History
The Gravolytic Engine is a technology allowing for the manipulation of gravitational fields. Common uses include Gravity Drives, which allow for both conventional and faster than light travel within a gravity well, as well as Jump gates, which allow for interstellar travel. Gravolytic engines can also be used for power generation and various industrial processes.
The first Gravolytic engines were reverse engineered from wreckage recovered from the Astral Horizon. While these initial engines were very inefficient, they were still more powerful than contemporary steam engines, kickstarting the Astral Revolution.
Gravity drives are a propulsion technology that utilizes a Gravolytic Engine to manipulate a spacecraft's position in a gravity well. Gravity drives are typically divided into Class I and II drives. Class I drives were a less advanced form of the technology, and required the ship to be relatively close to a planet to function. Class II drives are able to use a star as an anchor to travel anywhere in its system, and as such quickly supplanted the Class I drive.
Jump gates work by using a Gravolytic engines to quickly accelerate a vessel to several times the speed of light. Because the Gravolytic energy is from an external source, a jump gate allows a ship to cross the gap between stellar gravity wells. While a ship with a powerful enough Gravolytic engine could theoretically use a similar technique to launch itself long distances, the engines used by jump gates are far larger than is practical to fit onto a ship.