Segan class

The Segan Class was an faster-than-light interstellar explorer vessel employed by both the United Nations of Earth and Union of Sol in the closing years of the 21st century and opening years of the 22nd century. The ships of this class proved to be a major cornerstone in establishing humanity's presence among the stars.

Development
The Segan Class was intended as the final product of the Earth Expansion Vessel Program. After the faster-than-light speed breakthrough of the EEV-Gamma, construction of the Segan Class began in the 2080's. As further research was done into faster FTL propulsion, the design of the class was revised several times, before a final design was settled upon by scientists and engineers of the UNE.

Three ships of the class were constructed in parallel in low orbit of Earth, with many resources provided from growing outposts on Luna and Mars, and mined asteroids in the Sol system.

Construction of the ships was completed in 2090. After a few automated test flights, the ships were crewed and equipped for their coming deep space missions.

The ESV Segan, ESV Einstein, and ESV Alcubierre were launched in late 2090. Their first missions consisted on following up on intel gathered by superluminal probes during the 2080's.

First years and first contact
After mapping several star systems, studying interstellar phenomena, and setting up information relay networks, the ESV Alcubierre discovered the alien Votos civilization in april of 2096. These Aliens were in the early stages of industrialization. However, the Votos evidently suffered from a genetic disease that would doom their species in a few decades. The crew of the ESV Alcubierre reported back to Earth and pleaded to let them save the Votos, as its was the first alien civilization that humanity ever encountered. The United Nations eventually accepted the plead, and ordered the other ships to rendez-vous with the Alcubierre to prepare for first contact.

The news of aliens swept through the Sol system, and even the remaining independent nation states of Earth began to see that a united humanity was better for everyone, especially now that humanity would have to start caring for a species from another world. The United Nations, the remaining nation-states of Earth, and the extraterran colonies and stations banded together to form the Union of Sol.

First contact between Humanity and the Votos was officially established in 2100 to hurry the development of the cure for the Votos genetic disease. Armies of translators, exobiologists, diplomats and cultural probers were sent from Sol to the Votos to assist in keeping the peace, as the Votos were initially quite wary about the newcomers from space.

Establishing a foothold
After the discovery of the Votos species and the exploration of numerous solar systems, another 5 Segan-class ships were constructed in low orbit of Earth. Alongside these 5 explorers, two new classes were being developed to aid in the UNE's exploration of the stars. These classes, the Newton class and the Archimedes class, proved as invaluable as the Segan class.

Technical information
The Segan Class consisted of 4 distinct sections: the Drive Section, the Cargo Section, the Habitation Section, and the Operation Section.

The Drive Section consisted of a central engineering module with a massive fusion reactor, powering 5 IIPC-37 ion drives and 2 HSDM100C warp rings allowing for FTL-speeds.

The Cargo Section allowed for the docking of 6 type EMSC-8 cargo containers, and smaller cargo in the various cargo bays.

The Habitation Section was a large ring that created artificial spin gravity for the ships's crew. The interior of the ring usually provided 0,5g gravity for long missions, although this could be increased or decreased as the situation required. The ring needed to be brought to a full stop and firmly secured before the ship could safely enter FTL speeds. The ring was 8 meters thick, which provided two decks of living space. The ring was 20 meters wide. This allowed for 2 arrays of compartments with a central hallway.

The Operation Section housed the ship's weaponry, sensors, main computer core, and low-g workstations.

Dimensions
Ships of the Segan class typically had a length of 163 meters, and a maximum diameter of 80 meters. The typical diameter of the inner spire was 10 meters.