access Systems

Bays

Capital ships may have rooms with exterior hatchways large enough to permit smaller ships to enter and transfer cargo and passengers. These bays are generally classified as either hangar bays, docking bays, or cargo bays.

Hangar bays are usually smaller, although on carriers they may be very wide to accommodate multiple craft. Their purpose is to house smaller spacecraft such as fighters, shuttles, and transports. They are normally pressurized when the hatchway is sealed, and artificial gravity activated, and on more advanced craft may have a shield barrier to maintain pressure even when the hatchway is open. An advantage of a hangar bay's atmosphere and gravity is that personnel benefit from greater accessibility in a simulated surface environment.

Docking Ring and Airlock

Docking rings are standardized hatchways that allow access to the interior of a spacecraft. There are several classifications based on size, ranging from the smallest rings which allow only single personnel or small items through, to the largest which are wide enough to allow vehicles. While docking rings, as the name suggests, are normally used to communicate goods or personnel between two adjacent spacecraft without exposure to vacuum, they can also be opened directly to space to allow crew to perform space walks. Any two docking rings can connect regardless of their size classification, however the opening is only ever as large as the smallest ring's classification. Most rings can be extended with a telescoping tunnel, as well as bend at reinforced joints to accommodate tricky docking maneuvers.

Airlocks are chambers connected to docking rings. They have two doors, one which communicates to the interior of the spacecraft, the other is the docking ring. Airlocks serve several purposes. First, they prevent any loss in interior pressure when the docking ring is opened. Second, they allow a staging area where pressure can be controlled to match a particular environment. Third, they serve as a security feature. Although the standardization of docking rings makes them difficult to lock to prevent access, the interior door of an airlock is often the strongest and most difficult place for hostile invaders to breach. Finally, they can serve as emergency ventilation. Normally, only the hatch or the interior door may be open at any time, however, by activating the emergency override, a spacecraft's interior can be exposed directly to the vacuum of space. This can help to extinguish interior fire or ventilate toxins, however this rapid depressurization can also suck crew or goods into space as well, and is only advisable in extreme circumstances.

On a similarly gruesome note, airlocks are often used for informal executions, since it conveniently serves as a prison cell, cause of death, and method of disposing the body.

Class A - 1.5 meters wide, designed to allow crawling personnel or small cargo one at a time. Most commonly found on small vehicles and fighter craft.

Class B - 3 meters wide, allows standing personnel, small utility vehicles, or cargo. Most commonly found on shuttles and transports.

Class C - 6 meters wide, allows several personnel at a time, medium vehicles such as surface cars, industrial equipment, or heavy cargo. Found on most spacecraft capable of zipp space travel.

Class D - 20 meters wide, allows for transfer of large vehicles, prefabricated structures,. Rarely found except on capital ships or luxury cruisers, since its only advantage over cargo hatches is keeping atmospheric pressure.