Re: FT Armor

Well it's kind of apples and oranges. Weight on the shuttle is at a 
premium because you have to lob it out of the Earth's gravity well. 
That same chip would just nick a 6" plate of Chobham Delta armor off 
of an M1A2 Abrams. There are new polycarbonate/polyalloy armors that 
make a mockery of even this in the U.S. DoD pipeline. I think that it 
is reasonable to assume effective armors combined with structural 
redundancy that could be effective in spatial warfare. For instance, 
a Soviet designed/Iraqi T80 used by the Iraqis during the Gulf War 
hit the forward Glacis plate of an M1A2 at a range of under a 
kilometer (a 122mm APFSDS round) and it just bounced off.. 
An APFSDS round (Armor Piercing Fin Stabilised Discarding Sabot) 
Travels about 5200 fps. The round is several Kilos in weight and made 
of depleted uranium- a very dense metal that also burns when it hits 
due to the collapsing Uranium penetrator, causing secondary explosive 
effect....
Once weight is a secondary consideration, I think that armoring 
is VERY plausible...
Gotta love technology, man...;-)

Mike Wikan
Game Design\Conceptual Art
n-Space, Inc.
A Producer of 3D Entertainment Products