The Leonardo Class Interstellar Platform

The Leonardo class began as a modified Einstein, but adapted for Interstellar exploration. While they superficially resemble the Einsteins, there are a number of internal differences that permit the vessel to operate for the extremely long durations required for Interstellar travel at sublight speed. Their internal structure and habitats are optimized for the engines operating at 1.0 g for years at a time. There are a number of energy saving technologies and material selections that would be cost prohibitive to apply to a vessel that did not need to store parts for decades without degradation.

pennant name namesake ordered laid_down launched destination distance
IB-17 Leonardo Leonardo da Vinci 6742 6742 6750 Alpha Centauri 4.31 ly
IB-21 Gim 김정희 (Gim Jeong-hui) 6742 6750 6755 Bernard's Star 5.95 ly

The hulls that would later become the Adams and Pratchet were the original prototypes that where used for testing and evaluation. They were equipped with dummy loads to approximate the final mass and location of major components. They were kept on hand as flying spares if one of the Iliad missions required rescue, and to act as a technical reference if a design modification was required mid-flight.

Following the safe return of Iliad 1 and 2, the test hulls were not historical enough to preserve and too valuable to remain idle. With Krasnovia exerting dominance over all of the systems within the range of the design, it was decided to transfer them to Spacey to be converted into the Einsteins their design lineage originated from.

pennant name namesake ordered laid_down launched
ABG-42 Adams Douglas Adams 6742 6742 6805 Started a test and evaluation hull for project Iliad, Finished as Einstein replacement
ABG-43 Pratchet Terry Pratchet 6742 6742 6810 Started a test and evaluation hull for project Iliad, Finished as Einstein replacement
Iliad 01

ISTO's first interstellar mission. Launched in 6750. The vehicle travelled to the Alpha Centauri system (4.31 ly distant) using constant accelleration. The vessel accelerated at 0.8g for 2.14 years (proper time), to reach a max speed of 0.71c. After coasting coasted for 3.2 years (proper time), it decelerated for to 2.14 years (proper time) slow back down to visit the system. After spending 5 year in the system, it made a 5.4 year (proper time) return flight.

The vessel arrived back in the Solar System in late 6769. While 19 years passed on Earth, because of Time dilation, only 16 years passed for the crew.

Iliad 02

ISTO's second interstellar mission. Launched in 6750. The vehicle travelled to the Barnard's Star (5.95 ly distant) using constant accelleration. The vessel accelerated at 0.8g for 2.14 years (proper time), to reach a max speed of 0.71c. After coasting coasted for 4.8 years (proper time), it decelerated for to 2.14 years (proper time) slow back down to visit the system. After spending 5 year in the system, it made a 7.1 year (proper time) return flight.

The vessel arrived back in the Solar System in early 6774. While 23.7 years passed on Earth, because of Time dilation, only 19 years passed for the crew.