ooc: Ship data
Note: Kara put together a data packet on Colonial Fleet vessels for Rita. This is basically copy/pasted from the BSG wiki. If Kara sends a data packet, this is what she'll send. It comes in either paper copies written by hand or now a typed file she'll send via the Dreamberry
>> Viper
The Viper is the Colonial Fleet's primary space superiority fighter/attack craft.
Flight Regimes
The Viper is designed to operate in both space and atmospheric conditions.
In space flight, the Viper is highly maneuverable, dangerously so in inexperienced hands. Reaction control system (RCS) thrusters for rapid and flexible attitude control, a cluster of 3 main thrusters for high acceleration, and retractable reverse thrusters housed in both port and starboard cowlings for some degree of deceleration can subject the pilot to punishing g-forces. Its retractable landing struts can be magnetized to secure the Viper on metal decks and surfaces in zero gravity.
In atmospheric flight, Vipers consume more Tylium fuel than in the vacuum of space. Once in an atmosphere, the engines must run continuously to maintain sufficient airflow over the wing lifting surfaces. Depending on the composition of the atmosphere itself, this can place severe strain on the Viper's engines. In addition to greater fuel consumption, the high wing load (i.e. small wing area relative to weight) may compromise the Viper's overall maneuverability. Because the smaller wing surfaces generate less lift, higher speeds are needed to stay aloft. The fighter's RCS thrusters might partially compensate for this.
Life Support
Viper cockpits are pressurized and heated, and pilots wear flight suits which, along with a breathing pack housed within the back, provide full life support should ejection be required (You Can't Go Home Again). In atmospheric ejections, the seat jettisons automatically once clear of the Viper, exposing a parachute which is deployed at a safe altitude (Act of Contrition).
Because of the stamina required to operate Vipers, battlestars have a specialized weight room where the pilots maintain their physical conditioning.
Viper Mark II
Capable of atmospheric flight, the Viper Mark II is a single-seat craft possessing two kinetic energy weapons (KEWs). Hard-points beneath the wings allow missiles, munitions pods and other ordnance to be mounted.
The Viper Mark I entered Colonial service shortly before the outbreak of the Cylon War. However, it is this Mark II variant (designed specifically for use with the Colonial battlestars) that has garnered the most recognition. The fighter served with distinction throughout the Cylon War, proving to be a capable fighting vehicle and winning renown across the Twelve Colonies; the Mark II is regarded as instrumental in ensuring that the Colonials did not lose the original Cylon War.
The Mark II remained in service after the end of the conflict, but was subsequently superseded by newer models. At the time of the Cylon holocaust, the sleek Mark VII is the front-line variant of the Viper design. It retains the Mark II's general layout, but utilizes fully networked systems to provide superior battle management and combat information for the pilot.
Seemingly similar to the Cylon Raider in performance as well as weaponry, a Mark II is capable of holding its own against many times its number of Raiders in the hands of a seasoned pilot.
Armament
The Mark II's main weapon are two wing-mounted cannons. Additionally, it can be equipped with several missiles, carried under the fuselage.
Layout
The Mark II is a long, sleek vehicle with specialized features for space attacks, reconnaissance, and atmospheric flight.
The fore section comprises the nose back to the cockpit. Located there are the forward RCS systems for maneuvering the craft; the forward landing gear; the main avionics and sensor packages and the single-seat cockpit.
The stern comprises the main engines, numerous RCS maneuvering jets, fuel tanks, wings and vertical stabilizer. The wings themselves contain the kinetic energy weapons, their munitions storage and feeds. Mounting points beneath the wings allow missiles, munitions pods and other items to be rack-mounted.
The wing's roots contain the main landing gear, retracted during flight. The Mark II's shape is distinctive because of the offset "intakes" mounted just behind the cockpit. The port / starboard "intakes" incorporate small but powerful reverse thrust engines that can quickly counter a Viper's forward momentum in an emergency.
Performance
The Mark II can rotate 180 degrees vertically in .35 seconds. It accelerates at six to seven G's or 60 to 70 m/s²
>> Raptor
The Raptor is a vehicle utilized by the Colonial military. A versatile craft, it is designed to perform multiple roles, but the Raptor most commonly takes part in reconnaissance and scouting operations.
Overview
The Raptor is usually operated by a crew of two (one pilot and one ECO), has synthetic gravity on board, and is controlled by means of a fly-by-wire system. It is capable of atmospheric flight and is also equipped with a short-range FTL engine, allowing it to make short faster-than-light hops. Due to its size and shape, a Raptor is not launched from a battlestar's launch tube, rather, it deploys from the forward end of a flight pod. The vehicle has been a mainstay of the Colonial fleet for over 40 years, having entered service sometime prior to the twelfth year of the first Cylon War.
As a scout, Raptors can:
* Undertake short and medium-range scans to detect electromagnetic, heat or other signatures from other vessels
* Scan planetary surfaces for signs of life, energy output, or to locate and assess mineral deposits
* Scout ahead of its parent warship in other planetary or celestial systems for any signs of hostile intent or stellar conditions prior to the parent ship's arrival
* Undertake search & rescue operations after an engagement with Cylon forces.
When scouting, Raptors can operate independently, or in concert with other Raptors and Vipers.
As an ECM platform, the Raptor contains a full suite of electronic countermeasure and monitoring tools, enabling it to:
* Jam wireless or relay transmissions (by wireless or optically) from other spacecraft
* Scramble control signals used by guided weapons
* Undertake IFF operations for Viper squadrons
In addition to reconnaissance and scouting, the Raptor can also undertake the following roles:
* Airborne warning & control and electronic countermeasures platform supporting Viper operations
* Marine assault craft
* Ambulance / evac vehicle
* General purpose transport
* Combat Search and Rescue
* Secure communication with other vessels
In the transport role, a Raptor is capable of carrying around eight to ten adults in addition to the two-person crew. In the assault role, it can carry a squad of some eight equipped Marines.
Atmospheric Operations
The Raptor is designed for atmospheric as well as space-based operations. However, a critical element for atmospheric operations is that to remain airborne requires fuel: once in an atmosphere, the engines must be run constantly to maintain lift and to hover. Depending on the composition of the atmosphere itself, this can place severe strain on the Raptor's engines.
Due to their overall configuration and bulk, Raptors may also suffer from poor handling at low speeds, and rely heavily on directed thrust to remain airborne.
FTL Operations
A Raptor is able to make at least ten, and probably at least 20 FTL jumps before refueling as seen in. However, these Raptors had been carrying more than a typical amount of fuel for the longer missions.
Life Support
The main flight deck/cabin of a Raptor is fully pressurized. However, crews operate in flight suits and helmets to help protect them against any hull breach. The cabin can also be depressurized and used in space rescue operations. Re-pressurization takes 10 seconds. The forward pilot and co-pilot seats can eject in an emergency as the forward canopy is blown away prior to the ejection.
Propulsion
* 2x sublight engines mounted aft
* 1x small-scale FTL system
* RCS points
Armament
Offensive
Raptors are normally unarmed as they make for a poor general-purpose fighter. The craft have an internal weapons bay capable of holding both offensive and defensive weapons. They are also capable of carrying heavy external armaments on four wing hardpoints, two wingtip hardpoints, and two fuselage hardpoints on the sides of the Raptor's body. Known weapons carried include:
* nuclear missiles
* bombs/munitions pods
* quad racks of missiles
* multiple-tube rocket batteries mounted on the fuselage points
* external cannons
Defensive
The Raptor's contours provide it a reduced DRADIS signature to avoid detection. In addition, the craft carry an assortment of pods to aid in communications or defense as well as electronic countermeasures such as a jigger.
* Up to 6 decoy drones
* Up to 4 communication drones
* Up to 4 sets of flares
* Up to 4 chaff pods
Layout
The Raptor is an angular vehicle built for function, not aesthetics. The forward section consists of a flight cabin with side-by-side seats for the pilot and ECO, with a large bubble canopy providing wide fields of view both forward and side. The flight cabin opens into the main compartment where a workstation containing early warning, electronic countermeasures, and other equipment is manned by the ECO when not co-piloting the craft.
Access to the Raptor's main compartment is primarily through a large port-side hydraulic door, and a floor-mounted hatchway provides access through the deck. A pressurized docking skirt can also be extended from the underside, enabling the Raptor to dock to the hulls of other vessels. In assault missions, marines can use this skirt to breech a hull and board a hostile vessel.
Aft of the pressurized area are the FTL drive and main sublight engines. Port and starboard stub wings provide additional lift during atmospheric flight, and winglets reduce drag and provide step access to the wings and hull. RCS thrusters are placed throughout the craft for landing, maneuvering and stabilization
>> Battlestar Galactica
Galactica (BS 75) is a veteran battlestar and the last of her kind still in service with the Colonial Fleet at the time of the destruction of the Twelve Colonies. Built during the early days of the Cylon War, she remains the only military vessel without integrated computer networks. Without networked computers, Galactica never upgrades to the new integrated defense system software developed by Dr. Gaius Baltar and his team. Because of this and other factors, she becomes one of only two known battlestars (the other being Pegasus) to survive the renewed Cylon attack on the Twelve Colonies. At the time of this attack, she was part of the 75th Battlestar Group (BSG-75).
The Galactica type battlestar is a Colonial capital ship that combines the functions of aircraft carrier and a battleship.
Layout
The design common to Galactica and her sister ships can be broken down into two main sections: the main hull, and the twin flight pods.
Main hull
This comprises the bulk of a battlestar and can itself be divided into three sections:
The "alligator head" contains water storage tanks (Water) and the CIC.
The midships area contains the pod retraction mechanisms and crossways linking the hangar decks for the transfer of equipment and personnel (Miniseries).
The stern section contains sublight engines, FTL drives, etc. Four of the sublight engines are in engine pods, and two more are between the pods.
Flight pods
Flight Pods
The flight pods are mounted on either side of the hull and contain a battlestar's Vipers and Raptors. During normal operations, they are extended away from the main hull. During FTL jumps, the pods are retracted against the hull, concealing their open ends and making launches and landings impossible, not including Viper launching; however, this would prevent the return of those Vipers. Each pod comprises two main decks for flight operations: the upper landing bay, which extends the full length of the pod, and the lower launch bays, which provide some 40 launch tubes per pod.
Landing approaches are made from the stern. The preferred approach is a slow run into the landing bay, prior to making a vertical landing on a defined landing area (Act of Contrition). However, in emergencies, combat landings can be made, in which a craft approaches and lands at high speed on its landing skids (Miniseries).
The hangar deck is used for maintenance, repair, refueling, rearming, and launch operations and runs the length of the flight pod.
Specifications
Despite their massive size, battlestars are extremely maneuverable and can dock with space stations such as Ragnar Anchorage. Battlestars are not designed for atmospheric flight, although their hulls can manage a tenuous upper atmospheric storm like that surrounding the gas giant Ragnar and can survive a jump and subsequent freefall into the atmosphere of a habitable planet. A battlestar's FTL systems are capable of accurate jumps, able to place them in synchronous orbit above a relatively close planet and of placing them safely in the midst of an asteroid field, a dense fleet of ships (Scattered), or a planetary atmosphere.
Endurance
Battlestars are intended to operate for long periods without re-supplying. Their water purification capabilities alone are so efficient that, barring an emergency or unforeseen event, a battlestar can operate "for several years before replenishing". They also appear capable of undertaking large-scale repairs following battle damage. They have ammunition assembly capabilities in the armory and may have small general fabrication facilities. Vegetable stores and canned goods are kept in titanium lockers. Battlestars are capable of continuing combat operations despite suffering massive damage, as evidenced by Galactica's continuing effectiveness at defending the fleet years after the first Cylon attack and following several punishing engagements.
Computer systems
The original battlestar vessels deliberately avoided the use of networked primary computer systems during the Cylon War, as Cylon forces were adept at infiltrating and subverting such systems.
On Galactica, in the post-Cylon War era, these primary computers remained isolated by practice on order of its last pre-Holocaust commanding officer, William Adama. This no-networks practice saved Galactica from the fate of its sister battlestars in the Fall of the Twelve Colonies as Galactica's no-network order meant that the CNP, installed in almost all Colonial Fleet vessels at the time, could not be used aboard Galactica as the CNP was designed for use with a computer network.
In one dire instance in the early months of their exodus, Galactica networks its primary computers temporarily to aid in computation speeds for jump calculations needed to find the missing civilian Fleet, but it is not without consequence. One or more computers are cracked during a Cylon attack with a Cylon virus, which proves resistant to removal and (weeks later) threatens the operation of the battlestar until the computers' hard drives are erased and restored from pre-Fall backup sets.
Armament
* 24 large antiship gun turrets (mounting 2 guns apiece)
These are mounted on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the main hull and the ventral surface of the bow. The two guns on each turret fire in tandem. They have been shown to be quite effective against targets like basestars. These large guns are able to use both flak ammunition and high-explosive anti-capital ship shells. Additionally, the guns are able to engage in coordinated barrage strategies, such as salvo and volley fire.
* 514 smaller point-defense turrets (mounting 2 guns apiece)
These are mounted on the flight pods and other surfaces. Each barrel fires explosive rounds in bursts.
* Multiple nuclear warheads
Deployed from 12 launch tubes mounted in the main hull.
* At least 4 squadrons of 20 Viper space superiority fighters
Even the latest Mk. VII Vipers remain compatible with this class's launch and recovery facilities.
* Numerous Raptor multi-role vehicles
Crew
Galactica's crew complement prior to her scheduled decommissioning was approximately 2,800. This figure is almost certainly higher for a fully staffed, operational battlestar.
Life support
Approximately twelve oxygen recirculation units are mounted throughout the ship, which replenish oxygen as well as remove ("scrub") carbon dioxide from the air. These devices work continuously.
>> Propulsion
Sublight propulsion
Propulsion systems are powered by fuel refined from tylium ore. A ship's primary propulsion systems, referred to as "sublight engines", allow it to travel at a slight fraction of the speed of light, which is sufficient to traverse the distances between planets in a solar system in relatively short timeframes. Most ships in the series also have a secondary system, called a faster-than-light drive (or "FTL"), that enables a ship to travel interstellar distances almost instantaneously, by "folding up space" in between the ship and its destination. Since, under normal circumstances, a ship that has used its FTL drive cannot be followed without explicit information about its destination, this technology is used extensively in strategic and tactical manuevers.
Sublight propulsion is convenient for intra-solar system travel (such as to or from the planets that comprise the Twelve Colonies), but cannot be used for travel outside of a solar system as the time to arrive at a destination may exceed the fuel supply of the ship or the lifetime of the crew that fly the ship.
As many of the ships of the Fleet are capable of landing on and taking off from planets, (such as New Caprica) it is clear that sublight engines work in an atmosphere as well as in space. Galactica is never seen doing this, and its large mass might prohibit planetary landings altogether, but it employs sublight engines for normal spaceflight. Few of the ships appear to have extremely large propellant tanks as would be required for rocketry as it is presently understood, in spite of having aft-mounted thrusters. This may be explained by the very high energy density of tylium fuel. Smaller vessels are known to employ rocketry-based RCS thrusters for maneuvering and small course adjustments.
Vipers are equipped with a thrust reversal system to counteract or arrest their forward momentum. No such mechanism exists on capital ships, but such vessels might turn by 180° to decelerate.
Cylons baseships do not have any visible exhaust nozzles or other external structural mechanisms that suggest propulsion ability. It is possible that force fields of the artificial gravity generators are the source of the sublight propulsion.
Both Colonial and Cylon missiles used in combat appear to be rockets, leaving a trail of gas behind them.
The law of conservation of momentum requires that any propulsion system which adds momentum to a spacecraft or missile in one direction must equal the amount of momentum that is imparted in the opposite direction to something else, as in the example of the controlled combustion of rocket fuel creating thrust in the opposite direction of a ship's or missile's movement. Pegasus, for example, possesses two very large thrusters on the bow of the ship to counteract the force of the main engines. However, many other vessels don't appear to have such thrusters.
Faster-Than-Light travel
FTL is an abbreviation for Faster-Than-Light. The term refers to a means of interstellar propulsion utilized by the Cylons and the Colonials. A common shorthand term for FTL travel is "jumping", as this space-folding drive involves making instantaneous "jumps" across vast distances in space.
The FTL drive makes interstellar travel possible for both the Colonials and Cylons. No longer confined to their own home solar system, the Cylons managed to avoid Colonial interference for 40 years after the Cylon War and establish their own home-world. However, not all ships - from small to large - are outfitted with these drives.
The technology behind FTL systems is such that, providing the relevant data is known (how that data is acquired, for instance how ships can determine what obstacles are present at their destination, despite never having traveled there before, is not known) ships can jump with a high degree of accuracy, allowing ships to rendezvous in space and even "park" in a synchronous orbit directly above a given point on a planet's surface. Proper FTL use even enables vessels to arrive in crowded areas, such as the middle of an asteroid field or other ships, without the risk of collision and damage.
FTL drives on Galactica are said to be "spun up" in preparation for a jump, contain components such as the "spinner" and "spin-sync generator" and display a rotational and possibly electromagnetic operation.
FTL jump drives can be used within an atmosphere. This Colonial tactic is used often to evade Cylon detection.
An area of spatial distortion of some sort is also produced when a ship jumps. It is not clear how this distortion field, which seems to produce effects like a shock wave, also coincides with the known effect of a jump acting as a sort of vacuum, which instead of producing an outwards wave should pull the surrounding space into it. The two effects might occur consecutively, the vacuum effect left in the ship's wake, then the expelled shock wave, as hangar equipment in the flight pod is seen being pulled towards the vacuum before being expelled outwards.
Later, the Fleet's FTL drives are upgraded by the Rebel Cylons so they can now travel as far and as fast as a Cylon ship. Not all ships are apparently upgraded as for some reason, the Raptor Boomer steals lacks the upgraded drive.
Limitations of Colonial FTL
* The effectiveness of a Raptor's FTL is limited to brief, short-distance jumps. Raptors require a sequence of short consecutive FTL "hops" to reach the same destination as a Colonial capital ship with a full-sized FTL drive.
* Colonial FTL systems are prone to breakdown after repetitive use over an extended period of time.
* Colonial FTL systems appear to be a holdover from the Exodus from Kobol, and their current designs have been developed to meet the needs of jumping between the Twelve Colonies, and their outposts in other star systems. Colonial FTL capabilities are generally limited in effective range compared to Cylon FTL.
* Colonial FTL computers are prone to glitching, often jumping ships to the wrong coordinates .
* Navigators must be careful to plan FTL jump paths in order to keep a safe distance from planets or other large objects.
* "Spooling up" a Colonial FTL drive takes at least 20 minutes when the drive has been offline. Because of this, when ships enter dangerous situations, they keep their FTL drives "spun up". Drives cannot be kept spun up indefinitely, as system crashes or serious damage to the drive will occur. A "cooldown" time is required after a jump for new jump calculations, so a ship that has jumped into a new location cannot jump to another location for a brief period of time.
* Colonial capital ships (at least older ones of the Galactica type) require the flight pods to retract before a jump, prolonging jump prep time. Should the ship jump with extended pods, serious structural damage can occur.
Colonial FTL performance can be improved, demonstrated when a Raptor is successfully refitted by a team apparently led by Lieutenant Felix Gaeta with the navigational computer from a captured Heavy Raider and, with the cooperation of a Number Eight, is used to navigate a squadron of Raptors back to Caprica on a rescue mission to retrieve a group of resistance fighters. A massive distance that would have taken Galactica 241 jumps one way (~482 jumps total), the Raptor squadron does in only 20 (10 to Caprica, 10 back).
Colonial FTL computers can be affected by highly-charged sub-atomic particles, corrupting their calculations and possibly causing a jump beyond the Red Line, as in the case of Raptor 718.
The FTL drive apparently puts significant strain on a ship's structure.
FTL jumps can apparently induce nausea or discomfort in some people.
>> Viper
The Viper is the Colonial Fleet's primary space superiority fighter/attack craft.
Flight Regimes
The Viper is designed to operate in both space and atmospheric conditions.
In space flight, the Viper is highly maneuverable, dangerously so in inexperienced hands. Reaction control system (RCS) thrusters for rapid and flexible attitude control, a cluster of 3 main thrusters for high acceleration, and retractable reverse thrusters housed in both port and starboard cowlings for some degree of deceleration can subject the pilot to punishing g-forces. Its retractable landing struts can be magnetized to secure the Viper on metal decks and surfaces in zero gravity.
In atmospheric flight, Vipers consume more Tylium fuel than in the vacuum of space. Once in an atmosphere, the engines must run continuously to maintain sufficient airflow over the wing lifting surfaces. Depending on the composition of the atmosphere itself, this can place severe strain on the Viper's engines. In addition to greater fuel consumption, the high wing load (i.e. small wing area relative to weight) may compromise the Viper's overall maneuverability. Because the smaller wing surfaces generate less lift, higher speeds are needed to stay aloft. The fighter's RCS thrusters might partially compensate for this.
Life Support
Viper cockpits are pressurized and heated, and pilots wear flight suits which, along with a breathing pack housed within the back, provide full life support should ejection be required (You Can't Go Home Again). In atmospheric ejections, the seat jettisons automatically once clear of the Viper, exposing a parachute which is deployed at a safe altitude (Act of Contrition).
Because of the stamina required to operate Vipers, battlestars have a specialized weight room where the pilots maintain their physical conditioning.
Viper Mark II
Capable of atmospheric flight, the Viper Mark II is a single-seat craft possessing two kinetic energy weapons (KEWs). Hard-points beneath the wings allow missiles, munitions pods and other ordnance to be mounted.
The Viper Mark I entered Colonial service shortly before the outbreak of the Cylon War. However, it is this Mark II variant (designed specifically for use with the Colonial battlestars) that has garnered the most recognition. The fighter served with distinction throughout the Cylon War, proving to be a capable fighting vehicle and winning renown across the Twelve Colonies; the Mark II is regarded as instrumental in ensuring that the Colonials did not lose the original Cylon War.
The Mark II remained in service after the end of the conflict, but was subsequently superseded by newer models. At the time of the Cylon holocaust, the sleek Mark VII is the front-line variant of the Viper design. It retains the Mark II's general layout, but utilizes fully networked systems to provide superior battle management and combat information for the pilot.
Seemingly similar to the Cylon Raider in performance as well as weaponry, a Mark II is capable of holding its own against many times its number of Raiders in the hands of a seasoned pilot.
Armament
The Mark II's main weapon are two wing-mounted cannons. Additionally, it can be equipped with several missiles, carried under the fuselage.
Layout
The Mark II is a long, sleek vehicle with specialized features for space attacks, reconnaissance, and atmospheric flight.
The fore section comprises the nose back to the cockpit. Located there are the forward RCS systems for maneuvering the craft; the forward landing gear; the main avionics and sensor packages and the single-seat cockpit.
The stern comprises the main engines, numerous RCS maneuvering jets, fuel tanks, wings and vertical stabilizer. The wings themselves contain the kinetic energy weapons, their munitions storage and feeds. Mounting points beneath the wings allow missiles, munitions pods and other items to be rack-mounted.
The wing's roots contain the main landing gear, retracted during flight. The Mark II's shape is distinctive because of the offset "intakes" mounted just behind the cockpit. The port / starboard "intakes" incorporate small but powerful reverse thrust engines that can quickly counter a Viper's forward momentum in an emergency.
Performance
The Mark II can rotate 180 degrees vertically in .35 seconds. It accelerates at six to seven G's or 60 to 70 m/s²
>> Raptor
The Raptor is a vehicle utilized by the Colonial military. A versatile craft, it is designed to perform multiple roles, but the Raptor most commonly takes part in reconnaissance and scouting operations.
Overview
The Raptor is usually operated by a crew of two (one pilot and one ECO), has synthetic gravity on board, and is controlled by means of a fly-by-wire system. It is capable of atmospheric flight and is also equipped with a short-range FTL engine, allowing it to make short faster-than-light hops. Due to its size and shape, a Raptor is not launched from a battlestar's launch tube, rather, it deploys from the forward end of a flight pod. The vehicle has been a mainstay of the Colonial fleet for over 40 years, having entered service sometime prior to the twelfth year of the first Cylon War.
As a scout, Raptors can:
* Undertake short and medium-range scans to detect electromagnetic, heat or other signatures from other vessels
* Scan planetary surfaces for signs of life, energy output, or to locate and assess mineral deposits
* Scout ahead of its parent warship in other planetary or celestial systems for any signs of hostile intent or stellar conditions prior to the parent ship's arrival
* Undertake search & rescue operations after an engagement with Cylon forces.
When scouting, Raptors can operate independently, or in concert with other Raptors and Vipers.
As an ECM platform, the Raptor contains a full suite of electronic countermeasure and monitoring tools, enabling it to:
* Jam wireless or relay transmissions (by wireless or optically) from other spacecraft
* Scramble control signals used by guided weapons
* Undertake IFF operations for Viper squadrons
In addition to reconnaissance and scouting, the Raptor can also undertake the following roles:
* Airborne warning & control and electronic countermeasures platform supporting Viper operations
* Marine assault craft
* Ambulance / evac vehicle
* General purpose transport
* Combat Search and Rescue
* Secure communication with other vessels
In the transport role, a Raptor is capable of carrying around eight to ten adults in addition to the two-person crew. In the assault role, it can carry a squad of some eight equipped Marines.
Atmospheric Operations
The Raptor is designed for atmospheric as well as space-based operations. However, a critical element for atmospheric operations is that to remain airborne requires fuel: once in an atmosphere, the engines must be run constantly to maintain lift and to hover. Depending on the composition of the atmosphere itself, this can place severe strain on the Raptor's engines.
Due to their overall configuration and bulk, Raptors may also suffer from poor handling at low speeds, and rely heavily on directed thrust to remain airborne.
FTL Operations
A Raptor is able to make at least ten, and probably at least 20 FTL jumps before refueling as seen in. However, these Raptors had been carrying more than a typical amount of fuel for the longer missions.
Life Support
The main flight deck/cabin of a Raptor is fully pressurized. However, crews operate in flight suits and helmets to help protect them against any hull breach. The cabin can also be depressurized and used in space rescue operations. Re-pressurization takes 10 seconds. The forward pilot and co-pilot seats can eject in an emergency as the forward canopy is blown away prior to the ejection.
Propulsion
* 2x sublight engines mounted aft
* 1x small-scale FTL system
* RCS points
Armament
Offensive
Raptors are normally unarmed as they make for a poor general-purpose fighter. The craft have an internal weapons bay capable of holding both offensive and defensive weapons. They are also capable of carrying heavy external armaments on four wing hardpoints, two wingtip hardpoints, and two fuselage hardpoints on the sides of the Raptor's body. Known weapons carried include:
* nuclear missiles
* bombs/munitions pods
* quad racks of missiles
* multiple-tube rocket batteries mounted on the fuselage points
* external cannons
Defensive
The Raptor's contours provide it a reduced DRADIS signature to avoid detection. In addition, the craft carry an assortment of pods to aid in communications or defense as well as electronic countermeasures such as a jigger.
* Up to 6 decoy drones
* Up to 4 communication drones
* Up to 4 sets of flares
* Up to 4 chaff pods
Layout
The Raptor is an angular vehicle built for function, not aesthetics. The forward section consists of a flight cabin with side-by-side seats for the pilot and ECO, with a large bubble canopy providing wide fields of view both forward and side. The flight cabin opens into the main compartment where a workstation containing early warning, electronic countermeasures, and other equipment is manned by the ECO when not co-piloting the craft.
Access to the Raptor's main compartment is primarily through a large port-side hydraulic door, and a floor-mounted hatchway provides access through the deck. A pressurized docking skirt can also be extended from the underside, enabling the Raptor to dock to the hulls of other vessels. In assault missions, marines can use this skirt to breech a hull and board a hostile vessel.
Aft of the pressurized area are the FTL drive and main sublight engines. Port and starboard stub wings provide additional lift during atmospheric flight, and winglets reduce drag and provide step access to the wings and hull. RCS thrusters are placed throughout the craft for landing, maneuvering and stabilization
>> Battlestar Galactica
Galactica (BS 75) is a veteran battlestar and the last of her kind still in service with the Colonial Fleet at the time of the destruction of the Twelve Colonies. Built during the early days of the Cylon War, she remains the only military vessel without integrated computer networks. Without networked computers, Galactica never upgrades to the new integrated defense system software developed by Dr. Gaius Baltar and his team. Because of this and other factors, she becomes one of only two known battlestars (the other being Pegasus) to survive the renewed Cylon attack on the Twelve Colonies. At the time of this attack, she was part of the 75th Battlestar Group (BSG-75).
The Galactica type battlestar is a Colonial capital ship that combines the functions of aircraft carrier and a battleship.
Layout
The design common to Galactica and her sister ships can be broken down into two main sections: the main hull, and the twin flight pods.
Main hull
This comprises the bulk of a battlestar and can itself be divided into three sections:
The "alligator head" contains water storage tanks (Water) and the CIC.
The midships area contains the pod retraction mechanisms and crossways linking the hangar decks for the transfer of equipment and personnel (Miniseries).
The stern section contains sublight engines, FTL drives, etc. Four of the sublight engines are in engine pods, and two more are between the pods.
Flight pods
Flight Pods
The flight pods are mounted on either side of the hull and contain a battlestar's Vipers and Raptors. During normal operations, they are extended away from the main hull. During FTL jumps, the pods are retracted against the hull, concealing their open ends and making launches and landings impossible, not including Viper launching; however, this would prevent the return of those Vipers. Each pod comprises two main decks for flight operations: the upper landing bay, which extends the full length of the pod, and the lower launch bays, which provide some 40 launch tubes per pod.
Landing approaches are made from the stern. The preferred approach is a slow run into the landing bay, prior to making a vertical landing on a defined landing area (Act of Contrition). However, in emergencies, combat landings can be made, in which a craft approaches and lands at high speed on its landing skids (Miniseries).
The hangar deck is used for maintenance, repair, refueling, rearming, and launch operations and runs the length of the flight pod.
Specifications
Despite their massive size, battlestars are extremely maneuverable and can dock with space stations such as Ragnar Anchorage. Battlestars are not designed for atmospheric flight, although their hulls can manage a tenuous upper atmospheric storm like that surrounding the gas giant Ragnar and can survive a jump and subsequent freefall into the atmosphere of a habitable planet. A battlestar's FTL systems are capable of accurate jumps, able to place them in synchronous orbit above a relatively close planet and of placing them safely in the midst of an asteroid field, a dense fleet of ships (Scattered), or a planetary atmosphere.
Endurance
Battlestars are intended to operate for long periods without re-supplying. Their water purification capabilities alone are so efficient that, barring an emergency or unforeseen event, a battlestar can operate "for several years before replenishing". They also appear capable of undertaking large-scale repairs following battle damage. They have ammunition assembly capabilities in the armory and may have small general fabrication facilities. Vegetable stores and canned goods are kept in titanium lockers. Battlestars are capable of continuing combat operations despite suffering massive damage, as evidenced by Galactica's continuing effectiveness at defending the fleet years after the first Cylon attack and following several punishing engagements.
Computer systems
The original battlestar vessels deliberately avoided the use of networked primary computer systems during the Cylon War, as Cylon forces were adept at infiltrating and subverting such systems.
On Galactica, in the post-Cylon War era, these primary computers remained isolated by practice on order of its last pre-Holocaust commanding officer, William Adama. This no-networks practice saved Galactica from the fate of its sister battlestars in the Fall of the Twelve Colonies as Galactica's no-network order meant that the CNP, installed in almost all Colonial Fleet vessels at the time, could not be used aboard Galactica as the CNP was designed for use with a computer network.
In one dire instance in the early months of their exodus, Galactica networks its primary computers temporarily to aid in computation speeds for jump calculations needed to find the missing civilian Fleet, but it is not without consequence. One or more computers are cracked during a Cylon attack with a Cylon virus, which proves resistant to removal and (weeks later) threatens the operation of the battlestar until the computers' hard drives are erased and restored from pre-Fall backup sets.
Armament
* 24 large antiship gun turrets (mounting 2 guns apiece)
These are mounted on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the main hull and the ventral surface of the bow. The two guns on each turret fire in tandem. They have been shown to be quite effective against targets like basestars. These large guns are able to use both flak ammunition and high-explosive anti-capital ship shells. Additionally, the guns are able to engage in coordinated barrage strategies, such as salvo and volley fire.
* 514 smaller point-defense turrets (mounting 2 guns apiece)
These are mounted on the flight pods and other surfaces. Each barrel fires explosive rounds in bursts.
* Multiple nuclear warheads
Deployed from 12 launch tubes mounted in the main hull.
* At least 4 squadrons of 20 Viper space superiority fighters
Even the latest Mk. VII Vipers remain compatible with this class's launch and recovery facilities.
* Numerous Raptor multi-role vehicles
Crew
Galactica's crew complement prior to her scheduled decommissioning was approximately 2,800. This figure is almost certainly higher for a fully staffed, operational battlestar.
Life support
Approximately twelve oxygen recirculation units are mounted throughout the ship, which replenish oxygen as well as remove ("scrub") carbon dioxide from the air. These devices work continuously.
>> Propulsion
Sublight propulsion
Propulsion systems are powered by fuel refined from tylium ore. A ship's primary propulsion systems, referred to as "sublight engines", allow it to travel at a slight fraction of the speed of light, which is sufficient to traverse the distances between planets in a solar system in relatively short timeframes. Most ships in the series also have a secondary system, called a faster-than-light drive (or "FTL"), that enables a ship to travel interstellar distances almost instantaneously, by "folding up space" in between the ship and its destination. Since, under normal circumstances, a ship that has used its FTL drive cannot be followed without explicit information about its destination, this technology is used extensively in strategic and tactical manuevers.
Sublight propulsion is convenient for intra-solar system travel (such as to or from the planets that comprise the Twelve Colonies), but cannot be used for travel outside of a solar system as the time to arrive at a destination may exceed the fuel supply of the ship or the lifetime of the crew that fly the ship.
As many of the ships of the Fleet are capable of landing on and taking off from planets, (such as New Caprica) it is clear that sublight engines work in an atmosphere as well as in space. Galactica is never seen doing this, and its large mass might prohibit planetary landings altogether, but it employs sublight engines for normal spaceflight. Few of the ships appear to have extremely large propellant tanks as would be required for rocketry as it is presently understood, in spite of having aft-mounted thrusters. This may be explained by the very high energy density of tylium fuel. Smaller vessels are known to employ rocketry-based RCS thrusters for maneuvering and small course adjustments.
Vipers are equipped with a thrust reversal system to counteract or arrest their forward momentum. No such mechanism exists on capital ships, but such vessels might turn by 180° to decelerate.
Cylons baseships do not have any visible exhaust nozzles or other external structural mechanisms that suggest propulsion ability. It is possible that force fields of the artificial gravity generators are the source of the sublight propulsion.
Both Colonial and Cylon missiles used in combat appear to be rockets, leaving a trail of gas behind them.
The law of conservation of momentum requires that any propulsion system which adds momentum to a spacecraft or missile in one direction must equal the amount of momentum that is imparted in the opposite direction to something else, as in the example of the controlled combustion of rocket fuel creating thrust in the opposite direction of a ship's or missile's movement. Pegasus, for example, possesses two very large thrusters on the bow of the ship to counteract the force of the main engines. However, many other vessels don't appear to have such thrusters.
Faster-Than-Light travel
FTL is an abbreviation for Faster-Than-Light. The term refers to a means of interstellar propulsion utilized by the Cylons and the Colonials. A common shorthand term for FTL travel is "jumping", as this space-folding drive involves making instantaneous "jumps" across vast distances in space.
The FTL drive makes interstellar travel possible for both the Colonials and Cylons. No longer confined to their own home solar system, the Cylons managed to avoid Colonial interference for 40 years after the Cylon War and establish their own home-world. However, not all ships - from small to large - are outfitted with these drives.
The technology behind FTL systems is such that, providing the relevant data is known (how that data is acquired, for instance how ships can determine what obstacles are present at their destination, despite never having traveled there before, is not known) ships can jump with a high degree of accuracy, allowing ships to rendezvous in space and even "park" in a synchronous orbit directly above a given point on a planet's surface. Proper FTL use even enables vessels to arrive in crowded areas, such as the middle of an asteroid field or other ships, without the risk of collision and damage.
FTL drives on Galactica are said to be "spun up" in preparation for a jump, contain components such as the "spinner" and "spin-sync generator" and display a rotational and possibly electromagnetic operation.
FTL jump drives can be used within an atmosphere. This Colonial tactic is used often to evade Cylon detection.
An area of spatial distortion of some sort is also produced when a ship jumps. It is not clear how this distortion field, which seems to produce effects like a shock wave, also coincides with the known effect of a jump acting as a sort of vacuum, which instead of producing an outwards wave should pull the surrounding space into it. The two effects might occur consecutively, the vacuum effect left in the ship's wake, then the expelled shock wave, as hangar equipment in the flight pod is seen being pulled towards the vacuum before being expelled outwards.
Later, the Fleet's FTL drives are upgraded by the Rebel Cylons so they can now travel as far and as fast as a Cylon ship. Not all ships are apparently upgraded as for some reason, the Raptor Boomer steals lacks the upgraded drive.
Limitations of Colonial FTL
* The effectiveness of a Raptor's FTL is limited to brief, short-distance jumps. Raptors require a sequence of short consecutive FTL "hops" to reach the same destination as a Colonial capital ship with a full-sized FTL drive.
* Colonial FTL systems are prone to breakdown after repetitive use over an extended period of time.
* Colonial FTL systems appear to be a holdover from the Exodus from Kobol, and their current designs have been developed to meet the needs of jumping between the Twelve Colonies, and their outposts in other star systems. Colonial FTL capabilities are generally limited in effective range compared to Cylon FTL.
* Colonial FTL computers are prone to glitching, often jumping ships to the wrong coordinates .
* Navigators must be careful to plan FTL jump paths in order to keep a safe distance from planets or other large objects.
* "Spooling up" a Colonial FTL drive takes at least 20 minutes when the drive has been offline. Because of this, when ships enter dangerous situations, they keep their FTL drives "spun up". Drives cannot be kept spun up indefinitely, as system crashes or serious damage to the drive will occur. A "cooldown" time is required after a jump for new jump calculations, so a ship that has jumped into a new location cannot jump to another location for a brief period of time.
* Colonial capital ships (at least older ones of the Galactica type) require the flight pods to retract before a jump, prolonging jump prep time. Should the ship jump with extended pods, serious structural damage can occur.
Colonial FTL performance can be improved, demonstrated when a Raptor is successfully refitted by a team apparently led by Lieutenant Felix Gaeta with the navigational computer from a captured Heavy Raider and, with the cooperation of a Number Eight, is used to navigate a squadron of Raptors back to Caprica on a rescue mission to retrieve a group of resistance fighters. A massive distance that would have taken Galactica 241 jumps one way (~482 jumps total), the Raptor squadron does in only 20 (10 to Caprica, 10 back).
Colonial FTL computers can be affected by highly-charged sub-atomic particles, corrupting their calculations and possibly causing a jump beyond the Red Line, as in the case of Raptor 718.
The FTL drive apparently puts significant strain on a ship's structure.
FTL jumps can apparently induce nausea or discomfort in some people.