Corvette (Ship Classification)

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Item Description
Type: Military
Designation: 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.

Known examples:

USSF Pendleton, CVT-2