Copernicus-type ship

From The Great Machine

The Copernicus-type ship^[1] is an Earth ship used in deep-range exploration beyond the limits of Earth's solar system, prior to first contact with the Centauri in the 2150s. They are apparently launched by a civilian agency, with their crews apparently recruited from civilian life and trained accordingly.

The purpose of such ships was to find new life and used in deep-range exploration (The Long Dark), thus making them a predecessor to Explorer class ships used by the Earth Alliance (A Distant Star).

This type of ship predates human contact with the Centauri and the advent of Earth's use of jumpgate technology; as these ships are outfitted as a "sleeper ship" with sub-light engines and automated monitoring systems. Such automated monitoring systems are keyed to awaken the crew from cryonic sleep upon detecting RF transmissions and to automatically adjust course to their origin.

The Copernicus-type is apparently capable of supporting only two crew members, who are placed in cryogenic chambers due to the lengthy nature of the voyage.

The last of these types of ships is the USS Copernicus, launched a few years prior to first contact with the Centauri (The Long Dark).

[edit] Notes

• The term "USS" prefixing Copernicus is never defined.

[edit] References