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Stellar Whale Passenger Liner |
BACKGROUND
With the expansion of humanity into the galaxy and the founding of new colony worlds there became a need for civilians to travel between them. Tracelling onboard a Megaroad or New Macross vessel was fine, but it didn't neccesarily take you where you wanted to go, when you wanted to go. Like the airline's of the 20th and early 21st centuries, companies stepped forward to meet the travel needs of the civilian populations. They enlisted the skills of starship designers to create large starships capable of carrying hundreds of passengers between the Unified Government Emigrant Planets.
Designed as a cross between a long haul passenger aircraft, and a cruise liner, the Stellar Whale Passenger Liner features varying degrees of comfort and entertainment. In addition to comfortable seating and rooms, the liners are similar to their sea-going cousins in that bars, restaurants, and other entertainments can be found onboard to ensure that the passengers trip is a pleasant one.
The Stellar Whale Passenger Liner is suitable for travel to planets within 100 light years of Earth. Inside, it is furnished with restuarants and a shopping mall. The trip from Eden to Earth takes 3 folds and 3 to 4 days.
RPG STATS
Government: Unified Goverment Government (Earth)
Ship Type: Interplanetary Passenger Liner
Manufacturer: Shinakasu Heavy Industry, Maier Co., Siemens Co..
Crew: 350
Passengers: 2,500
MDC BY LOCATION:
(1) Main Body 8,000
(2) Bridge 600
(2) Communications Array 150
(3) Main Engines (2) 1,000 each
Auxillary Engines (4) 350 each
Airlocks/Access Hatches (30) 50 each
NOTES:
- Depleting the MDC of the main body will put the ship out of commission. All internal systems will shut down, including life support and internal gravity. The ship itself will be an unsalvageable floating wreck.
- Destroying the Bridge or Communication Antennae above it will deprive the ship of all long range communications, and radar.
- Depleting the MDC of the main engines will force the ship to rely on its secondary engines. Depleting the MDC of the main engines AND secondary engines will leave the ship adrift in space. If in an atmosphere, the ship will crash (destruction of the main engines will render the antigravity system useless due to loss of power).
SPEEDS:
Speed(sublight): 0.20 speed of light (32,000 miles per second)
Speed(Auxiliary Drives): Mach 1
Space Fold: Range Unlimited (1 light year every 6 minutes)
Planet bound: Can land if necessary but not designed to maneuver in an atmosphere.
Maximum Range: Unlimited (estimated 30 year life span).
STATISTICAL DATA:
Length: about 755 metres
Width: about 149 metres
Height: about 116 m
Weight: approximately 22,000 t
Main Nuclear Reactor: Shinnakasu, Royce RD/2020A x8
Main Drive System: General Galaxy Gravity Control Propulsion Megacluster GG-10PL x16
Fold Engine: Shinnakasu, Continental FS-L-D22 x8
Auxiliary Propulsion System Shinnakasu, P&W, Royce FF-2001P (detuned FF-2001 thermonuclear turbine engine for consumer use) x32
Radar System: Hyperspace Sensor Pod
WEAPON SYSTEMS:
NONE
SYSTEMS OF NOTE:
- ANTIGRAVITY PROPULSION SYSTEM: The ship is equipped with an anti-gravity propulsion system used for planetary landings and liftoffs. The system is good for vertical ascent/descent only and can lift the ship at speeds of up to 400 m per minute. The system will function so long as the main engines can supply energy to it.
- HYPERSPACE COMMUNICATIONS: Based on the same technology as the space fold system, the hyperspace communications relay allows faster-than-light communication between the ship and other vessels or planets. Hyperspace communications are still not instantaneous, however. Audio/video communication travels through hyperspace at a rate of about 1 seconds per 4,000 light years, so messages communicated over a few seconds or minutes to arrive. In the event of an attack the ship would send out a distress signal with the hyperspace comms and wait for a rescue from the Galaxy Patrol.
- LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS: The ship has sufficient life support to provide breathable air and comfortable temperatures for 3,000 people for up to 90 days (air is recycled). In an emergency the life support system can support up to 6,000 people at one time, though living conditions onboard will get extremely cramped at that point. The carrier also holds sufficient food and water to support 3,000 people for up to 3 months.
- LONG-RANGE RADAR: The radar array of the ship is not as impressive as the systems aboard UN Spacy warships but it is more than capable of tracking and identify up to 500 craft or spacial items simultaneously. The radar system has a 1,600 km range.
- SPACE FOLD SYSTEM: For FTL propulsion, the ship is equipped with an Advanced Fold System Cluster, capable of propelling the carrier through hyperspace at speeds up to 3.28x10^10 mps (5.25x10^10 kmps), or 1 light year per 6 minutes. The range of the fold drive is theoretically unlimited except by the life expectancy of the spacecraft.
- SUBLIGHT ENGINES: As a backup to the Fold System, the ship is equipped with Impulse Drive Cluster engines that can propel the craft at speeds up to 0.20 speed of light (32,000 miles per second) in space. Note that these engines are mainly intended for rapid movement inside a planetary system and are not suited for long voyages between star systems. In a planetary atmosphere the carrier is limited to speeds of Mach 1 maximum due to hull stress.
- SUBSPACE MASS SENSORS: The Passenger Ship is equipped with subspace sensors, which are based on the same principles as the hyperspace communications array. These sensors can essentially instantly detect mass readings and movement of objects up to 1 AU (93 million miles) distant from the carrier, and the readings are used both for early warning and for navigation when travelling at sublight speeds. Readings taken with the subspace sensors are not very detailed (-25% penalty when trying to identify a detected object) and cannot detect objects of less than 60,000 kg (this includes most variable fighters).
Ship-borne Vehicles (STANDARD):
- None. However, shuttles and other craft can connect to ship via the airlocks.
REFERENCES
© Aaron Sketchley