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| {{Status|Canon}} | | {{Era|Forerunner|Covenant|Human|UNSC|HCW|Post}} |
| [[File:HW2 AstroNav 2.png|thumb|350px|Captain [[James Cutter]] inspecting astronavigation data.]]
| | '''Astrogation''' is the planning of a route through space and the actual navigation of spacecraft, either in interplanetary travel or in interstellar travel. Usually, the term is applied to the coordination of [[slipstream space]] jumps. While most other operations can be performed by a [[human]] pilot, astrogation of slipspace jumps requires a [[navigation computer]] or a shipboard [[artificial intelligence]].<ref>'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''', ''page 96''</ref><ref>'''[[Halo: Blood Line]]''', ''[[Halo: Blood Line Issue 1|Issue 1]]''</ref> |
| '''Astrogation''', short for '''astronavigation''', is the planning of a route through space and the actual navigation of spacecraft, either subluminal maneuvering in interplanetary travel or the calculations used to perform [[slipstream space]] jumps in interstellar travel. | |
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| In the [[United Nations Space Command]], [[UNSC Astronavigation]] is the organization responsible for creating and maintaining astrogation data.<ref name="adjunct">'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''' (2010), ''Adjunct''</ref> After the start of the [[Human-Covenant War]], this data became a major security risk as the [[Covenant]] could potentially use it to pinpoint the location of [[human colonies]] and [[Earth]]. This prompted the enactment of the [[Cole Protocol]], which established various measures to prevent NAV data stored on starships or other locations from falling into Covenant hands.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 135'' (2001 edition)</ref>
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| In context of spacecraft maneuvering in conventional space, several [[UNSC Navy|UNSC Naval]] commanders have been remarked as being particularly proficient in astrogation. [[Captain (Navy)|Captain]] [[Jacob Keyes]] was credited as a skilled astronavigator,<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 155''</ref> due to his daring maneuvers, particularly the "[[Keyes Loop]]" he performed during the [[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV]]. [[Admiral]] [[Preston Jeremiah Cole|Preston Cole]] was also renowned for his skills in using effective tactics, including gravity-assist maneuvers, in [[Space warfare|space battles]].<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole"'', ''page 483''</ref>
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| While most other operations involved in operating a spacecraft, including maneuvering in normal space, can be performed by a [[human]] pilot, the successful execution of slipspace jumps requires a [[navigation computer]] or a shipboard [[artificial intelligence]].<ref>'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''', ''page 96''</ref><ref>'''[[Halo: Blood Line]]''', ''[[Halo: Blood Line Issue 1|Issue 1]]''</ref> Due to the unpredictability of human drives, dedicated [[slipspace guidance beacon]]s are sometimes used to provide navigational reference points when a coordinated and accurate slipspace transit is necessary.<ref>'''[[Halo: Evolutions]]''', ''"The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole"'', ''page 477''</ref> | |
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| Despite the necessity for a computer to perform the jump itself, UNSC Navy personnel are taught the basic calculations involved in a slipspace jump, known as Shaw multivariate calculus. In the late 25th century, then-[[crewman apprentice]] Preston Cole gained recognition for coming up with a new way to calculate Shaw-Fujikawa jump parameters.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole"'', ''page 426''</ref> There have been instances of individual ship captains performing slipspace jump calculations on their own, usually to execute a nonstandard or experimental jump, but the results of these have often been disastrous or uncertain,<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 20''</ref> including Admiral Cole's possible in-atmosphere jump during the [[Battle of Psi Serpentis]].<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions''', ''"The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole"'', ''page 484-486''</ref> When commandeering the stolen [[Insurrectionist]] craft ''[[Beatrice]]'', [[Catherine Halsey|Dr. Catherine Halsey]] plotted a slipspace exit vector through a saddle point in an imaginary mathematical plane involved in the jump function, allowing the drive to recapture the particle accelerator energy in its plasma coils, although this maneuver introduced a noted risk of coil overload.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 152''</ref>
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| A slipspace jump path must be computed through a pattern of superfine quantum filaments which are distorted by gravity. Prior to the UNSC's discovery and implementation of superior [[Forerunner]] drive technology, human slipspace technology lacked the resolution to compute a path through the warped filaments near significant [[Gravity well (physics)|gravity wells]], such as that of a planet. The [[Covenant]]'s superior slipspace technology allows them to compute jumps with far greater precision and stability, owing to their reverse-engineering of Forerunner relics. The major difference is resolution: a Covenant ship is able to calculate abstractions in the lattice of quantum filaments on a far smaller scale, allowing an AI, for example, to compensate for the warped spacetime within a gravity well and perform a jump whilst using minimal energy.<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''pages 85-86'' (2003 edition)</ref> Following the Human-Covenant War, a number of UNSC ships, most notably {{UNSCShip|Infinity}}, have been fitted with Forerunner drive technology, granting them near-perfect jump accuracy and far greater slipspace velocities than before.<ref>'''Halo: The Thursday War''', ''page 247''</ref>
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| ==List of appearances==
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| *''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'' {{1st}}
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| *''[[Halo: First Strike]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''
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| **''[[The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Blood Line]]''
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| *''[[Halo Wars 2]]'' {{mo}}
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| ==Sources== | | ==Sources== |
| {{Ref/Sources}}
| | <references/> |
| | | [[Category:Terms and Phrases]] |
| [[Category:Navigation| ]] | |
