Blackbird

The Blackbird is a prototype Colonial stealth fighter craft constructed by Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol, his deck crews, and other members of Galactica. This craft was meant to supplement the Viper, given the issues in maintaining the remaining craft aboard the battlestar. Chief Tyrol had originally intended just to build a standard Viper but ended up building a ship that was of more value to Galactica than another Viper.

Design and Technology

The Blackbird is designed to use the Viper launch tubes, and therefore shares the same general shape. It is built more for speed than for maneuverability. If it is armed, it likely fires the same ammunition as typical Vipers, though this has not yet been demonstrated.

It does not use metal for its skin since this metal was reserved for Viper repairs. Instead, on Karl Agathon's suggestion, the Blackbird uses a carbon composite material, which makes it largely invisible to DRADIS scanning.

Along with the usual RCS mechanisms for directional control, the Blackbird is powered by obsolete DDG-62 engines (designed by Laird, a civilian aeronautical engineer) that came from the flight deck of a Colonial fleet ship named Baah Pakal. One must speculate that since a typical Viper's engines are vulnerable to heat-seeking missiles (Mini-Series), these must be as well. This would compromise its stealth features during powered flight. (This is less of a disadvantage in space than in atmospheric flight; a spacecraft's inertia is not affected by gravity, friction, and other factors an atmospheric-bound craft would be, and thus can fly indefinitely without firing its engines.)

The Blackbird is Jump-capable, but is not equipped with a Colonial transponder, either for stealth purposes or supply shortages.

The "Laura" and Her Flight History

The first prototype was dubbed "Laura", in honor of President Laura Roslin. It was piloted for the first time by Kara Thrace. The stealth abilities for the ship were so strong that Lee Adama lost the fighter while escorting Thrace on the Laura's maiden test flight.

Here is a breakdown of the people who aid CPO Galen Tyrol in the Laura's construction:

Anastasia Dualla, troubleshooting of communication systems
Anthony Figurski
Cally
Jammer
Seelix
Karl Agathon, suggested the use of carbon composite materials for the Blackbird's skin
Saul Tigh, offered the DDG-62 engines
Lee Adama

Colonel Tigh's was originally vocal in his belief that the project was a waste of time, but later provided assistance in procuring the DDG-62 engines. Others among Tyrol's own deck crew also at first believed the project to be a waste of time, which was mostly noted through their initial reactions to Tyrol's proposal. However, Commander William Adama believed that the project offered hope and purpose, therefore permitting it to continue despite the crisis with the Cylon logic bomb that infected the Galactica's systems (Flight of the Phoenix).

The Laura quickly proves its worth when Kara Thrace, by tacit request of Lee Adama, absconds with the Blackbird, claiming she was running a test flight for Admiral Cain. In reality, Starbuck was undertaking a reconnaissance mission to investigate a mysterious Cylon ship being escorted by two basestars and many other support ships and fighters. Pegasus CAG Cole Taylor knew of the Blackbird but dismissed Thrace from the project and chose to use Raptors for his mission.

Starbuck was able to approach the Cylon fleet and the unknown ship completely undetected by the Cylons. She takes picture after picture while flying into and through the superstructure of the vessel, Jumping away just as the 'Bird cleared the vessel's bow. The lack of a Colonial transponder causes the battlestars Pegasus and Galactica to turn their Vipers on Kara Thrace as she approached the Fleet, both battlestar's DRADIS systems marking her as a Raider by mistake. The Blackbird was in visual range of the Fleet long before DRADIS managed to know that the Blackbird was approaching.

Moments later, Admiral Cain is treated to dramatically detailed pictures of the unknown ship, while Gaius Baltar later provides a name and purpose for the Resurrection Ship (Resurrection Ship, Part I).

The Laura is later piloted by then-Lieutenant Lee Adama in the battle to destroy the Resurrection Ship's FTL drive to prevent it from escaping so that Vipers can be used to destroy it. While Adama is successful, a collision with a disabled Raptor seriously damages the fighter, requiring Adama to eject from the Blackbird. While Adama is later rescued, there is no word on the fate of this remarkable stealth fighter (Resurrection Ship, Part II).

Notes

Since the Blackbird was designed for stealth, not manuverability, it was logical that an FTL drive was added for advanced reconnaissance. The unused FTL drive came perhaps from a destroyed Raptor that crash-landed on Kobol from "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I."
Carbon composites are a family of materials used in lightweight or high-temperature-resistant construction, of which a type is used in the nose and leading edges of the wings of NASA's Space Shuttle Orbiter. Carbon composites are somewhat fragile, so impacts (even one from a champagne bottle, which Laura Roslin jokingly attempted to do as she christened the ship) may cause the material to splinter or break. It was damage to this material that caused the destruction of Space Shuttle Columbia on STS-107.
Executive Producer David Eick stated in his video blog that the Blackbird is "not a Viper", so it is not classed as a modified Viper model ("Viper Mark VIII", etc), but is an entirely distinct craft.
The fighter's nickname creates a curious comparison with her namesake, Laura Roslin. The frail, but influential President Roslin and her rapid, secretive actions in her quest for Earth's location (including diverting Lt. Thrace from her original mission to destroy the Kobol basestar) as well as her savvy political work in "Colonial Day", are humorously similar in perspective to the abilities of "Laura", a structually weak, but highly agile and initially underestimated stealth fighter. Like President Roslin (the only known surviving official of the pre-holocaust Colonial government), the Blackbird is a unique commodity.