The S.M. Flores is an interstellar space shuttle that that ferried the human colony to their new home of Enoch. It was conceived by Professor Flores in her Expansion project, meant to save humanity from a dying Earth.
Journal Entries[]
S.M. Flores Technical Specifications[]
Obtained with Journal during the Arrival mission.
- Technical reports
Professor J.J. Karpinski, Year 2076
Ship Length: 2950m
Ship Width (including radiators): 900m
Ship Mass: Inert Mass (without fuel} 849355t
Payload Mass (including the Drop Pods): 200000t
Nuclear Fuel Mass: 3600000t
Hydrazine Fuel Mass: 40000t
Total Mass: 4689355t
(…)
The ship's enormous mass necessitated the assembly of the Flores in Earth's orbit. The transportation of materials to orbit, together with the manpower required to construct the ship, was a result of the combined efforts of multiple Earth governments cooperating. (...)
Among the most critical core components of the Flores that housed and shielded the passengers, crew, supplies and equipment brought to Enoch, were the Drop Pods.
Capable of short distance travel, atmospheric entry and autonomous piloting, the Drop Pods were small scale ships that would transport everything from the Flores to the surface of Enoch. (...)
After landing, they could be retrofitted as living spaces, warehouses, or production facilities. While the Flores was fueled by nuclear power, the Drop Pod engines were powered with hydrazine, a durable fuel that was easy to store and resilient to long distance space travel. (...)
The plan was for 3 Artemis X Class rockets to launch daily over a total of 35 years, carrying workers, specialist personnel and materials. In reality, it took 43 years until the Flores' construction was complete. (...)
Description[]
The S.M. Flores is a massive spaceship meant to house 500,000 people aboard in cryostasis, along with many multi-purpose provisions that could help build a civilization with efficient use of materials. The ship is fitted with many Drop Pods: a small scale drop-ship that will carry the shuttle's supplies onto the planet. The size of the ship necessitated construction in zero-gravity space, with a focus on modularity that allowed the ship to function piecemeal. Yet it was never designed to land on a planet.[1]
The ship is powered with electricity supplied by nuclear reactors, with one of them designed to be detached for temporary remote use by the new colony.[2] The GravEngine propels the vessel, capable of 15% light speed travel. Due to the dangers of such travel, the ship's defenses include particle beam lasers that are autonomously guided to destroy foreign particles whose collision would damage the ship mid-travel.
During travel, the crew maintains an active team of 50 members, rotating every 30 days. The crew operates from a centrifuge that maintains an artificial gravity of 0,72G.
History — Outriders[]
In the face of cataclysmic events that threatened humanity's survival on Earth, Professor Sybilla May Flores made a breakthrough with her invention of the GravDrive Engine, which made interstellar travel a viable option. Countries around the world collaborated on an Expansion Project that sought to build an Ark ship that would ferry a human colony to a distant habitable planet, along with the means to build a new civilization. The ship was completed in 43 years, and was christened in honor of Sybilla.[3]
Flores started its journey to Enoch on May 2076, commanded by Captain Simon B. Archan. It carried 500,000 people in cryostasis over its 83 year mission. An automated mission log 18793 stated that 0.371% of cryopods had been damaged, which resulted in 1855 deaths along the journey.(citation needed) The ship received routine messages from Earth until 2091.
On January 2159, The Flores arrived to Enoch, sustaining damage that caused many system failures. By the time the first Drop Pod was dispatched, the ship was already half dismantled in preparation for colony settlement.