Corvette (Ship Classification)
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Type: | Military |
| Designation: | Original fleet, PGS; later fleet, CVT |
| Builder: | SpaceX Mars, LLC |
| Decks: | 3 |
| Length Overall: | 42 meters / 14 standard frames |
| Height: | 17 meters |
| Beam: | 21 meters |
| Primary Mission: | In-system Patrol/Convoy Escort/Transport, Interstellar Short-Haul Transport |
| Drive: | Alcubierre Warp, Alcubierre Sub-Light |
| Warp Capable: | Yes, up to Warp 4 |
| Rotation Capable: | No |
| Atmosphere Capable: | To 200 KPa (approx. 30 PSIA, 2 atmospheres). Capable of landing on an Earthlike planet. |
| Armament: | Light, primarily defensive |
| Complement: | Total 30: 21 Space Force crew, plus 9 Space Force Security (not SF Marines) |
| Passenger Capacity: | 20 in single staterooms |
| Freight Tonnage: | TBD |
| Commanded By: | SF Lieutenant |
Corvettes are first mentioned in A Dragon in the Foie Gras. They are limited to Warp 4 for several reasons:
- They are intended as short-haul, sub-light, in-system transports; they are interstellars only as an afterthough
- There is a fear that if they could go faster, they would be hijacked for use as pirate vessels
- They are too small to carry much, either people or freight
In effect, corvettes are more like big dropships. Their single-passenger staterooms can be struck to turn them into more densely-packed troop transports, but there is little advantage to this due to the fact that a dropship can carry 28 Space Force Marines AND their equipment, and is heavily-armed to boot.
The bottom line: Corvettes were really developed by SpaceX as in-system corporate transports, until somebody said the equivalent of, "Hey, we can put a Hellcat motor in that," and the Space Force corvette was born. They are the only interstellars produced by SpaceX.
The first model Space Force corvettes were designated with hull numbers prefixed with PGS. Approximately fifteen were built and commissioned. An updated/upgraded model followed, with hull number prefix CVT. The latter are still being built, but there are about 75 of them in service by the end of the 22nd Century. Still limited to Warp 4, for the same reasons, but otherwise they use the same hull design and more or less the same interior layout.
Known examples:
USSF Pendleton, CVT-2
USSF Surprise, PGS-2 (mentioned in Found On Road Alive).
Other early PGS corvettes would be Temptress, Spry, Saucy, Restless, Ready, Impulse, Fury, Courage, and Tenacity. Named after the American Temptress class of WWII, which were actually recommissioned British Flower-class corvettes. The PG(S) hull prefix refers to the US designation Patrol Gunboat (and PGS would be "Patrol Gunboat-Space)" used after the WWII recommissionings.