Friction is a feature in Starblast.io. It is scale able from 0x to 2x, however, default games are set at 1x friction. Friction determines if the ship's acceleration is met with resistance from the environment or not. At 0x, there is no resistance, allowing ships to exceed past their maximum speed using recoil, provided RCS is turned off, allowing a gimmick commonly known as hyperspeed. At 2x, there is twice the normal resistance, significantly decreasing the impact of knockback and recoil. Friction is at 1x on all default games, and can only be changed in Custom Games.
Note RCS makes no difference being on or off with zero Friction.
Despite the fact that there is no friction in space, Starblast.io default games have it set at 1x. This is mainly for gameplay purposes, as ships at zero friction are difficult to control, and make encounters harder, due to the greater impact of knockback and recoil, as well as easy retreat.