History Main / SpaceMines

* In the pilot of the original ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|1978}}'', the Galactica must pass through a narrow region of space in a [[SpaceClouds dense nebula]] that has been mined by the Cylons.

** In the episode "Matters of Honor", we see a Centauri minefield deployed to interdict access to a planet. This minefield actually consists of orbiting weapon platforms that fire on intruding starships instead of merely exploding when they get within range.

** ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "Balance of Terror". The Romulan ship uses one of its [[SelfDestructMechanism self destruct devices]] as an impromptu mine in an attempt to destroy the Enterprise.
** ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan''. In the UnwinnableTrainingSimulation that starts off the movie, the ship the ''Enterprise'' needs to rescue was disabled by a gravitic mine.

*** "Booby Trap." The Enterprise enters an asteroid belt that contain "acceton assimilators", mines which drain the ship's power, convert it to deadly radiation and beam it at the ship.
*** "Chain of Command Part II." An Enterprise shuttlecraft is used to lay mines in the [=McAllister=] C-5 Nebula, trapping the Cardassian ships hiding inside it. In this case, the ships were already present, so the mines just had to be placed near/on them.
*** Unfortunately "Redemption, Part II" plays the 2-D minefield mistake straight.

*** During the Dominion Wars the ''Defiant'' mined the entrance to the Bajoran wormhole. At least in this case, the mines were protecting a single, uni-directional portal and were both cloaked and self-replicating to prevent easy removal.
*** The Klingons established an illegal cloaked minefield in "Sons of Mogh." The mines are dormant and have to be remotely activated in event of war -- and would effectively cut [=DS9=] and Bajor off from support from elsewhere in the Alpha Quadrant.

* The ''Series/StargateSG1'' episode "The Serpent's Venom" takes place in a space minefield where the mines all lock onto any sign of weapons and fly into it, exploding on impact. This region of space was used by the Goa'uld as a neutral meeting place. SG-1 has to reprogram a mine to attack one of the Goa'uld ships at the meeting, in order to instigate a conflict. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, their plan [[GoneHorriblyWrong backfires badly]]. Instead of starting a war between the two Goa'uld, Apophis destroys his nephew Heru'ur's ship and uses a fleet of cloaked Ha'taks he brought to protect his flagship from the mines. He ends up absorbing Heru'ur's remaining forces into his own empire]].
** Then in a later episode, Odyssey gets caught in one which disables it enough for the Lucian Alliance to board.
* ''Series/BlakesSeven'':
** In "Star One", the Federation has seeded a potential invasion route between our galaxy and Andromeda with mines, and the Liberator has to HoldTheLine against the entire invasion force when a traitor deactivates a gap in the minefield. This makes the TwoDSpace mistake, though the resource rule is acknowledged as a sign that the Federation takes the threat seriously.
** In "Weapon", Travis seeds the space around a planet with small proximity mines. [[spoiler:There's [[ChekhovsGun no further mention of the mines]] until they provide a FakeKillScare at the climax of the episode -- the Liberator shudders from a blast and it appears the eponymous superweapon has been used against them, but they've just struck a mine, which is non-fatal to the self-repairing Liberator.]]

* Mines are used in multiple battles in ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes''.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Inhuman}}'', the whole planet Hekshano is cordoned with a minefield. Some pilots have races in there.

[[caption-width-right:250:The Dominion plays ''Minesweeper''...[[AC:[[RecycledInSpace In Space]]]]]]

SpaceIsAnOcean and sometimes your SpaceNavy needs to block access to a [[SpaceStation port]], a space lane, or even an entire planet. How to do this? Why, Space Mines, of course. These are like their [[SeaMine seagoing counterparts]], but ''IN SPAAAAACE!!!''

* While most science fiction applications of Space Mines are ridiculous in practical application (see the [[Fridge/SpaceMines fridge logic page]]), it might be feasible to set up Space Mines in certain high-traffic orbitals, e.g. geosynchronous orbit. Other targets would be those used in an orbital insertion after launch from a major ground-based spaceport. You could also position them at Lagrange points due to their use in the Interplanetary Transport Network.

* Mines are used in multiple battles in ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Stars}}'' minefields attack enemy ships traveling above certain [[{{FTL}} warp speed]] and thus prevent a sudden invasion -- an important part of the game. Ships equipped with {{Ramscoop}} engines suffer more damage; those that aren't tend to rely on fragile fuel transports, and since mines, like missiles, aren't fully negated by DeflectorShields, unarmored ships are killed easily. Specialization in mines is a ''{{p|lanetOfHats}}rimary'' racial trait, "[[http://wiki.starsautohost.org/wiki/Space_Demolition Space Demolition]]". These guys have all 3 mine types, minelayer hulls, lay mines on the run and are much more capable both of surviving mine attacks and using their own mines offensively. They also use minefields as detection arrays -- if used correctly, this makes sneaking up on them almost impossible: move fast and get blown up, or move slowly and be detected early. Or run into normal and heavy mines, have surviving ships stopped by speed traps and detected -- unable to repair without blown up transports or even run away due to still being stuck in the middle of 3 overlapping fields. Conversely, [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy War Mongers]] don't have such defensive weapons at all.

* ''LightNovel/CrestOfTheStars'' has mines being one of the three main weapons being used in space battles (the other two being [[EnergyWeapon anti-proton beams]] and [[MagneticWeapons railguns]]). Ships deploy mines around themselves as defense, as the mines are self-piloting and follow the ship's movements; or employ them as self-guided missiles against distant enemies. The nature of space combat in the series makes them the most effective long-range weapons, with the particle beams and railguns being short-range options for when you can actually see your enemy.

** Both the ''VideoGame/XWing'' and ''VideoGame/TIEFighter'' games feature mines that shoot at you, rather than exploding. Most of the missions that feature these tend to be quite [[NintendoHard difficult]].

* ''Stars!'' minefields attack enemy ships traveling above certain [[{{FTL}} warp speed]] and thus prevent a sudden invasion -- an important part of the game. Ships equipped with {{Ramscoop}} engines suffer more damage; those that aren't tend to rely on fragile fuel transports, and since mines, like missiles, aren't fully negated by DeflectorShields, unarmored ships are killed easily. Specialization in mines is a ''{{p|lanetOfHats}}rimary'' racial trait, "[[http://wiki.starsautohost.org/wiki/Space_Demolition Space Demolition]]". These guys have all 3 mine types, minelayer hulls, lay mines on the run and are much more capable both of surviving mine attacks and using their own mines offensively. They also use minefields as detection arrays -- if used correctly, this makes sneaking up on them almost impossible: move fast and get blown up, or move slowly and be detected early. Or run into normal and heavy mines, have surviving ships stopped by speed traps and detected -- unable to repair without blown up transports or even run away due to still being stuck in the middle of 3 overlapping fields. Conversely, [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy War Mongers]] don't have such defensive weapons at all.

* In ''VGA Planets'' ships with torpedo tubes can lay mines. Efficiency depends on TechLevel. It can be expensive in terms of restocking ammo, though mines that aren't swept can be scooped by another ship or even another allied player's ship, so it sometimes allows to reload empty torpedo tubes in the middle of nothing. Both laying and sweeping minefields are fleet orders, i.e. ships have to stand there and not do anything else other than defending themselves. [[SiliconBasedLife Crystals]] race also have web mines -- these stop enemy ships at random, so the fleets break apart and steadily drain fuel, so the victime can get stuck for good.

* A wide variety are available in ''VideoGame/{{Stars}}'' with one race specializing in them (Space Demolition) and one lacking them in its tech tree (Warmongers).

* ''LightNovel/CrestOfTheStars'' has mines being one of the three main weapons being used in space battles (the other two being [[FrickinLaserBeams anti-proton beams]] and [[MagneticWeapons railguns]]). Ships deploy mines around themselves as defense, as the mines are self-piloting and follow the ship's movements; or employ them as self-guided missiles against distant enemies. The nature of space combat in the series makes them the most effective long-range weapons, with the particle beams and railguns being short-range options for when you can actually see your enemy.

[[caption-width-right:250:The Dominion plays ''Minesweeper''...[[AC:[[RecycledInSpace In Space]]]].]]

* A number of space mines appear in ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'', where they are particularly useful when placed along the exit points of hyperspace routes. Besides the usual exploding types, [[ComicBook/XWingSeries Wraith Squadron]] encountered a variant that used a gravity well generator to snatch fighters from hyperspace before triggering an ion pulse to disable them.

** In the [[Franchise/StarTrekNovelVerse novel verse]], the Gorn Hegemony makes use of these, and fields specialized mine-launcher ships. One such vessel causes trouble for the Literature/StarfleetCorpsOfEngineers in the story "Where Time Stands Still".

* Laying mines takes time, and for every increase in target area's radius, the number of mines you would need increase exponentially. To cover large or even moderate areas could take hundreds of years, even if it only took a few seconds to lay each mine. Justified if the mines have potential to locate and approach, or shoot, their targets from massive range, thus ensuring blockade functionality despite low minefield density, or can be all released in a single spot and relocate and organise autonomously. As for the matter of quantity, this can be explained by having automated manufacturing and minelaying facilities operating over lengthy time periods, or have the mines themselves be self-propagating Von Neumann machines.

* While most science fiction applications of Space Mines are ridiculous in practical application (see the [[Fridge/Space Mines fridge logic page]]), it might be feasible to set up Space Mines in certain high-traffic orbitals, e.g. geosynchronous orbit. Other targets would be those used in an orbital insertion after launch from a major ground-based spaceport. You could also position them at Lagrange points due to their use in the Interplanetary Transport Network.