A-Wing

The A-Wing is a high-tech reusable spacecraft used by the Culldrome Isles. Designed by the CSRA, Culldrome's lead scientific organization, it is capable of placing an astronaut into space and back, as well as traveling inside the Earth's atmosphere. It is Culldrome's most advanced piece of technology and utilizes Porcyals for cheap high-speed space travel.

Background
The origins of the A-Wing began in 2011. The Culldrome Scientific Research Agency wanted to further Culldrome in space exploration. A few years ago, in 2008, the CSRA launched the Soaring Star, a primitive rocket design. The launch ended in a failure and the rocket did not reach space. However, they wanted to continue with the space program. Plans were drawn up for a cheap re-usable spacecraft that resembled PASA's Space Shuttle, which was also being built at the time.

The plans for the first prototype, called the RZ-1, were drawn up and the testing of various systems began in May 2011. The RZ-1 was to use state-of-the-art technology; it was to use energy from Porcyals to power it's systems and engines. The spacecraft was to use a highly advanced flight computer to aid the astronaut or pilot with flying the craft. It was calculated that with these technologies, the RZ-1 would be able to attain a faster acceleration speed than any other spacecraft at the time. At the very most, the RZ-1 could reach space within 5 minutes, compared to the normal 7-10 minutes.

The actual construction of the RZ-1 began in June 2011. The construction and development was rather slow, since the CSRA also devoted a large amount of time to the existing Soaring Star rocket project. The slow development continued until December 2012. Shops Island had recently launched their own rocket and started a space program, putting them into a space race with other superpowers, like the USA or Snowzerland. Culldrome increased it's efforts and put more resources to their own space program. The RZ-1 underwent some modifications and was renamed to the A-Wing, since it resembled an 'A' shape. The A-Wing's construction and development continued hastily.

The first flight of the A-Wing occurred on June 17 2013, after about 2 years of development. The test flight was very short, lasting only 72 seconds. The A-Wing took off from the air force base on Toxic Island. Unlike a conventional aircraft, it does not have an undercarriage, and instead takes off by hovering. The test flight had the A-Wing take off and fly down the runway. However, due to many problems with the Porcyal-power system, the engines and computers shut down, resulting in a crash down the runway. Nevertheless, the technology had been proven.

Soon after the test flight, Culldrome entered the Great Space Race of 2013. As a small power, Culldrome would be competing against the scientific and technological mights of other nations. The A-Wing soon entered mass production, despite the problems. As of March 2014, there have been over 1500 A-Wings built, with hundreds more to come. The A-Wings are also supplemented by the Exclamator-Class Space Cruiser, acting as a carrier and support ship for them.

Description


The A-Wing, just as the name suggests, is shaped like an "A". The actual craft is quite small, with the tiny single-seat cockpit situated in the middle. The A-Wing is also very flat and thin, allowing it to cut through the air and fly very quickly. To help with maneuvering in the atmosphere, there are 4 wing stabilizers, located at the back of the A-Wing, directly on the engines. The engines, which are mostly shaped like tubes, are located at the back of the "A" section. In between these engines is another section, which houses most of the A-Wing's important hardware, such as it's computers and power systems. This section also contains a small cargo bay, which can be used to carry mission payloads.

The A-Wing had many uses. First and foremost, they were a space exploration vehicle, designed as a quick and cheap way to explore space. The A-Wing can also be used as a fighter during war time. The spacecraft can also fly inside the Earth's atmosphere, just like a plane. The A-Wing has two cannons, which can be used to delete the enemy. The craft can also be used as a reconnaissance spy craft. The A-Wing can fly at a very fast speed and can easily outrun most jets. Cameras can be loaded in it's cargo bay and can be used to spy on enemies. The A-Wing, being a very fast and maneuverable spacecraft, relies on this speed to accomplish some of it's tasks and is a major characteristic of the spacecraft.

Weapons
On the sides of the A-Wing are two Deletion cannons. These cannons fired lasers that deleted objects and were directly imported from the USA. The cannons were placed late in the A-Wing design, after Culldrome realized the potential dangers of other nations, especially in the quest for space exploration. The astronaut, who would be flying the A-Wing, also had to put in a lot of concentration during a battle, since he had to control both the craft and the weapons. However, the two high-tech cannons, which had targeting sensors on them, were also aided by an on board weapons computer to be aimed fired. The cannons have a wide range of motion, and can swivel around 360 degrees. In theory, this means that the cannon can fire at an enemy directly behind it. Fortunately, these weapons were never used in an actual battle.

Engines and Power
The A-Wing is completely powered using Porcyals. To cut costs, only small fragments of the crystal are used. The fragments are placed inside a small generator, located at the back of the spacecraft. The generator continuously generates energy, which is put to use by the many power hungry computers and engines. When not in use, the power charges batteries, which can be used in high-energy-use times and for other applications. The engines are not powered by this electricity, but are instead powered directly by the Porcyals.

Trivia

 * The A-Wing is a parody of a spacecraft of the same name from the Star Wars series.
 * The A-Wing can carry a single astronaut, but can also squeeze in a Puffle.
 * Clovis Hochstadt used an A-Wing loaned to the Antarctic Military in the Great Snowzerland War VI to board a Snoss Star Destroyer.