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| MASS:
98 NPV: 319 Classification: Medium Explorer (R) Crew: 50; 4 Officers, 21 Ratings, plus up to 25 survey and support staff Crew Factor: 2 Hull Integrity: 12 (3/3/3/3) Armor: 0 Main Drive Thrust: 2 (4.9 TW) Drive Auto-Detection Range: 2.953 AU ∆V (Combat): 46.856 km/sec ∆V (Cruise): 937.125 km/sec Thrust Points: 94 (2047 tons propellant) Propellant Tanks: 4 Thrust Points per Tank: 2x23; 2x24 FTL: Yes (Short Jump - 3.3 parsec range) Auxiliary Systems: 30-MASS Docking Port for Dart Lander; 8-MASS Cargo Hold; 2-MASS Agricultural Bay; 1x Enhanced Sensors; 0.9 G Spin Habitat for 50 Combat Systems: None Weapons: 2x Point Defense Battery |
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| The
Atlatl is a novel
attempt at providing a capable exploration and survey starship while
minimizing both the risks and high costs associated with exploring
uncharted systems. The Atlatl
is essentially a propulsion and stardrive system that supports a
massive 3000 ton streamlined lander known as the Dart, which
can dock and undock with the Atlatl
as needed. The Dart
contains laboratories, survey vehicles, and other necessities for
research and exploration, while the Atlatl remains safely in
orbit. If there is a problem on the surface of a world being
surveyed, the Atlatl is
capable of jumping out of the system to get help. The Atlatl was designed to allow maximum duration expeditions at the lowest cost. It has a small agricultural complex to provide foodstuffs for long trips in order to extend supplies. The military grade HEPLAR fusion torch along with a large propellant mass fraction give it outstanding propulsion endurance without the high cost of using antimatter. The large cargo hold ensures that there is plenty of consumables for the crew as well as spare parts and vehicles. The Dart itself can act as a refueling vehicle for the Atlatl mothership as long as suitable sources of water, methane, or ammonia are available. The Atlatl-Dart system was seen as a dramatic improvement over the U.S. Space Exploration Agency's failed Lewis and Clark class explorer. Whereas the Lewis and Clark has to support a stardrive and extended transits on its own, and lacked a spin habitat in order to accommodate its streamlining system, the Dart is a pure exploration vehicle. The necessity of the Atlatl as stardrive and propulsion system naturally adds to the expense of the Dart's operations, but unlike the failed proposal for a large tender starship for the Lewis and Clarks, having only one stardrive allows a nation or corporation to perform the same amount of survey work for dramatically less capital outlay. A single Atlatl is known to be in Sagittarius post-Stargate crash. Ships of the Class
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Dart Lander
| MASS:
30 NPV: 70 Classification: Super Heavy Lander Crew: 54; 1 Officer, 3 Ratings from the Atlatl mothership, plus 25 survey and support staff. Crew Factor: 1 Hull Integrity: 6 (2/2/1/1) Armor: 0 Main Drive Thrust: 5 (3.8 TW) Drive Auto-Detection Range: 2.583 AU ∆V (Combat): 23.912 km/sec ∆V (Cruise): No Cruise Mode Thrust Points: 48 (338 tons propellant) Propellant Tanks: 2 Thrust Points per Tank: 24 FTL: No Auxiliary Systems: 4-MASS Cargo Hold; 2-MASS Passenger Bay; 2-MASS Laboratory Bay; Full Streamlining Combat Systems: None Weapons: None |
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| The
Dart is the
symbiotic partner to the Atlatl explorer.
Its primary function is to land on worlds being surveyed and perform
exploration and basic science while the mothership remains safely in
orbit. It is capable of lifting off from worlds with gravity fields up
to 1.5 G in overdrive thrust mode, though this will almost completely
exhaust the propellant reserves on a full tank. In order to
maximize efficiency and cut expenses, the Dart will usually land close to a
source of water, methane, or ammonia, and refuel immediately from that
source. The lander is large enough to support its science and
survey staff for three months if necessary on a world, and that assumes
that any biosphere present is incapable of supporting Earth-based life. |
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