DCS light freighter
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
| DCS light freighter | |
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| Production information | |
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Role: |
Transporting cargo across colonies |
| Technical specifications | |
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Power plant: |
Single reactor |
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Engine(s): |
Hydrazine maneuvering rockets |
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Slipspace drive: |
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Navigation system(s): |
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| Chronological and affiliation | |
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Affiliation: |
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Light freighters[1][Note 1] are interstellar cargo vessels employed by the UNSC Department of Commercial Shipping. They make up a large portion of the commercial fleet maintained by the DCS.[2]
Design details[edit]
The vessels consist of a large cargo container attached magnetically to a propulsion pod which contains a Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine and hydrazine rockets for subluminal maneuvering.[3] The container features a heating unit maintained by a small nuclear reactor, and a maser communication system.[4] These freighters are mostly automated, and human crews are a rarity.[5] Still, the containers are equipped with control cabins which can be accessed by an elevator on the side of the hull.[6] The freighters' on-board computers are also routinely used to deliver mail between colonies.[7] The containers are fairly large; though most often filled by cargo, they are able to fit roughly 1,000 people.[8]
These containers can travel up and down space elevator strands as well as planetary MagLev train systems, allowing for fast loading and management of cargo. Once on top of the elevator, the propulsion pod is attached to the container, effectively turning it into a slipspace-capable freighter in less than thirty seconds. A colonial high-capacity space tether system such as Harvest's Tiara can have dozens of propulsion pods and cargo containers operational at a time, all managed by a shipping operations AI.[9]
These freighters were used by the survivors of the First Battle of Harvest as they escaped the Covenant attack.[1][8]
Known light freighters[edit]
List of appearances[edit]
- Halo: Ghosts of Onyx (First mentioned)
- Halo: Contact Harvest (First appearance)
Notes[edit]
- ^ While only referred to as "freighters" throughout Halo: Contact Harvest, Halo: Ghosts of Onyx mentions that Shane and other refugees escaped Harvest aboard a "light freighter". Since Contact Harvest indicates that the DCS propulsion pod-container combination freighters were virtually the refugees' only means of escape from Harvest, it is assumed that the mention of "light freighters" in Ghosts of Onyx refers to these ships. In any case, this nomenclature serves to provide a more definite descriptor for the craft type than a mere "DCS freighter" in the absence of a proper name.
Sources[edit]
- ^ a b Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 72
- ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 23
- ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 25
- ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 26
- ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 104
- ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 51
- ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 35
- ^ a b Halo: Contact Harvest, page 337
- ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 67
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