Battlestar Galactica (fictional spacecraft)

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Battlestar Galactica is a fictional space battleship based in the science fiction television series of the same name. In the series, the Twelve Colonies built about 120 Battlestars during the thousand-year war with the Cylons, whose battleships are known as Basestars.

Battlestar Galactica (1978, 1980)[edit]

Introduction[edit]

Battlestar Galactica is a fictional battleship. A carrier warcraft constructed by the Twelve Colonies of Man, the Battlestar Galactica is a flag vessel of the colonial planet Caprica. Galactica was launched 500 years before the events of the Thousand Yahren War which concluded during the series pilot episode.^[1] It was believed to be the only Battlestar to survive the destruction of the Twelve Colonies, until Battlestar Pegasus briefly reappeared. The Galactica is commanded by Commander Adama.

In the pre-Holocaust Colonial Service, Battlestars like Galactica operated as part of numbered naval fleets (e.g., the Fourth Fleet).^[2] A typical fleet comprised 600 fighting ships^[3] and operated independently of other fleets.^[4] Since the Holocaust, Galactica is the military's sole surviving capital ship.

Speed and armament[edit]

Galactica is depicted to be capable of lightspeed travel,^[5] although while escorting the refugee fleet she must limit her speed to that of the slowest ship.^[6] Galactica also has a complement of shuttles. Unlike similar civilian models, these transport craft include military gear for detecting electronic emissions from other spacecraft^[3] and drop chutes for paratroop assaults.^[7] In addition, Galactica has armored, tracked ground vehicles known as "land rams"^[8] and "snow rams."^[9] These are armed with an open turret on the roof and are landed by shuttles. Galactica carries a large number of manually aimed^[10] laser batteries, both for anti-aircraft defense against fighters and for engaging other capital ships.^[1] As for defensive measures, Galactica is protected by both "electronic shields" and a heavy metal double-pocket hatch shield that covers its panoramic bridge viewport; the latter is closed in "positive shield" state and open in "negative shield" state. However, while these might provide limited protection, they are insufficient to guard against suicide ramming runs by Cylon raiders^[11] or pulsar-cannon fire from Cylon base ships.^[1] Galactica also has the ability to project a broad cone of energy, wide enough to cover much of one hemisphere of an Earth-sized planet, that is powerful enough to destroy ballistic missiles and their nuclear warheads.^[5]

Energy[edit]

A Battlestar such as Galactica has two sources of energy. The engines are powered by Tylium, a highly volatile liquid fuel derived from minerals mined on certain planets.^[12] The Tylium is stored in two tanks located inboard, since the detonation of either tank is sufficient to destroy the Battlestar.^[13] Other energy needs are met by energizers, self-contained generators roughly the size of a human adult. These are located all across Galactica.^[14] Networked to each other, they are able to supply sufficient power to meet Galactica's needs even if some of them should fail.^[13]

Known Battle stars (1978)[edit]

Including the Galactica, eight of the Battle stars were referenced during the course of the original 1978 series and are considered canon. These Battle stars includes Acropolis, Atlantia, Columbia, Pacifica, Pegasus, Rycon, and Triton. These Battle stars all featured to varying degrees within the context of television series.

Five of the Battle stars were established in the first episode when the background dialog indicated the Acropolis, Pacifica, and Triton were present along with Atlantia and Galactica during the events of the ambush at Cimtar in the "Saga of a Star World" Pilot.

The Battlestar Columbia was said in the episode "Gun on Ice Planet Zero" to have been destroyed during the events of "Saga of a Star World". However, the "Saga of a Star World" shooting script and background dialog contradicted the "Gun on Ice Planet Zero" dialog. Columbia's implied presence within the fleet at the ambush was probably a script error.

The Battlestar Rycon was mentioned only briefly in dialog during the episode "Take The 'Celestra' as a Battlestar previously under the command of Commander Kronus. Rycon was reportedly destroyed before the events of the series. The Battlestar Pegasus appeared in the two-part episode "The Living Legend". The Pegasus was described as a ship of the fifth fleet under the command of Commander Cain and had been believed destroyed at the battle of Mole cay, a battle that occurred before the pilot episode.

The only Battle stars represented definitively in the series were "Atlantia," "Galactica," and "Pegasus". Atlantia made its only screen appearance in the pilot "Saga of a Star World". "Atlantia" was identified as the flagship of the fleet, and its name could be seen on the ship's hull before its prominent destruction during the first act. The "Pegasus" appeared in the two-part episode "The Living Legend" with its name shown prominently on the ship's hull throughout. The ultimate fate of Pegasus was left ambiguous with strong indications the ship would return in later seasons. The "Galactica" was the only other ship filmed with footage of its name on the hull plate during the series. No other Battle stars were filmed in detail; Acropolis, Pacifica, and Triton appeared briefly in fleet establishing shots. However, all three were further established through background dialog during the opening minutes of the pilot episode. Battle stars Columbia and Rykon were never filmed and only mentioned in dialog offscreen.

A ninth Battlestar was named in verified early internal documents within the Universal Studios art department while the series was in pre-production. This Battlestar was named the Prometheus. However, the Prometheus was not mentioned in any aired episode and has not been identified in dialog from any filmed scene or shooting script.

There are two additional Battle stars subsequently listed through written licensed sources close to the television production. The earliest of these was the Battlestar Solaria From the novelization of the pilot episode titled Battlestar Galactica (1978). This book was written during the production of the series. The Solaria, (much like Columbia in the episode Gun on Ice Planet Zero), was described as being destroyed with the fleet during the events of the television pilot. Also, like Columbia before it, This contradiction with the established canon places doubt on the status of the Solaria in the timeline.

However, The Solaria was also referenced in a publication titled Galactica Scrapbook (1978). Robert Thurston, (the author of the Pilot novelization), has stated he had access to internal materials at the time and obtained the name of Solaria from within those documents. He also clarified that other names were present on those documents as well. He indicated the aforementioned Prometheus and another Battlestar named Bellerophon had also originated from those internal documents.

These documents have not been verified. The Battlestar Bellerophon was referenced in a book titled Encyclopedia Galactica (1979) and was described as a Battlestar that Colonel Tigh had previously served aboard.

The Battlestar Cerebus was another name referenced from a novelization Battlestar Galactica 7 War of the Gods (1982) which was later adapted into the War of the Gods episode. Cerebus was described as a Battlestar that Commander Adama had served on in his early career. As the book was released after the series ended, and any licensing restrictions from Universal would have been lifted by that point, there is a question as to whether Cerebus originated from the source material like the prior listed names had or was simply a later creation from the author of Battlestar Galactica 7 War of the Gods novel.

A much later publication titled Colonial Warriors Technical Manual Magazine was released in 1988. The publication was not connected to the licenses related to the series or Universal Studios which was ultimately fan-made work. The content from the book listed the ship's flags, definitions, seals, and ship blueprints. The Battle stars Argo, Olympia and Poseidon were originated from this book.^[15] The book was poorly edited and considered unreliable at best during the development of its content. Many editorial elements appeared to be internally created specifically for the book with no connection to the original source material at all, including the new Battle stars listed therein. This book has been consistently viewed as non-canon.^[16]

Re-imagined Battlestar Galactica (2003 series)[edit]

Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (BS-75)
First appearance	Miniseries, Part 1
Information
Affiliation	Colonial Fleet
Auxiliary vehicles	Colonial Raptors, Colonial Vipers
General characteristics
Class	Jupiter
Armaments	Primary KE weapons Point defense KEWs Ship-to-ship missiles Nuclear weapons
Propulsion	FTL drives Sublight engines; 1,000-1,500km/sec
Length	1,445m/4,740ft[17]

In the re-imagined series, there were about 120 Battlestars in service before the second Cylon attack.

Galactica (BS-75) entered service in the early years of the first Cylon War, under the command of Commander Silas Nash. During her service, Galactica formed a part of Battlestar Group 75 (BSG 75), a colonial force described by series creator Ronald D. Moore as a mixed force of vessels somewhat similar to a U.S. Navy carrier strike group. After graduating from the Colonial Military Academy, William Adama's first posting was to Galactica as a Raptor pilot.

Like many of her sister ships that survived the first Cylon War, Galactica underwent refits and upgrades (for example, at the end of her career, she was equipped with the latest Mark VII Viper space superiority fighter). However, the computer systems were never networked nor integrated during these refits.

Due to this lack of network integration at the time of the Cylon attack, Galactica was unaffected by the infiltration program used by the Cylons to disable colonial vessels and defense systems, using the Command Navigation Program (CNP), developed by Dr. Gaius Baltar and subverted by Cylon operative Number Six as a back door into such systems.

At the time of the Cylon Attack, Galactica was fifty years old and was undergoing formal decommissioning from the Colonial Fleet following her retirement as an operational vessel. The ship was to become a museum commemorating the first Cylon War and an educational center; much of its outer armor and weapons had already been stripped. Due to its age and operating conditions, the ship is unofficially known as "The Bucket" by the Pegasus and Galactica crews.^[18] Another nickname used by the crew is "The Big G"^[19] (a possible reference to the U.S. Navy sailors' nickname for USS Enterprise, "The Big E"). Galactica's starboard launch pod was outfitted as a Cylon war museum; this exhibit remained intact until the final mission against the Cylon colony.

Since the Cylon attack, in keeping with the concept of the original 1978 series, Galactica became both protector and provider to a small fleet of civilian vessels searching for the legendary planet Earth.

Galactica took heavy damage during its raid against the Cylons on planet New Caprica, and her hull was now clearly darker with burn marks and missile hits, most notably the three large holes on her back where the armor was weakest.

After the evacuation from New Caprica, the starboard hangar deck was used to house civilian refugees and was given the nickname "Camp Oilslick".^[20] In "A Measure of Salvation", which followed "Torn", Major Lee Adama informs Galactica that their Raptor was on approach to the starboard landing deck, which indicated that the starboard flight pod had started flight operations again.^[21] However, this is likely a dialogue error because in the finale it was still shown to be a museum and Oilslick was never moved.

In the episode "The Woman King", 300 more passengers were shown being moved to the starboard hangar deck, and the area was given the name "Dogsville" by the Galactica crew. Upon arriving, each passenger was checked for medical issues by civilian doctors and medical staff. Also now housed in the starboard hangar deck was a makeshift bar called "Joe's", located behind a storage area. Joe's was equipped with a bumper pool table, Pyramid arcade area, and a heavily damaged Mark II Viper hanging over the bar. The bar was first seen in the episode "Taking a Break from All Your Worries". The bar appeared to have an alcohol still, similar to the one Chief Tyrol built in the port hangar deck, in the center of it. The piano that Kara Thrace plays in the episode "Someone to Watch Over Me" is in Joe's Bar.

In the episode "The Passage", Galactica housed fleet passengers during the trip through a star cluster, leaving the fleet vessels to be flown by skeleton crews with radiation medication.

Galactica was seen taking multiple hits from Cylon nuclear weapons, though the damaged ship remained operational. It is unclear exactly how well the Cylon nuclear weapons were expected to perform against Galactica's armor. Also, as the nukes detonated outside of the vessel, most of the energy would have been directed and attenuated out into the area of least resistance: space. However, the punishment has apparently begun to accumulate. In "Blood on the Scales", after disabling the FTL drive, Chief Tyrol noticed a large crack in an interior wall; in the subsequent episode, "No Exit", a more detailed inspection reveals hairline fractures and more obvious structural damage throughout the ship. The damage is aggravated by the fact that the original builders of the ship "cut corners" during her construction. Tyrol suggests applying a Cylon organic resin that will bond itself into the hull, repairing and strengthening the metal as it matures. Admiral Adama initially refuses the idea, but after finding cracks in the bulkheads of his quarters, he gives Tyrol permission to do whatever it takes to repair Galactica. The repairs were not proceeding well, with numerous electrical faults occurring throughout the ship. When Boomer made her escape, she jumped her Raptor close to the port forward section of the bow, causing a spatial distortion which caused massive damage both externally and internally, exacerbating the already heavy structural damage.

At the onset of the series, Galactica's last operational squadron of Mark VII Vipers participated in the decommissioning ceremony before departing the ship for reassignment. The squadron was redirected to intercept a group of Cylon fighters and was subsequently disabled by the Cylon computer virus and destroyed. The Mark II Vipers meant for Galactica's museum display were pressed into service to defend the ship; these and a small number of Mark VIIs comprised the ship's fighter complement until the arrival of the Battlestar Pegasus midway through the second season. Pegasus possessed construction facilities and flight simulators that allowed it to build and train new Mark VII Vipers and pilots to strengthen the squadrons of both ships. When Pegasus was destroyed during the liberation of New Caprica, her nearly intact squadrons were transferred to Galactica, giving the latter a full complement of Vipers. By the time of the episode He That Believeth in Me, there were more Vipers available than qualified pilots, and trainees were pressed into service to defend the fleet. A significant number of pilots participated in the mutiny led by Tom Zarek and Felix Gaeta.^[22] The pilots who refused to assist William Adama in retaking the ship were court-martialed and incarcerated aboard the fleet prison vessel. The further reduction in manpower forces Adama to allow Cylon heavy raiders from the renegade Basestar to assist in CAP duties alongside Galactica's regular pilots.

Due to the ship's age, battle damage, and subpar materials used in her construction, Galactica eventually begins to show severe metal fatigue. Attempts to seal the ship's multiple stress fractures with the Cylon resin fail, and Adama orders the ship to be abandoned and stripped of weapons, parts and supplies. The discovery of the Cylon colony gives Galactica a brief reprieve, and a skeleton crew embarks on a mission to rescue the Cylon/human child Hera.^[23]

The crew of volunteers is supplemented by Cylon centurions from the rebel Basestar as well as a small number of civilians including Laura Roslin, Gaius Baltar, and Tory Foster. Samuel Anders, a Cylon left in a vegetative state by brain damage, is connected to the ship's systems, effectively becoming the Battlestar's version of a Cylon hybrid.

Galactica jumps to within point-blank firing range of the colony, making it impossible for missiles to be used, and sustains more damage in the exchange of gunfire. Anders disrupts the colony's systems and shuts down their weapons. A squadron of Raptors jumps from Galactica's starboard landing bay, destroying it in the process, and the Battlestar is rammed into the colony. Marine and centurion assault teams from the Raptors and from Galactica rescue Hera, but a counterassault by the remaining Cylon forces in the colony results in a standoff. A truce is negotiated, but hostilities resume when the Final Five fail to transmit the plans for Cylon resurrection to the colony. The colony is hit by several nukes accidentally fired from a disabled Raptor and begins being pulled into a nearby black hole. Kara Thrace jumps Galactica without retracting the landing pods, resulting in severe structural fractures along its length, effectively breaking the ship's back and rendering Galactica incapable of jumping again.

Thrace uses co-ordinates derived from the musical notes of a song that has haunted both her and the Final Five Cylons, resulting in the ship arriving at the planet that will eventually become modern-day Earth. A Raptor is sent to rendezvous with the fleet, and the survivors of the Twelve Colonies settle on the planet along with the remaining Cylon rebels. Galactica and the other ships in the fleet are abandoned. Admiral Adama flies the last Viper off the ship, and the Battlestar and its fleet are scuttled by Samuel Anders, who pilots them on their last flight directly into the Sun.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Galactica (1978 series) at the Battlestar Wiki
• Galactica (2004 series) at the Battlestar Wiki