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According to Robber in his conversation with Starbuck, the Frodo system has some "nasty buggers there," and he alleges that "the pirate" came from there (TOS: "The Long Patrol").
Notes
The existance of the Frodo system is debatable, as it may very well be a fabrication by Robber.
Frodo is a Latinized version of Fróði, the name of various Danish kings.
The Krillian Star System is a portion of space originally held by the Delphian Empire prior to the Battle of Cimtar that devastated the Twelve Colonies.
This star system contains one known planet, Gamoray, which was slated to become an "outer capitol" for the Cylon Empire. This is also the star system that Pegasus stayed within, attacking the Cylon occupied planet to obtain fuel and needed supplies (TOS: "The Living Legend, Part I").
A full spectrum image analysis of the system is on a light panel in the Situation Room during this engagement (TRS: "The Hand of God").
Notes
Given the presence of other data in the room regarding the tylium asteroid, it is logically assumed that the battle takes place in this system, barring a FUBAR on the part of Galactica's crew.
Also the possible presence of the mandala can be seen on the chart though not in its fullest detail. Despite this, however, its presence is more than likely unintentional.
Technologies such as computers have been mostly bane and less of a blessing to the Colonials of the Twelve Colonies, despite the obvious conveniences that technology brings. It was computer technology that led to the creation of the Cylons for household to warfare use. These intelligent machines rebelled. To counter their creation's ability to hack into computers, the Colonial defenses, particularly the first battlestars, used computers but did not network them to all but eliminate Cylon infiltration.
Over 40 years after that first Cylon War and with the Cylons apparently long gone, the Colonials slowly returned to technological conveniences. When the Cylons began planning a second war against the Colonials, they chose to infiltrate the Colonial military through yet another program installed throughout fighters and battlestars that was designed to add more convenience: the Command Navigation Program. This program, thanks to Cylon agents disguised as humans who infiltrated Colonial life and sought out people who had access to Colonial computer defense technologies, contained a "backdoor" that allow the Cylon forces to damage or disable any Colonial vessel with this program. Only non-networked ships (such as most civilian ships or Galactica herself) or those with comparatively primitive computers (such as the Viper Mark II) are all-but-immune to the new Cylon menace.
As he tours Galactica, Doral comments that her computers "hardly deserve the name" (TRS: "Miniseries, Night 1"). Ronald Moore has stated that the computers are actually less powerful than those of contemporary Earth [1].
Not much is known of this system other than its existence and the roles they played in the destruction of the Twelve Colonies. This central computer housed key Colonial Fleet logistical information, such as fleet deployment and tactical plans, and was the central system used by Gaius Baltar to create and distribute the Command Navigation Program to all advanced ships and fighters in the Colonial Fleet (TRS: "Miniseries"). Tampering with the mainframe was considered treason and was punishable by death. It was located within the Ministry of Defense on Caprica (TRS: "Six Degrees of Separation"), since Number Six produced credible-looking footage showing Baltar attaching a bomb to it.
Lee "Apollo" Adama performed simulations of Cylon attacks in War College to test Colonial defense tactics. One such defense involves the use of EMP devices to fool Cylon forces into believing a nuclear device detonated where no explosion took place. Adama successfully used the electric pulse generators that were offloaded onto Colonial Heavy 798 from Galactica to successfully fool two Cylon Raiders into concluding that their nuclear missile attack on Colonial Heavy 798 was successful, while also disabling the warheads of the missiles aimed at the starliner. Adama was amused that this trick actually worked in reality, for in the War College simulations the Cylons were not fooled and destroyed the Colonial targets anyway (TRS: "Miniseries").
Viper Flight Simulators
Galactica loses many pilots to Cylon attack or accident in the first weeks of exodus from the Colonies. Lieutenant Kara "Starbuck" Thrace is ordered to become flight instructor to train nuggets as new pilots. Normally, pilots are trained on simulators, presumably on one of the Colonies or a more advanced battlestar, which used complex computers to immerse a trainee into the feel of Viper combat. Unfortunately, Galactica does not have simulators aboard, so Thrace teaches the new pilots using actual Vipers (TRS: "Act of Contrition"). Months later, the advanced battlestarPegasus joins the Fleet. The modern resources of this battlestar include flight simulators. Rookie pilots BB and Jo-Jo arrive on Galactica to begin their tour after training with these simulators on Pegasus(TRS: "Scar").
In preparation for converting Galactica into a museum and education center, then-Secretary of Education Laura Roslin pleads unsuccessfully to then-Commander William Adama to allow installation of a network for personal computers to be used for teaching and information by students and visitors (TRS: "Miniseries").
Terrorist Sesha Abinell uses a personal laptop computer[2] in her quarters as she compiles and gathers information on Cylon and Colonial conspiracy theories (TRS: "Sacrifice").
Network administrator Gina Inviere uses a tablet personal computer in her work upgrading Pegasus's computers. Like the other computers on Pegasus, the tablet computer accepts inputs via a touchscreen (TRS: "Razor"). Galactica also has older versions of these tablet personal computers, as Felix Gaeta uses one to diagnose the problem with Anastasia Dualla's workstation in CIC (TRS: "Flight of the Phoenix").
Standalone computers are also present in sickbay and Dr. Baltar's laboratory.
The New Caprica Resistance has a computer in its underground tunnels, which is used to communicate with Raptors dispatched by Galactica ("Occupation," "Precipice").
Data discs
Shelly Godfrey's data disc.The case with data discs received by Gaeta.
Data discs[3] are used to transfer amounts of data between separate computers.
In the extended version of "Pegasus," Lieutenant Gaeta receives a copy of Pegasus's digital library on such dics. The case also contains a spindle of round discs.
Portable library readers are more like an hand-held electronic dictionary or encyclopedia. They can likely synchronize data from a personal computer.
Basestar Computers
The Cylon are a cybernetic race. As such, everything is computer-based by nature. To avoid confusion between differentiation of the cybernetic physiology of the humanoid Cylon, only the non-sentient or quasi-sentient computer systems of the basestar are noted here.
The Hybrid
The Hybrid is a special variety of non-autonomous humanoid Cylon that rests in a pool of water near or in a basestar's command and control center. Because of its connection to many, if not all, of the basestar's systems, it in effect is the basestar. Functions such as Cylon Centurion and Cylon Raider access and deployment appear to be controlled by the Hybrid, as well as navigation control. Whether there is more than one Hybrid model is unknown.
The Datastream
The datastream is the central network within a basestar. It appears to use a liquid as a data transmission medium, a storage medium, or both. The datastream is suceptible to corruption by certain organic pathogens that can also infect the sentient humanoid Cylons. The liquid also appears as waterfalls and pools within a basestar's command and control center, which may also serve as access nodes[4] (see Data port interfaces below).
Data port interfaces
While not computers in themselves, humanoid Cylons, which are more biological than cybernetic, have devised a remarkable manner to interface with computer systems with an optical interface. On a basestar, Cylons can access their datastream by placing their arm on an illuminated panel that's covered by a thin layer of liquid. This activates the data port, an optical interface incorporated within their arms that's otherwise disguised as ordinary human tissues. These interfaces are transceivers that can also be configured for visual data such as photography.
Battlestar Computers
Master systems display on Galactica.
A battlestar has several computers dedicated to many critical ship functions. Several specific computers have been mentioned or seen during the series. This list is not inclusive; an original battlestar like Galactica is still a very complex spacecraft. On advanced battlestars such as Pegasus, the highly networked computers theoretically allow the crew to control any system from any location, if one possesses the correct passwords (TRS: "Razor"). However, it is likely that after the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, Pegasus is not as strongly networked as before, in order to create similar defenses against Cylon intrusion as its predecessors.
Although the battlestar normally does not have a central computer network in place, Galactica does possess a gateway, which, in Galactica's case, is likely managed within the mainframe itself and not as a larger network topology. The mainframe's normally-isolated gateway can be linked to the other computers (as Gaeta does in "Scattered").
Navigation Computer
NAV Computer Display of Galactica(TRS: "Miniseries")
Also known as the "NAV" or "NAVCON" computer, it tracks the battlestar's position and handles sublight travel and RCS translations. It is very likely that DRADIS sensor information is obtained and managed by the Navigation Computer then passed on to the Tactical Officer and the Command & Control Center in the CIC.
The DRADIS system, while having digital controls, is an analog instrument (utilizing EM radiation), which protects it from direct external infiltration by Cylon electronic attack. As shown in "Flight of the Phoenix," the navigation computer hardware, as with practically every other computer system, is subceptible to internal compromise by Cylon viruses or logic bombs already present in the battlestar's other systems.[5]
Pegasus's navigation computer is off-line during the Cylon attack, forcing Admiral Cain to order a risky blind jump without any navigational data fed to the FTL drive (TRS: "Razor").
The FTL computer manages the complex calculations necessary for an FTL jump. Information for these jumps on a more advanced battlestar such as Pegasus are probably transmitted from the Navigation Computer by the battlestar's network.
On Galactica, however, the FTL computer receives the spatial coordinates manually from the Tactical Officer or its Communications Officer. The FTL computer also manages the star fixes of the jump coordinates to compensate for inertial drift that naturally occurs over time. The Tactical Officer generates a series of emergency jump coordinates for the Fleet with the FTL computer. This information is relayed to other ships regularly. It is likely that the flight pods are also controlled through the FTL computer as they must be retracted prior to a jump.[6]
The Damage Control computer relays information to the CIC on malfunctioning or damaged areas of the battlestar, presumably from various sensors throughout the ship. It also has access to radiation sensors in the event of nuclear attack to warn against dangerous radiation levels that could harm the crew.[7] The DC computer's function can be compromised by a hostile force through places such as Aft Damage Control, as was threatened in "Valley of Darkness". If these locations are compromised, the computer's safeties can be overridden and various life-support controls, such as bulkheads and atmospheric controls, could be altered, venting the ship's air (and crew) into space.
The Fire Control computer manages a battlestar's primary offensive weapons, the central flak turret and smaller port and starboard turrets along the length of each side of the ship. It is presumed that the Fire Control computers report to crewmembers responsible for the upkeep of ammunition on the guns when to reload an particular turret. The Fire Control computer can target individual bogeys with the flak turret guns, which, in tandem with the smaller turrets, make even Galactica, an old original battlestar from the first Cylon War, a formidable foe to encounter. Like the DC computer, there are control rooms on Galactica where the ship's computerized gun control can be overriden.[8]
Mainframe Computer
This computer likely manages secondary functions of the ship, such as communications. The mainframe likely provides extra calculating power for other ship tasks when required, and may also serve as the ship's library for tactical information.[9] Of all the computers on Galactica, this computer is likely very resistant by design to infiltration since it controls communication traffic (and thus is accessible to Cylon external intrusion by wireless). The mainframe likely possesses a basic gateway, but, per Galactica's no-networks edict, it is typically unused.
The communications elements of the mainframe, while having digital controls, are analog instruments, which make them highly resistant to external Cylon electronic attack as they do not transfer digital signals. As with other battlestar systems, the mainframe hardware remains susceptible to internal Cylon electronic attacks (viruses and logic bombs that infect and transfer from other systems).[5]
The environmental computer is likely connected to the nearly one-dozen carbon dioxide air scrubbers throughout Galactica, which remove the excess levels of the gas before it reaches toxic levels (TRS: "Final Cut").
Avionics
The computer systems found on fighters and support aircraft of a capital ship are generally described by the term avionics (AVIation electrONICS). In the world of Battlestar Galactica, aircraft terminology is intermixed with spacecraft terminology--note the use of "CAG" and Commander Adama's use of the word "planes" to Chief Galen Tyrol to describe the Viper space fighter (TRS: "Litmus"). As the term "avionics" is used in the episode "Flesh and Bone" to describe the flight electronics on the captured Raider, despite its aeronautical connotation, it will be used here.
Colonial Avionics
The Colonial Fleet relied initially on primitive, hard-wired avionics in its early fighters, but later reverted to more "fly-by-wire" technologies, one of which sealed the doom of billions of citizens.
Vipers and Raptors
A view of the manual "8-ball" landing software on a Viper Mk. II.A view of a Mk. II secondary display below the primary display, currently using DRADIS.
The avionics found on modern Vipers and Raptors are complex systems that combine fly-by-wire technology with computer systems.
In the case of Raptors, datacord is used for networking subsystems. This wiring makes Raptors more radiation-hardened and thus useful in high-radiation conditions [10].
Viper Mk. II cockpit avionics, resistant to Cylon infiltration.
The older and generally-obsolete Viper Mark II fighters have a more primitive avionics package, but unlike CNP-equipped Viper Mark VIIs and Raptors, these old-style Viper systems (a design similar to that used in the Cylon War) appear to combine hydraulics [11] with a basic computer and DRADIS subsystem that is effectively immune from Cylon electronic counterattack.
Both Vipers are equipped with a multi-functional display that can can be set to various modes, such as DRADIS, navigation, engines, system status and weapons.
The flight systems of these systems also likely include these components, which vary in availability or degrees of complexity depending on the craft's age or purpose:
A non-directional medium-range wireless communications for ship-to-ship and ship-to-planet contact
DRADIS hardware for enemy targeting, squadron formation flight maneuvers, etc.
A Colonial transponder for IFF "friend or foe" identification
Stellar positioning system for proper sublight or FTL navigation
Larger craft such as Raptors can manage FTL jumps and so come equipped with more advanced avionics to handle jump computations
Instrument Landing Systems (ILS), an automatic ("hands-off") landing system guidance package
Viper Mk. VII cockpit avionics, vulnerable if the CNP is installed.
Vulnerabilities
In the case of modern (pre-holocaust) spacecraft, many of these systems were likely tied into (either as a software or firmware component) the tainted Command Navigation Program. Evidence for this is strong as Jackson Spencer's Mark VII Viper loses power, communications, flight control, DRADIS, and apparently ejection control after Cylon fighters "rooted," or counter-commanded his Viper to shut down, thanks to the backdoors installed in these modern avionics packages (TRS: "Miniseries").
Galactica prohibits computerized landings, so all pilots perform manual approach and landings in non-combat situations. No information has been given in the series if Mark II Vipers are capable of auto-landings in the manner that Mark VIIs demonstrate (TRS: "Miniseries").
Cylon Avionics
Cylon avionics contain biological elements, some of which include or are interfaced with quasi-sentient elements.
Raiders
Cylon Raiders contain some level of avionics that co-exist amidst the biological components that form the "pilot" within the fuselage of the fighter. Kara Thrace identifies the mechanical linkage within a captured fighter, and Galen Tyrol's team identifies the fire control, navigation, and FTL drive components in addition to an actual avionics package (TRS: "Flesh and Bone"). Galactica flight crews later rigged a flight control console that mated with the Raider's avionics for human readability.
The Cylons moved to biomechanical pilots rather than using Centurions or other robotic pilot for three probable reasons:
The Cylons' monotheistic belief in God and their belief in procreation (machines cannot procreate, but living organisms can) suggest that they believe a biological pilot would be more effective. A Raider pilot is programmed with a basic personality akin to a predatory animal. Unlike the logic of a Centurion, a Raider pilot is capable of improvements in its programming--it can learn and anticipate changes in battle ("Six Degrees of Separation," "Scar").
Colonial forces may attempt to use electronic countermeasures that could affect the performance or operation of a fully-mechanical Cylon Raider or a craft piloted by autonomous Cylon Centurions. Biological pilots cannot be easily disabled by ECM.
A Raider's personality, like a humanoid Cylon, is downloadable and transferable should the fighter be destroyed. This provides the Cylons a dramatic tactical advantage over the Colonials since the knowledge of a Raider isn't lost in death, allowing it to improve its fighting as well as allowing riskier tactics (such as ramming) without permanent loss of self, provided a Resurrection Ship or the Cylon homeworld is sufficiently close to retrieve a signal (TRS: "Scar").
Raiders are capable of independent thought, which is demonstrated during the Battle of the Ionian Nebula, where one identifies Samuel Anders as a humanoid Cylon. This causes all other Raiders to break off the attack and forces the Cylon fleet to retreat (TRS: "He That Believeth in Me").
Heavy Raider
The interior of a Heavy Raider, or its cockpit, have not been revealed. While no information is available as to the nature of their avionics and piloting requirements, events suggest that the Heavy Raider is not an autonomous or quasi-autonomous vehicle (Fragged," "The Farm," "Home, Part I") .
Vulnerabilities
Cylon spacecraft avionics can be affected by infiltration with the right methods. The cooperative Cylon infiltrator copy of Sharon Valerii used herself as a backdoor to send a version of a Cylon virus to shut down power to a massive Cylon fleet en route to attack Galactica(TRS: "Flight of the Phoenix"). It was not shown whether the biologics of the Cylon Raiders are themselves affected by this unexpected infiltration from Valerii.
The organic nature of most Cylon cybernetics is also susceptible to classic human pathogens, which can cause massive and catastrophic system failure. The infection that caused a basestar to succumb (TRS: "Torn"), according to other Cylons investigating the incident, has a bioelectric nature that could cause it to behave more like programming, allowing the downloaded personalities of infected agents to infect the entire Cylon race via the Resurrection Ship.
Colonial aesthetics often eschew right angles, instead using octagons. Many computer programs also follow this design by having windows, menus or buttons with angled corners.
↑In an amusing props gaffe, fans of the show may notice that the mouse she used is an actual product manufactured by the Microsoft Corporation, which may mistakenly suggest to fans that Microsoft's sales model truly is universal.
↑One of Gaeta's responsibilities is to monitor DRADIS contacts. To navigate, a battlestar must use some way to determine its location relative to other objects, so the Navigation and DRADIS connection must exist.
↑While Colonel Tigh was on a handset ordering the retraction of the pods as the battlestar began its escape from Ragnar Anchorage, many events within the ship must be coordinated (bulkheads closing, motors for the pod movement activated, etc.) While there was likely a person in CIC or elsewhere that flips a switch or types in a computer command, there must still be a computer used to coordinate these events as they are too many to manage in a limited amount of time (TRS: "Miniseries").
↑Caprica-Valerii: "Mr. Gaeta, can you set me up with a fiber-optic com link? I need broadcast to all frequencies and direct link to the mainframe." (TRS: "Flight of the Phoenix")
↑Raptors are used as pilot ships in the episode "The Passage".
↑Note the leaking fluid on Viper 289 in the episode "Flight of the Phoenix," strongly suggesting a hydraulic flight control system on these fighters.
The company insignia.
Integral Systems Engineering is a civilian computer systems and hardware integration company working in the Colonial Fleet.
This article needs to be expanded. Please improve this entry (System) in accordance to the guidelines on requests for expansion and in any notations on the article's talk page. Once the requested improvements have been completed, you may remove this notice.
In the Re-imagined Series, the principles of spaceflight are taken seriously, in that all ships have a logical a process to move in all three axes of movement, and travel at reasonable speeds with methods that don't necessarily duplicate the fantasy flight principles seen in space fantasy, such as Star Wars.
In addition to their sublight engines used for interplanetary travel within a solar system, all ships have a centralized way to move the ship to port or starboard, and to yaw and rotate the ship. This requires the use of an RCS, a reaction control system[1].
The reaction control system is designed to provide a spacecraft with guidance and steering. It has two main functions:
Delivering small amounts of thrust in any desired direction or combination of directions
Providing torque to allow control of rotation (pitch, yaw, and roll).
Reaction control systems are typically used for:
Attitude control during entry into an atmosphere until such time as conventional aerodynamic surfaces can be used
Station keeping in orbit
Close maneuvering and/or docking
Orientation control (pointing the nose of the vehicle).
All Colonial vessels utilize RCS for maneuvering and station keeping, although the scale of the systems varies widely.
Vipers, Raptors and all smaller craft use "cold" RCS systems, most likely utilizing either an inert gas or possibly a high specific-impulse hypergolic fuel mixture
Very large vessels such as battlestars use strategically-mounted sets of very large fuel-burning thrusters, relying on the brute force of such systems to overcome inertia during maneuvers.
Like many other technologies, Cylon attitude control for small craft like Raiders is similar or even identical to the Colonials (TRS: "Scar").
Basestars don't appear to have any RCS features. This may be an inherent design, as its Raiders and missile systems can be deployed in a 360-degree arc--that is, the basestar can deploy its offensive elements from any direction of the ship.
While basestars have no visible RCS, orientation can be achieved through other means. For examples, reaction wheels use a spinning mass on a spacecraft axis to control attitude. By spinning the reaction wheel in one direction, torque is generated and the spacecraft will rotate in the opposite direction, in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This system is used on real space platforms, such as the Hubble Space Telescope. However, such systems generate relatively small amounts of torque and they tend to be used in situations where precise orientation takes priority over the need to change orientation rapidly.
Basestars however, have a sublight propulsion system in addition to FTL drives. Basestars can be seen approaching the algae planet in the episode "The Eye of Jupiter". This capability can also be inferred from episodes like "The Captain's Hand" where a basestar is said to be retreating. Its nature however is unknown, as like with the RCS system, no engines are visible on the vessels.
Distances and speeds in the Miniseries
Galactica was approximately 335,540,340 miles from one of the Colonies, ostensibly Caprica, at the start of the Miniseries.
To reach this number, clues are taken from Billy Keikeya, on Colonial Heavy 798, enroute to the battlestar for its decommissioning ceremony. Keikeya tells Laura Roslin that he had sent a copy of her ceremony speech to President Adar for review, but warns that there is a time delay of 30 minutes between Galactica and Adar's actual location, which is confirmed as Caprica City, the seat of the Colonial Government[2].
The speed of light (and of wireless transmissions) in vacuum is 186,282 miles per second. If President Adar sent a wireless message from Caprica to Galactica in an attempt to correct Roslin's speech, how long would it take the message to get there? Keikeya gives this answer: 30 minutes. This makes it possible to determine the distance using the equation: s = vt (or, distance = speed x time)
(3 x 10^8 m/s) (the speed of light) x 1800 s (30 minutes * 60 seconds/minute) = 5.4 x 10^11 meters or335, 500, 000 miles
Simplified, the wireless message travels over 335.5 million miles in 30 minutes to Galactica. This is approximately 3.5 astronomical units, or 3.5 times the distance between Earth and our sun.
Colonial Heavy 798 is traveling at a sublight speed of over 61,000,000 miles per hour to get to Galactica for the decommissioning ceremony.
Right after Billy Keikeya's conversation with Laura Roslin on her speech, the captain of Colonial Heavy 798 speaks on the public address intercom of the starliner, telling the passengers how long their trip to Galactica will take: 5.5 hours. Assuming that the starliner has just left the neighboring space of Caprica and has reached its cruising speed, and given that we know Galactica's distance from Caprica, we can determine Colonial Heavy 798's cruising speed with the same formula as above, now adjusted to calculate speed:
5.4 x 10^11 meters (the distance in meters) / 19800 (5.5 hours x 3600 seconds/hour) =
2.7 x 10^7 meters/sec, or61, 000, 000 MPH
While Colonial Heavy 798 is moving very fast across space at 61,000,000 miles per hour on its sublight engines, this is only approximately 9 percent of the speed of light, so passenger liners do well in getting from place to place, or colony to colony. To give a real-world comparison, Colonial Heavy 798 could fly from our sun to Earth in about 90 minutes. The light from the sun takes only 8 minutes to arrive on the Earth's surface.
Given the velocities involved, extremely high accelerations must be used to attain them in reasonable (usable) time frames involved for in-system transportation. Such G forces would kill any humans involved unless some means of dampening them were employed. Given that the technology to perform "space-folding"[3] FTL jumps is also available, the technology to manipulate gravity would lie in the same area.
Alternate calculations for distances and speeds in the Miniseries
This is an alternative to the above which assumes a thirty light minute distance. A time lag[4] or delay or latency, in the case of a communication signal occurs both ways. A thirty minute time lag in communication implies that the signal would take fifteen minutes to travel between the two creating a total lag of thirty minutes. In short: It takes thirty minutes for person one to send a message and get a reply
back. This would alter the calculations made to the following.
-Galactica's distance from Caprica would be: 170,000,000 miles
(3 x 10^8 m/s) (the speed of light) x 1800 s (15 minutes * 60 seconds/minute) = 2.7 x 10^11 meters or 170,000,000 miles
-The speed of Colonial Heavy 798 would be 30,000,000 mph
2.7x 10^11 meters (the distance in meters) / 19800 (5.5 hours x 3600 seconds/hour) =
14,000,000 meters/sec, or 30,000,000 mph
-This makes the same assumptions as to the route of Colonial Heavy 798 as the initial proposal.
FTL jump calculations
Based on deduction from information gleaned in "Scattered," a set of jump coordinates could either be given in cartesian or spherical coordinates to specify a point in three-dimensional space.
A possible algorithm for jump calculations would therefore necessitate first and foremost the determination of the exact location of the ship, relative to its intended point of arrival after the jump. This is done by identifying, fixing and triangulating several stars [5]. Next, the ship's position relative to the intended point of arrival would be plotted on a three-dimensional coordinate system, using the ship as its point of origin, i.e. (0/0/0).
Then, the positions of any known stellar bodies and other obstacles would have to be plotted on that coordinate system as well, in order to establish where to jump and where not to jump.
Finally, the point of arrival would likewise be plotted. The hard part in making a single jump over long distances, like to Ragnar in the Miniseries, would therefore lie not so much in getting the jump drive to manipulate space properly, as in correctly figuring out where possible obstacles, such as stars, black hole or planetary bodies are located and then adjusting the direction of the jump accordingly, so as to land the ship in a clear volume of space.
Galactica has an astrometrics lab with optical and x-ray telescopes, that is used to acquire fixes on surrounding stars, which are then used in FTL jump calculations.
The nebula is shown from the same vantage point as it would appear to an observer on Earth, yet the characters are able to recognize it. This suggests that the Colonies are on a line of sight "behind" Earth's solar system. Otherwise, the nebula would appear in a different shape and size as it is not a symmetrical object.
If one were to follow a straight line from the Lagoon Nebula to Earth, continuing the line through space would place Galactica, and likely the Colonies, somewhere in the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way galaxy.
The approximate distance between the Colonies and the First Earth must be slightly less than 2,000 light years since the journey of the Final Five took two thousand years travelling at near-light speed. For the same reason, the distance between Kobol and the algae planet (which is located somewhere between Kobol and the First Earth) cannot be greater than 1,000 light years since the Temple of Five was built 3,000 years ago, i.e. within a millennium of the exodus from Kobol (TRS: "No Exit"). The distance between the real-life Earth and the Colonies are almost the same as the distance between the Ionian nebula to the Colonies (TRS: "Crossroads, Part II").
Most other celestial phenomena in the series are apparently fictional as the events of the series occur 150,000 years ago. Apart from the Lagoon Nebula (M8), the other real-life nebula shown is the Great Orion Nebula (M42) which is briefly seen in the opening scene of "Scattered". Both M8 and M42 are large stellar "nurseries" that have existed for millions of years. M42 is 1,350 light years from Earth in the same general direction as Kobol and the Colonies. It is by far the brightest star forming region visible from Earth. The Colonies are located on the other side, hence the vantage point is totally different and the nebula would not be as easily recognizable as the Lagoon Nebula. The Orion Nebula undoubtedly harbors pulsars and dense young star clusters such as the Passage. However, nebulae ejected by supernova remnants dissipate after ten thousand to a hundred thousand years [1] which means the Ionian Nebula, Lion's Head Nebula and Eye of Jupiter cannot correspond to any real-life supernova remnant/planetary nebula visible today.
Image of Milky Way galaxy from Crossroads, Part II with the approximate relative positions and distances of the Colonies, Earth, Lagoon/M8 and Orion/M42 Nebulae indicated. The positions of Kobol, Lion's Head Nebula/algae planet are conjectural but they are likely located near M42. Earth is located in the general dirction of the Ionian nebula as seen from the algae planet. The thick green line indicates the approximate route from Earth to the Colonies via the Orion Nebula and Kobol/algae planet.
What happened in "Scattered"?
Schematic Diagram showing the three different sets of jump coordinates
In "Scattered," Galactica and the Fleet execute FTL jumps according to different sets of coordinates. As a consequence, Galactica has to jump back along its original jump vector, to the former point of origin of the two jumps, re-acquire new starfixes and calculate the Fleet's current position.
At first glance, this seems counter-intuitive. Since presumably both sets of jump coordinates are known to Galactica, a simple triangulation of the two jump vectors would produce an alternative third set of jump-coordinates which would allow Galactica to jump to the Fleet directly. A possible explanation is as follows:
The emergency jump coordinates given to the civilian fleet aren't just an older set of correct coordinates. According to Colonel Tigh, in a conversation with his wife, jump calculations need to be regularly updated to compensate for stellar drift and the movement of the ships themselves. Lieutenant Gaeta was supposed to send the updated jump plots to the other ships but forgot to. [5] As a result, the Fleet jumped with a set of coordinates that didn't fit the local space-time conditions. The concept of a blind jump is introduced in the episode "Pegasus". While jumping with a wrong sets of coordinates probably isn't as risky as jumping with no calculations at all, the destination would still be unpredictable.
Galactica has the coordinates that the civilian ships used to make their jumps, but not their actual position. However, in a process that is largely unexplained, Galactica is then able to calculate their real location from the Fleet's emergency jump coordinates, as well as the newly acquired starfixes. This unusual procedure can also explain the abnormally long duration (several hours) of the calculations on the initially un-networked computers, compared to the relatively short amount of time jump calculations usually take.
↑In the movie, Apollo 13, the Apollo command/service module's reaction control jets are violently activating to control the spacecraft after the famous oxygen tank explosion, which creates an uncontrolled jet for which the RCS tries to compensate.
↑President Adar's office on Caprica is confirmed in the second Season episode, "Epiphanies". Reinforcing this information, Roslin speaks by wireless to "Jack," a fellow secretary or government official. Jack tells Roslin of the devastation near his location and Adar's speculated whereabouts and actions. Given that wireless transmission ranges in real-time conversation would limit Roslin to be able to speak only with Caprica (the nearest colony), Jack must be on Caprica, and likely in Caprica City to give him any ability to discuss the president's whereabouts.
↑This nature of the jump technology is confirmed in the Miniseries podcast
↑ 5.05.1Tigh: "Every watch we update our emergency jump calculations with new star fixes to compensate for inertial drift, and then we transmit them to the rest of the Fleet. This time ours were updated, but theirs weren't. Gaeta was supposed to transmit them to the rest of the Fleet." (TRS: "Scattered")
↑In the show, the nebula is placed in the wrong constellation. On Earth, the nebula actually appears in the constellation Sagittarius. The production team has acknowledged this as an error.
The Battle of the Binary Star System takes place when the battlestarPegasus jumps into the system to rescue a pair of missing Raptors, which are used by three Cylonbasestars to lure Pegasus into a trap.
Prior to the battle, the Cylons draw two of Pegasus's Raptors into a shroud of electro-magnetic interference (EMI) generated by a binary star system. Once the Raptors are there, the Cylons kill the crews and leave the craft intact and adrift at the edge of the Colonials' DRADIS range, appearing disabled and unresponsive to wireless. The new commander of Pegasus, Barry Garner, disobeys Admiral William Adama's orders and takes the battlestar in to rescue the Raptors, launching a five-Raptor search and rescue mission once there.
Soon after, three Cylon basestars jump in and launch a full salvo of tactical nuclear missiles, making two hits on the battlestar's stern. Pegasus's air wing, already space-borne and commanded by Captain Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, engage the Cylons. The basestars ignore the Vipers and focus their attention on Pegasus, scoring a third nuclear missile hit and damaging the topside heat exchanger.
An engineering officer with no combat command experience, Commander Garner is unable to deal with the situation effectively – at the same time that the heavy Cylon barrage damages the Pegasus's FTL drive, cutting off the only path of retreat. Realizing he is most competent leading the engineering teams, Garner turns over command to his recently-promoted executive officer, Major Lee "Apollo" Adama, and heads below to direct the repairs.
After a moment of hesitation, Major Adama orders Pegasus to head for the nearest basestar, while rolling the ship over to keep its damaged dorsal side hidden from direct fire. He orders Starbuck and Showboat to have the Vipers concentrate on defending the damaged portions of Pegasus from further attacks, and directs the battlestar's forward batteries to fire on the closest basestar. His tactic works and they inflict severe damage on the targeted basestar's central axis, buying Pegasus more time. The wounded basestar hastily withdraws from combat[1].
Meanwhile, Commander Garner determines that a hull breach prevents technicians from opening an auxiliary coolant valve crucial to re-starting the FTL drive. With time running out for Pegasus, he bravely enters the compartment himself, opens the valve, and restores the FTL drive before dying of asphyxiation[2]. With the FTL drive restored, Major Adama orders a recall of all Vipers and a jump back to the Fleet.
Pegasus suffers relatively minor damage and few casualties, but it has lost its third commanding officer since the Battle of the Resurrection Ship. For his command ability in returning Pegasus against heavy odds, Admiral Adama promotes Major Adama to the rank of commander and gives him command of Pegasus(TRS: "The Captain's Hand").
References
↑This is the first documented occurrence of a basestar diverging from the standard tactic of fighting to the death, perhaps due to the loss of a resurrection ship some time earlier.
↑See NASA JPL scientist Geoffrey Landis' description on what happens from vacuum exposure. Garner must have died of asyphxiation, not vacuum exposure, as it takes him more than 30-45 seconds to open the auxiliary valves. Vacuum exposure would cause unconsciousness within 9 to 11 seconds. While his engineers watched the oxygen levels drop, the atmospheric pressure in the compartment was sufficiently high not to be a vacuum, but not sufficiently pressurized to allow breathing.
The content in this section is considered separate from the primary continuity (often called "canon"), for it is a part of the Dynamite Comics universe. Be sure that your contributions to this section reflect events specific to the separate continuityexclusively.
There are means to rehabilitate prisoners within this system so that they may be productive citizens, however these programs have a low success rate. According to figures roughly 13 years prior to the Fall of the Colonies, 63% of prisoners released from the prison system turn to a life of crime within the first five years after their release, and eventually end up back in the system.
Lower level prisons, such as those on Tauron, are meant to incarcerate prisoners who are not a serious threat. Such prison systems have facilities for solitary confinement and counseling.
