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Scolopendra Modular Cargo Ship

Scolopendra is a long-range, heavy-haul cargo ship with 10 separately detachable, pilot-operated (or remote control operated) high-capacity cargo modules (HCMs) for transporting and delivering cargo in space or planetside. Scolopendra is modless, and utilizes no pistons or rotors.

Here's a link to the HCM blueprint: https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1731221637

Scolopendra has an abundance of small and large hydrogen thrusters for maneuvering and heavy lift capability, as well as two sets of large atmospheric thrusters that significantly reduce hydrogen consumption during planetside operations. The majority of large UP thrusters are segregated into 4 independently controlled boost banks of large hydrogen thrusters, engaging or disengaging banks as necessary to facilitate airborne operations and minimize hydrogen consumption.

The ship's stern module contains the engineering section for supporting the needs of the various ship systems: 10 hydrogen and 6 oxygen tanks, along with 12 O2/H2 generators, and 2 large and 16 small cargo containers dedicated to ice storage for emergency replenishment of the hydrogen and oxygen tanks (to increase cargo capacity, additional material may be transported in these containers in lieu of the emergency ice supplies). Power to the numerous large atmospheric thrusters and other ship's systems is provided by 1 large reactor, with 3 additional small reactors and several banks of batteries for backup. Finally, the stern contains 2 small cargo containers for storage and an airlock (without ladder-to-ground access). The total mass of ice when all ice containers and O2/H2 generators on the ship and HCMs are fully loaded is 4.255 kt.

The ship's bow module contains quarters for a crew of 32, the captain, and the exectutive officer. Adjacent to the crew/office quarters are 2 separate kitchens, a dining table, and lounge area, as well as several armories and lockers for quickly accessing emergency supplies. Emergency/medical services is belowdecks with 2 medical rooms and available beds for 4 patients. Forward from the crew quarters is the bridge, with the officer's quarters between for direct access to the bridge. Accessible from the bridge, above and behind, is a planning area. A bow airlock is accessible through the emergency/medical services section, and allows ladder-to-ground-level access without the need for a jetpack.

The bridge contains a flight seat, 2 control stations, numerous passenger seats, and LCD panels displaying status screens via MMaster's Automatic LCDs 2 scripting. To aid in the ship's operation, an LCD panel is conveniently viewable from the flight seat. (Note that the {Ctrl-2}-{9} key combination with disable the HCM connectors, and will damage the ship when the HCMs tumble away during flight.)

The ship's waist module, connecting the bow and stern modules, is an airtight corridor and allows visual access to the HCMs. The waist module, in addition to providing a corridor between the bow and stern modules, and access to the HCM deck, also contains the majority of "UP" thrusters and an additional 16 hydrogen tanks that signficantly increases the ship's operational range.

FTL travel is accomplished via 7 jump drives, 4 in the bow module and 3 in the stern module. When the ship is empty and without HCMs (minimum gross weight of 7,675,486 kg), the ship is capable of jumping 2,641 km, or 2,286 km with the HCMs present, but not loaded with cargo or ice reserves. When fully loaded to its maximum capacity, the ship's jump distance is reduced to about 220 km.

Each HCM is comprised of 4 large cargo containers, 2 hydrogen tanks (which supplement the hydrogen supply needed to handle the greater load), 3 O2/H2 generators and 2 small cargo containers dedicated to ice storage for emergency replenishment of the hydrogen tanks. The triangular array of 3 docking connectors located at the HCM's front ensure secure locking of the HCM to the Scolopendra for transport; a down-oriented connector (with camera and lights to aid in connecting) facilitates interfacing with other services for loading and/or unloading the large cargo containers or replenishing the hydrogen and/or ice supplies. A cockpit, front-oriented spotlight, gyroscope, battery, and small hydrogen maneuvering thrusters are integrated for allowing each HCM to independently shift supplies where needed. In space, each HCM can maneuver with a full load, but the maximum gross mass for planetary operations is limited to 420 tons due to thruster limitations. A single landing gear is included to allow the HCM to be parked and stored. When parked, the HCM's cockpit is accessible from ground level.

Armament is defensive only, with 11 gatling turrets, 6 missile turrets, and numerous interior turrets at the airlocks and within the ship.

Statistics:

- Ship Empty Mass, without HCMs: 7,675,486 kg (7.7 kt)
- Ship Empty Mass, with empty HCMs: 8,704,986 kg (8.7 kt)
- Ship Maximum Gross Mass for Planetary Operations (see Survival Test, below): 75,000,000 kg (75 kt)
- Ship L × W × H: 455 m × 82.5 m × 55 m

- HCM Empty Mass: 102,950 kg (0.10 kt) empty; 219,842 kg (0.22 kt) when loaded with an emergency ice supply
- HCM Maximum Gross Mass for Planetary Operations (realistic survival): 420,000 kg (0.42 kt)
- HCM L × W × H: 25 m × 17.5 m × 15 m

- PCUs: 67,698 (including the 10 HCMs)
- Blocks: 9,983 (including the 10 HCMs)

SURVIVAL TEST: Scolopendra was tested in survival mode with all settings at "realistic". With a maximum gross mass of 75 kt, and after accelerating to maximum speed, the large hydrogen thruster boost banks were sequentially disabled to conserve hydrogen reserves, and the ascent to space resulted in a very comfortable margin of 53% of the available hydrogen reserves remaining; after all emergency ice had been processed to hydrogen, the hydrogen reserves increased to 66%. In summary, realistic survival testing was a great success!