Starship 56163 225957380 2008-07-16T05:17:28Z 69.37.244.66 /* Individual ships */ [[Image:Daedaluscap158.JPG|thumb|right|Artist's conception of the British Interplanetary Society design for [[Project Daedalus]], a real-world concept.]] {{otheruses1|a vehicle for interstellar travel}} A '''starship''' is a theoretical [[spacecraft]] designed for [[interstellar travel|traveling between the stars]], as opposed to a vehicle designed for [[orbital spaceflight]] or [[interplanetary travel]]. The term is mostly found in [[science fiction]], as humanity has not yet constructed such vehicles (while the [[Voyager program|Voyager]] and [[Pioneer program|Pioneer]] probes have traveled into local interstellar space, they are not generally considered starships, mainly because they are both unpowered and unmanned). However, [[exploratory engineering]] has been undertaken on several preliminary designs and [[feasibility study|feasibility studies]] for starships that could be built with modern technology or technology thought to be available in the near future. For examples of such studies, see [[Project Daedalus]], [[Project Orion (nuclear propulsion)|Project Orion]], and [[Project Longshot]]. ==Fictional types== A common literary device is to posit a [[faster-than-light]] [[spacecraft propulsion|propulsion]] system (such as [[warp drive]]) or travel through [[Hyperspace (science fiction)|hyperspace]], although some starships may be outfitted for [[century|centuries]]-long journeys of slower-than-light travel. Other designs posit a way to boost the ship to near-lightspeed, allowing relatively "quick" travel (i.e. decades, not centuries) to nearer stars. This results in a general categorization of the kinds of starships: * [[Sleeper ship]]s, which put their passengers into [[Stasis (fiction)|stasis]] during a long trip. * [[Generation ship]]s, where the destination will be reached by descendants of the original passengers. * [[Time dilation|Relativistic ships]], taking advantage of time dilation at close-to-light-speeds, so long trips will seem much shorter (but still take the same amount of time for outside observers). * [[Faster-than-light|Faster-than-light ships]], which can move between places very quickly (transcending current understanding of physics or using interdimensional 'shortcuts'). ==Fictional elements== Certain common elements are found in most fiction that discusses starships. ===Slower-than-light=== {{main|Generation ship}} *Fiction that discusses slower-than-light starships is relatively rare, since the time scales are so long. Instead of describing the interaction with the outside world, those fictions tend to focus on setting the whole story within the world of the (often very large) starship during its long travels. Sometimes the starship ''is'' a world, in perception or reality. ===Faster-than-light=== {{main|Faster-than-light}} Travel at velocities near or greater than the [[speed of light]] is impossible according to the known [[laws of physics]]. Science fiction has, however, provided many examples. *Such starships are typically large, multi-passenger vehicles (compared to [[starfighter]]s). They range in size from small personal yachts and courier ships, up to vast bulk containers (used for intersystem shipping) and enormous warships. *Starships are usually depicted as operating under laws and guidelines similar to real-world seagoing vessels. The primary reason for this concept (beyond artistic license) is that deep space is an even more hazardous environment than the open sea, and so extreme caution would have to be taken in all starship operations. A side effect of this is that spacegoing fleets, especially space militaries, are usually described as being organized similar to modern Earth navies. *A starship may be fitted with a wide variety of engines, weapons, equipment, and internal compartments. Small freighters used for smuggling are typically fast, modified to avoid detection, are often heavily armed, and may have secret holds for hiding [[contraband]] cargo. Large container ships usually have little in the way of [[deflector shields|shielding]] or weaponry, but have huge, powerful engines necessary for moving vast quantities of cargo through (or between) star systems. *Passenger vessels, are often described as being similar to modern [[ocean liner]]s, containing luxurious passenger cabins, gambling halls, showrooms, restaurants, and lounges. Warships contain crew quarters, extensive weaponry and shielding, massive engines, sophisticated [[sensor]] and [[telecommunication|communications]] arrays, and usually a detachment of non-naval Marine-like soldiers trained in assaulting and capturing enemy spacecraft, targets on planetary surfaces, or both. ===Exceptions=== *Exceedingly large spacegoing craft (for example the [[Death Star]] of the [[Star Wars]] universe) are typically not referred to as 'starships' (but see 'slower-than-light ships' above). Terms like [[planetoid|(artificial) planetoid]] may be considered to be more accurate. *[[Space station]]s and other structures intended to orbit a celestial body or serve as a point of contact / [[space dock|maintenance / docking station]] for other ships are not usually called starships, even if they can move under their own power. ==Fictional examples== The following is a listing of some of the most widely known vessels in various science fiction franchises: ===Individual ships=== <!-- BEFORE ADDING HERE; PLEASE CHECK: *Is the source very well-known (i.e. not only notable but famous)? *Is the ship the most important ship (or, in larger franchise, one of the most important ones?) *Is there already a Wikipedia article about it? Why not write that one first, then? THIS LIST SHOULD NOT BECOME TOO LONG - IT IS *NOT* SUPPOSED TO BE EXHAUSTIVE. THANKS --> <table><tr><td valign=top> *''[[Andromeda Ascendant]]'' (''[[Andromeda (TV series)|Andromeda]]'') *''[[Event Horizon (film)|Event Horizon]]'' (''[[Event Horizon (film)|Event Horizon]]'') *''[[Battlestar Galactica (ship)|''Galactica'']] ([[Battlestar Galactica]]) *''[[Heart of Gold (spaceship)|Heart of Gold]]'' (''[[Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy]]'') *''[[GSV Lasting Damage]]'' (''[[The Culture]]'') *''[[Lexx#The Lexx|The Lexx]]'' (''[[Lexx]]'') *''[[Liberator (Blake's 7)|Liberator]]'' (''[[Blake's 7]]'') *''[[Nostromo (spaceship)|USCSS ''Nostromo'']] (''[[Alien (film)|Alien]]'') *''[[Pillar of Autumn|''Pillar of Autumn'']] (''[[Halo (video game series)|Halo]]'') *''[[SSV Normandy]] (''[[Mass Effect]]'') <td valign=top> *''[[Homeworld 2#Pride of Hiigara|''Pride of Hiigara'']] (''[[Homeworld]]'') *''[[Red Dwarf ships#Red Dwarf|Red Dwarf]]'' (''[[Red Dwarf (television)|Red Dwarf]]'') *''[[SDF-1 Macross|SDF-1 ''Macross'']] (''[[Macross]]/[[Robotech]]'') *''[[Serenity]]'' (''[[Firefly (TV series)|Firefly]]'') *''[[Sulaco (spaceship)|USS ''Sulaco'']] (''[[Aliens (film)|Aliens]]'') *''[[Starship Titanic]]'' (''[[Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy]]'') *''[[TARDIS]]'' (''[[Doctor Who]]'') *''[[TCS Tiger's Claw|TCS ''Tiger's Claw'']] (''[[Wing Commander (franchise)|Wing Commander]]'') *''[[Pegasus-Class Assault Landing Craft|White Base]]'' (''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]'') *''[[Rodger Young]]'' ([[Starship Troopers]]) *''[[White Star (Babylon 5)|White Star]]'' (''[[Babylon 5]]'') *''[[Space Battleship Yamato (spaceship)|''Yamato'']] (''[[Space Battleship Yamato]]/[[Star Blazers]]'') *''[[USS Enterprise (Star Trek)|U.S.S. Enterprise]]'' (''[[Star Trek]]'') </tr></td></table> ===Groups of ships=== <table><tr><td valign=top> *[[Star Trek]] starships **[[USS Defiant|USS ''Defiant'']] **[[Starship Enterprise|USS ''Enterprise'']]s **[[USS Voyager (Star Trek)|USS ''Voyager'']] *[[Star Wars]] starships **[[Corellian Corvette]] - ''[[Tantive IV]]'' **[[Star Destroyer|Imperial Star Destroyer]] - ''Avenger'' **[[Executor (Star Wars)|Imperial Super Star Destroyer]] - ''Executor'' **[[YT series|YT Series Transport]] - ''[[Millennium Falcon]]'' <td valign=top> *[[Stargate]] starships **[[Prometheus (Stargate)|Prometheus Class]] - ''Prometheus'' **[[Daedalus class battlecruiser|Daedalus Class]] - ''Daedalus, Odyssey, Apollo, Korolev'' **[[Aurora class warship|Aurora Class]] - ''Aurora, Orion, Tria'' </tr></td></table> ==See also== *[[Bioship]] *Space travel **[[Intergalactic travel]] **[[Interstellar travel]] *[[Space battleship]] *[[Spacecraft]] **[[Spacecraft propulsion]] *[[Unidentified flying object]] (UFO) *[[List of fictional spaceships]] ==External links== *[http://www.cinespaceships.net/ CineSpaceships] (database of spaceships in movies) *[http://www.merzo.net/ Starship Dimensions] (to-scale size comparisons) ** [http://www.st-minutiae.com/misc/comparison.gif Starship Size Comparison Chart 1] (Dan Carlson, 13 July 2003) ** [http://www.st-minutiae.com/misc/comparison_huge.gif Starship Size Comparison Chart 2] (Dan Carlson, 30 October 2003) *[http://www.infoshop.org/sf/index.php/Spaceship_Names Starship Names] (a Sci-Fi wiki article, outside of Wikipedia) [[Category:Fictional spacecraft]] [[Category:Science fiction themes]] [[Category:Star Trek ship terms]] [[Category:Ship types]] [[Category:Spaceflight]] [[Category:Transportation in fiction]] [[es:Astronave]] [[it:Astronave]] [[ja:恒星船]] [[pt:Nave estelar]] [[ru:Звездолёт]] [[uk:Зореліт]] [[zh:星舰]]