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Launch tube (TRS): Difference between revisions

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: ''This article covers the [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|Re-Imagined Series]] launch tubes. For their [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original Series]] counterpart, see [[Launch tube (TOS)]].''
{{disline|This article covers the [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|Re-Imagined Series]] launch tubes. For their {{TOS|Battlestar Galactica|Original Series}} counterpart, see [[Launch tube (TOS)]].}}




[[Image:1104Tube Mini.JPG|thumb|right|[[Viper 1104]] in the tube, ready to launch ([[Miniseries]]).]]
<br/>[[Image:1104Tube Mini.JPG|thumb|right|A vintage Viper Mark II prepares for launch inside a launch tube]]


'''Launch tubes''' are extensively used on [[Battlestar (RDM)|battlestar]]s as a means of launching [[Viper (RDM)|Vipers]] and [[Blackbird|other similar craft]].
'''Launch tubes''' are specially designed airlocks used to quickly catapult {{RDM|Viper}}s and [[Blackbird|other similar craft]] from their parent vessel and into space.


A [[Galactica type battlestar]] has a total of 80 launch tubes, forty per [[flight pod]] {{citation needed}}. The launch tubes fit one Viper at a time and are each controlled by a launch supervisor, who are in turn managed by the [[Landing Signal Officer]]. The launch supervisor can observe the tubes from a control booth with a wide view port. After running the preliminary checks on the Viper, the launch supervisor presses the launch button and a magnetic catapult throws the Viper out at great speed.  
=== Design and Operations ===
[[Image:Launch Tube w Viper.png|thumb|left|A Viper is accelerated down a tube during launch]]
Launch tubes are about 170 feet in length {{TRS|The Plan}}, and are triangular in design, built specifically for Colonial Vipers. They utilize magcelerators, or "mag cats" for short, that attach to a Viper's forward landing strut, which use magnetic fields to propel a Viper down the tube and into space. By using external energy instead of the Viper's own boosters, this process preserves the Viper's crucial fuel supply, which allows the pilot to stay in combat longer. Each launch tube is watched over by a launch supervisor who determines if a Viper is ready to be launched, and if a problem arises, calls the launch off, has the Viper pulled from the tube, and closes the air tight doors {{TRS|Miniseries}}. If the Viper is cleared for launch, the supervisor presses a button, which releases the mag cat, and the Viper is thrown down the tube into space.


The following quote depicts the standard launch sequence (in this case for a launch of the [[Blackbird]]):
{{clear}}
=== Launch Procedure ===
[[Image:Screenshot (99).png|thumb|right|A launch computer signals an active tube]]
After Vipers are moved into the airlock by ship's deckhands, the blast doors are sealed, and the pilot begins working down their pre-flight checklist, as follows:


:'''[[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]]''': Instruments... in the green. Fuel pressure... nominal.<br />
1. Pre Flight
:'''[[Dualla]]''': [[Lee Adama|Apollo]], Starbuck. Blackbird flight is cleared for launch.<br />
:'''Starbuck''': Run-up.<br />
:'''[[Aaron Kelly]]''': Maglock secure, initiate launch sequence.<br />
:'''Starbuck''': Oh, don't blow up o­n me, you bastard.<br />
:'''Kelly''': You are clear for launch.<br />
:'''Dualla''': Blackbird is away.<br />
::--''[[Flight of the Phoenix]]''


[[Image:MkVIIlaunch Scar.JPG|thumb|left| Viper Mk VII launching ([[Scar]])]]
External Inspection..................................... Okay<br/> Flight Controls............................................ Okay<br/> Tanks Filled and Sealed............................... Okay<br/> Canopy Locks/ Explosive Bolts To Safe......... Okay<br/> Seat Motors To Safe.................................... Okay<br/> Weapons To Safe........................................ <span style="background-color:#ff0000">Okay</span>
The launch tubes are separated from the [[hangar deck]] by large airtight metal doors. When these doors close after the ship is in the tube, the doors at the end of the tube open, allowing the tube to open up into space. Ships are returned to the hangar deck from the [[landing bay]] via elevators.


[[Alert Fighters]] are kept in the tubes at all times just in case a threat appears and the [[Combat Air Patrol|CAP]] cannot reach it in time or require reinforcements.
2. Start Check


The launch tubes are also used to allow the dead a military space funeral when there is no earth in which to bury them ("[[Act of Contrition]]", "[[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]").
Area.......................................................... <span style="background-color:#ff0000">Clear</span><br/> Comms...................................................... UP<br/> Tacan/TacNav............................................. UP<br/> Canopy Locked.......................................... Armed<br/> Escape Pod................................................ Armed<br/> Engine Spool Up (Three Greens).................. <span style="color:#00ff00">Check 3 Greens</span><br/> Weapons To Arm........................................ <span style="background-color:#ff0000">Master Safety To Active</span>


==Battlestar ''Galactica''==
3. Launch Tube Check
On ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'' only the port launch tubes are operational. The starboard hangar deck was converted into a gift shop to go with the planned museum in the starboard landing bay prior to the [[Cylon Attack|destruction of the Twelve Colonies]]. However, the starboard landing bay is depressurized due to the crashlanding of a Cylon [[Heavy Raider]] through the windowed enclosure when ''Galactica'' holds off a Cylon force while attempting to recalculate the coordinates of [[The Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]] ([[Scattered]]).


Following humanity's [[exodus]] from [[New Caprica]], the launch tubes are used as impromptu courtrooms by the [[Circle]], a group commissioned by President [[Tom Zarek]] to try, convict and sentence humans who collaborated with the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]] during their occupation of New Caprica. The Circle would execute convicted collaborators by depressurizing the launch tubes and venting the convicts to space ([[Collaborators]]). [[Cally Tyrol]] later uses a launch tube to kill herself and her son Nicholas, but is stopped by [[Tory Foster]], who takes Nicholas only to space Tyrol herself ([[The Ties That Bind]]).
Area.......................................................... <span style="background-color:#ff0000">Clear</span><br/> Blast Doors................................................ Open<br/> Heads Up Display........................................ On<br/> Tag/Nav..................................................... <span style="background-color:#3366ff">To Active</span><br/> Flaps......................................................... 15 Degree Down Angle<br/> Engines..................................................... 85%<br/> Assume Launch Position.............................. Okay<br/> LSO Launch Signal...................................... Okay<br/> Master Condition Cold Shot Warning............. <span style="background-color:#ff0000">Set</span>


After this list is cleared, the launch supervisor checks and clears the Viper's vitals, then communicates to the pilot that the launch is about to occur. An example of this would be: "Viper three-zero-two-one/''[[Yashuman]]'', clear forward, nav-con green, interval check, thrust positive and steady. Mag-cat engaged. Good hunting." After which, the Viper is launched, and the process begins anew when another Viper is loaded for launch.
{{clear}}
===Alert Fighters===
If the parent vessel faces a combat situation, [[alert fighters]] are placed in the tubes, powered up, ready and awaiting for launch at a moments notice. They are meant to provide immediate backup for the [[Combat Air Patrol|combat air patrol]] should an enemy appear, while the remaining Vipers are prepared and cleared for launch. 
{{clear}}
===Other Uses===
[[Image:Screenshot (103).png|thumb|left|''Galactica'' deckhand James "Jammer" Lyman is executed by [[the Circle]]]]
While the primary intent of the tubes are to launch Vipers, they have been used for other purposes, including burial in space following a memorial for the deceased {{TRS|Act of Contrition|Resurrection Ship, Part II}}, and infamously as a form of execution {{TRS|The Plan|Collaborators|The Ties That Bind}}.
Following Admiral [[William Adama]]'s plans to abandon ''Galactica'', the Colonials plan to scrap the mag cats in the launch tubes and re-purpose them as auto loaders in the [[The Fleet (RDM)|civilian Fleet]]. However, Specialist [[Dealino]] expresses the thought that removing them was akin to "tearing the old girl's guts out." [[Lee Adama]] agreed, and assures him that they would be the last pieces removed before leaving the battlestar behind permanently {{TRS|Daybreak, Part I}}.
{{clear}}
== See Also ==
== See Also ==
* [[flight pod]]
 
* [[landing bay]]
*[[Flight pod]]
* [[hangar deck]]
*[[Landing bay]]
*[[Hangar deck]]


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
* "[[Final Cut]]" is a rare episode in which the camera actually follows Vipers as they are wheeled from the middle of the hangar deck and loaded into launch tubes, then take off. 
* Sets for the launch tube are modified and reused for the [[airlock]] set seen in "[[A Day in the Life]]", as denoted by the doors and control station which [[Diana Seelix|Seelix]] mans in this episode. "[[Final Cut]]" also sees the control room set reused for the flight pod control during Kat's crash landing.
* At least the launch tubes and airlocks on ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'' are not fully integrated into the internal security system. While they can be remote controlled from [[Aft Damage Control]], there is no alarm when they are used locally ("[[Valley of Darkness]]", "[[Collaborators]]", "[[A Day in the Life]]", "[[The Ties That Bind]]"). This is different on ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'', where the airlocks are integrated into the internal security system ([[Razor]]).


[[Category:A to Z]]
*"[[Final Cut]]" is a rare episode in which the camera actually follows Vipers as they are wheeled from the middle of the hangar deck and loaded into launch tubes, then take off.
*Sets for the launch tube are modified and reused for the [[airlock]] set seen in "[[A Day in the Life]]," as denoted by the doors and control station which [[Diana Seelix]] mans in this episode. "[[Final Cut]]" also sees the control room set reused for the flight pod control during [[Louanne Katraine]]'s crash landing.
*The launch tubes and airlocks on ''Galactica'' are not fully integrated into the internal security system. While they can be remotely controlled from [[aft damage control]], there is no alarm when they are used locally {{TRS|Valley of Darkness|Collaborators|A Day in the Life|The Ties That Bind}}. This is different on ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'', where the airlocks are integrated into the internal security system {{TRS|Razor}}.
 
[[Category:A to Z]]  
[[Category:Galactica Areas]]
[[Category:Galactica Areas]]
[[Category:Galactica Areas (RDM)]]
[[Category:Galactica Areas (RDM)]]
[[Category:Terminology]]
[[Category:Terminology]]
[[Category:Terminology (RDM)]]
[[Category:Terminology (RDM)|Terminology_(RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]
[[Category:RDM]]
[[de:Startröhre (RDM)]]

Latest revision as of 04:25, 22 February 2024



A vintage Viper Mark II prepares for launch inside a launch tube

Launch tubes are specially designed airlocks used to quickly catapult Vipers and other similar craft from their parent vessel and into space.

Design and Operations

A Viper is accelerated down a tube during launch

Launch tubes are about 170 feet in length (TRS: "The Plan"), and are triangular in design, built specifically for Colonial Vipers. They utilize magcelerators, or "mag cats" for short, that attach to a Viper's forward landing strut, which use magnetic fields to propel a Viper down the tube and into space. By using external energy instead of the Viper's own boosters, this process preserves the Viper's crucial fuel supply, which allows the pilot to stay in combat longer. Each launch tube is watched over by a launch supervisor who determines if a Viper is ready to be launched, and if a problem arises, calls the launch off, has the Viper pulled from the tube, and closes the air tight doors (TRS: "Miniseries"). If the Viper is cleared for launch, the supervisor presses a button, which releases the mag cat, and the Viper is thrown down the tube into space.

Launch Procedure

A launch computer signals an active tube

After Vipers are moved into the airlock by ship's deckhands, the blast doors are sealed, and the pilot begins working down their pre-flight checklist, as follows:

1. Pre Flight

External Inspection..................................... Okay
Flight Controls............................................ Okay
Tanks Filled and Sealed............................... Okay
Canopy Locks/ Explosive Bolts To Safe......... Okay
Seat Motors To Safe.................................... Okay
Weapons To Safe........................................ Okay

2. Start Check

Area.......................................................... Clear
Comms...................................................... UP
Tacan/TacNav............................................. UP
Canopy Locked.......................................... Armed
Escape Pod................................................ Armed
Engine Spool Up (Three Greens).................. Check 3 Greens
Weapons To Arm........................................ Master Safety To Active

3. Launch Tube Check

Area.......................................................... Clear
Blast Doors................................................ Open
Heads Up Display........................................ On
Tag/Nav..................................................... To Active
Flaps......................................................... 15 Degree Down Angle
Engines..................................................... 85%
Assume Launch Position.............................. Okay
LSO Launch Signal...................................... Okay
Master Condition Cold Shot Warning............. Set

After this list is cleared, the launch supervisor checks and clears the Viper's vitals, then communicates to the pilot that the launch is about to occur. An example of this would be: "Viper three-zero-two-one/Yashuman, clear forward, nav-con green, interval check, thrust positive and steady. Mag-cat engaged. Good hunting." After which, the Viper is launched, and the process begins anew when another Viper is loaded for launch.

Alert Fighters

If the parent vessel faces a combat situation, alert fighters are placed in the tubes, powered up, ready and awaiting for launch at a moments notice. They are meant to provide immediate backup for the combat air patrol should an enemy appear, while the remaining Vipers are prepared and cleared for launch.

Other Uses

Galactica deckhand James "Jammer" Lyman is executed by the Circle

While the primary intent of the tubes are to launch Vipers, they have been used for other purposes, including burial in space following a memorial for the deceased (TRS: "Act of Contrition", "Resurrection Ship, Part II"), and infamously as a form of execution (TRS: "The Plan", "Collaborators", "The Ties That Bind").

Following Admiral William Adama's plans to abandon Galactica, the Colonials plan to scrap the mag cats in the launch tubes and re-purpose them as auto loaders in the civilian Fleet. However, Specialist Dealino expresses the thought that removing them was akin to "tearing the old girl's guts out." Lee Adama agreed, and assures him that they would be the last pieces removed before leaving the battlestar behind permanently (TRS: "Daybreak, Part I").

See Also

Notes