Ark Class Space Cruiser

The Ark Class Space Cruiser series was initially designed around 2132 by -insert name of company here-. The Ark’s main purpose was to be able to sustain a crew for extended expeditions into space. Equipped with a large storage bay, the Ark ship was perfectly suited for exploration or transport missions.

Technology:
The Ark was set to launch for the first time in 2137, 12 years after the invent of FTL engines. However, the first ships to make the long voyage into space did not contain said engines. Instead, they opted for excessive amounts of cryo-stasis pods to sustain crew and personnel alike.

Design:
The Ark was not created for combat purposes, so therefore lacks any form weaponry. Instead opting to use that additional space for storage. 50% of the ship is a large modular storage bay, that could altered easily to fit the needs of the crew aboard.

FTL:
It was not until 2174 did FTL engines become a staple in interstellar travel, due to the first several attempts with the engine resulting in failure. March 27, 2175, the Ark mk.2 was set for launch, now fully equipped with powerful FTL engines. This new set of ships helped populate Earth Fleet 2 alongside the new Titan Class ships created in the same decade.

Ark mk.1 Vs. Ark mk.2:
The Ark mk.1 was much larger, and more bulky than its future iteration. The Ark mk.1 was designed for long term living in mind, with a much larger capacity for food, water, and essentials. Before FTL was widely used, cryo-stasis pods took up a large portion of the ships interior. The Ark mk.2 was slimmed down considerably,as they did away with the stasis pods, and needed far less resources to reach a destination in a timely fashion. The storage bays were still modular, and took up around 50% of the ship’s overall size.