IX-231 CRGO "Millennia" (Cargo Ship)

Description

The ex-flagship of Starshot Enterprises, this ship is an autonomous first-generation cargo hauler built to send materials, priceless equipment and colonising equipment across the distance between stars as support for earlier colonies, where the delivered cargo could be acquired by the native vessels in orbit around the target planet/star, or used by the vessel's onboard robots to establish areas to work and live ahead of time for future colonists. Despite the misconception that interstellar travel takes centuries, this ship is fully capable of travelling between many of the local stars in as long as 50 years, and an even shorter time if you're on board. The design was patented in the year of 2145 by one Von B. Lacey, president of Starshot Enterprises, with escalating demands for a fast and capable interstellar vessel - previous designs had problems with travel times, suffering from poor acceleration and low cargo capacity, however Lacey's freighter allowed for kilotons of fuel to be brought along with enough room for cargo thanks to the cylindrical design.

The maiden voyage of the first Millennia set off in the year 2159, after being constructed inside the first orbital shipyard, OS-01. Its first mission would be sent to the outer edges of the Oort cloud, a tenth of a light year out, to test the capabilities of the IX-231, then it would be sent back for inspection. After several piercings were found, the hull protection mass was increased from 25t to 100t. This change was the only change needed before the ship went into service.

Earlier models were made to be hollowed out and used as "wet workshops", habitats made by hollowing out spent spacecraft parts. However, with colonies getting larger and their ability to utilize resources increasing, these ships would be retrofitted with ramjets to scoop stellar and interstellar material for virtually unlimited fuel, without the need to carry a large supply.

The IX-231 was seen in service across large parts of inhabited space for centuries, and was usually used for shipping lifeform samples and exotic interstellar foods to be delivered by the local delivery services, while also doing occasional tests with relativity, despite the old age of the design. Since then, the IX-231 has been superseded by the second and third generation freighters Bairdi and Clydesdale.