Starflight

Starflight is a catch-all term for any attempt to travel in space beyond a star system.

• It stands in contrast to the term Spaceflight, which typically indicates flight within a star system.
• Spaceflight is about NAFAL Maneuver Drives. Starflight most often involves FTL Jump Drives.

Library Data Referral Tree

Please refer to the following AAB Library Data for more information:
Starship:

• Starship User Types
  • Civilian Ship
  • Military Ship
  • Non-Commercial Vessel
  • Paramilitary Ship

• Advanced Ship Classifications
  • Ship Mission Code / Supraclass
  • Ship Type Code / Superclass
  • Ship Class Code / Class
  • Model (TL)
  • Bloc (Lot)

• Basic Ship Classifications
  • Adventure Class Ship (Auxiliary Class Ship)
  • Battle Class Ship (Bulk / Subcapital Class Ship)
  • Capital Ship (Capital Class Ship)
  • Fleet Class Ship (Capital Class Ship)
  • Size-Role Classification
  • Subcapital Ship (Small & Large Battle Class Ships)
  • QSP
  • USP
  • World Class Ship

• Ships by Function
  • Bigcraft
  • Boat
  • Capital Ship
  • Largecraft
  • Non-starship
  • Smallcraft
  • Spaceplane
  • Spaceship
  • Starship
  • Subcapital Ship
  • Subcraft
  • System Craft
  • Warship

Speed of Travel

• Light Speed (c)
• FTL
• NAFAL (STL)
• Astronomical Unit (AU)
• Light-second (ls)
• Light-minute (lm)
• Light-hour (lh)
• Light-day (ld)
• Light-week (lw)
• Light-year (ly)
• Parsec (pc)

Description (Specifications)

Overall velocity in normal space is limited by the speed of light , and crossing the vast distances between star systems is the major hindrance to starflight.

The most common means of overcoming this limitation is through the use of Jump Drive technology. Jump Drive allows Faster-than-light travel by opening a transition to jumpspace, a separate but parallel universe where velocity is relative to something other than the speed of light, and the exact amount of energy imparted at the jump transition allows the ship to move a specific distance and direction in normal space. Jump Drive allows a ship to move approximately 20 light years in a single week, representing, at its maximum, a 1000 fold increase in the efficiency of time vs. distance travelled.

Cultures that lack knowledge of the Jump Drive or are incapable of creating jump-capable starships, can attempt starflight by means of NAFAL (Not-as-fast-as-light) drives. Normal M-Drives are inefficient in deep space, so another type of drive is needed for interstellar travel. The exact system varies from Ion Drives to HEPlaR drives, or N-Drives. These can accelerate a vessel gradually over a long period, then decelerate them just as gradually to reach a destination point. Such journeys take years, if not generations, so this is commonly seen in generation ships, or sleeper ships. There are many hazards on such a long journey, but there are several examples of races that have visited and colonized other worlds by these means.

Travel Formulae

Travelling in Charted Space: The travel formulae and diagram used by the Imperial Navy and Scout Service show a typical interplanetary journey, and equations which can determine time required (if distance and acceleration are known), acceleration required (if distance and time are known), and distance travelled (if time and acceleration are known]. All of the formulae use the MKS (meters, kilograms, seconds) unit system, and assume that the ship is undertaking a journey from rest, that it accelerates continuously to midpoint of the trip, and then decelerates to rest again.

History & Background (Dossier)

The Ancients are the first known sophont race to discover Jump Drive. They used this technology to spread throughout Charted Space and beyond. Since they disappeared the technology was independently developed by the Vilani, the Droyne, the Zhodani, the Hiver, the K’Kree, the Vargr, the Solomani, and finally by the Aslan. No other species has been proven to have invented the Jump Drive without having witnessed or examined one.

Many races have utilized NAFAL generation ships to explore and colonize space prior to discovering the Jump Drive. These include the Vilani , the Suerrat , the Solomani , the Hhkar, and the Kursae .

The enigmatic Jgd-ll-jagd still use STL travel, as they are physiologically incapable of surviving jumpspace.

Expected Technological Progression of Starcraft Development

• Rocket → Aircraft → Shuttle → Spaceplane → G-Carrier → Advanced G-Carrier → Interstellar Spacecraft → Starcraft

References & Contributors (Sources)

This article is missing content for one or more detailed sections. Additional details are required to complete the article. You can help the Traveller Wiki by expanding it.

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Loren Wiseman. "Putting the "Science" in SF RPGs (Discussion and examination of science, extrapolation and Science Fiction Role Playing Games) by Charles E. Gannon." Challenge 58 (1992): .
• Marc Miller. T5 Core Rules (Far Future Enterprises, 2013), TBD.
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science
• Author & Contributor:Matthew Kerwin Baron Thon