SRB42 sublight engine/Legends
The SRB42 was a sublight drive manufactured by Girodyne that equipped the CEC YT-1300 light freighter. The engines formed a long strip on the stern of the vessel that became known as a "wide bar" engine.
The SRB42 was fueled by energy-efficient, yet hazardous, radioactive, explosive liquid metal from four slug tanks in the center of the ship. Upon entering the engine, the fuel was mixed with a reactant in an intermixer before being released into the primary thrust pressure manifold, where it was ignited to start a fusion reaction that broke down the fuel into charged particles, the resulting energy providing thrust. The engines used specialized vectrals to redirect thrust. Shortly after the first YT-1300s left the CEC factory, several cases of sublight engine power transfer conduit blowouts and drive system stalls became widely reported, but a thorough investigation attributed these to operator error. With proper care and maintenance, an SRB42 could last for decades, and many YT-1300s retained their original "stock" Girodyne engines.
The SRB42 was designed to be modifiable for greater speed and energy efficiency, but all owners were advised to make sure that all modifications were made by CEC-authorized engineers and technicians working in compliance with Imperial laws. The Millennium Falcon's SRB42 engines were heavily and illegally modified by its operators, including Han Solo and Chewbacca, for increased speed. Among its modifications was a SubLight Acceleration Motor (SLAM), an overdrive system designed to draw power from systems not in use to give the ship a brief burst of additional speed.
Because earlier models of the YT-series freighter had two or three cylindrical engines, some spacers found adapting to the more controlled "wide bar" engine system on the YT-1300 difficult. Consequently, the Corellian Engineering Corporation offered cylindrical engines as a modular alternative to the SRB42.
Behind the scenes
"SRB" is an abbreviation for solid rocket booster, a propulsion system used on several types of real-world spacecraft.
Appearances
- Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon (as sub-lightspeed drive)
- Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope (identified only as sublight engines)
- Millennium Falcon
- Millennium Falcon audiobook
Sources
- Star Wars: Complete Cross-Sections
- Millennium Falcon Owner's Workshop Manual
- The Essential Guide to Warfare
- Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 1