- Edited
My page of other ships ,UN & Civilian
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Cargo shipping in UN territory has changed
With the UNSA officially ending all transfer of resources to Mars as it becomes fully self sufficient, Shipyards in the belt have seen an increased demand for privately owned cargo vessels, Creating a new rapid expansion of the industry as yet another sector of space infrastructure is released to the public by the UN.
New records set for the highest volume cargo vessels have quickly skyrocketed, with the largest vessel in the solar system, taking over from the UNSA's battleship, being a cargo vessel.
This point in history clearly marks the beginning of the end of governmental control over space travel and infrastructure, As when private merchants first began building their sailing ships, replacing governmental routes but now on a system wide scale.
The ships, in order of size/capacity
The first model of the expansion, The modular earth built 4 module cargo ship
The Earth ship features a long range communications array, Twin fusion reactor powered sub-light UN ion drive engines and torpedo launchers port and starboard of the observation deck styled bridge. Guided plasma torpedo launchers are rarely seen on small cargo ships such as this, making this cargo vessel unique in the fact that it has military grade torpedo guidance systems, similar to those used on UN frigates and bombers which incorporate torpedo launchers into the main function of the ship.
Made before the expansion but making a massive comeback, the old union cargo vessel has 4 cargo modules as well as some low yield plasma guns and torpedo launchers. The vessel has an outdated Lunar plasma sub-light drive giving the ship a distinctive red engine trail. Like the newer model it has two fusion power cores. With so many sub-standard technologies the vessel is extremely cheap but also faulty.
The Earth built UN cargo ship once transported prototype ships such as the now widely used UNSA bomber interceptor hybrid and the secretive ships of the UN stealth project. The ship has one Martian medium size fusion engine, donated by the colony while it still relied on resources from Earth, making it slow but good quality as most Martian built machinery is. The ship also has one dual plasma turret, Installed by the UN to protect it's shipments.
The Martian built cargo barge has a triple ion engine drive making it extremely fast, using its speed and heavy weapons to out perform older pirate vessel models. This model also has two Alcubierre drive engines, allowing it to leave to solar system and transfer cargo between Sol and colonies in other systems such as the Epsilon Aturnons colony who has only just ended an embargo with the United Nations after briefly threatening war in the late 22nd century
After the success of the cargo industry in small ships, Independent companies gave their own cargo ship schematics to mainly belt based shipyards, most of them being expensive, large scale ships. The original large scale cargo ship was the union cargo cruiser, with the system record of a 14 cargo module capacity. The first large scale cargo ship of the expansion broke this record with a capacity of 32 modules.
Hanjin's 32 module capacity cruiser has 4 large sub-light UN ion drive engines, making it extremely fast for its size. The ship then has a chain of fusion reactors linking each engine.
3 large beams wrap around the cargo, each with an observation deck allowing the crew to look out into space as windows are typically reserved for the bridge. The ship also has two guided plasma torpedo launchers as well as twin duel plasma turrets for defending against pirate vessels.
Dwarfing all other ships in the cargo port, the Hermes company beat Hanjin's record, releasing their massive container ship within only a month of the Hanjin cargo ship's first purchase. The new king of the space cargo industry, having a capacity of 144 modules, runs on a main sub-light drive similar to that of the Hanjin ship. A line of 6 UN ion engines with a chain of reactors connecting them. The ship has 6 plasma torpedo launchers as well as 2 dual plasma cannons and an additional pair of heavy plasma cannons for large fleets of pirates who may try to attack such a ship.
Finally, it's fitting that the original company to create the super efficient ion sub-light drive would own the largest ship in the history of the solar system.
with a cargo module capacity of 1296, the ship sets multiple records. It is the largest ship ever constructed, the ship with the most fusion reactors in history and the ship with the most UN ion drive sub-light engines. There are 3 operating in the entirety of the extended systems of the United Nations, transferring materials for super projects and colony humanitarian aid between systems, armed with 16 advanced guidance, military grade plasma torpedo launchers, two turrets on the command module and depending on the company/government it is operating under, an escort of 2-10 military ships.
And now, some bonus stuff
The smallest cargo vessel in the colonies.
Earth in the 23rd century:
A Horizon Super Container ship next to a United Nations Cruiser for scale
Corvettes from Epsilon Aturnons, The colony that was cut off from the UN in the embargo
The United Nations Battleship that was originally the largest class of ship in the solar system
the first ever cargo ship (also the first ever UN ship I made)
check the link at the top for more