Galactica type battlestar

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Galactica type battlestar
Race	Colonial
Type	Military
FTL	Yes (at least 2 drives[1])
Propulsion	6 sublight engines (4 in outboard engine pods, 2 on main hull between engine pods), 40 maneuvering engines (in 10 clusters of 4)[2]
Crew	5,000
Capacity
CO	{{{co}}}
XO	{{{xo}}}
Role	Capital battleship/carrier
Weapons	Primary and point-defense Kinetic Energy Weapons, conventional missiles, nuclear warheads, Vipers, Raptors
Armaments	{{{arm}}}
Status	All known ships destroyed
Other Images	More images...
Dimensions
Length	4720 feet (1438.64m)[3]
Width	1762 feet (536.84m)[4]
Height	602 feet (183.32m)
Weight	{{{weight}}}
Wingspan	{{{wingspan}}}
Other	The dimensions above are from Lee Stringer, who built the Galactica CG model. VFX Sequence Designer Adam "Mojo" Lebowitz gave the length as 4740 feet (1444.8m).[5] The reason for this twenty-foot discrepancy is unknown.

This article discusses the Re-imagined Series battlestar class. For other meanings of Galactica, see Galactica (disambiguation).

The Galactica type battlestar^[6] is a Colonial capital ship that combines the functions of an aircraft carrier and a battleship ^[7]. It was designed and deployed after the outbreak of hostilities between the Cylons and Colonials. A few ships of this class remain in service over 40 years after the end of the Cylon War; however, most were retired.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Layout 2.1 Main hull 2.2 Flight pods 2.3 Orthographics 3 Specifications 3.1 Propulsion 3.2 Endurance 3.3 Computer systems 3.4 Armament 3.5 Crew 3.6 Life support 4 Ships of the Line 5 Notes 6 References

Overview

The class was designed and deployed by the Colonial Fleet in the early days of the First Cylon War, quite possibly as part of the Articles of Colonization, with 12 ships initially being built by, and representing, each of the Colonies (Miniseries). They included: Galactica, Columbia, Athena, and Archeron. They formed the lead ships of Cylon War era Battlestar Groups, and were represented in almost every major engagement of the War.

The original battlestars were space-going leviathans of more than 4700 feet (1400 meters) in length, designed to tackle the Cylon threat head on. They featured powerful gun batteries that ran up the center of the hull, numerous point defense turrets, and many missile silos, but their main show of force came from the multiple Viper stacks housed in the flight pods, which held up to a thousand Vipers. Initially, these stacks ran multiple stories, but were removed as the war died down (TRS: Blood and Chrome, Razor Flashbacks).

Unfortunately, the class didn't hold up well to the Cylon threat, with only the Galactica, Athena, and a third unnamed ship surviving the war. ^[8] Despite this, newer Galactica type ships were built, with newer technologies, which still remained in service at the time of the Fall of the Colonies. However, Galactica was never upgraded, and remained in its Cylon War outfit at the time of its retirement 40 years after the war. ^[9]

Eventually, the class is phased out in favor of the smaller Valkyrie type battlestars, and the newer Mercury class battlestars, however was inadvertently survived by the Galactica for nearly 5 years after the Fall of the Colonies.

Layout

The design common to Galactica and its 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 fore section: Also known as the "alligator head", contains much of the living and crew areas, including the CIC, War Room, Observation deck, Pilot's rec room, Sickbay, crew quarters, comfort facilities, and numerous airlocks. This section also includes the main water tanks, and water transfer hatches.

• The mid section: Contains the main flight decks, flight pod retraction mechanisms, and service areas for the transfer of planes and pilots from flight pod, to flight pod. This section also houses the main gun batteries, missile launch tubes and support systems, and corresponding ammunition stores (Miniseries).

• The stern section: Contains the ship's engine pods, FTL drives, and engineering facilities needed to maintain the ship's propulsion.

Flight pods

Main article: Flight pod

The flight pods serve as the most critical feature of the battlestar. They are designed to launch and retrieve support ships such as Vipers and Raptors, as well as various other support craft such as Thera Sita, and even Colonial One. The pods on the Galactica type are designed to retract into the main body of the ship, primarily for FTL operations, and support ship transfers. Under normal operations, the pods are expanded out to provide a safe landing and support area for the ship's CAP. The pods also feature airlocks that can be used to dock the entire battlestar to a station or drydock for the safe transfer of personnel and equipment.

Each flight 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. The hangar deck, located under the landing bay, is used for maintenance, repair, refueling, rearming, and launch operations and runs the length of the flight 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).

Orthographics

Top and bottom of Galactica.

Front, back, and side of Galactica.

Size comparison to Nimitz.

Specifications

Propulsion

Main article: Propulsion in the Re-imagined Series

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 (Miniseries) and can survive a jump and subsequent freefall into the atmosphere of a habitable planet (Exodus, Part II). 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 (The Hand of God), a dense fleet of ships (Scattered), or a planetary atmosphere. However, they are grossly inferior to Cylon systems in terms of safe range (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I).

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" (Water). They also appear capable of undertaking large-scale repairs following battle damage (Miniseries, "Water"). They have ammunition assembly capabilities in the armory (Epiphanies) and may have small general fabrication facilities (Litmus). Vegetable stores and canned goods are kept in titanium lockers (Final Cut). 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 (He That Believeth In Me).

Computer systems

Main article: Computers in the Re-imagined Series

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 (Miniseries).

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 (Scattered), 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 (Flight of the Phoenix).

Armament

Main article: Weapons in the Re-imagined Series

• 24 or 40+ depending on configuration (First Cylon War (Blood and Chrome)) large antiship gun turrets (mounting 2 guns apiece) ^[10]

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 (Resurrection Ship, Part II). 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 presumably, volley) fire.

• 514 smaller point-defense turrets (mounting 2 guns apiece) ^[11]

These are mounted on the flight pods and other surfaces. Each barrel fires explosive rounds in bursts.

• Multiple nuclear warheads ^[12]

Deployed from 12 launch tubes mounted in the dorsal main hull (The Eye of Jupiter).

• Numerous Viper space superiority fighters ^[13]

Even the latest Mk. VII Vipers remain compatible with this class's launch and recovery facilities.

• Numerous Raptor multi-role vehicles ^[14]

Crew

During the First Cylon War, the Galactica type line of battlestars housed at least 5,000 crew and staff members on a fully operational ship, with many of these being support personnel such as Viper pilots, and Viper technicians. That number is drastically reduced following the Armistice, with many mustering out of service, and advancements in technology eliminating the need for certain service positions (for example, manned gun batteries). By the Fall of the Colonies, these and the newer Mercury class flagships, have a crew of no more than 2,500 to 3,000 people. In Galactica's case, it is suggested the ship is understaffed due to its decommissioning; however, the crew is still able to operate the battlestar, even in a time of war, with little to no loss of function ^[15].

Life support

Approximately twelve oxygen recirculation units are mounted throughout the ships of this class, which replenish oxygen as well as remove ("scrub") carbon dioxide from the air. These devices work continuously (Final Cut).

Ships of the Line

battlestar Archeron

battlestar Athena

battlestar Columbia

battlestar Galactica

Unnamed

Notes

• In the 10th chapter of The Science of Battlestar Galactica, Galactica is refered to as a Jupiter-class battlestar by the VFX artist who designed her.

References