Atlas Class Ultra-Heavy Freighter
The Atlas class is an open-structure cargo ship designed and built by the UDSA Shipyards and generally considered the workhorse large-scale cargo ship of the Exploration and Defense Fleet. There are currently 11 Atlas class vessels in service.
The primary structure of the Atlas class consists of a primary spine on which standard-sized cargo modules can be mounted. The spine connects the main crew, command and propulsion module at the back of the ship and a secondary module in the front containing the c+ Drive, additional storage and crew quarters, as well as part of the ship's maneuvering systems. Two secondary spines stabilize the sides of the cargo and the overall structure of the ship, however there is an Atlas-WL (wide load) variant which removes these. The WL variant must always be fully loaded with the cargo modules connected for structural stability, using dummy cargo modules if necessary.
Propulsion
As the Atlas class is designed for cargo operations, its propulsion system is significantly oversized for its dry mass, but the speed, particularly in the sublight regime, is reduced significantly when fully loaded. Maneuverability is very low when loaded, despite the maneuvering systems being positioned as far as possible from the center of the craft.
Additional & auxiliary systems
As the Atlas class can interface with cargo modules through the standard cargo module interface, it is possible to add additional systems to the ships as cargo modules. This is often done by the EDF to test and evaluate new technologies to be used on ships before committing to a new design for a new ship class. Most recently Entangled Tachyon Pulse Spacetime Tunnel Propulsion System technology was tested on a modified Atlas class ship before being included in the Falcon Class Heavy Cruiser designs.
Manufacturer
Width
270m
Length
623m
Height
110m
Weight
3.2Tg (unloaded)\; 24Tg (maximum load)
Speed
c+v8
Complement / Crew
10 (skeleton crew) ; 50-100 (standard)
Cargo & Passenger Capacity
8 standard ultraheavy cargo modules (62m×93m×248m each)
Comments