Ship Bridge

A Ship Bridge is the control location for a vessel.

• It is often called a cockpit on smallcraft or vehicles.
• It is a kind of Ship Equipment.

Description (Specifications)

The bridge (often designated as the main bridge or prime bridge) is an enclosed space on a ship from which the captain and officers direct operations. Bigcraft and starships require a bridge for control of the drives and electronics and for navigation, though smallcraft may instead be designed with a computer and a cockpit. Some Warships may have auxiliary bridges to replace the prime bridge in the event of battle damage.

The bridge is generally adjacent to the ship's primary computer.

The size of the bridge varies depending on the size of the vessel and can range from a large ergonomic open deck with multiple crew positions to a cramped minimalist compartment crammed into a tiny hull.

• The bridge contains the Pilot's position.
  • It may contain a separate Captain's Seat.
• The bridge contains the main workstations for navigation and sensors, the avionics suite, and any other onboard defensive electronics.
  • Many ships have transparent panels (windows) associated with the bridge, allowing the crew to physically see outside of the vessel. Windows are generally polarized: the windows on some vessels have exterior shutters.
• It contains the main workstation for the ship's Communications Equipment.
• It has independent Life Support and environmental systems.
• It usually has one or more Emergency Lockers.

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Starship and Bigcraft Bridges

The bridge of a starship or bigcraft occupies 2% of the vessels volume, with a minimum volume of approximately 270m³. This volume is taken up by various crew workstations, deck and access space, and stand-alone consoles housing control panels and displays.

• The bridge of a vessel normally contains two or more Acceleration Couches as part of its construction.
• The bridge can be sealed off in the event of an emergency.

Smallcraft Bridges

A smallcraft requires either a bridge or a cockpit with a computer: if a bridge is installed, a computer is unnecessary, though many designs will include them. A smallcraft bridge occupies 20% of the volume of the vessel, with a minimum volume of approximately 55m³. This volume is taken up by various crew workstations, deck and access space, and stand-alone consoles housing control panels and displays.

• A smallcraft bridge can be sealed off in the event of an emergency.
• It normally contains at least one Acceleration Couch as part of its construction.

Cockpits

A smallcraft may lack a bridge. The crew compartment of such vessels is referred to as the cockpit.

• Vessels lacking a bridge require an onboard computer. However, the computer suffers a reduction in efficiency.
• A cockpit contains one acceleration couch per crewmember as part of its construction. Each couch is a workstation and has multiple control panels.

Computer Control Standards

Computer Controls: In almost all cases where the ship's computer can control a given ship function (gravity, doors, etc.), orders fed in at the central bridge computer take precedence over those fed in at local controls. Only if the computer is inoperative will a computer override be ineffective. Some ships have been known to be built with a different system set-up, but this arrangement is commonplace on most vessels within Charted Space.

History & Background (Dossier)

A separate admiral's bridge may be provided in flagships, where the admiral can exercise strategic control over his fleet without interfering with the Captain's tactical command of the vessel. This may be referred to as a Command Bridge.

Old Vilani bridge designs put the captain and other command staff on a raised balcony or walkway over the workstations; the Solomani layout generally puts the captain in the center.

Scout ship bridges are notoriously cramped and smelly.

• Belter vessels, frequently converted from decommissioned Scout ships, are even more so.

Some commercial vessels, particularly liners, pride themselves on the elegance and style of their command stations.

Detachable Bridge

On some designs of smaller vessel (generally less than 6,000 Tons displacement) the bridge can be ejected from the ship in an emergency to become a lifeboat for the command crew. Generally, such a design includes up to two weeks of life support and battery power, while emergency thrusters give it basic maneuvering capabilities.

• A detachable bridge is a subhull or a pod, depending on its size.
• A detachable bridge is generally capable of soft-landing on a planetary surface and usually includes suitable landing gear.

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.

• Classic Traveller, Book 2 Starships (Game Designers Workshop 1977, 1981)
• Classic Traveller, Book 5 High Guard (Game Designers Workshop 1980)
• Jordan Weisman. "Book 2." Adventure Class Ships Volume 1 (1982): TBD.
• MegaTraveller Referee's Manual, (Game Designers Workshop 1987)
• Traveller The New Era: Fire, Fusion, & Steel, (Game Designers Workshop 1994)
• Mongoose Traveller: High Guard, (Mongoose Publishing 2008)
• T5 Core Rules, Far Future Enterprises 2013
• Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master Scout Emeritus Adie Alegoric Stewart of the IISS
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science