust-vectoring plates are used to improve maneuverability.{{Ref/Reuse|hwf}}

The main components of the fusion drive are typically located in a ship's [[engineering]].{{Ref/Reuse|maw}} The number of fusion engines varies between ship classes. [[UNSC frigate]]s are typically equipped with two primary reactors<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[Delta Halo]]'' (''"Both engine cores have spun to zero."'')</ref> and at least another two secondary reactors,<ref name="fs275">'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 275''</ref> while {{Class|Halcyon|light cruiser}}s are powered by an array of three fusion reactors.<ref>[http://halo.xbox.com/Content/assets/en-us/ONI/577839090903298928/DDR-A340024-1115-08-27-52.pdf '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Data Drop 5'']</ref> Larger ships, such as the mobile hospital {{UNSCShip|Hopeful}}, could possess as many as six reactors.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 97''</ref> The number of engine exhausts also varies greatly; ships usually have two or more primary adjacent exhaust nozzles, and a series of smaller, secondary ones.

For small-scale maneuvering, human ships utilize smaller chemical rocket thrusters placed around the vessel. Such thrusters expel chemical propellants such as [[triamino hydrazine]].<ref>'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''', ''page 25''</ref>

The Mark II Hanley-Messer DFR is a type of deuterium fusion power plant used on {{Class|Halcyon|light cruiser}}s, which are typically equipped with three of the reactors.<ref name= "data drop">[http://halo.xbox.com/Content/assets/en-us/ONI/577839090903298928/DDR-A340024-1115-08-27-52.pdf '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Data Drop 5'']</ref> These fusion drives are designed for bulk maneuvering rather than speed.<ref>'''[[Halo Mythos]]''', ''page 94''</ref> They were obsolete by [[2552]], providing only a tenth of the power generated by modern reactors at the time.{{Ref/Reuse|tfor238}}

Manufactured by [[Naoto Technologies]],<ref name="evg228">'''[[Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide]]''', ''pages 228-229''</ref> the V4/L-DFR is a deuterium fusion drive equipped on {{Class|Charon|light frigate}}s, such as {{UNSCShip|Forward Unto Dawn}}.<ref name="bulletin101012">[http://blogs.halowaypoint.com/Headlines/post/2012/10/10/The-Halo-Bulletin-101012-.aspx '''Waypoint''': ''The Halo Bulletin: 10.10.12'']</ref>

Manufactured by [[Boglin Fields]],{{Ref/Reuse|evg228}} the S81/X-DFR is an advanced type of fusion drive serving as the primary sublight engine of the experimental warship {{UNSCShip|Infinity}}.{{Ref/Reuse|bulletin101012}}<ref>[[:File:Infinity fud scale.jpg|UNSC ''Infinity'' schematic]]</ref> Unlike most deuterium fusion drives of human design, the S81/X-DFR is classified as a form of [[repulsor engine]].<ref>'''Halo Mythos''', ''page 132''</ref> Massive in size, this engine module took fifteen years to design, build, and test.<ref>'''[[Halo: Warfleet]]''', ''page 42''</ref>

[[File:POA-Destruction.jpg|thumb|The ''Pillar of Autumn's'' reactors detonating.]]

Fusion drives can also be used as improvised weapons of mass destruction. A ship's captain possesses the codes necessary to initiate fusion core overload in their [[command neural interface]], but reactor destabilization can also be initiated manually. Though the fusion reactors are protected by magnetic containment fields which surround the fusion cells, they can be destabilized by explosive ordnance once the exhaust couplings protecting the reactor vents have been retracted. Significant amount of damage to the engines will trigger a "wildcat destabilization". The reactor will then detonate within minutes, generating a temperature of nearly 100,000,000 degrees. The most notable instance of this was when [[John-117]] destroyed [[Installation 04]] by overloading the fusion reactors of the {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}}.{{Ref/Reuse|maw}} The explosion was later revealed to be similar to a [[supernova]] to the point that it created a new element on [[Alpha Shard|a surviving shard]] of the ring.<ref>'''[[Halo: Nightfall]]'''</ref>

 

== Trivia ==

** [[Kenneth Peters]] commented on the inconsistencies during a behind-the-scenes video for the development of ''[[Halo: Warfleet – An Illustrated Guide to the Spacecraft of Halo|Halo: Warfleet]]''. He noted that, given that UNSC ships don't burn up the atmospheres of planets when engaged in them, their accelerations could not possibly be stupendously high. He also talked about the unintended consequence of unpublished figures giving UNSC ships sustained accelerations of 30 g, namely that such speeds would allow them to be used for "vaporizing planets" if they simply accelerated for an appreciable time in the direction of one. He went on to say that for these reasons, 343i decided not to give official acceleration figures for warships.<Ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE_O_it1Q5k&t=63m08s An Inside Look at Halo: Warfleet – A Guide to the Spacecraft of Halo] (starts 63 minutes and 8 seconds).</ref>

**''[[Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminals]]''

**''[[Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals]]''

{{Ref/Sources}}