traveller:spacecraft
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The following lists commercial Solomani spacecraft common to each technology level. | The following lists commercial Solomani spacecraft common to each technology level. | ||
- | ===== Technology Level 9 ==== | + | For a related page, see [[space stations]]. |
+ | |||
+ | ===== Terminology ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Small Craft ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | //Small craft// are less than 100dt and lack a jump drive. | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Boat === | ||
+ | |||
+ | Anything designed for ferrying passengers and light cargo between ships, normally within a few kilometres of each other. Rarely have life support for more than a few days, and have less than 1km/s delta-v. They are often carried by larger ships. | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Shuttle === | ||
+ | |||
+ | A small craft designed for ferrying passengers and cargo between a planet and low orbit. Similar to boats, with limited life support but considerably greater delta-v due to the need to reach orbit. Most shuttles have the ability to land on a planet and return to orbit, though this doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Fighter === | ||
+ | |||
+ | A fighter is a small one or two man craft, generally less than 20dt, designed for combat engagements. They have high acceleration and a delta-v in km/s or tens of km/s depending on tech level. A day or two of life support is common, though some can support missions of a week or more. They are heavily armed, often mostly with single shot weapons such as missiles. | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Gunboat === | ||
+ | |||
+ | Larger than a fighter, but still smaller than 100dt. They have longer life support duration (weeks or months), and are designed for patrolling a star system, requiring a high delta-v and moderate thrust. They normally support up to half a dozen crew, so they can have multiple shifts. | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Yacht === | ||
+ | |||
+ | A small civilian craft designed for interplanetary travel within a system. Have weeks or months of life support, and moderate delta-v and thrust. Generally unarmed and lightweight. Some of the larger varieties can be greater than 100dt in size, but they are rare. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Civilian Starships ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Free Trader === | ||
+ | |||
+ | A jump capable craft generally up to about 300dt in size. The fact that the crew are also the owners tends to be the main definition of a //Free Trader//. | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Light Freighter === | ||
+ | |||
+ | A jump capable cargo freighter up to 1,000dt in size. | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Medium Freighter === | ||
+ | |||
+ | A jump capable cargo freighter up to 10,000dt in size. | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Heavy Freighter === | ||
+ | |||
+ | A jump capable cargo freighter up to 30,000dt in size. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Designs ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | {{indexmenu> | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Technology Level 9 ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Albatross Freighter (80dt) ==== | ||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | A small conical hull with an engine on one end and a bridge and crew quarters at the front. Most of the rest of the ship is given over to cargo. In some designs the cargo area is left unpressurised. It is 30m long, 18m wide and 9m tall. | ||
+ | |||
+ | A simple intra-system transport freighter, typical of early pre-jump cultures. It was constructed in Solomani space towards the end of the Long Night, but prior to the formation of the Third Imperium. | ||
+ | |||
+ | It is incapable of landing on most planets, and its slow drives make it unsuited for long haul in-system flights. As such it is only found in back water systems where the technology to support anything more complex doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Condor Heavy Lifter (50dt) ==== | ||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | A simple cheap transport to get cargo from surface to orbit. It is a streamlined box with limited aerodynamic capability. It is 22m long, 15m wide and 4m tall. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The //Condor Heavy Lifter// is simple transport designed to lift cargo from a planet' | ||
+ | |||
+ | The Condor is the most well known example of transport vessels from this era, and pushes the bounds of the technology available at this time. Most other vessels were of similar size and capability. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Swallow Freighter (140dt) ==== | ||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | Late TL 9 freighter with experimental plasma drive. The crew quarters are placed as far from the drives as possible, to reduce the radiation hazard. The hull itself is very light, and easily damaged by micrometeorites. It's total length is 40m, though much of this is the thin neck. The main bulk of the ship is 9m wide. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Though ion drives were great for getting about a solar system, they were terrible for leaving planetary orbit, requiring complicated orbital manoeuvring to overcome even a small planet' | ||
+ | |||
+ | The //Swallow// was one civilian design which tried to make use of the early plasma drive designs to allow fast orbital insertion and escape. Compared craft such as the // | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Technology Level 10 ==== | ||
Spacecraft which pre-date jump drives. | Spacecraft which pre-date jump drives. | ||
- | ==== Olympus | + | ==== Condor II Heavy Lifter (60dt) ==== |
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | A simple cheap transport to get cargo from surface to orbit. It is a streamlined box with limited aerodynamic capability. It is 22m long, 15m wide and 4m tall. | ||
+ | |||
+ | There are many variants of the original //Condor//, and afew are left in service. Most though have been replaced by newer ships, amongst them are the //Condor Mk II// which was the first to be built with all new technology. | ||
+ | |||
+ | It has 150% the cargo capacity of the original, as well as slightly improved thrust and range. It is still greatly limited by its use of chemical drives, but anything else available is considered too ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Like the original variants, the Mk II was a well known sight in some parts of Sol sector as the knowledge to build Jump drives was slowly recovered. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Eagle Bulk Freighter (3200dt) ==== | ||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | The Eagle class Bulk Freighter is an ugly block design. The oversized engines at the rear, kept external to the hull to simplify shielding, are quite distinctive. It mounts two heavy turrets on top (one fore, one aft) for basic defence. | ||
+ | |||
+ | One of the earliest interstellar freighters that was built in Sol shipyards following the Long Night, the Eagle class (and its many variants) stayed around for several hundred years before being superseded by newer and better designs. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Capable of carrying 500dt of cargo, and having a jump range of 1 parsec, it was an expensive way to ship goods around, but it was the best available at the time. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Fitted with two dorsal mounted heavy turrets, the //Eagle// has some defensive capability. It's low thrust and limited range greatly reduce it's ability to run from attackers however, and it was often seen as a juicy target if found in less secure systems. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Heron Light Freighter (100dt) ==== | ||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | The //Heron// is built around a cylindrical body with drive systems at rear, and living quarters up front. Cargo is stored centrally for easy access, with most of the central body opening for access. The total length is 20m, and it is 9m wide. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Based on a much earlier design from before the Second Imperium, the //Heron// is simply a box with an engine fitted to the back. Designed for interplanetary travel, it has no aerodynamic properties, and is incapable of landing. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Because of the simplicity of design, modern versions sometimes replace the primitive ion drive with a plasma torch. This is a simple design change, which greatly improves speed and range. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Olympus | ||
{{ : | {{ : | ||
- | One of the earliest spacecraft designed to be specifically for military use. Primary weapon system | + | The Olympus |
- | ==== Zeus Heavy Cruiser (150dt) ==== | + | It is a combat vessel designed for escort and support duties within a system. Lacking a jump drive, it must rely on jump tenders to reach other systems. Its combat effectiveness is much higher because of this however, and it was one of the most common light military vessels of the period. |
+ | |||
+ | Later variants tend to swap rail guns and mass drivers for laser weapon systems, or possible extra missile launchers. Early in TL10, lasers were still expensive and mostly untested in real combat. Having such a wide range of different weapon types in such a small ship increases maintenance and supply costs. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Partridge Medium Freighter (280dt) ==== | ||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | The // | ||
+ | |||
+ | Capable of carrying 100dt of cargo, the // | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Zeus Heavy Cruiser (2500dt) ==== | ||
{{ : | {{ : | ||
- | The successor to the //Olympus//, the Zeus class of heavy cruiser was introduced | + | The //Zeus// is a bulky cylindrical design, 80m in length, 32m wide and 16m tall. The bottom of the ship bristles with heavy missile turrets, with beam and rail guns mounted on the side and top respectively. |
+ | |||
+ | One of the largest type of military craft available at this technology level. It is a cruiser | ||
+ | |||
+ | It's main armament consists | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Technology Level 11 ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Cormorant Freighter (400dt) ==== | ||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | The // | ||
+ | |||
+ | One of the earliest Terran Jump-1 medium freighters, the Cormorant made use of the smaller and more efficient jump drives that were the mainstay of TL 11 ship design. Affordable by small companies, it was ships like the Cormorant that revolutionised interstellar economics, by making | ||
+ | |||
+ | The next big jump in trade would be the small 100t free traders capable | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Eagle II Bulk Freighter (3200dt) ==== | ||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | |||
+ | The Eagle II class Bulk Freighter is an ugly block design. The oversized engines at the rear, kept external to the hull to simplify shielding, are quite distinctive. It mounts two heavy turrets on top (one fore, one aft) for basic defence. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Upgraded in early TL 11 to take advantage of the improvements to Jump drive technology, the Mk II Eagle was superior in almost every way to the initial variants. Though it was still only capable of Jump-1, the drive was smaller and more efficient, allowing extra room for reaction mass and cargo. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Cargo capacity was upped to 700 dt, and range was more than doubled, with a 50% increase to acceleration. Some variants swapped cargo for reaction mass (or vice versa) depending | ||
+ | |||
+ | Fitted with two dorsal mounted heavy turrets, the //Eagle// has some defensive capability. It still had a low thrust compared to the sort of ships used by pirates, but Q-ship variants could be heavily armed and armoured. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Magpie Light Freighter (200dt) ==== | ||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | The Magpie looks like a half-finished skeleton of a hull, with the main drive system separated from the main cargo and living quarters by a long thin central section. It is 40m long, 16m wide and 20m tall, though most of this volume is empty space. | ||
+ | |||
+ | A distinctive Jump-1 capable tramp freighter, the Magpie was designed to transport small cargoes | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Shrike Medium Freighter (300dt) ==== | ||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | The //Shrike// is a medium 300dt Jump-1 freighter. Cut down to the barest minimum, it consists of a drive system, small life support system and a thin hull for storing cargo. It is very fragile, but its low mass enables it to have far greater range than similar sized freighters of a similar technology level. It is 45m long and 12m in diameter. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Never a popular design amongst crew, the //Shrike// was referred to as the 'paper spaceship' | ||
+ | |||
+ | As a tramp freighter though, the //Shrike// was excellent. Though it suffered from a low powered drive system, it had excellent range, and was much better at reaching colonies far from normal jump routes. |
traveller/spacecraft.txt · Last modified: 2019/11/10 11:18 by sam