Editing Slipspace COM launcher

{{era|HCW}}

The '''Slipspace communications (COM) launcher''',<ref name="goo176">'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx,''' ''page 176''</ref> formally known as an '''ultraprecise Shaw-Fujikawa low-mass launcher''', is an experimental piece of technology invented by the [[United Nations Space Command]] that allows [[Slipstream space#Communications|faster-than-light communication]].<ref name="goo">'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 105''</ref>

As of [[2551|February 20th 2551]], it was the only form of superluminal communications technology used by [[human]]s, excluding messages carried aboard starships. However, by [[2552#July|July 2552]], the UNSC had apparently developed a more effective form of superluminal communication system which enabled interstellar communications in real-time.<ref group="note">In ''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'' Chapter 16, [[Jacob Keyes|Captain Keyes]] contacts [[Hieronymus Michael Stanforth|Admiral Stanforth]] from the [[Sigma Octanus system]] on a FLEETCOM priority channel and they have a real-time exchange. Stanforth is implied to be in a different system at the time. In addition, in [[Dr. Halsey's personal journal|her journal]], Halsey receives an after-action report of the [[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV]] on July 18, 2552, the same day the battle took place. This would be impossible without a near-instantaneous communications system, as a ship could not have possibly traveled from Sigma Octanus system to [[Reach]] in a matter of hours; it took over three weeks for [[Battle Group Leviathan]] to make the journey. Furthermore, according to [[Halo Graphic Novel, Page 122|page 122]] of the ''[[Halo Graphic Novel]]'', some sort of superluminal communications system was used by [[Catherine Elizabeth Halsey|Dr. Catherine Halsey]] to contact Earth while onboard the {{UNSCship|Gettysburg}}. The transcript seems to show Halsey transmitting commands in real time. Even if this is accomplished using a script, it still takes about 36 minutes for the data to be transmitted from Earth to somewhere near [[Eridanus Secundus]]. The log in the ''Graphic Novel'' has an opening timestamp of 04:16 on September 12th, 2552; chapter 27 of ''Halo: First Strike'' opens at 04:50 on September 12th, at which point the data has apparently been received. The distance is unknown, however, and so the exact speed can not be calculated.</ref>

After a communications probe is launched by an underground [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon|gauss accelerator]], a [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine|Shaw-Fujikawa translight generator]] in high orbit creates a [[Slipstream Space|Slipspace]] rift. The probe enters the rift and travels through Slipspace like a "bullet" on an ultra-precise trajectory,<ref name="goo">'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 180''</ref> and eventually drops back into normal space at its pre-set coordinates. The probe can traverse as far and as fast as any UNSC ship.<ref name="goo"/>

The wide-spread use of this technology could revolutionize long-distance communication; if each ship were outfitted with such a device, messages could be delivered without requiring a ship to travel through space to manually give the message. Unfortunately, the cost to build an ultra-precise low-mass launcher is comparable that of a fleet of ships, and even a single probe is worth the value of a capital city on one of the [[Outer Colonies]].<ref name="goo"/>

As of [[2552|November 2552]], only three Slipspace COM launchers were known to exist: there was one each [[Earth]] and one on [[Reach]], and a secret one on [[Onyx]].<ref name="goo176"/> The one on Reach was almost certainly destroyed during the [[Fall of Reach|fall of the planet]], while the one on Onyx was destroyed by [[Onyx Sentinel|Sentinels]] it after sent a message to Earth.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx,''' ''page 313''</ref>

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