Type S class Scout/Courier

The 'Type S is one of the generic starship types. It is a 100-ton dispatch vessel of a type very common within human space. It is an ubiquitous starship found within Charted Space. Many variant classes exist of this type, all based around similar designs and performance characteristics. The scout/courier is intended for exploration, survey, and courier duties, with many in service throughout known space.

Basic Ship Synopsis

Type S Scout/Courier. 100 tons. Jump-2. 2-G. 22 tons fuel. Model/1 bis. 4 staterooms. 1 hardpoint (double turret). Air/raft in a small hangar. 3 tons cargo. Streamlined (lifting body). 1 crew. MCr 29 and up; 9 months.

Description (Specifications)

Scout/Courier (Type S): Using a 100-ton Lifting Body hull, the scout/courier is intended for exploration, survey, and courier duties, with many in service throughout known space. It mounts jump drive-A, maneuver drive-A, and power plant-A, giving performance of Jump-2 and 2-G acceleration. A 22-ton fuel tank provides fuel for the power plant and provides sufficient fuel for one Jump-2. Adjacent to its bridge is a computer Model/1 bis. Detached duty versions have an open lounge where survey sensors would typically go. The ship is fitted with a dual turret; the weaponry installed varies with the specific ship. The ship has a specially fitted hold which carries a single air/raft; there is a separate three-ton cargo hold. There are four staterooms and no low berths. The hull is streamlined for atmospheric landings, and fuel scoops allow local refueling from oceans or gas giants.

The Scout, by its nature, is built as a one-person operation: a single pilot who also doubles as navigator, engineer, and gunner, albeit inefficiently. Additional crew members to fill these slots may be hired on as desired. The ship costs MCr 29.43 (or more) and typically takes nine months to build.

Image Repository

1. The Sering class Scout made by MC&S Engineering.
   
2. A sketch of a Type S class Scout/Courier by a famous starship artist.
   
3. A typical Type S class Scout/Courier scout ship preparing to enter jumpspace.
   
4. A classic, long serving Sulieman class Scout/Courier.
   
5. The Hunter class Armored Scout, a cheap Solomani knock-off of the Type S.
   
6. A Sulieman class Scout/Courier under spaceflight orbiting a yellow star.
   
7. A Type-S in front of a nebula.
   
8. A Type-S in front of a different nebula.
   
9. A Type-S exploring an anomaly-nebula.
   
10. A Gibson class with winglets and a top end sensor suite.
    
11. A model of a coreward production mark Gibson class on a stand.
    

General Description & Deck Plans

1. Deck Plans for an older model Type S class Scout/Courier.
   

History & Background (Dossier)

The venerable Type S is one of the smallest ships to mount a jump drive and is used in nearly every capacity imaginable from civilian, to paramilitary to military uses. They are relatively easy to find used and the basic hull is near endlessly modifiable.

Scout Ship Overview

THE SCOUT/COURIER: One of the most common starships within the Third Imperium is the tested and tried type S scout/courier. Originally produced to specification for the Imperial Interstellar Scout Service, this sleek and simple ship was intended for common courier duties within the Imperium, and simple survey and exploration duties beyond the Imperial borders.

While the xboat system provides fast forwarding of messages and information along the major xboat routes within the Imperium, it falls to the Scout Service's fleet of scout/couriers to relay information from worlds along the routes to outlying fringe worlds. The Jump-2 capability of the scout/courier places nearly all such worlds within its range.

Beyond the Imperial borders (…and in relatively unexplored regions within the Imperium) the scout/courier is pressed into service as an exploratory vessel. It can roam through most areas, refuelling itself from gas giants or planetary oceans as necessary, checking up on local conditions, and filing reports when it returns from a mission. In some areas, an Exploratory Cruiser of perhaps 10,000 tons will carry a squadron of ten or more scout/couriers. As the cruiser passes through an area, individual scout/couriers will range ahead or to the flanks and perform actual data gathering missions.

IISS Reserve Scout Ship Policy

It is the policy of the scout service to make available such surplus scout ships to selected individuals on a reserve basis. The vessels are (hopefully) put to good use while they are not required in service, and both the ship and its pilot are available for recall to duty when needed. Possession of the scout ship is at the pleasure of the scout service, and it cannot be sold by the character. Fuel is free at scout bases. Maintenance is free at the scout bases at class B starports. The traveller is responsible for both upkeep and crew costs.

Because the scout/courier is a standard design, the Scout Service has a large quantity of the vessels on hand, with the natural result that some are sold at surplus and find their ways into private or commercial hands, while others are scrapped. In addition, however, many are diverted to a scout program called detached duty. Under the direction of the Scout Service's Detached Duty Office, some former or retired scout personnel are provided with scout/couriers for their own use. The ships are too small for profitable commercial operations, but they do serve as a form of reasonable transport for those with wanderlust. In addition, the Scout Service derives a reasonable intelligence return on its investment through the examination of the ships' logbooks when they are serviced, and through routine interrogation and debriefings of crews. Finally, such detached duty scout/couriers are subject to recall and activation (with crew) in the event of a war scare or mobilization alert.

Selected Variant Types & Classes

Paramilitary Vessel - Scout/Courier:

1. Type S class Scout/Courier
   1. Asia class Scout
   2. Eiriksson class Scout
   3. Explorer class Scoutship
   4. Gibson class Scout/Courier
   5. Gishiash class Stealth Scout
   6. Golf Ball class VIP Transport Scout
   7. Hunter class Armored Scout
   8. Stayaow class Combat Scout
   9. Sulieman class Scout/Courier
   10. Viper class Scout Raider
2. Type SB class Scout/Courier
   1. Serpent class Scout AKA Serpent class Scout/Courier
3. Type SX class Scout/Courier
   1. Wind class Scout/Courier

Paramilitary Vessel - Bounty Hunter:

1. Type HT class Bounty Hunter
   1. Huntress class Bounty Hunter

Civilian Vessel - Medical Vessel:

1. Type S class Medical Vessel
   1. Type SM class Medical/SAR Craft

Civilian Vessel - Prospector Vessel:

1. Type J class Seeker
   1. Jackie class Seeker

References

This article has metadata.

This ship was originally designed using one of the Classic Traveller ship design rules: Marc Miller. Starships (Game Designers Workshop, 1977), 12-23. Marc Miller, Frank Chadwick, John Harshman. High Guard (Game Designers Workshop, 1980), 20-36.

This ship was originally designed using Traveller 5th edition ship design rules. Traveller 5th Marc Miller, Robert Eaglestone, Don McKinney. Starships (Far Future Enterprises, 2019), 67-93.

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.

• Marc Miller. Characters and Combat (Game Designers Workshop, 1977), 24-25.
• Marc Miller. Starships (Game Designers Workshop, 1977), 19.
• Dave Sering. Starships and Spacecraft (Judges Guild, 1979), 18-19.
• Marc Miller. Traders and Gunboats (Game Designers Workshop, 1980), 16.
• Timothy B. Brown. Fighting Ships (Game Designers Workshop, 1981), 11.
• Marc Miller. High Passage 5 (FASA, 1982), TBD.
• Marc Miller. Starter Traveller (Game Designers Workshop, 1983), 11.
• Frank Chadwick, Dave Nilsen. "Technical Booklet." Brilliant Lances (1994): 19.
• Martin Dougherty. Scout Ships (Avenger Enterprises, 2007), TBD.
• Martin Dougherty. Type S (ComStar Games, 2008), TBD.
• Signs & Portents 66 The Type-S Scout Deckplan (Review) by Bryan Steele March 2009
• James Miller. Type S Scout/Courier (Scrying Eye Games, 2011), .Michael Johnson. Type S Scout/Courier (Moon Toad Publishing, 2016), .
• Marc Miller. T5 Core Rules (Far Future Enterprises, 2013), TBD.
• Marc Miller. Starships and Spacecraft (Far Future Enterprises, 2014), TBD.
• Martin Dougherty. Type-S Scout/Courier (Mongoose Publishing, 2015), TBD.
• Author & Contributor: FarScout275