SA-23 Aurora Starfury

**SA-23 Aurora Starfury**

The Mk2 **SA-23E Mitchell-Hyundyne Starfury** is Earthforce's standard non-atmospheric deep space interdiction and recon fighter.

# History

First entering service in the 2240s, The Aurora Starfury began to be supplemented with the atmospheric capable Mk3 SA-23J Thunderbolt, though the Mk2s would remain in active service for at least the next four decades.

# Technical Specifications

A retractable grappling claw is housed in the ventral hull for towing. with a corresponding hitch-point located on the ventral aft tail.

Mk2 Starfuries are highly manuverable with the ability to spin 180 degrees in under a second. This combined with the heavy weapon load make them one of the most impressive younger race fighter craft able to outmatch most comparable alien fighters; the Minbari Nial class fighter being a notable exception. Because of its manoeuvrability, the cockpit is located in the centre of the craft thereby minimising any stress and disorientation for the pilot from high-G turns. Ingress for the pilot is though a dorsal pressure hatch, usually accessible via a gantry while the Fury is locked into its launch cradle. Once inside the pilot is strapped in an upright, bent legged position and as a rule wear a full pressure suit to safeguard against cockpit breaches.

The entire cockpit also acts as an escape pod that can be ejected during combat, potentially saving a stricken pilot from the craft's destruction and enabling them to be retrieved later by a rescue and recovery craft.

# Description

The SA-23 Aurora Starfury has been the standard space fighter for all Earth Alliance Space-borne Forces since before the war between the humans and the Minbari. At that time it was one of the most advanced fighter designed and only the fighters of the First Ones, Minbari, and the Centauri. Until the introduction of the Thunderbolt class, it remained one of the most advanced fighters. Unfortunately, it was not able to fight the Minbari fighters on anything approaching equal combat. Interestingly, this means that there are far fewer of the older models remain because most of them we destroyed during the Earth / Minbari war.

Several variants of the SA-23 exist. The guns on older models inflict less damage and is slightly slower. A common variant is the SA-23H which has four hard points to carry missiles. The ability to carry missiles is standard with the new SA-26 Thunderbolt Starfury. Another version, flown by the Black Omega Squadron, have advanced stealth features (although no where near as advanced as those carried on the Minbari fighters).

The position of the pilot is unusual in comparison to modern aircraft. Instead of being seated, the pilot is in almost a standing position. This is not an extreme problem because the pilot will normally be weightless and the cockpit is designed to relive stress from acceleration since the Earthforce has not developed any form of inertial dampening. The controls of the fighter are very responsive and are operated by a combination of hand, foot, and voice-activated controls.

For a Space Fighter for the younger races (with the exception of the Minbari and the Centauri), The SA-23E Aurora Star Fury is well armed. The fighters beam weaponry are four linked pulse cannons. These cannons are used for dogfighting and against capital ships although it takes a large number of fighter runs to do significant damage. This is the reason why the H Version of the Aurora was developed, as it has four missile hard points under its upper wings, which places the missiles in line with the Starfuries center of gravity and makes targeting easier. The SA-23 Aurora Starfury also has a special grappling claw that allows the fighter to grab objects in space.

The fighter is powered by fusion batteries that while they give good performance have a very limited endurance. The newer Thunderbolt has a much greater endurance. The Aurora star fury is very maneuverable due to the fact the engines are widely separated. The only real weakness compared to some of the fighters of other younger races is that the fighter cannot be used in an atmosphere.

# Special Equipment - All

## Grapple Claw

The Aurora Starfighter has a grapple claw that is used for docking with vehicles that do not have landing bays and to grab items. The Grapple Claw has a breaking strain of 100 tons, and a Maximum Effective Range of 30 feet (9.1 meters).

# Behind the Scenes

The Starfury was co-designed by Ron Thornton and Steve Burg, as a means to showcase how Newtonian physics could be portrayed in space combat. The configuration was intended as a nod towards Ron Cobb's design for the "Gunstar" from the 1984 movie The Last Starfighter.

# References

## Notes

1. ↑ Details apply to SA-23E version unless stated otherwise.
2. ↑ Can use already opened jump points.
3. ↑ The SA-23 Aurora Starfury cannot operate within an atmosphere. If the fighter enters an atmosphere, it will crash.
4. ↑ Requires already formed jump points such as those formed by jump gates. Will need to refuel very often, as the fighters are not meant to operate very far from their home base or ship.
5. ↑ One source gives the year as 2244, and states the Mk2 - a.k.a. Aroura - was developed to replace the SA-23A 'Nova' Starfury.
6. ↑ Minbari and Centauri would have no penalties to detect the fighters.

## Sources

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 SA-23 on SF Conversions
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Babylon Project Roleplaying game Earthforcebook Sourcebook Page 11
3. ↑ Babylon Project Roleplaying game Earthforcebook Sourcebook Pages 127-128
4. ↑ Sleeping in Light
5. ↑ Babylon 5: The Lost Tales
6. ↑ Babylon 5 Security Manual
7. ↑ Soul Hunter (episode)
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 No Compromises
9. ↑ The Official Babylon 5 Magazine Volume 2, Issue #3 (September 1998) Page 26 - (The Great Machine - Fiona Avery)
10. ↑ All Alone in the Night
11. ↑ Severed Dreams
12. ↑ Ron Thornton interview on B5 Scrolls