Jupiter-class

The Jupiter-classBattlestar Galactica 2004, publication: "The Science of Battlestar Galactica". battlestar was a type of warship, operated by the Colonial Fleet, for nearly its entire duration. Based on the previous Artemis-classBattlestar Galactica 2004, episode: "Miniseries, Night I". model, they were battleship/carrier hybrids in the center of Colonial Fleets called Battlestar Group. An initial order of twelve, each to represent one of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, was included in the Articles of Colonization document establishing both the Colonial Fleet and the United Colonies of Kobol. Unlike all pre-war designs, the Jupiters were uniquely designed with un-networked computers in mind, giving them an extraordinary ability to withstand Cylon infiltration, otherwise a massive problem for older Colonial vessels. Out of the original twelve battlestars, two survived the war intact, with only Galactica surviving until the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. 
==Design==
=== Armament ===
The Jupiter-class was armed with kinetic energy weapons scattered throughout the ship, primarily located on its dorsal and ventral hull (2 groups of 4 on each side), each capable of firing large shells at any given target; usually enemy vessels. 24 batteries made the Jupiter's one of, if not the heaviest hitters of the Colonial Fleet. Only during the interwar period, the newer and larger battlestars of Mercury-class began to outshine Jupiter's in their offensive role. 
Twelve missile tubes, armed with both conventional and nuclear-tipped weapons give Jupiter's the capability to level entire cities within minutes. Unlike Valkyrie-type, which uses its main batteries to fire missiles, the Jupiter carries its missile on top of its middle section, in separate missile tubes hidden beneath the ships armor platingBattlestar Galactica 2004, episode: "The Eye of Jupiter"..
=== Defenses ===
514 CIWS point-defense weapons scattered throughout the ship to defend against the incoming ordinance, as well as enemy fighters. As virtually every other Colonial vessel, this is only half of the ship's defensive potential. Two-layered armor plating provides effective defense against both conventional and nuclear weapons. Similar to Galactica, by the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, virtually all Jupiter's had their armor partially stripped, exposing the inner hull layer and ships "ribs". 
=== Fighter Complement ===
Large flight decks support a sizable complement of fighters, multi-purpose crafts, and shuttles. During the Fall, the Jupiter-class carried an assorted complement of Vipers Mk. VIIa and VIIb, alongside Raptors and Colonial shuttles. While the precise numbers are not known, possessing 40 launch tubes would indicate that the standard loadout of Jupiter-class consists at least of 80 Vipers.
The port and starboard flight pods were designed to be retractable. While Vipers were launched via special tubes on the side of the flight pods, all craft needed to land on the flight deck, which would be extended when needed. As this required the port and starboard flight decks to be exposed to vacuum conditions, the deck was magnetized to simulate gravity conditions when extended.
=== Computer Systems ===
Due to the serious threat of Cylon hacking imposed on the Colonial Fleet, Jupiter-class were designed to rely on primitive computers without networking, and so were less advanced than older ships in the fleet. These computers, whether in the original design or a later refit, were capable of being networked, when necessary, but per standard procedure were not. Calculations for faster-than-light jumps were also limited as a result of this, and by the 0 ACHs Galactica's computers were considerably slower at computing jumps than modern civilian ships if not networked.
Considering that Galactica was unique, the last ship of her class in service, it can be presumed that post-war build Jupiters were networked very much like the newer Mercury-class and therefore susceptible to Cylon infiltration. At least one Jupiter-class was actively deployed by the Colonial Fleet in defense of Caprica, and therefore likely succumbed to the Command Navigation Program infiltration. 
=== Propulsion ===
Ships of this class have 4 main rearward-facing sublight engines mounted on their outer hull, two on the dorsal and ventral surfaces each. Smaller maneuvering thrusters are also scattered throughout the ship to allow it to maneuver quickly in combat scenarios while two synced FTL drives are installed aboard to allow for faster-than-light travel. Unlike the Valkyrie-type, the Jupiter-class is large enough to house its FTL engines internally, mitigating the weakens exposed FTL engines pose. 
While state-of-the-art for the Colonials, even by the time of introduction, the FTL engines of Jupiter-class were sub-part to contemporary Cylon designBattlestar Galactica 2004, video game: "Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock".. By the time of the Fall however, this weakness was largely elevated, as even relatively un-upgraded Battlestar Galactica was able to jump ever couple of minutes.
== Known ships ==
*Battlestar Archeron (Destroyed around 42 BCH, in the prelude of Operation Raptor Talon)
*Battlestar Athena (Destroyed or Decommissioned)
*Battlestar Columbia BS-83 (Destroyed during Operation Raptor Talon)
*Battlestar Demeter (Destroyed or Decommissioned)
*Battlestar Galactica BS-75 (Decommissioned at the end of the Second Cylon War)
*Battlestar Prometheus (Destroyed or Decommissioned)
*3 Unknown Jupiter-class battlestar (Destroyed over Scorpia)
*1 Unknown Jupiter-class battlestar (Destroyed over Caprica)
*1 Unknown Jupiter-class battlestar taking part in Ghost Fleet Offensive (Destroyed or Decommissioned)
== Behind the scenes ==
* Jupiter-class was designed by Eric Chu
* Before The Science of Battlestar Galactica revealed the classes name to be Jupiter, the class was commonly referred as Columbia-class or Galactica-type. 
==Gallery==
=== Screenshots ===
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=== Concept Art ===
GalacticaConceptArt.jpg|Concept Art by Chris BellGalactica2003.tv
GalacticaConceptArt2.jpg|Concept Art by Chris BellGalactica2003.net
GalacticaConceptArt3.jpg|Concept Art by Eric ChuGalactica2003.net
==Unofficial Gallery==
Robert-bonchune-bsg-galactica-beauty-02-rb-09-alt-08sml.jpg|3D Render by Robert Bonchune
Robert-bonchune-bsg-galactica-beauty-rb-04sml.jpg|3D Render by Robert Bonchune
Robert-bonchune-bsg-galactica-fdr-orthos-frnt-rb-01sml.jpg|3D Render by Robert Bonchune
Robert-bonchune-bsg-galactica-fdr-orthos-rear-rb-01sml.jpg|3D Render by Robert Bonchune
Robert-bonchune-bsg-galactica-fdr-orthos-rb-01sml.jpg|3D Render by Robert Bonchune
Robert-bonchune-bsg-galactica-orthos-frnt-rb-01-sml.jpg|3D Render by Robert Bonchune
Robert-bonchune-bsg-galactica-orthos-rear-rb-01-sml.jpg|3D Render by Robert Bonchune
Robert-bonchune-bsg-galactica-orthos-rb-01-sml.jpg|3D Render by Robert Bonchune
== Sources ==
Category:Colonial Fleet_Battlestar_Classes
Category:Colonial Fleet_Ship_Classes