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This is a list of fictional starships in the Stargate universe depicted through a series of television shows and three feature-length movies.
The Ancients are one of the most technologically advanced races in Stargate, and this is reflected in their starships. Duplicates of these ships are utilized by their nanite creations, the Asurans, as they also possess knowledge of Ancient technology.
The Puddle Jumper or Jumper [1] [2] [3] is a small spacecraft used extensively in the Stargate Atlantis series. Puddle Jumpers were created by the Ancients and most exist within the city built by the Ancients known as Atlantis. The Jumpers are used by the humans from Earth that traveled to Atlantis so that they can travel to other planets as well as navigate the planets once they arrive—both in the air and underwater. [4] Jumpers are cylinder-shaped with two retractable engines, one on either side, so that they can fit through the Stargate device. The interior of the Jumper is divided in two parts: cockpit and aft; the bulkhead door between the two sections is airtight and can hold even against the pressure of deep ocean. [4] Access to the Jumper is provided by a rear ramp-hatch. Puddle Jumpers are armed with drone weapons capable of destroying larger ships. Jumpers are also equipped with a cloaking device to evade enemies which renders the ship effectively invisible to both the eye and most sensors. [1]
The Aurora-class battleship [5] is a warship used by the Ancients at the time of their war with the Wraith, [6] first seen in "Aurora". In that episode, the Aurora is a crippled battleship whose crew have preserved themselves in stasis pods, which self-destructs to avoid falling into the hands of the Wraith. The Atlantis Expedition gains control of an Aurora-class battleship discovered by the Taranians in "Inferno"; it is named Orion by John Sheppard (who dislikes its original name Hippaforalkus). The Orion is barely operational when it is called upon to intercept two Wraith hive ships heading for Earth. Maj. Lorne commands the Orion at this point. Dr. Zelenka brings the weapons online at the cost of the shields, and the Orion manages to destroy one hive ship before being destroyed herself. [7] The battleship Tria is encountered along with its Ancient crew in "The Return". The Travelers take control of a derelict battleship with Sheppard's help in "Travelers". [8] It is later destroyed as a result of a stargate explosion in episode "The Lost Tribe". [9] In season 4, it is revealed that the Asurans have built 38 Aurora-class battleships for their war with the Wraith. The Daedalus and the Apollo destroyed a few of them, and the rest are destroyed in the explosion of Asuras. Another battleship is known to exist, commanded by a duplicate Elizabeth Weir. [10] [11] The Asurans dismantled it to create a base in an ill-fated attempt to engineer their way to ascension in "Ghost in the Machine".
Aurora-class battleships are much larger than an Earth Daedalus-class battlecruiser and are substantially superior to Wraith hive ships. They are armed with drone weapons and are protected by energy shields. [7] Large turrets line the ship, which are seen in action in "Be All My Sins Remember'd". They have intergalactic hyperdrives though they are not designed for such long trips, [12] and their sublight engines can accelerate the ship to 99.9% of the speed of light [2] if powered by a Zero Point Module. [2] [13] The ship can project holograms remotely for communication purposes. [2] They contain numerous stasis pods, which can be connected to allow the crew to interact in a virtual environment. [12] The ship has hangar bays that can accommodate puddle jumpers [11] or Wraith darts. [14]
An Ancient city ship is a city-sized spaceship constructed by the Ancients. The best-known Ancient city ship is Atlantis, once the Ancients' capital in the Pegasus galaxy and the main setting for Stargate Atlantis. The Ancients abandoned Atlantis 10,000 years ago due to Wraith attacks; the city resided at the bottom of the ocean on Lantea until it is occupied by the Atlantis Expedition from Earth in "Rising". A city ship is a snowflake-shaped platform dotted with buildings, with an internal volume comparable to every building in Manhattan. [15] They are powered by three Zero Point Modules. [1] The main defensive systems of a city ship are drone weapons, [16] and an all-encompassing shield. [17] The massive ventral stardrive allows city ships to launch into space and traverse galaxies via hyperspace. [1] The city itself is not airtight, so its shield must be active during space flight to hold in the atmosphere. [18] City ships carry a complement of smaller ships, dubbed "puddle jumpers" by John Sheppard. [1] The Atlantis Expedition has discovered a multitude of advanced technologies on Atlantis, including long-range sensors, [19] internal transporters, [20] and sophisticated computer systems. [15] [16]
In "The Tower", the Atlantis team discovers a second city ship on another planet. Although largely buried with much of its structure collapsed except for the central spire, some systems are still operational and the city's drone weapons and puddle jumpers are transferred to Atlantis. The Asurans were created in a city ship that was leveled when the Ancients deemed their experiment a failure. The Asurans rebuilt the ship, and in "Progeny" it is launched by Oberoth to attack Atlantis. The city ship is destroyed over Lantea when the Atlantis team overload its ZPMs. Another Asuran city ship, a duplicate of Atlantis created by Niam's followers, appears in "This Mortal Coil" and in a prescient vision in "The Seer". It is destroyed by an Aurora-class battleship sent by Oberoth.
Stargate Universe is set aboard the Ancient ship Destiny, a massive vessel which was part of an Ancient experiment to seed the galaxies with Stargates millions of years ago. Their plan to return to the ship after it finished its journey never came about due to their ascension. The ship was sent on auto-pilot, preceded by other automated ships which seeded the habitable worlds along its route with Stargates. It uses an unidentified form of superluminal propulsion, said to be faster than light but "not hyperdrive." Destiny is reached through its on-board Stargate from any other location, using a unique nine-chevron address that acts as a code, dialed on a Stargate with sufficient power supply (only power source sufficient enough so far has been a planet with a Naquadria core, that is far greater than a ZPM is able to provide), the plausibility of which was previously unknown. [21]
The series begins when a team of 80+ [22] soldiers and scientists from Earth are forced to flee through the Stargate when their base is attacked. They find themselves on Destiny; [23] unable to return to Earth, they must fend for themselves aboard the ship as it takes them to the far reaches of the universe. [24] [25] According to Brad Wright, the show will focus mostly on the people aboard the ship. [26]
The Destiny has three shuttle landing pads and at least two shuttles, one of which had a hull breach until "Faith". In this episode, the shuttle was repaired but its engines could not generate sufficient thrust to leave a planet's gravity well after landing, so it was left behind.
The Destiny has an extensive array of energy weapons, including point-defense turrets located on strategic points all over the ship and a main cannon turret located on the underside of the ship. The point-defense turrets are used to defend against small, agile targets while the larger main cannon is used against capital ships. The larger main cannon can also be adapted for orbital bombardment.
Destiny also has energy shielding to seal hull breaches and to protect against solar radiation and energy weapons. It does this by operating a randomized shield pattern, which continuously cycles through various shield frequencies. The operations of the randomized shield pattern can be manually overridden to operate at a specific, small range of frequencies. The shielding strength can be attenuated to allow solid matter to pass through or increased to protect against impact from large objects. The energy shielding must be engaged to cover the entire ship before it can jump into Faster Than Light travel. Destiny can jump into FTL travel with energy shielding capacity as low as five percent.
The Destiny FTL drive system is composed of 16 separate modules. One of these modules had degraded over the years to the point where it brought down overall engine efficiency of the FTL drive system. This same module was later damaged by an act of sabotage and eventually disconnected and removed from the FTL drive system. After the removal of the damaged module, the FTL drive system efficiency was greatly improved. A minimum of three hours have to elapse between the end of one FTL jump and the start of the next. Once the ship is in FTL travel, it must maintain it for a minimum of four hours. Shortening an FTL jump or returning to FTL travel too early will cause cumulative damage to the FTL drive system.
The Destiny is fueled by plasma from stars. The ship skims over the surface of a star just before dipping below the star's photosphere to scoop in plasma using its retractable collectors. The retractable collectors are located on the underside of the hull, towards the rear of the ship. Destiny normally refuels itself from cool K- and M-class stars. Surface temperatures of these stars are low enough for the ship's energy shielding to protect the crew and the ship's vital systems. However, the ship can be manually ordered to refuel from stars as hot as class O, though such a procedure will raise internal ship temperatures beyond habitability and force automatic shutdown of core computer systems on board the ship, including navigation systems but not energy shielding.
Initial details of Destiny's mission are revealed in "The Greater Good", when Dr. Rush is forced to reveal that he has cracked the master code and thus has control over the ship. It is stated that the Ancients had discovered a possibly artificial pattern to the cosmic microwave background radiation said to be a remnant of the Big Bang. This discovery suggested the possibility of life prior to or immediately following the Big Bang, and Destiny was launched to study this possibility.
Destiny initially carried two shuttles which were used extensively to survey planets and defend against attacking aliens. One ship lost the capability to fly into space so it was left on a planet with a few of Destiny's crew, who wanted to remain on the planet. Another is destroyed when Dr. Rush has a team explore a planet with a harsh atmosphere that causes the ship to crash into a mountain killing a crew member. However, later on in the season the ship left on the planet appears right next to Destiny after dropping out of FTL. This perplexes all aboard Destiny because the shuttle is unable to go into FTL, and it was too badly damaged to even fly outside of the atmosphere. Everyone on board came to the conclusion that it was the alien race that built the planet that Destiny came across earlier in the series who brought the shuttle to them. This shuttle was not only repaired, but restored to its original factory condition. A copy of the recovered shuttle was encountered some time later, after the expedition encountered a "time loop". The crew attempted to enact a modified plan to dial Destiny's stargate while the ship was recharging in a star in order to successfully dial back to Earth. This plan ultimately failed and resulted in the apparent loss of most of the crews lives and Destiny itself being sent back in time approximately twelve hours. With the crew gone and the ship itself having suffered critical damage, Rush abandoned Destiny aboard its shuttle and subsequently encountered a second version of himself, Destiny and its crew because of the time anomaly. Thus, Destiny was given a second shuttle in equally new condition as the first. However, in the series finale, after all other options were exhausted, the crew devised a plan to utilize the shuttle remotely as a diversion to lure the berserker drones and their control ship away from Destiny's location long enough for a team to gate to a planet with resources needed to effect repairs. By setting the shuttle up to emit a subspace pulse similar to the pulse that a stargate emits upon activation, the control ship traced the signal to the shuttle's location and the drones engaged it. However, upon Eli's suggestion, the shuttle's engines were set to overload and the shuttle was remotely piloted into the control ship while the engines simultaneously detonated, destroying the control ship and rendering its drones inactive. Thus, Destiny was again left with a single shuttle.
In spite of the shuttle's small size, its firepower is significant. With two aft-mounted energy weapons, one port and one starboard respectively, the shuttle is an effective multi-role transport/fighter craft. In several engagements, the shuttle has been utilized to assist Destiny in neutralizing smaller enemy craft that Destiny's point-defense weapons may otherwise have missed. As a defensive/offensive countermeasure, the shuttle possesses a stealth mode which allows it to become a decent reconnaissance craft. Additionally, each shuttle can accommodate up to five crew members (with a minimum of one necessary to pilot the craft), and up to twelve passengers. When not toting passengers the shuttle makes for a respectable cargo transport when gate travel is impractical or impossible.
The starships of the Asgard are among the most advanced ever encountered by the SGC. All Asgard vessels in the series are depicted as being operated by only a single Asgard, although Thor makes a reference to evacuating his crew in "Nemesis".
The Asgard mothership is the first type of Asgard vessel seen in the series. In "Thor's Chariot", the Beliskner is the ship of Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet. It appears near the end of the episode to remove the forces of the Goa'uld Heru'ur from Cimmeria. The Beliskner is destroyed in the third-season episode "Nemesis", where SG-1 crashes it into Earth's ocean after it becomes infested with Replicators. Several ships of this type also appear in "Small Victories", some of which are controlled by the Replicators.
Asgard motherships are equipped with intergalactic hyperdrives, two rear thrusters for sublight propulsion, and a forward-mounted deceleration drive to control planetary reentry. [28] They are also equipped with Asgard beaming technology. [29] The ship is powered by four neutrino ion generators. [28] Armed with advanced energy weapons and protected by powerful shields, Asgard motherships can comfortably expect victory against Goa'uld Ha'taks even if outnumbered. However, Anubis develops enhanced shielding based on Ancient technology that is resistant to the mothership's weaponry. [30] Asgard motherships utilize cloaking devices that render them invisible to radar, [31] and have internal dampening fields that prevent explosives from detonating inside the ship. Each ship has automated medical treatment systems, including medical stasis pods that can be used in dire emergencies. There are advanced AI systems on board that allow the ship to be operated by a single crew member, and the main computer stores all the collected knowledge of the Asgard. [28]
The O'Neill class is the most advanced starship constructed by the Asgard to date, incorporating all of their latest technology, and is designed specifically to fight the Replicators. Its hull is composed of an alloy of trinium, carbon and naqahdah, [32] and its armaments and defenses are, as such, substantially superior to earlier Asgard motherships. [30] The first ship of this type, also named O'Neill (named after Colonel Jack O'Neill of SG-1 in recognition of his actions on the behalf of the Asgard against the Replicators) was meant as a last defense against a Replicator invasion. Rather than fighting the replicators with it, however, Samantha Carter suggests using the unfinished O'Neill as bait to draw the Replicators away, giving the Asgard time to evacuate their civilization. The Replicators pursue the O'Neill into hyperspace, where they are destroyed when the O'Neill self-destructs. [32] More O'Neill-type ships appear in later episodes; three ships of this type force Anubis to retreat in "Revelations", and six ships, led by the Valhalla, ambush Fifth's Replicator ship over Orilla. [33]
The Asgard science vessel is first seen in "Fragile Balance", used by the renegade Asgard scientist Loki. Another ship of this type, the Daniel Jackson, is Thor's ship in "New Order". Due to a Replicator threat, Thor takes the Daniel Jackson to Earth for Jack O'Neill and the knowledge of the Ancients in his mind, from which he synthesizes a Replicator disruptor and incorporates it into the Daniel Jackson to eliminate all the Replicators on Orilla. Thor and the Daniel Jackson return in "Reckoning", to assist SG-1 during the Replicator invasion of the Milky Way. The ship is infested by Replicators, and Thor sends it into deep space to protect Earth. Its later mentioned that Thor downloaded his consciousness into the ship's computer to survive and was saved when the Dakara Superweapon destroyed all of the Replicators in the Milky Way. The science vessel is comparable in size to a Goa'uld Ha'tak. [33] Like other Asgard vessels, the ship is equipped with beaming technology, intergalactic hyperdrives, and shields, though they are ineffective against Replicator blocks. [33] [34]
Throughout Stargate SG-1, a progression of Earth-built spacecraft incorporating alien technologies have been depicted. By season ten of the show, Earth possesses a small fleet of hyperspace-capable warships and spaceworthy fighters equipped with technology from the Goa'uld, Asgard, Ancients, and other sources.
The X-301 fighter-interceptor [35] is Earth's first attempt at building a fighter capable of space travel and orbital defense against the Goa'uld. It is featured in the episode "Tangent". The X-301 is constructed in Area 51 from a combination of Earth components and parts salvaged from two Goa'uld death gliders from the Apophis motherships. The X-301 is equipped with a Goa'uld inertial propulsion system capable of nullifying any g-force on pilot, stealth technology that hides it from radar, and two naqahdah-enhanced AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles. It was mentioned that they would be effective against the Goa'uld Motherships if armed with shield modulators, however, no missiles fired by Earth ships were ever seen to penetrate through Goa'uld shields, so they may never have had that form of technology (working), and it was only mentioned in reference to the X-301, not the 302.
The first test flight is conducted by Jack O'Neill and Teal'c, with the callsign "Digger One". The test almost proves fatal when an undiscovered booby trap planted by Apophis activates and launches the ship towards open space and towards Chulak, the home world of Apophis. O'Neill and Teal'c are rescued just before their life support runs out by Jacob Carter in a Goa'uld cargo ship. [36]
The F-302 multi-role fighter [37] is the production model of the X-302 experimental fighter, first seen in the season 6 premiere "Redemption". Based on the X-301 but entirely human-built, the F-302 is a multi-role two-person craft with four sets of engines: two traditional jet engines, two aerospike engines, one rocket motor, and a naqahdriah-based hyperspace window generator. Due to the instability of the naqahdriah, the ship's hyperspace generator is only capable of short, unguided jumps. The craft is fitted with an inertial damping system that allows it to achieve orbit, [38] although they are only 90% effective when pulling negative Gs. [37] F-302s are evidently capable of V/STOL, as demonstrated by two F-302s escorting a Wraith scout ship to a landing pad on Atlantis in the Stargate Atlantis episode "Allies". The F-302's main armaments are modified naqahdah-enhanced AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles. They are also armed with railguns. [39]
The X-302 prototype is used in "Redemption" to carry the Stargate a safe distance away from Earth before it explodes. The first F-302 combat mission takes place in "Fallen", where one is flown by Colonel Jack O'Neill and Major Samantha Carter in a strike against Anubis' mothership. In the episode "Lost City", several squadrons of F-302s commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell accompany the Prometheus in defending SG-1's cargo ship against Anubis' force of Al'kesh and death gliders. F-302 squadrons are assigned to almost all of Earth's outposts, as well as Earth itself. [40] [41] [42]
The Prometheus could carry eight F-302s. [35] F-302s have had various call signs, including "Airstrike", [43] "Flight", [41] "Blue leader", [44] "Delta 1-4", [45] and "Dagger 1-2". [7] The 1st SFW "Snakeskinners" is a wing of F-302s in the Milky Way, [37] and the 1st TFW "Wraithwaxers" is based on the Daedalus, [46] The X-302s have had the callsigns "Abydos One" and "Starflight". [38]
In season 8, Martin Wood and Brad Wright accepted an invitation by the United States Air Force to go on a test ride in the trainer jets. [47] Set designer Peter Bodnarus based the design of the F-302 on the F-117A U.S. Air Force stealth fighter and the HL-10 aircraft from the 1970s, while still leaving the Goa'uld glider origins of the design recognizable. He and his team focused on creating a realistic-looking cockpit interior for the X-302 in terms of the headrest with overhead ejection handles and emergency systems. [48]
Prometheus, also known as the BC-303 [49] or the X-303 early in development, is Earth's first capital starship, introduced in the season 6 episode "Prometheus". [50] The original concept for the look of the Prometheus in season 6 was an aircraft carrier. The producers wanted to build something that was exactly the opposite of Goa'uld ships, which, according to Paul Mullie, are basically big empty rooms with nowhere to sit, no screens and no buttons to press. Andy Mikita thought the Prometheus was a fun set to shoot in because "there's lots of layers and textures and flashing lights". [51] Much of the inspiration for the X-303's interior came from contemporary American aircraft carriers. Bridget McGuire developed the initial concept based on pictures. Peter Bodnarus developed the blueprints of the X-303 that were shown in "Nightwalkers" before the X-303 made its first appearance in "Prometheus". Art director James Robbins developed the interior schematics and interior workings, while Bodnarus developed the actual set interiors including the bridge, corridors, engine room and air lock. [48]
A hybrid of human and alien technologies, the Prometheus is the product of two years and several billion dollars' worth of development by the United States Air Force. The ship originally features mostly reverse-engineered Goa'uld technologies, including ring transporters and crystal-based control systems. It is also equipped with artificial gravity generators and an inertial dampening system. The corridors are constructed of the fictional metal trinium. [50] Substantial amounts of naqahdah are also used in its construction. [49] In "Disclosure", the Asgard install advanced shields and weapons (though the latter are withheld) on the unfinished Prometheus as thanks for SG-1's help against the Replicators. In "Covenant", Jack O'Neill asks Thor for a new hyperdrive for the Prometheus, which is installed by the Asgard in "Endgame" along with beaming technology. However, since the Prometheus lacks advanced Asgard sensors, locator beacons are required to lock onto targets.
The sublight engines of the Prometheus have a top speed of 110,000 miles per second (59% light speed) and can attain orbit from Earth's surface in under thirty seconds. Its original hyperdrive cost $2 billion in research and development and uses naqahdriah as a power source. [50] A buffer was installed to manage the unstable power stream from the naqahdriah, but it is overloaded by an unexpected gravity wave on the Prometheus' shakedown cruise. [52] The ship is then fitted with a hyperdrive salvaged from a Goa'uld Al'kesh, but as that engine is designed for a much smaller ship, the Prometheus can only make short jumps with time in between for the drive to cool down. [53] With the new Asgard hyperdrive installed in "Endgame", the Prometheus is able to reach other galaxies. [54] The Prometheus is armed with 24 railguns, a close-in weapons system, and 16 missile batteries.[ citation needed ] It carries eight F-302s for fighter support. [55]
In its first appearance, the incomplete Prometheus is hijacked by rogue NID agents and subsequently called upon by the Asgard for a mission against the Replicators. [56] In "Memento", the Prometheus, commanded by Colonel William Ronson, is temporarily stranded near Tagrea after its hyperdrive overloads. In "Grace", the Prometheus is attacked by an unknown enemy warship and almost becomes trapped after hiding in an unusual nebula. Under the command of General George Hammond, the Prometheus defends Earth against Anubis' armada in "Lost City". The ship is subsequently commanded by Colonel Lionel Pendergast, except in "Prometheus Unbound" when Hammond briefly reassumes command. In that episode, Vala Mal Doran hijacks the Prometheus, stranding the crew in a disabled Al'kesh. Under Pendergast, the Prometheus conducts missions against Ba'al and the Trust, [57] [58] and against the Ori. [59] In "Ethon", the Prometheus is destroyed by a satellite weapon of Ori design over Tegalus. The last appearance of the ship is in an alternate universe in "The Road Not Taken", where it serves as the equivalent of Air Force One for President Hank Landry.
The Daedalus-class battlecruiser, also called a Deep Space Carrier [60] and a 304, [61] is the second generation of Earth battlecruiser, designed to fully integrate the various alien technologies that were "tacked on" to the Prometheus over its life. [3] The first ship of this class, the Daedalus, appears in the Stargate Atlantis episode "The Siege, Part 3". The construction of Daedalus-class ships is a top priority for the United States; in the Stargate SG-1 episode "The Ties That Bind", the Senate Appropriations Committee diverts 70% of the SGC's funding to 304 construction.
The bridge of the Daedalus class is at the rear of the ship along the top of the hull. [62] There are two hangar bays, each with room to accommodate eight F-302s. The hangars have force shields to prevent decompression when the doors are open. [39] The Daedalus class contains technology reverse-engineered from the Goa'uld, such as ring transporters. [63] It also has beaming technology, shields, and intergalactic hyperdrives provided by the Asgard. The hyperdrive of the Daedalus-class allows it to cross the three million light-years between Earth and Atlantis in 18 days; [39] if powered by a ZPM, it can cover the same distance in four days. [46] The ship carries Mark III [7] and Mark VIII [64] tactical nuclear warheads and 32 railguns. [46] The Daedalus and the Apollo have only been depicted to launch missiles dorsally, [7] [65] while the Odyssey is shown with ventral emplacements in "Family Ties". In "The Siege, Part 3", Hermiod overrides the safeguards on the Daedalus' beaming technology, allowing it to be used as a weapons delivery system.
In "Unending", the Asgard, about to become extinct, install their most powerful technologies on the Odyssey. Chief among these enhancements are powerful plasma beam weapons, stronger shields, and an advanced self-powered computer core. The other 304s are eventually equipped with these technologies. A computer core was installed on Daedalus and the Phoenix (on the bridge) and possibly the other 304s, as well. [66] With these enhancements, the Daedalus class is shown to be a match for Ancient, Wraith and Ori warships.
During the run of Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe, six Daedalus-class ships are known to have been built (not including two alternate-timeline ships). They are distinguishable by their distinctive interior lighting, notably the lighting of the bridge and the back-lighting for the tactical map behind the commander's chair. The Prometheus and Korolev are white [50] and purple, [67] respectively. The Odyssey is orange, [60] and the Apollo is blue. [65] While the Daedalus is green, [64] its counterpart from "The Daedalus Variations" [68] has a distinctive orange map (a deliberate ploy according to Alan McCullough). [69] As featured in the alternative timeline "The Last Man", the Phoenix has no map and has an Asgard console in its place.
The Goa'uld operate a variety of starships. The control systems of Goa'uld ships are based on crystals, [75] a feature copied by the Earth ship Prometheus, [50] and their design aesthetics are Egyptian in theme. [76] Since the collapse of the Goa'uld order in "Reckoning", most of their fleet have fallen into the hands of the Free Jaffa Nation [77] and the Lucian Alliance. [78]
The Goa'uld death glider is a fast attack fighter capable of operating in an atmosphere, [79] in space, [80] and even underwater. [81] Its shape resembles the symbolic winged scarab beetle of ancient Egypt. Death gliders first appear in the Stargate movie. Gliders lack hyperdrives and are usually carried by Ha'taks into battle; their wings can be folded for more compact storage. [80] They are armed with two staff cannons. [79] Different death glider variants have been depicted: some carry only one pilot [79] while others have room for two. [80] An especially large glider is seen in "Children of the Gods", fitted with a ring transporter. Earth's F-302 fighters are derived from the death glider design. [36] [43]
The Goa'uld Udajeet is an intra-atmospheric variant of the Death glider which cannot operate very far from a planet's surface, nor under water, because of its open cockpit design. An Udajeet glider shares similar power systems, weapons, and other characteristics with the Death glider. The main differences are that these fighters are only used on a planet after a Ha'tak mothership has landed and opened up, (as Ra's ship is seen to have done in the Stargate movie,) and they only carry a single staff cannon. In the movie, Udajeet gliders are the aircraft which can be seen flying around after Ra has landed on Abydos. We see them later, around the gate pyramid, during the part of the movie where O'Neill's team are fighting Ra's forces on the ground and in the air. These fighters are not the standard death glider, but are instead the udajeet variant of the death glider.
The Tel'tak, also called a Goa'uld cargo ship or Goa'uld scoutship, is a versatile spacecraft first seen in "Deadman Switch" and in the remastered version of the pilot episode. In Stargate SG-1, they are often used by the Tok'ra and the rebel Jaffa for missions into Goa'uld territory due to their unobtrusive nature; [82] [38] the SGC also makes use of Tel'taks in the earlier seasons, when Earth does not yet possess its own hyperspace-capable ships. [83] The Tel'tak is equipped with shields and a hyperdrive. The configuration of the ship changes when in flight. It has two main sections: a cockpit in front and a cargo section in the back with a ring transporter. [84] There are four escape pods that can be ejected from the bottom of the ship. Tel'taks are usually unarmed, [82] though many are equipped with a cloaking device for protection. [85] A heavily modified Tel'tak with hidden compartments, a pulse wave generator, and the ability to create sensor decoys appears in "The Ties That Bind". Another modified Tel'tak with two staff cannons is seen in "Bounty".
An Al'kesh is a Goa'uld medium-range bomber [75] used for ground support and as scouts. [86] Its armaments consist of paired staff cannons on a belly turret for ship-to-ship combat [75] and explosive energy devices for ground bombardment. [87] Al'kesh are equipped with hyperdrives, allowing independent operation, and are highly maneuverable. [75] They do have shields, [88] for example in Stargate: Continuum . Some Al'kesh are equipped with cloaking devices and/or beaming technology. [57] Al'kesh appear in several episodes supporting Goa'uld attacks. [87] [89] [40] The Lucian Alliance has modified some Al'kesh into cargo haulers. [90]
A Ha'tak or Goa'uld mothership is a large starship used by the Goa'uld. In the series, it usually refers to a class of ship consisting of a superstructure with a large, golden tetrahedron or square pyramid (e.g., Ra's mothership) at the center, first shown onscreen briefly in "Singularity". The word "ha'tak", first used in the episode "Exodus", literally means "pyramid ship", and so can also refer generically to all the types of Goa'uld motherships. Ha'taks are shaped to land on pyramids, [79] although anything similar will suffice (on two occasions a Ha'tak lands on Cheyenne Mountain). [91] [92] Ha'taks are equipped with hyperdrives and can travel over 32,000 times the speed of light. [93] The command center of a Ha'tak is known as the pel'tak.
Along with carrying squadrons of death gliders and other support ships, as well as thousands of Jaffa troops, Ha'taks can also assault planets directly from orbit. [86] [91] They are armed with staff cannons scattered over the hull. [75] In the episode "There But For the Grace of God", the attacking Ha'tak vessels bombard the East Coast of the United States with blasts equal to 200-megaton nuclear warheads. They are protected by powerful energy shields capable of intercepting conventional, nuclear, and energy weapons. These shields have stopped nuclear blasts equivalent to one gigaton of TNT. [80] The shields can protect the ship's crew from the radiation at the edge of a blue giant star's corona for up to 10 hours. [94] In "The Serpent's Venom", Apophis is shown to have devised a way to cloak an entire fleet of motherships. After the fall of the Goa'uld, these ships fell into the hands of the Lucian Alliance who use them now for their own purposes.
Several Goa'uld mothership variants have been encountered:
The Ori order their followers to begin constructing a fleet of ships after learning of the existence of the Milky Way galaxy in "Origin". Due to their advanced technology, their ships pose a considerable threat.
An Ori fighter is a small dart-shaped attack vessel first seen in "Flesh and Blood", where they defeat a number of Death Gliders and Al'kesh over Chulak. Carried by Ori motherships, they are deployed from a ventral bay and are armed with powerful energy weapons. In "Line in the Sand", one is shown carrying a ring transporter platform that it drops to the ground, allowing troops to be deployed from the mothership.
Ori motherships first appear under construction in the episode "Crusade". Four ships invade the Milky Way galaxy in the following episode "Camelot", where they decimate a combined Asgard, Earth, Jaffa, Lucian Alliance, and Tok'ra fleet at P3Y-229 without taking any appreciable damage. In "Flesh and Blood", the ships proceed to conquer Chulak before splitting up. In the episode "The Pegasus Project", Teal'c lures an Ori mothership into the unstable vortex of the activating Supergate, destroying it. In "The Shroud", Daniel Jackson/Merlin commandeers a mothership in order to send the Sangraal to the Ori galaxy. However, his plan requires that the Supergate be reopened, and shortly after six more Ori motherships enter the galaxy. In the Stargate SG-1 finale "Unending", the Asgard equip the Earth battlecruiser Odyssey with plasma beam weapons that are effective against the shields of Ori motherships. Nevertheless, the Odyssey is outnumbered and only escapes the Ori through the creative use of a time dilation field. In Stargate: The Ark of Truth , all the Ori motherships stand down after the activation of the Ark of Truth.
One of the most formidable warships seen in Stargate, an Ori mothership's main weapon can destroy a Goa'uld Ha'tak in a single shot. It also has smaller energy weapons scattered around the hull. The ship is protected by shields that are impervious to all but the most powerful attacks. [67] The ship carries numerous fighters and can also land directly on a planetary surface. [63] The mothership is equipped with an intergalactic hyperdrive, [96] but it must use a Supergate to reach the Milky Way from the Ori home galaxy. [59] The technology of the Ori mothership must be "activated" by a Prior, [61] and only they (or the Orici) can control a mothership, which involves some degree of mental command. [97] Inside, the ship contains prayer rooms, armories, and quarters for the ordinary human warriors of the Ori. [63] The power source is located inside a large enclosed chamber and is of unknown design. [97]
The Replicators typically infiltrate and take over the ships of other races for their own purposes. In the process, they can enhance the technology of those ships to perform better than the originals, using knowledge they have previously assimilated. Replicator-controlled Goa'uld Ha'taks appear in "Enemies" and "Reckoning", and Replicator-controlled Asgard motherships appear in "Small Victories". A Replicator-controlled vessel of unknown design appears in "Enemies" and "Unnatural Selection". The vessel engages Apophis' mothership with an energy beam weapon and is apparently destroyed, but not before infesting Apophis' ship.
In "New Order", the humanoid Replicator Fifth creates a ship made entirely of Replicator blocks with which to escape the time dilation field on Halla. The ship is equipped with shields, beaming technology, and intergalactic hyperdrives, and can fire projectiles made of Replicators to infiltrate other ships. Its interior can reconfigure according to Fifth's wishes. The ship is destroyed over the new Asgard homeworld Orilla as it exits hyperspace, though its fragments land on Orilla and reform into Replicators. Fifth escapes Orilla and the Replicator Disruptor by forming a smaller spider-like ship out of Replicators. In "Gemini", Fifth has reformed the larger Replicator ship and arrives in the Milky Way along with Replicator Carter, who conspires to have that ship and Fifth destroyed by a Replicator disruptor satellite. Replicator Carter herself creates a third version of the Replicator ship, from which she commands the full-scale invasion of the Milky Way in "Reckoning". The ship and all other Replicators in the galaxy are disintegrated into their component parts by the Dakara superweapon at the end of that episode.
In Stargate Atlantis , the Wraith are the dominant race in the Pegasus galaxy, with a large fleet based around enormous hive ships. Their ships lack shields and are generally less powerful than the ships of their defeated enemies, the Ancients. [7] Wraith ships have a hybrid organic nature; they are grown, not built, and may have some degree of self-awareness. They begin with a pathogen that infects a human, and uses energy to convert both organic and non-organic matter nearby into a biopolymer similar to a polysaccharide, but with organometallic compounds mixed in. The polymer is initially soft and malleable but eventually hardens into a dense substance that is resistant to heat, pressure, and radiation. The growing process can be stopped if the human nucleus is freed from the pathogen. [98]
The Wraith dart is a small, one-man attack craft capable of fitting through a Stargate, first seen in "Rising". They generate a loud, distinctive sound when flying in an atmosphere. [1] Darts lack hyperdrives and rely on Stargates or larger vessels to travel around the galaxy. [99] The dart's main role is to capture humans for feeding, dematerializing them using a culling beam mounted on its underside. [1] Large numbers of darts are carried by Wraith hive ships [100] and cruisers. [14] In ship-to-ship combat, they are deployed as dogfighters and as point defense against missiles. If a dart's mothership is destroyed, they will perform kamikaze attacks on nearby enemy targets. [46] Like other Wraith ships, darts are partially organic. The canopy of a Wraith dart is composed of energy and is opaque when active, functioning as a giant HUD. [101] Darts are armed with a pair of forward-firing energy weapons, capable of destroying a puddle jumper with a direct hit. [99] Sustained machine gun fire is sufficient to bring down a dart. [1] [102] John Sheppard learns how to fly a dart in the season 2 episode "The Lost Boys". He later pilots one in "The Hive", "Vengeance" and "Search and Rescue" as a way to escape Wraith ships.
A Wraith cruiser is medium-sized warship first seen in "Letters from Pegasus". Like hive ships, Wraith cruisers incorporate organic technology and lack shields. Their armaments consist of energy weapons, which can conduct orbital bombardments. [16] They are equipped with sub-light engines and hyperdrives, [100] and are also capable of flying in an atmosphere [103] and landing on a planet surface. [104] They carry numerous darts in a ventral bay. [14] Several cruisers escort the three hive ships headed for Atlantis, but retreat after the hive ships are destroyed. [16] In "The Siege, Part 3", a Wraith cruiser attempts to dock with the Daedalus for boarding. A Wraith cruiser attacks the Olesians in "Condemned". The episode "Submersion" shows that a cruiser served as the flagship for the Wraith Queen who led the first siege of Atlantis. That vessel was downed by the Ancients and came to rest on the ocean floor, where it remained largely intact and somewhat functional for 10,000 years.
A cruiser serves as the traveling base for the renegade Wraith Michael. It briefly engages the battlecruiser Daedalus in "The Kindred", but flees after taking heavy damage and when the Daedalus can't risk destroying it since Teyla is on board. Michael flees in the ship in the second part of the episode and it reengages the Daedalus in "Search and Rescue". Once again, the cruiser is no match for the Earth warship and tries to flee, but this time, the Daedalus manages to disable its hyperdrive, forcing it to fight. The cruiser is unable to penetrate the battlecruiser's shields, but does heavy damage to the ship when it lowers them briefly to beam aboard John Sheppard and Ronon Dex. An F-302 attack disables the cruiser's weapons and allows Sheppard's team to sneak aboard, destroy the hyperdrive and rescue Teyla. Once the team is clear of the ship, the Daedalus destroys it with its plasma beam weapon. Michael is initially believed to have perished with his ship, but managed to escape before the destruction and went into hiding.
Wraith hive ships are one of the largest spacecraft in the Stargate universe and the centers of Wraith civilization. One first appears in "Rising", where it was not recognizable as a ship as it had rested on a planet for so long that tall trees grew on its back. There were over sixty hive ships in the Pegasus galaxy when the Atlantis expedition arrived. [105] Due to internecine strife amongst the Wraith over an inadequate human food supply, most hive ships barely tolerate one another's presence, with open hostilities being more common in the later seasons. [13] [106] [45] Notable exceptions occur in "The Siege, Part 3", where twelve hive ships cooperate to attack Atlantis, and in "Be All My Sins Remember'd", where seven hive ships ally with Atlantis to defeat the Asurans. Over the course of Stargate Atlantis, a number of hive ships have been destroyed in various conflicts. Many hives are without Queens and cannot replenish their losses, making the Wraith more reluctant to commit them to battle. [11]
Hive ships contain untold numbers of stasis pods for hibernating Wraith, [1] as well as pods in which human victims are preserved for future feeding in cocoons. [105] Hive ships are partially organic and lack shields, though they are capable of regeneration. [45] They can withstand a hit from a Mark III tactical nuclear weapon, though not without suffering major damage. [7] Hive ships are equipped with hyperdrives, though they must make periodic stops to allow their organic components to recover from hyperspace radiation. [7] Hive ships mount numerous energy weapons throughout their hull and wield massive firepower. [46] [106] They also function as carriers, launching huge numbers of Wraith darts and supported by Wraith cruisers. [100] However, the launch bays represent a vulnerable area where damage can lead to secondary internal explosions. [7] Shortly after encountering the offensive use of Asgard beaming technology by the Daedalus, hive ships initiate countermeasures to prevent Earth ships from beaming onto their ships. [46] A hive ship's consoles require telepathic control; Teyla Emmagan (who has trace amounts of Wraith DNA) can somewhat operate a hive ship with great effort. [107]
A super hive is the natural result of providing a growing hive ship with the power it needs to exceed its normal size limits. The only known super hive uses a captured ZPM to vastly enhance firepower, armour and sensors. This vessel is only seen once in the final episode "Enemy at the Gate" of Stargate Atlantis, where it proves far superior to the 3 Daedalus class ships dispatched to battle it. The super hive ship reaches Earth and destroys all of its defenses, including the Ancient Weapons Platform. It also brings a Stargate with it which blocks Gate travel to and from Earth. As the ship prepares to attack the defenseless planet, Atlantis itself engages it in battle. Even a fully powered Atlantis is no match for the powerful vessel and is quickly on the verge of destruction. However, Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard had managed to secretly board the vessel with a nuclear weapon which remained undetected. As Sheppard and his team fled the ship through its Stargate, Sheppard detonated his nuclear weapon, obliterating the vessel from the inside as it was about to destroy Atlantis. There is no reference to such a vessel being produced by the wraith prior to this; however, it is not inconceivable that such a vessel was grown and destroyed during the Ancients war with the wraith. The knowledge and ability to grow more super hives could have been lost in a single battle much like it was in SGA.
Stargate Atlantis is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper as a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1, which was created by Wright and Jonathan Glassner and was itself based on the feature film Stargate (1994). All five seasons of Stargate Atlantis were broadcast by the Sci-Fi Channel in the United States and The Movie Network in Canada. The show premiered on July 16, 2004; its final episode aired on January 9, 2009. The series was filmed in and around Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
CMSgtTeal'c of Chulak is a fictional character in the military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. Portrayed by Christopher Judge, Teal'c is a Jaffa warrior from the planet Chulak. As a Jaffa, Teal'c is a genetically modified human with an abdominal pouch that serves as an incubator for a larval Goa'uld. The larval symbiote grants enhanced strength, health, healing, and longevity; Teal'c is around 100 years old during the show's run and ages an additional 50 years in the final SG-1 episode. Teal'c's most notable feature is a golden tattoo found on his forehead, a sign that he once served the System Lord Apophis as First Prime, the most senior Jaffa rank.
The Ancients are a fictional humanoid race in the Stargate franchise. They are called by this name in the Milky Way galaxy, and the Ancestors and Lanteans in the Pegasus galaxy. The Ancients are one of two groups of the Alterans; the other being the Ori, the main antagonists in the later seasons of Stargate SG-1. In the Stargate universe, the Ancients are one of the most technologically advanced species known to have existed. The Ancients evolved tens of millions of years ago and reached advanced level of technology long before humans evolved on Earth. They lived in the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies prior to their ascension, see also Ascension (mystical). The Ancients might be best known as the ones who constructed the Stargates; big ring-shaped gates allowing wormhole travel. The Stargates are commonly used by Earth humans, Goa'ulds and Wraiths as seen in the Stargate TV-series to travel and explore Milky Way and Pegasus.
A Stargate is an Einstein–Rosen bridge portal device within the Stargate fictional universe that allows practical, rapid travel between two distant locations. The devices first appear in the 1994 Roland Emmerich film Stargate, and thereafter in the television series Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe. In these productions, the Stargate functions as a plot generator, allowing the main characters to visit alien planets without the need for spaceships or any other type of technology. The device allows for near-instantaneous travel across both interstellar and extragalactic distances.
Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, USAF is a fictional character in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis, which chronicles a civilian operation exploring the Pegasus Galaxy via a network of alien transportation devices. Portrayed by Joe Flanigan, Sheppard holds the military rank of lieutenant colonel in the series and is the second-in-command of the Atlantis Expedition following the death of Marshall Sumner in "Rising".
Dr. Elizabeth Weir is a fictional character in the Canadian-American Sci-Fi Channel television series Stargate Atlantis, a military science fiction show about a military team exploring another galaxy via a network of alien transportation devices. Elizabeth Weir is introduced as a recurring character in the Stargate SG-1 season seven two-parter, Lost City. She does not hold any military rank since she is a civilian. Weir is the leader of the Atlantis expedition in Stargate Atlantis until the last episode of season three, titled "First Strike".
"The Siege" is the season finale for season one and season premiere for season two of the military science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis, and the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first episode of the series overall. The episodes were written by executive producers Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie and Martin Gero, and all three were directed by Martin Wood. The episodes were one of the series strongest in season 1 on Nielsen ratings and part three gathered the strongest rating with "Instinct" in season 2. The episode got strong reviews from major media publishers worldwide.
"Lost City" is the two-part finale to the seventh season of the science fiction television show Stargate SG-1. It was originally intended to be a second Stargate film, and was then to be the show's absolute finale, and finally ended up being the seventh season finale after the series was renewed. "Lost City" served as an introduction to Stargate Atlantis and the events portrayed were followed up in the Atlantis premiere "Rising" as well as in SG-1's own "New Order". "Lost City" also featured special guest star Chief of Staff of the Air Force John P. Jumper as himself. This episode was nominated for an Emmy Award in the category Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series and for a Gemini Award in the category Best Visual Effects.
In the fictional universe of the Stargate franchise, the people of Earth have encountered numerous extraterrestrial races on their travels through the Stargate. In addition to a diversity of alien life, there is also an abundance of other humans, scattered across the cosmos by advanced aliens in the distant past. Some of the most significant species in Stargate SG-1 are the Goa'uld, the Asgard, and the Replicators. Stargate Atlantis, set in the Pegasus galaxy, introduced the Wraith and the Asurans. One of the most influential species in Stargate, the Ancients, have moved on to a higher plane of existence. For practical reasons of television productions, almost all of the alien and human cultures in the Stargate's fictional universe speak native English. Because of the time constraints of an hour-long episode, it would become a major hindrance to the story each week if the team had to spend a sizeable part of each episode learning to communicate with a new species.
"Reckoning" is a two-part episode from Season 8 of the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. It resolves the long-running story arcs of the Goa'uld, the Replicators, and the Jaffa Rebellion, and are regarded as two of the most popular episodes of the series. This episode was nominated for an Emmy Award in the category "Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series" and a Leo Award in the category "Best Visual Effects".)
"New Order" is the two-part Season 8 premiere of the science-fiction series Stargate SG-1. The episode earned a 2.4 Nielsen rating, a new record high for the show during its run on cable, which has since been tied, but never beaten. It also became the most-watched regular series episode ever for the Sci Fi Channel and the highest rated episode in the history of Stargate SG-1, drawing 3.22 million viewers. Part 2 was nominated for a Gemini Award in the category "Best Visual Effects".)
"Revelations" is the Season 5 finale episode of the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. This episode was nominated for an Emmy in the category "Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series", and won a Gemini Award in the category "Best Visual Effects".
A collision course, also known as a kamikaze run, is the deliberate maneuver by the operator of a moving object to collide with another object. It is a desperate maneuver since it often damages or destroys both.
"Exodus" is the Season 4 finale episode of the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. This episode was nominated for an Emmy in the category "Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series".
Stargate: The Ark of Truth is a 2008 Canadian-American, military science fiction, direct-to-video film in the Stargate franchise, acting as a sequel to the television series Stargate SG-1. It is written and directed by Robert C. Cooper, produced by Cooper, John G. Lenic, and the series' creator Brad Wright, and stars its regular cast. The film is the conclusion of the Ori arc, and picks up after the SG-1 series finale. However, it happens before the Stargate Atlantis third season finale.
"Be All My Sins Remember'd" is the 71st episode of the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis, and the eleventh episode of the series' fourth season. The episode was written by Atlantis co-executive producer, Martin Gero, his third script of the season, and directed by Andy Mikita. The episode originally aired on the Sci Fi Channel in the United States on January 4, 2008, and aired on Sky One in the United Kingdom on January 8. The episode's title is derived from the line, "The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons/ Be all my sins remember'd" from the famous "To be, or not to be" soliloquy in William Shakespeare's Hamlet.
"Search and Rescue" is the fifth season premiere of science fiction television show Stargate Atlantis, and is the 81st episode of the series. The episode premiered on July 11, 2008 in the United States on SCI FI channel, and was then shown on Canada's The Movie Network. The episode premiered over a month later in the United Kingdom on August 19 on Sky One. iTunes USA also made the episode available for download several days later. However, by the next episode, "Seed", shows will be added at the same time as they are scheduled to air. This is the 26th episode of Stargate Atlantis to be written by Martin Gero. The episode introduces several changes in the personnel and command of Atlantis, seeing Richard Woolsey take over command of the base.
"Enemy at the Gate" is the 100th and final episode of the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis. The episode aired on January 9, 2009 on the Sci Fi Channel in the United States, and on January 13, 2009 on Sky1 in the United Kingdom. Written by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie as their fifth and final script in the fifth season, "Enemy at the Gate" was produced as the nineteenth episode of the season and was directed by Andy Mikita. It is dedicated to Don S. Davis, who died from a heart attack in 2008.
The majority of the starships in Stargate SG-1's lengthy run are the Goa'uld ships, all variations on Egyptian architectural themes and aesthetics, and so they are very different ships than we generally find in SFTV.