| The BC-02 Daedalus | |
| Technical Data | |
|---|---|
| Length | 335 m |
| Width | 192 m |
| Height | 68 m |
| Mass | 4,250,000 tonnes |
| Max Sub-Light Speed | 95 PSL |
| Defenses | Asgard-type Shields, Trinium Hull |
| Armaments | Railguns, Missiles, Mk IV Nuclear Missile |
| Fighters | 16 F-302 Fighters |
Daedalus-class BC-304 battlecruisers are fictional spacecraft in the science-fiction television shows, Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis.
The BC-304[1] is the second-generation line of Earth's battlecruisers, designed to combat massive ships such as the Goa'uld motherships, succeeding the Prometheus. There are currently three active spacecraft in the Daedalus class, the Daedalus, Odyssey and Korolev.
Ship list
| Name | Registry | Status | Commander | Asgard engineer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daedalus | BC 02 | Active | Col. Steven Caldwell | Hermiod |
| Odyssey | BC 03 | Status Unknown | Col. Paul Emmerson | Kvasir |
| Korolev | BC 04 | Status Unknown | Col. Chekov |
Daedalus
Overview
The Daedalus (BC-02) is the first starship to be produced of the Daedalus class of battlecruisers. It is believed that each ship takes about 2 years to construct and at least 3 deadalus battlcruisers have been built with 2 being constructed a year.
Appearance on the show
The Daedalus was first mentioned on Stargate SG-1 in episode 8.19, "Moebius, Part 1", and on Stargate Atlantis in episode 1.20, "The Siege, Part 2". She made her first appearance in episode 2.01 "The Siege, Part 3".
Alien technology
Advanced alien technology, such as Asgard shields, an Asgard hyperdrive engine, and Asgard teleportation technology, was incorporated from the start, as opposed to being "tacked on after the fact" to the Prometheus, as Lt. Col. Samantha Carter put it.
The Daedalus has an onboard Asgard engineering expert to oversee the Asgard technology incorporated on the ship, named Hermiod. It appears the protections in the Asgard teleportation technology are to prevent it from being used offensively (such as the teleportation of a tactical nuclear weapon into Wraith hive ships). Such use can be overriden by an Asgard.
Weapons
The Daedalus also carries sixteen F-302 fighters and numerous Mark IV nuclear warheads. Generally speaking, the primary armaments used by the Daedalus is her missile complement which is fired using a vertical launch system with all her missile emplacements appearing at the bow of the ship, and numerous rail guns.
There is no Asgard weaponry on the Daedalus, with the Asgard going as far as to lock their beaming technology from transporting weapons such as nuclear weapons or concussive ordinance. This is a variation on their original policy when they initially seemed willing to provide weapons designed to operate on Prometheus.
Design
As seen on Stargate Atlantis, the Daedalus has notable physical differences from the Prometheus. She is sleeker, without the large aft tower. She also has three additional engine emplacements on each side, making the rearmost part of the ship wider than the Prometheus. There is a large square structure on the ship's bow, its purpose is unknown. F-302 bays are located on both sides of the ship, below and out from the main hull along the rear.
The Prometheus general design is that of a battlecruiser, a defensive/offensive craft designed to provide fire support in a space combat situation, trading shots with Goa'uld spacecraft. The Daedelus, however, is designed more as a multi-role carrier/battlecruiser, carrying 16 F-302 space-fighters as well as the capability for over 400 soldiers. While it is a carrier structure, it is capable of standing up to multiple Wraith Hive Ships or Goa'uld motherships. As the Prometheus was easily destroyed by an Ori weapon, it remains to be seen whether the Daedalus will be effective against the Ori. However, two of it's sister ships have encoutered the Ori before, so it is unknown whether the Daedalus would fare any better or worse.
History
The Daedalus was launched from Earth after the Zero Point Module found in Egypt ("Moebius, Part 2") was used to send a force of Marines to Atlantis with it. It took the Daedalus only four days to reach the Pegasus Galaxy and Atlantis with the ZPM powering the ship's Asgard hyperdrive. This ZPM was removed and used to power Atlantis's shield. Without the Ancient power source, it takes Daedalus approximately 3 weeks to travel between Earth and Atlantis (The Intruder - the dialogue is ambiguous as to the specific figure).
The ship is named after the architect and engineer Daedalus of Ancient Greek mythology and is commanded by USAF Col. Steven Caldwell.
When the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee interviewed Dr. Daniel Jackson, Vala Mal Doran, Major General Hank Landry, and Teal'c in a bid to increase Stargate Command funding, he referred to Daedalus-class vessels as the best hope for Earth. This would imply that more of these ships are planned or under construction.
Odyssey
The second USAF production spacecraft of Daedalus-class battlecruisers is called the Odyssey registry PB3865 [2]. Its design, weapons, and technological capabilities are expected to be nearly identical to the Daedalus; its Asgard Engineer is Kvasir, an Asgard who first made his appearance in Season 9's "Ripple Effect".
After the destruction of the Prometheus in "Ethon", the Odyssey becomes the primary vessel in Earth's defensive fleet.
Initial mission
During the shakedown cruise of the Odyssey, the commander of the vessel, Colonel Emerson, was sent by General Landry to rescue SG-1, who were captured by the Lucian Alliance on P6G-452. SG-1 had been captured after the Stargate on the planet was taken by Ba'al, preventing them from dialing home.
The ship traveled to the P6G-452 in hyperspace, and using implanted identification chips that were placed in all SGC personnel, the Odyssey was able to lock onto and beam them aboard. The ship was then immediately contacted by General Landry to go and reclaim the Stargates from Ba'al's mothership. SG-1 beamed aboard after Ba'al's ship was disabled and planted tracer beacons on all the Stargates and DHDs, while in the middle of fending off Ba'al's Jaffa. The Lucian Alliance showed up in a small fleet of Ha'tak vessels and ignored the Odyssey's hails, and they attacked Ba'al's ship. The Odyssey began to fire on the Lucian ships with rail guns in order to prevent them from destroying Ba'al's ship while SG-1 was aboard, but the rail gun fire against the shielded ships was ineffective. The Odyssey managed to beam all but one Stargate and DHD before the Lucian ships destroyed Ba'al's. That particular Stargate was being used by SG-1 to gate back to Earth, but Colonel Emerson and the Odyssey had to assume the worst and retreated after the shields were nearly drained and after doing no damage to the Lucian fleet.
During the Odyssey's first mission, its shields were untested and were not operating at 100%.
By the time of "Camelot", the Odyssey was among several other Jaffa/Asgard/Human ships to form a fleet tasked with destroying the Ori supergate. Along with the Russian cruiser, Korolev, the ship engaged in combat with the Ori once the first wave of the enemy fleet breached the supergate. Taking heavy damage, the Odyssey was last seen dead in the water.
Korolev
The Korolev was a BC-304 given to Russia by the USA in exchange for continued use of the Russian Stargate by the USA in "Crusade". [3] Colonel Chekov is identified as the ship's commander.[4].
The Korolev has Asgard beaming technology, as demonstrated on Dr. Jackson and Col. Mitchell in the episode "Camelot."
At the time of "Camelot", the Korolev was among the last of the Jaffa/Asgard/Human ships to join the joint fleet. After picking up both Colonel Mitchell and Dr. Jackson, the Korolev met up with the fleet and soon afterward engaged in battle. Like many other ships - including the Odyssey - the Korolev took heavy damage.
Despite being a Russian controlled craft, the Korolev does carry a compliment of F-302s, it is unknown whether the US gave these 302s to the Russians with the mothership, or whether the Russians built their own to stock the vessel.
First battle of P3Y-229
The Odyssey and Korolev were both a part of a combined Tau'ri, Jaffa, Tok'ra, Asgard and Lucian Alliance fleet set to intercept and stop an Ori fleet from arriving through a Supergate constructed around P3Y-229. En route, the Odyssey was ordered to collected SG-1 and report immediatly to the supergate. Their standing orders were to destroy the Supergate by any means necessary. Daedalus was unable to attend the engagement as it was still in the Pegasus galaxy, Korolev however was rushed into service and dispatched to P3Y-229.
At the opening moments of the engagment, both Odyssey and Korolev fared better then the Jaffa and Tok'ra vessels in the battle, their Asgard designed shields had withstood opening attacks from the Ori vessels, comparable to those that felled the Prometheus. However, as the engagment continued, both vessels lost main power systems and main engines, rendering them sitting ducks to the Ori weapons.
Nearing the conclusion of the battle, with most of the "Milky Way Alliance" vessels destroyed, both Odyssey and Korolev remained largely intact, until a number of Ori vessels concentrated their fire on one of the BC-304s, cutting the vessel's hull in half, before exploding the craft.
Trivia
- Daedalus and Prometheus are two superheavy warships in The Super Dimension Fortress Macross animated TV series, with each ship is around 500 meters in length. Daedalus (SLV-111) is a superheavy, semi-submersible amphibious assault ship that was specialized to carry Destroids, while Prometheus (CVS-101) is a semi-submarine supercarrier that carries regular military aircraft and Variable Fighters. When both ships are stranded in space, both are attached to the SDF-1 Macross and serve as secondary carrier bays for Destroids and Variable Fighters. Also, in the Robotech variant of this universe, the second SDF ship is unofficially named the SDF-2 Odyssey by fans.
- There is also a Daedalus-class starship in the Star Trek franchise, although it has never actually appeared onscreen and has only been mentioned in dialogue. There are also multiple ships in the Star Trek universe bearing the name Prometheus, one being the USS Prometheus from Star Trek: Voyager (the other is an earlier Nebula class starship).
- Again, there is a vessel in Star Trek that was of the same design as a series central craft, the Galaxy-Class USS Odyssey. Like the Odyssey from SG-1, it also was the first craft of it's type to engage and unfamiliar enemy and be completely overwhelmed by them.
- Daedalus was a mythical inventor from ancient Greek Mythology, it is said he fashioned wings for himself and his son and they flew away from Greece. This name is fitting for the Daedelus as it is equipped first vessel designed by humanity to travel between Galaxies.
- The Korolev may be named after General Designer Acad. S. P. Korolev, who was involved with the Soviet moon program and ICBM development.
References
- ^ "Crusade". Stargate SG-1. Season 9. Episode 19. 41 minutes in.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help) - ^ Gateworld entry on "Off The Grid"
- ^ Stargate wiki entry on "Flesh and Blood"
- ^ Gateworld screenshot from "Camelot"
