Omega Class
From The Great Machine
There have been two variations of this class of Earthforce destroyer.
Contents |
Omega
The Omega-Class Destroyer is currently the main ship of the Earth Alliance Fleet. It looks quite similar to the Nova-class Dreadnaught which it has, for all intents and purposes, replaced. Primary differences stem from the replacement of the majority of the Nova's heavy weapons with a single rotating section to provide artificial gravity for the crew on long-term voyages. This ship entered production following the Earth-Minbari War.
Technical Data
- Approximately 45 million metric tons
- Crew compliment is approximately 1,000
- Center rotating section provides gravity
- Jump point capable
- Tactical Systems
- Laser Cannons
- Pulse cannons
- Defensive Interceptor Cannons
- Fighter compliment of 36 Starfuries and/or Thunderbolts
Ships Commissioned
Omega-X
An advanced version called the Omega-X Destroyer was first seen on-screen toward the end of the Earth Civil War, sporting a semi-organic hull based heavily on Shadow Technology combined with advanced weapons also obtained from through either direct relationships with the Shadows and their Allies or traditional Earth reverse-engineering. This new sub-class was deployed by President Clark as a last-ditch effort to fight off the White Star fleet. However, the hurried integration caused masses of troubles when it came to interface and computing, and had never been fully tested before its rushed deployment.
Technical Data
Ships Commissioned
Notes
The Omega class, while a good practical improvement above the Nova, suffers from one critical flaw: It lacks a counter-rotating section which which it would counteract the immense gyroscopic forces produced by rotation of the primary rotating section. Whether this would be in the form of a symmetrical second section or simply a large, dense metal cylinder rotating at high speeds within the section itself, the issue of counteracting the forces involved is resolved. For all intents and purposes, the Omega should be unflyable and would rip itself apart at the first turn.
Origin And Design
As with most of the computer generated models seen in the first 3 years of Babylon 5, the Omega was both designed and built by a member of Foundation Imagining.[1] In this instance, Paul Bryant[1] who co-founded the company in xxxx with partner Ron Thornton.
The model was referred to as the “Aggie” in house,[1] due to the name of the first ship to appear in the script, the Agamemnon. The original fully detailed model contained over 250,000 polygons[1] although it was designed in such a way that layers of detail could be easily removed to reduce the polygon count[1]. Due to the limits of the computer systems at the time, primarily the amount of memory they could carry,[1] this was necessary in order to keep the creation (rendering) of frames of animation to a practical time scale.[1] It was not required for most shots, but whenever a large number of models appeared on screen at the same time this stripping down process could be viewed, and was usually limited to the ships appearing in the background.
The distinctive forward cheeks of the Omega where based on the smoke lifters (or deflectors) that appeared on some later steam locomotives, and were added to give the Omega a more un-aerodynamic appearance.[1] The engines where eventually modelled on WWII pulse engines. Though an earlier designed was far more complex. This was initially thought necessary in order to accurately portray how force should be applied in order to turn a spacecraft with such a large rotating section. Although adhering to more realistic science was important to Foundation Imaging,[1] it was eventually decided that the animations required to show this were unnecessary. That and the animators looked at Paul Bryant like he had two heads while trying to explain the principle.[1]
“Originally the engine section was a complex gimballed affair because when turning a large centrifugal mass the turning thrust axis is not intuitive. For example if the centrifuge is rotating clockwise, to turn the ship to port the thrusters should be pointing down thrusting upwards."[1]
Designed but never used
The original description of the vessel within the script basically implied that if one of these ships appeared in your system you would be in trouble.[1] So the Omega was designed to be visually impressive and could simply erupt with projected destruction.[1] Surprisingly, however, a number of these design elements were never used in any animation sequence in which the model appeared.
- There are two cannons beneath the forward facing recover bay.
“. . . .the dual Big Ass Cannons under the ship return bay that were supposed to launch gigaton class mines – yes those things were there for a reason.”[1]
- The small red hatches that can be seen along it’s hull were missile compartments.
“The detail was designed for a 19th century broadside effect. You know, camera scraping down the side of the Aggie as all the hatches open sequentially just like every swashbuckling movie you've ever seen. Then open to a wide shot as the entire ship's side erupts in flame and missiles.”[1]
- Located on either end of the rotating section are fighter launch bays designed to work in a similar way to those on the Babylon 5 station.
“On the centrifuge, if you look closely in some shots, you can see sealed Starfury launch bays. I wrote a whole tactical description of how Starfury flights were deployed in battle. If the launch was defensive then as the centrifuge rotated the 'Furies' were deployed evenly around the ship by releasing them at regular intervals. If it was an attack then they were released at a specific degree of rotation closest relative to the target.”[1]
The exact reasons for the omissions is unclear. Though it may be related to the fact that J. Michael Straczynski, the creator, main writer and executive producer of Babylon 5 usually deferred to the designers when it came to providing detailed functionality to a model, and rarely provided a detailed list of specifications.[1] That, and all but one of the major battle sequences involving Omega’s took place after season 3 (the last year Foundation Imaging worked on the show).
A Little Controversy In The Design
This was due to the Omega’s rotating section and it’s obvious similarities to that seen on Syd Meads design of the Leonov. A Russian ship that appeared in the 1984 movie, 2010: The Year We Make Contact. Over the years many claims and counter claims regarding this appeared on various fan based sites and forums. When asked for an explanation, J. Michael Straczynski stated:
“The ships on 2010 and Babylon 5 operate out of the necessity of traveling without standard SF artificial gravity. These designs have been discussed among scientists (in general) for ages; so there's no intention to be close to 2010, but when both are based upon the same scientific principles, there will be echoes. Form follows function.”[1]
This implied an almost unbelievable coincidence and, based on the continued comments, did little to convince those that believed it was a direct copy. Although both rotating sections provided the same function (creating artificial gravity), there was no practical reason for the obvious, and near identical, similarities in form. However, years later Paul Bryant shed light on the subject, including possibly why Straczynski made such an incredulous reply. It was indeed a mischievous and blatant nod to the Leonov, and Straczynski had apparently never asked Paul Bryant before dismissing the similarities.
“Yes, I can confirm that I ‘lifted’ the centre section off the Leonov in 2010 for the centrifuge. That's why the profile is exactly the same. I was feeling mischievous, so I added this little nod to the design. I thought someone was going to spot it immediately but no, it was years before anybody called me on it (it would have been an easy fix to change the profile).”[1]
