Starship

From Traveller Wiki - Science-Fiction Adventure in the Far future
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Starship: An interstellar vehicle: A spacecraft which has a jump drive and can cross interstellar space. Contrast with spaceship and Small craft. [1]

Line Combatants (Primary - Capital) Escort Combatants (Secondary - Subcapital) Military Auxiliary (Tertiary)
B-
Battleship 		C-
Cruiser 		O-
Ortillery 		V-
Carrier 		D-
Destroyer 		E-
Escort 		F-
Fighter 		H-
Defense/Security 		I-
Combat Transport 		Q-
Combat Support 		S-
Scout 		U-
Utility 		X-
Commo 		Z-
Special
Mercantile Commercial Ships (Trade & Profit) Non-Mercantile Commercial Ships (Industry & Profit) Non-Commercial Ships (Nonprofit) System Craft (Intrastellar)
A-
Tramp 		M-
Freighter 		R-
Liner 		T-
Transport 		G-
Industrial 		J-
Prospector 		K-
Expedition 		P-
Corsair 		U-
Utility 		L-
Science 		N-
Medical 		Y-
Private 		WB-
Barge 		WA-
Satellite 		WO-
Space Station
Technical Data.jpg

Library Data Referral Tree

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

  • Speed of Travel

    • Interstellar Navy:

    Description (Specifications)

    A starship is a spacecraft equipped with a jump drive, essentially allowing it to travel at (roughly) 150 times the speed of light (or faster). Please note that very early (STL) spacecraft did not employ FTL drives. Due to the greatly enhanced travel speed of the jump drive, sophont species with the technology will use it.

    Starship Categories

    Starships are distinguished from spaceships by the presence of a FTL jump engine and a mission of interstellar travel.

    1. Civilian Ships: Civilian starships conduct trade, tourism, and a variety of non-violent ends. They tend to be under private ownership and rarely carry more than light armament for self defense purposes.
    2. Paramilitary Ships: Paramilitary starships are a step in-between civilian and military starships. They patrol the system as police, inspectors, and in a variety instiutional roles. They may carry armament, but usually much less than a comparable military platform.
    3. Military Ships: Military starships are starships designed to defend a state against aggressors. This typically means that their design requirements are based on performance and survivability under attack. Military starships intended for combat are typically called warships.

    History & Background (Dossier)

    Ship Construction: Space ships are constructed and sold at shipyards throughout the galaxy. Any Class A Starport has a shipyard which can build any kind of ship, including a starship with jump drives; any Class B Starport can build a small craft or ships which do not have jump drives. The military procures vessels through these yards, corporations buy their commercial vessels from these shipyards, and private individuals can purchase ships that they have designed through them as well. The major restriction on the purchase of ships is money. [2]

    Ship Construction (Naval Architecture)

    Most vessels are constructed from standard design plans which use time-tested designs and combinations of features. Shipyards work from these plans which cover every detail of construction and assembly. Construction times are measured in months, with larger ships generally taking longer to complete. [3]

    Naval Architecture

    Small design corporations can produce design plans for any vessel type once given the details of what is desired. The design procedure is followed to determine what is available and allowed, and the results are presented to the naval architect firm. They produce a detailed set of design plans in about four weeks for a price of 1% of the final ship cost; they can be hurried to finish the job in two weeks if paid 1.5%. Once the design plans are received, the shipyard may be commissioned to produce the vessel desired. [4]

    Standard Designs:

    There are a number of standard design plans available; they have been in use for a long time, and are available for a nominal fee (Cr100 for the set).

    Standard starship plans available are:

    1. 100-ton Scout/Courier
    2. 200-ton Free Trader
    3. 200-ton Yacht
    4. 400-ton Subsidized Merchant
    5. 600-ton Subsidized Liner
    6. 800-ton Mercenary Cruiser
    7. 400-ton Patrol Cruiser

    Standard plans are also available for the following small craft:

    1. 10-ton Fighter
    2. 20-ton Launch
    3. 30-ton Ship's Boat
    4. 30-ton Slow Boat
    5. 40-ton Pinnace
    6. 40-ton Slow Pinnace
    7. 50-ton Cutter
    8. 95-ton Shuttle

    Other standard plans may be available at various localities. Standard designs are easier to produce; their prices reflect a 10% reduction in normal pricing. The details of the standard designs are shown at the end of this chapter. Standard design vessels are often available used (10 to 40 years old) at reductions in price ranging from 10% to 40%, as indicated by the shipyard. [5]

    Ship Financing

    Costs & Payments:

    A shipyard will insist upon a 20% down payment with the order for the vessel, as well as requiring a demonstration that proper financing is available to cover the balance when due. [6]

    Starships are designed to carry people from one star system to another, for the purposes of exploration, survey, trade, patrol, raiding, tracking, information gathering, conquest... in a word, adventure. Typically, starships have a large percentage of their volume dedicated to fuel, because the jump drive requires a huge investment in energy to transition to jumpspace. This limits the available space for other uses, severely in the case of ships able to jump long distances, or rejump repeatedly (which is a lifesaver if you can afford the space). Some ships greatly enhance capacity without sacrificing safety by mounting external tanks to the ship known as droptanks.

    References & Contributors (Sources)

    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 Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.
    Retrieved from "http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/index.php?title=Starship&oldid=602092"