Battlestar

Re-imagined Series

Overview

Battlestars are a heavy class of human-controlled Colonial warship, that combine the functions of aircraft carrier and battle cruiser.

The first five battlestars were laid down shortly before the start of the first Cylon War and saw action in the early years of the war (Mini-Series). Seven further battlestars were constructed during the war (Zoic), leading to a total fleet size of 12, one battlestar representing each of the colony worlds (Mini-Series).

All the original battlestar vessels deliberately avoided the use of highly-integrated or networked computer systems, as the Cylons were able to infiltrate and subvert such systems, disabling Colonial defensive capabilities (Mini-Series).

Following the end of the war, the battlestars remained in service, and their numbers increased. However, later vessels did include networked systems (Mini-Series), and while the term "battlestar" was used to describe these newer vessels, it is unclear as to whether they were the same overall size and form as the original battlestars. Several of the original 12 vessels were also upgraded (Mini-Series), with the exception of the battlestar Galactica, which retained its original command and control systems at the insistence of Commander William Adama

Possibly as a result of her "original" condition, the Galactica was selected to become a living museum / educational centre once decommissioned (Mini-Series). Following the surprise attack by the Cylons on the Colonials, the Galactica was left as the only battlestar capable of mounting a counter-offensive, although she was initially hampered by the lack of any defensive munitions on-board.

Battlestars are space-going leviathans. Some 4,500ft in length(Zoic), they combine the role of a modern airacraft carrier with that of a battle cruiser. Housing some 140-180 "Viper" space superiority fighters arranged in 6-8 squadrons of 20 apiece, and with 20 reserve aircraft (fan estimate), a fully-armed battlestar is capable of a wide range of offensive actions, while her defensive armaments ensure she is fully capable of both protecting herself from attack, and of engaging an enemy at close quarters.

Despite their massive size, battlestars are extremely manoeuvrable (Mini-Series - docking at Ragnar Anchorage) and, in the right circumstances, partially atmosphere-capable (Mini-Series - docking at Ragnar Anchorage). Their FTL systems are capable of incredibly-accurate jumps, able to place them precisely in synchronous orbit above an point on a planet (Mini-Series)and of placing them in the midst of debris fields, such as an asteroid belt, without risk of a devastating impact (The Hand of God).

Battlestars are intended to operate for long periods without resupply - their water purification capabilities alone mean that, barring an emergency or unforeseen event, they don't need to re-tank with water for several years (Water). They also appear capable of undertaking large-scale repairs following battle damage (Mini-Series), and may well have manufacturing / fabrication facilities on-board (Litmus).

Technical Specifications

File:Bsg-gal-2.jpg

Battlestar Layout (credit: Zoic)

Dimensions

Hull:

Length (approx): 4,500ft (Zoic)
Beam (approx): 1,400ft (hanger pod to flight pod - extended)

Flight Pods:

Length (approx): 1,400ft
Beam (approx): 360ft

Propulsion

2 x FTL engines and drive coils (Zoic)
6 x sublight engines (observed - 33)
40 x manoeuvring engines (10 "packs" of 4 apiece) (Zoic)

Aramaments - Defensive

24 x primary railgun turrets (mounting 2 guns apiece)
504 x point-defence turrets (mounting 2 guns apiece) (approx)

Armaments - Offensive

6-8 squadrons of Mark VII "Viper" atmosphere-capable space superiority fighters (fan estimate)
20 "reserve" Vipers (fan estimate)
6-8 "Raptor" reconnaissance/assault vehicles (fan estimate).

Crew

(The following are fan estimates)

6,000-7,000
Officers: (TBA)
Enlisted: (TBA)
Flight Crew: 3,500 (approx.)

Notes

Viper squadrons comprise 20 vehicles apiece, generally supported by a single Raptor.
The Raptors can also be used to deploy Colonial Marine detachments to the surface of planets or to storm other vessels. Raptors are equipped with a docking collar and accessway in their undersides for this latter role (Bastille Day)
Viper operations are overseen by the CAG - Commander Air Group, the most senior pilot aboard a battlestar.

Layout

File:Bsg-gal-3.jpg

Battlestar forward view (credit: Zoic)

The original battlerstar design common to Galactica and her sister ships can be broken down into two main sections:

Main Hull
Flight Pods

Main Hull

This comprises the bulk of a battlestar, and can itself be divided into three sections:

"Alligator head", containing the primary living space for the crew, recreational facilities, mess halls, shipboard operations centres (such as the CIC and Situation Room); water storage tanks
Midships area: containing the pod retraction mechanisms, crossways linking the hange pods for the transfer of equipment, Vipers, personnel, etc. All the necessary hoists for such transfers; main munitions stors and distribution mechnanisms to "local" munitions stores for main and secondary batteries; fabrication facilities; etc.
Stern section: sublight engines, FTL drive coils, etc. Note that 4 sublight engines are mounted in distinctive pods of their own, with 2 more mounted between the four pods, in the stern of the battlestar. The FTL drive coils appear to be mounted beteen the drive pods and between the hull-mounted sublight engines and the midships section of a battlestar.

The main hull houses all of a battlestar's offensive railguns, and also has a number of point-defence batteries mounted around it.

The manoeuvring thruster packs are located in the port / starboard bows of the "alligator head" (4 thrusters apiece), and on the poert / starboard extremities of the four sublight engine pods (2 "packs" of 4 thrusters per pod).

Flight Pods

These are mounted on either side of the hull and contain a battlestar's offensive Viper force. During normal operations, they are extended away from the main hull. During FTL jumps, the pods are retracted against the hull, to provide a smaller cross-section for the battlestar during the jump itself.

Each flight pod is approximately 2,000ft in length and has a maximum beam of some 360ft (fan estimates)
Each 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 (Zoic)
The landing bay serves as a recovery area for incoming Vipers and Raptors, approaches are made from the stern. The preferred approach is a slow run into the hanger, prior to making a vertical landing on a defined landing area. However, in emergencies, "rolling" combat landings can be made, whichin a Viper or Raptor approaches at speed and makes a running landing on its undercarriage
The forward end of the landing bay also serves as a launch area for Raptors and shuttles
Each hanger bay is large enough to accept a variety of other Colonial vessels, up to ans including vessels classified as "heavy" (such as Colonial Heavy 798.
Docking collars are located throughout the upper sections of the landing bay in order to provide a pressurised connection between an docked vessel and the battlestar
Pods additionally contain a number of a battlestar's point-defence railguns - one turret being mounted above each Viper launch tube, and others being set along the length of the pod itself
The hanger bays in the pods are used as general dispersal areas for Vipers. There is potentially one hanger bay area per squadron of Vipers, giving each pod 4 bays apiece. The hanger bays are used for general maintenance of Vipers / Raptors and for re-arming operations, etc.
Viper launch operations are overseen by a senior LSO, with a launch sepervisor directly responsible for each launch tube.

Other facilities within the pods include fuel storage areas for the Vipers / Raptors (and potentially for refeulling large vessels docked within the landing bays); munitions sotres for Viper weeaponry; munitions stores for the point-defence railguns; parts stores for maintaining Vipers and Raptors, etc.

List of Known Battlestars

Battlestar Atlantia (Mini-Series / Act of Contrition)
Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Pegasus (Zoic)
Battlestar Rycon (Zoic)
Battlestar Columbia (Mini-Series)
Battlestar Pacifica (Zoic)
Battlestar Acropolis (Zoic)
Battlestar Solaria (Mini-Series)
Battlestar Triton (Mini-Series)
Battlestar Prometheus (Zoic)
Battlestar Argo (Zoic)
Battlestar Poseidon (Zoic)

Original Series

This section requires information

Myth of the Twelve Battlestars

Within fan circles, it has always been assumed there were twelve battlestars. Given there are Twelve Colonies, and a Quorum of Twelve, twelve battlestars was perhaps seen as a logical extension of the motif of twelve. However, Glen A. Larson has stated that there was never any decision to have a specific number of battlestars, not did the original series ever mention their being twelve battlestars.

Within the original series, eight battlestars were spcifically mentioned:

Atlantia - destroyed by the Cylons at Cimtar (Saga of a Star World)
Acropolis - mentioned in connection with the attack at Cimtar, and so assumed to be one of the battlestars seen near the moon
Columbia - destroyed prior to the events at Cimtar
Galactica
Pacifica - mentioned in connection with the attack at Cimtar, and so assumed to be one of the battlestars seen near the moon
Pegasus - presumed destroyed at the Battle of Molecay (The Living Legend)
Rycon - destroyed at the Battle of the Cosmara Archipelago (Take the Celestra)
Triton - mentioned in connection with the attack at Cimtar, and so assumed to be one of the battlestars seen near the moon

Three additional battlestars - the Solaria, Cerberus and Prometheus were confirmed by the Costume Department at New West, and so may eventually have been referenced in the series.

--Colonial Archivist 21:42, 8 Jan 2005 (EST)