Directorate Officer
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: To provide an heavy rocket in Lucerne Labs weapons line-up well-suited towards destroying light freighters, large bombers, and other similar heavy “starfighters”
Image Source: here
Canon Link: N/A
Primary Source: N/A
Manufacturer: Lucerne Labs
Affiliation: Directorate, Silver Jedi, Alliance in Exile
Model: Starfall Heavy Rocket
Modularity: No
Production: Minor
Material: Plasteel fuselage, Detonite-shaped priming charge, Collapsium main charge, chemical propellant, Biolux-series Organoform Circuitry, memory crystal, various avionics
Classification: Heavy Rocket
Size: Large
Weight: Heavy
Ammunition Type: Warhead
Ammunition Capacity: One detonite primed Collapsium Warhead
Reload Speed: Slow
Effective Range: Long Range
Rate of Fire: Very Low
Stopping Power: Very High
Recoil: High
Collapsium Charge: Starfalls use an detonite primed Collapsium warhead. Upon impact, the small charge of detonite explodes, which then triggers the Collapsium to implode, which causes an intense pull of matter towards the center of the reaction. Because this is the inverse of an explosion, some conventional defenses are not as suited towards coping with the implosion as they are towards traditional explosive weapons. The power of a Starfall Rocket is exceptional, and it is capable of overloading some shields and dovin basals.
Composite Gravity/EPR tracking: Starfallss use combination of two passive electro-photoreceptors, one of which operates in the infrared spectrum, and a long-range heat detector for guidance. This allows the Starfall to passively lock on targets without alerting enemies as to what it is targeting and thus also avoids many common electronic countermeasures such as blanket noise sensor jamming.
Chemical Drive: Starfalls use a solid fuel slug, much like the Vulture Drone, to propel the warhead. Using a chemical reaction for propulsion means that it cannot be shut off by electronic countermeasures.
Equivalent to a heavy proton rocket in terms of rough power and the space it takes up on a starfighter (~2 proton torpedoes)
ECM Resistant: One of Starfall's primary advantage over other conventional heavy starfighter weapons like proton rockets isn't in its basic performance, but rather that it includes design components and philosophies to make it resistant to the recent proliferation of ECM technologies.
Long Range: Starfalls use a chemical solid fuel motor that is optimized for range rather than speed. This means that the weapon can be deployed at stand-off ranges outside of the range of many starfighter-grade and point defense weapons.
Intense Firepower: Starfalls devote a lot of internal volume to its warhead, making it as powerful as many proton rockets. Like those weapons, Starfalls are exceptionally well-suited towards destroying slower but heavily armored and/or shielded targets.
Large Size: Starfalls are fairly large for their size (roughly equivalent to a proton rocket in size), which means that only a smaller number of them can be carried compared to other munitions.
Low Speed: Starfalls have fairly low speeds for a missile, moving roughly as fast as the average fighter. This means that many starfighters can simply outrun the missile.
Isolated Telemetry: While not having a wireless communications system of its own means that the Starfall doesn't have an access point from which to be deactivated, it also means that it does not have the ability to use sensor data from other sources or to communicate with other friendly forces. This also means that once the missile is launched, the users cannot deactivate it or change its target, as the rocket can only receive its orders through a physical dataport located on the side of its fuselage.
DESCRIPTION
The Starfall Heavy Rocket is a heavy starfighter-grade weapon that largely is equivalent to the proton rocket in form and function: it is a large, powerful, and relatively slow weapon well-suited to destroying heavily shielded and armored targets. Unlike the proton rocket though, the Starfall's design draws on Lucerne Labs experience with the Tidefall Brilliant Torpedo and the Starcore concussion missile. Like the Starcore, the Starfall uses a detonite charge to ensure that the weapon detonates upon impact. It also uses a simple chemical fuel drive to ensure that the engine cannot be deactivated by ion weapons or deactivated by missile deactivators. Guidance systems are derived from the Tidefall. This includes a pair of passive electro photo receptors for short-range guidance and a long-range heat detector. This sensor package is entirely passive, which allows it to target objects without pinging back enemy sensor operators. Using a composite sensor signature also means that it is less likely to fall victim to blanket noise jamming and doesn't alert an enemy that it's being targeted, unlike most active sensors. Unlike the Tidefall, the Starfall uses organoform-based circuitry connected to a memory crystal imprinted with the target's information (based on information from the launcher) to actually coordinate the warhead's flight to the target. While less adaptable than the Tidefall, this set-up still allows the Starfall to travel towards targets with little worry about being prematurely deactivated. While much of the flight systems are based on established designs, the Starfall's warhead is uniquely its own design.
While it does use a detonite-based charge to ensure that it detonates on impact, the primary charge is actually collapsium based, much like a seismic charge. Upon impact, the detonite charge's small explosion builds enough energy for the collapsium to implode, causing what appears to be a brief, blue sphere of light and then the disappearance of solid matter. In actuality, the implosion of collapsium rips matter towards it center and disintegrates it. This makes it better suited against many conventional defenses designed to resist the thermal heat of explosions and also makes it a much more controlled and precise weapon than many explosives: there is a far less likely chance that it's damage will indiscriminately spread and damage or destroy other nearby objects. The charge's power itself is considerable, largely equivalent to the proton charges carried by proton rockets, making it especially well-suited for destroying larger sub-capital ships such as light freighters, heavy bombers, and transports. Starfalls are also sometimes employed to destroy specific, well-defended components on capital ships, such as gun turrets or engine blocks. While a powerful weapon, the Starfall is also noticeably a slow weapon for its size, which makes its use in dogfights fairly limited against many starfighters and interceptors. When thrust into this role, it is best used in head to head combat runs, as unlike most missiles, the Starfall can simply be outrun by most starfighters if it attempts to chase them.
Unsurprisingly, Starfalls are almost universally assigned to strikecraft being employed to attack larger and heavier targets than typical, such as heavy subcapital ships, fortresses, and subsystems on capital ships. In this role, Starfalls largely replace the use of proton rockets otherwise commonly found in the galaxy. While any craft that can support a proton heavy rocket can be equipped with this weapon, the Starfall is most commonly found on Lucerne Labs starfighters equipped with its own proprietary general purpose warhead launcher, which can host a pair of these warheads.
