Editing Launch bay

[[File:Galactica launch bay 01.jpg|thumb|right|Landing Bay Alpha.]]
:''This article discusses the fighter launch platforms of the [[Original Series]] [[Battlestar (TOS)|battlestars]]. For information about similar facilities on [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|Re-imagined Series]] battlestars, see [[launch tubes (RDM)]], [[landing bay]] and [[flight pod]].''

The '''launch bay''' is a place from where a Colonial [[battlestar (TOS)|battlestar]] launches its {{TOS|Viper}}s and other spacecraft.
[[File:Galactica launch bay 04.jpg|thumb|right|Laser turrets.]]
Battlestars have two launch bays enclosed within two quasi-cylindrical nacelles located port and starboard of the ship. One of the bays is known as "launch bay alpha" {{OS|Lost Planet of the Gods, Part I}}.
The launch bays are directly adjacent to 16 [[launch tubes (TOS)|launch tubes]] each, which are slanted towards the battlestar's aft. Designed solely for Viper craft, each of the sixteen launch tubes has a track in the launch bay where the Viper sits. An elevator provides access to the launch bay ("[[Saga of a Star World]]," "[[Lost Planet of the Gods, Part I]]").
In addition, a [[rapid transport trolley]] permits fast transportation from the pilots' quarters to the launch tubes when the ship goes on red alert {{OS|Saga of a Star World}}.
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== Related Images ==
<gallery mode="slideshow">
File:SOSW - Starbuck and Cassiopeia in the Launch Bay.png|View of the rear area of a launch bay {{OS|Saga of a Star World}}.
Image:Launchbaysalert.jpg|Maintenance crew complete their in the launch bay before Vipers launch {{OS|Saga of a Star World}}.
Image:Galactica launch bay 02.jpg|Final Approach
Image:Galactica launch bay 03.jpg|Silent Service
</gallery>

== Notes ==

* Presumably, the second launch bay is called "launch bay beta," though there is no dialogue that supports this.
* ''According to ''[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]'', a non-canonical piece of merchandise published in 1979:'' 
: Along with the [[bachelor officer's quarters]], the launch bay (incorrectly referred to as the "ready-room") is "bathed in red light so that the pilot's eyes will be ready for the darkness of space" during a red alert.<ref>{{cite_book|last=Kraus|first=Bruce|authorlink=|authorlinkurl=|coauthors=|year=1979|title=[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]|publisher=|location=|id=|pages=19}}</ref>
* This area is roughly equivalent to the [[hangar deck]] on ''Re-Imagined Series'' battlestars.

== References ==

{{reflist}}

== External links ==

* {{archivelink|url=http://geocities.ws/sjpaxton/newpage21.html#launch|title=Official Universal blueprints of the launch bay and corresponding launch tube, complete with legend.|live=no}} 

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