Type: Galax Launch Systems SR-53 Semi-Disposable Reconnaissance Satellite
Chassis Type: Satellite (Medium)
Mass: 15 tons
Equipment Rating: D/D-E-D
Battle Value: 3
Cost: 253,680 C-Bills
Equipment
Chassis/Controls: 2 tons
Engine/Trans: Electric (Solar) 0.1 G (0.2 thrust) station-keeping drive, 7 tons
Structural Integrity: 1
Fuel: 3 tons (69 burn days)
Armor Factor (BAR 2): 2/2/2, 8 points total, 0.5 tons
Weapons and Ammo
None
Cargo
None
Notes: Features a hi-res imager.
Galax Launch Systems, a major leader in satellite design and production, has long produced the SR-53 Semi-Disposable Reconnaissance Satellite. The basic type is believed to have originally been designed for the Star League Defense Force in the Reunification War and was deployed on both the Taurian and Outworlds fronts. Lightly armored to protect from debris and little else, the same line of descent was produced through the Star League for SLDF procurement but opened to other customers, a policy continued to this day by the AFFS Office of the Quartermaster. Frequently used to provide short-term monitoring of operations, the old SE-43s and their descendants were also occasionally procured as monitoring or survey assets thanks to easy maintenance and the ability to shift orbits over time without external support as well as over two months of endurance in unstable orbits (the most frequent use). Cheap enough to be treated as disposable assets if units are forced off-world, they have been sold to customers from Taurus and Alphard with little concern by the government. Similar designs that vary little in capability exist in the hands of all five Successor States. A new generation of ultra-light fusion-powered reconnaissance satellites has challenged the SE-53's market position but the combination of low cost, ease of construction, existing infrastructure, and minimal technical requirements keeps the SE-53 in production.