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The test ship Exatar was designed in -248 as a ramscoop jumpship. A ramscoop jumship is designed to gather interstellar hydrogen before and after a jump - in theory, if such a ship could operate efficiently, it would never need to refuel at a starport or gas giant - having essentially limitless range. The disadvantage of such a ship is that it takes many weeks of constant acceleration on maneuver drive to gather enough hydrogen for a jump.
The first tests of the Exatar in and around the Confederacy were moderately successful, an two more ships, the Macnamara and Esdyla, were started in -241.
Unfortunately, the building yards on the moon of Sketola (0622 Core) were captured during the first stages of the Confederacy Civil War, and the rebels destroyed the two new ships in their stocks. The rebels captured the Exatar intact and used it as a spy ship throughout the conflict; it was decommissioned shortly after the end of hostilities.
No further interest was ever expressed in the project
after the war. -core
TD 9