FACT FILE: MAST
MAST stands for "Maximum Aircrew Stress Tolerance"
and is the designator for a new IDF control system first tested on the
A-78 Dragon and subsequently being retrofitted into
almost every type of Marine Corps aerospace craft.
The principal behind MAST is one of energy conservation by minimizing the use of Inertial Dampening Fields (IDFs) in aerospace craft. In typical use, IDFs are usually activated long before serious stress on the airframe can result because the pilot and crew of the craft are incapapble of withstanding even a fraction of the g-forces their craft are designed to take. This problem was solved when IDFs were invented by simply turning them on and leaving them on all the time at maximum inertia-countering levels. On a starship with a huge warp core and deuterium/antideuterium supply, this energy expenditure goes almost unnoticed. On a tiny fighter with charge packs, it adds up fast.
MAST minimizes this energy expenditure. With the MAST system, each crew member is monitored by a medical scanner in the base of their helmet. This sensor monitors blood flow in the brain as well as other critical health data. When g-forces act on the aircrew, the scanner can determine whether or not the g-forces exceed safe tolerances for the crew members. As soon as minimum safe thresholds are neared for any crew member, the scanner signals the flight control computer to start countering the force.
In the case of positive g's, the problem for the crew becomes one of blood being forced away from their brains and pooling in their lower extremities. When the sensor detects this condition, a forcefield is activated in the lower portion of the aircrew seat that squeezes blood from the crew members' lower extremities in order to increase the blood supply to the brain. If the force field has reached its safe maximum and the crew member is still experiencing high-g problems, the computer then kicks in the Inertial Dampening Field. It carefully controls the IDF usage to keep g-levels just within acceptable maximums.
In the case of negative g's where the problem is blood rushing up into the brain, the IDF compensation immediately kicks in. In this way power drainage is kept to a minimum while aircrew survivability is assured. The MAST system is a point of honor for aircrews as it makes them one of the few aerospacecraft operators in the Federation who experience true and sustained g-forces for extended periods. It requires heavy physical conditioning of them, and they take great pride in being "physical" with their aircraft.
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