"Scoops fuel from the upper layers of gas giants or the photosphere of cool
stars when you fly at below about 30km altitude while travelling forwards
at speed. In order to scoop from a gas giant, Atmospheric Shielding is
needed. A star however, requires greater protection for your ship in the
form of an Atmospheric Shield and a Shield Generator. Even with these it
is still dangerous and only a desperate pilot would attempt it."
SIZE: 6 TONNES
COST: 3150 CREDITS
The Fuel Scoop is very useful if you plan to stay away from civilisation for a
while, as it can be used to scoop Hydrogen Fuel from Gas Giants and Stars. However,
the money that most pilots can make with the 6 Tonnes of space it takes up is
generally much greater than the amount you will save with the scoop. With a Cargo Scoop Converter you can scoop up pieces of destroyed enemy ships and their cargo, but this is harder than it looks - most space battles take place at thousands of
kilometres per second, and the Autopilot is useless at cargo scooping. Bear in mind
also that the gravity of stars is often great enough to pull you into the star if you
aren't careful.