Mass Driver (Cosmic Era)

Mass Driver (Cosmic Era)
Usage
Manufacturer	United States of South America Eurasian Federation South African Union Orb Union
Operator	Earth Alliance OMNI Enforcer Orb Union Junk Guild Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty
Technical Specifications
Functional Purpose	Electromagnetic Launch System
First seen	17 C.E.
Real World
Appearances*
Television	SEED

A Mass Driver is a technology introduced in the anime Mobile Suit Gundam SEED.

Technical Information

A Mass Driver is a huge catapult that accelerates massive objects and hurls them into space. Although there are several methods for accomplishing this, the mass driver's use of electromagnetic forces to accelerate its payload makes its cost-effective for sending large amounts of material and equipment into space. Designed for launching cargo rather than people, these devices subject their payloads to hundreds of gees of acceleration, enabling them to catapult objects into satellite orbit without the use of any additional propulsion systems. When a mass driver is used to send human beings into space, its acceleration must be limited to just two or three gees, forcing the passenger craft to use its own engines to reach full escape velocity. Thus, bulk cargo is usually launched in unmanned form, with humans traveling separately in small passenger craft.

Most of Earth's mass drivers are located near the equator, where the planet's rotation contributes almost 500 meters/second towards the required escape velocity. Because launching massive payloads at high velocities requires immense structural strength, these facilities are very time-consuming to construct and repair.

History

In C.E. 17, the first Mass Driver was jointly constructed by the Atlantic Federation and the United States of South America at Panama Base. In C.E. 21, the Eurasian Federation and South African Union begin construction of the Habilis Mass Driver at Victoria Base In C.E. 30, the Orb Union began construction of the Kaguya Mass Driver on the island of Kaguya. By C.E. 70, the Republic of East Asia had constructed their own Mass Driver at the Kaohsiung spaceport in Taiwan.

After the start of the First Alliance-PLANT War, the neutralization of the Earth Alliance's three Mass Drivers was a key strategic objective for ZAFT, as they were vital for maintaining the EA's supply line for its space forces.

At some point during the First Alliance-PLANT War, the Junk Guild was hired by the Earth Alliance to build an artificial island, the Giga-Float, which came with both a spaceport and a Mass Driver.

Notable Mass Drivers

• Panama Mass Driver - Panama Base
• Habilis Mass Driver - Victoria Base
• Kaohsiung Mass Driver - Kaohsiung, Taiwan
• Kaguya Mass Driver - Kaguya Island, Orb Archipelago
• Junk Guild Mass Driver - Giga-Float

Appearances

Television Series

• Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
  • PHASE-17, Cagalli Returns
    • First Appearance; Flashback(s) Only
  • PHASE-37, Divine Thunder
  • PHASE-38, Decisive Fire
  • PHASE-39, Athrun
    • Flashback(s) Only
  • PHASE-40, Into the Dawn Skies
  • PHASE-41, Trembling World
  • PHASE-47, The Nightmare Reborn

Movies

• Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom