3.6 Magellan Class Spaceliner

A profile of the luxurious Magellan class spaceliner that coined the term “spaceliner,” presented with the hastily armed DY-350 prototype destroyer that scored the most kills in the Battle of the Sol System, with specifications for both.

Magellan class spaceliner (design by Rick Sternbach, as redrawn by Lawrence Miller)

DY-350 prototype (design by Walter M. Jeffries and Rick Sternbach, as redrawn by Lawrence Miller)

The Magellan class comprised the great Terran space passenger liners of their day. In fact the word spaceliner was coined to describe them. These plied the Terran spaceways for over three decades, providing luxurious comfort for Sol System tourists. In an age where planetary space travel was measured in terms of days, weeks, and even months these ships were designed with every possible amenity. Their level of excellence became the de facto standard by which all subsequent spaceliners were measured and even today’s are hard-pressed to equal.

At the time of the Earth-Kzin Wars (2048-2065) many of these were appropriated by the UESF and converted for use as troop transports. One, the Cortez, was lost in a convoy ambush during the Second Earth-Kzin War.

Only one was saved from the scrapper’s torch. The Prince of Wales is preserved today in its original sublight configuration at the Federation Air and Space Museum at Terra (Sol III).

Service entry date (old calendar): 2040.

Specifications

Length: 100 m
Beam: 18.2 m
Draft: 30.9 m
Mass: 20,000 DWT
Crew: 30 (+ 260 passengers)
Range: 800 million km
Maximum speed: 50,000 m/sec

Innovations/Experiments

First true spaceliner class
First spacecraft fitted with luxury accomodations and accessories (such as theaters, night clubs, dining rooms, etc.)
First Terran spacecraft fitted with lifeboat pods

DY-350 Prototype

The DY-350 program was initiated as a means of converting the proven DY-series design into a destroyer-class space warship. At the time it was meant as an escort for the Companion class cruiser; however, the outbreak of the First Earth-Kzin War changed that. The unfinished DY-350 prototype was hastily outfitted with weapons, existing DY-series engines, and then thrown into the fray. It subsequently scored the most kills of any single UESF ship in the Battle of the Sol System. Its effectiveness as a combat vessel was thus vindicated. The final DY-350 design (and the subsequent DY-X program) would benefit greatly from the combat data gleaned from this prototype’s performance.

Service entry date (old calendar): 2049.

Length: 145 m
Beam: 33 m
Draft: 47 m
Mass: 19,500 DWT
Crew: 8
Range: 1.15 billion km
Maximum speed: 140,000 km/hr
Armament: 4 forward lasers, 25 fusion missiles

Innovations/Experiments: First DY-series designed specifically for combat.