Author Topic: Cassiopeia class Transport (primitive jumpship)  (Read 1382 times)

Liam's Ghost

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Cassiopeia class Transport (primitive jumpship)
« on: 05 November 2017, 03:30:17 »
Cassiopeia class Transport

Rivaling the Aquilla in its ubiquity, the Cassiopeia was one of the most common vessels found among Inner Sphere fleets in the early days of Jumpship travel. A big vessel for its time, it was one of the largest hulls that could be readily constructed by the non-Terran powers of the day, and was highly prized for its (at the time) exceptional jump range and carrying capacity, easily outclassing earlier Pathfinder and Aquilla type ships. The few ships that could rival or exceed its performance were built exclusively in Terran shipyards, and as such their relative scarcity beyond the borders of the Alliance meant they were no significant competition.

This exceptional performance came at a price, of course. The Cassiopeia was significantly more expensive to build and operate than smaller ships like the Aquilla, especially when it was first introduced. This meant that early on government entities and large merchant fleets were the primary users. It would take five decades for the price to drop enough for the ship to truly become ubiquitous.

Though every state had begun building larger ships by the 24th century, the Cassiopeia remained a mainstay among the vast fleets of the Inner Sphere. Like the Aquilla before her, the Cassiopeia would occasionally even see action as a military vessel (usually, but not always, after receiving upgrades to the ship's modest defensive array). The Cassiopeia was especially favored by those freebooters (such as the Kluani pirates) that could acquire them, who would usually use the ship as a mothership for heavily armed dropshuttles.

The Cassiopeia remained a common sight in the Inner Sphere into the early 26th century, and persisted in the periphery nearly to the dawn of the 28th century, with the last examples serving in the Reunification War as support vessels or privateers, often with heavy modification. One such vessel operating in the Outworlds Alliance, heavily armed with a massed battery of conventional autocannons and thousands of free flight rockets, conducted several raids against SLDF supply lines, even successfully ambushing and destroying an Essex I class destroyer, before finally being run down and forced to surrender. Another in Taurian Space, originally a depot ship for the SASF, supported a fleet of some one hundred small gunboats during the running battles in the asteroid belts around Taurus, finally destroying itself on the last day of the war on a suicidal attempt to ram the battleship Thunderer.


Type: Primitive Jumpship (2255)
Mass: 250,000 tons
Transit Drive: 33,000 tons
Thrust Capacity: 2/3
Fuel: 1500 tons (3409 points, 43.472 tons per burn day)
Pumps: 30 tons
Structure: 5000 tons
Structural Integrity: 20
Jump Drive (primitive, 20 light years): 162,000 tons
Drive Integrity: 9
Jump Sail: 213 tons
Sail Integrity: 12
Control System: 688 tons
Crew: 17 officers, 82 men, 744 tons
Heatsinks: 226
Armor: 100 tons
*Primitive Armor: f/a:5, fl/fr/al/ar:6
*Standard Armor: f/a:8, fl/fr/al/ar:9

Equipment:
2 Dropshuttle Bays (al/ar), 22,000 tons
10 Small Craft, 5 doors, 2000 tons
20 Lifeboats, 140 tons
22,585 tons of cargo, 4 doors

Weapons:
FL/FR
2 Autocannon 5s, 80 rounds ammunition, 40 tons
4 Machineguns, 200 rounds ammunition, 6 tons
AL/AR
2 Autocannon 5s, 80 rounds ammunition, 40 tons
4 Machineguns, 200 rounds ammunition, 6 tons


Upgrade Notes:
Technology continued to advance rapidly in the early years of interstellar space travel. Thus while designers concentrated on a relatively small number of jump core and hull designs, these were constantly upgraded as new technologies became available. While older vessels could be upgraded to these new standards, unless this consisted of something simple like replacing the jumpsail or armor, it was an expensive, drawn out process. The steadily falling price of shipbuilding in the core worlds and the high demand for hulls on the fringes of humanity meant that once a vessel was due for a major overhaul, it was often more desirable to purchase an all new ship and sell off the older one to groups along the rim.

*Ships built after 2260 utilize a jump sail massing 107 tons (integrity 6), increasing cargo capacity to 22,691 tons.
*Ships built after 2300 utilize a 43 ton jump sail (integrity 3). In addition, the control deck, transit drive, and fuel systems are all upgraded. The ship has 218 heatsinks, its fuel mass is unchanged but provides 3750 points of fuel (39.52 tons per burn day), and the cargo capacity increases to 25,818 tons.
« Last Edit: 06 November 2017, 00:52:13 by Liam's Ghost »
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marauder648

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Re: Cassiopeia class Transport (primitive jumpship)
« Reply #1 on: 05 November 2017, 04:34:15 »
I really like this, and darn good background information too. Love the look of the Aquilla class for sure.
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Liam's Ghost

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Re: Cassiopeia class Transport (primitive jumpship)
« Reply #2 on: 06 November 2017, 00:53:33 »
Added an addendum at the bottom of the post briefly describing updates made to the design as technology advanced.
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

 

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