The Battlestar Galactica, title ship of the movie and series of the same name, is a fictional space vehicle designed for hard combat, to accommodate a large crew, to launch and retrieve fighter spacecraft (analogous to modern day aircraft carriers). Unlike aircraft carriers of today, which bear few self-defense armaments, the Galactica boasts a large number of gun turrets in addition to its fighters.

Battlestar Galactica (1978)

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One of twelve Battlestars constructed to represent the Twelve Colonies of Man, the Galactica represents the Colonial planet Caprica. The Battlestar Galactica was built 500 yahren before the close of the Thousand Yahren War (and the start of the TV series). It was believed to be the only Battlestar to survive the Destruction of the Twelve Colonies, until the Battlestar Pegasus was found.

The Galactica is commanded by Commander Adama. It has a complement of about 150 Vipers: a mixture of its own, some from the other battlestars at the Peace Conference, and a large number of fighters from the Pegasus.

Battlestar Galactica (2003)

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One of the first twelve Battlestars built, the Galactica represents the Colonial planet Caprica.

The Galactica entered service in the early years of the Cylon War, under the command of one Commander Peter Dash. During her service, the Galactica formed a part of Battlestar Group 75 (BSG 75), a Colonial force described by series creator Ronald D. Moore as a mixed-force of vessels somewhat similar to a US Navy Carrier Battle Group. While the exact composition of such a group is uncertain, it has been speculated that more than one battlestar operated within each group.

Like any of her sister ships which may have survived the original Cylon War, the Galactica underwent refits and upgrades (for example, at the end of her career she was equipped with the latest Mark VII Viper space superiority fighter). However, her computer systems were neither networked nor integrated by any of her commanding officers, up to and including her final commander, William Adama. Prior to Adama, Galactica was commanded by Admiral Sing who recommended the then Captain Adama for promotion upon his retirement.

Due to this lack of network integration at the time of the Cylon attack, the Galactica was immune to the infiltration program used by the Cylons to disable Colonial vessels and defence systems, using the Command Navigation Program (CNP), developed by Dr. Gaius Baltar and subverted by Cylon operative Number Six as a backdoor into such systems.

At the time of the Cylon Attack, Galactica was 50 years old and she was undergoing formal decommissioning from the Colonial fleet following her retirement as an operational vessel. She had been due to become a museum ship; a combined living museum commemorating the Cylon War and educational centre. Due to its age, the ship was unofficially known as the The Bucket by the crews of both the Pegasus and Galactica.

Since the Cylon attack, in keeping with the concept of the original 1978 series, the Galactica has become both protector and provider to a small fleet of civilian vessels searching for the legendary planet Earth.

External links

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• Galactica (TOS) (Battlestar Wiki)
• Battlestar (TOS) (Battlestar Wiki)
• Galactica (RDM) (Battlestar Wiki)
• Battlestar (RDM) (Battlestar Wiki)

Battlestar Galactica vehicles