Top Five Sci-Fi Exploration Ships

[@Spacedock]

If you enjoy Spacedock, please consider supporting the show at: www.patreon.com/officialspacedock Any donations go a long way to keep Spacedock running and growing. Thanks for watching. :)

[@biocapsule7311]

I don't think the Nauvoo counts because it a generation colony ship. Once they found a viable planet, even if the ship isn't cannibalize for surface needs, the rest of it is not going anywhere. Explorer type vessel are more for data collection and eventually report findings for other missions to follow.

[@ScarriorIII]

The Vindicator from Star Control...now that ship has seen some things.

[@spkt0r]

Top Explorer SDF-1 Macross.

[@Irobert1115HD]

hey please make a video about the best form or shape for spacecraft that can operate in an atmosphere.

[@johnrhoades6214]

Spacedock yeah man The Tempest is beautiful and I do like the way you're doing it unscripted keep it up man

[@sirreginaldfishingtonxvii6149]

0:05 Ah, yes, the Testiculus 6900. Truly a great ship.

[@memolano100]

Hermon the great Hillarious! 🤣🤣🤣

[@IcedCat559]

Haha

[@orionbarnes1733]

Boldly nutting where no man has nut before

[@Joshua_N-A]

Exploration require badassery.

[@davecrupel2817]

🤦😂😂😂😂

[@tracymetherell8744]

The Expanse has the best ships! They make scientific sense. I love how they make gravity almost a character in the show

[@unavailable8813]

thumbnail is LDSS Nauvoo, later OPAS behemoth

[@deven6518]

When looking at sci-fi the time period always has to be taken into account. Prop planes and paddle wheels were scientifically sound decades ago and jet engines were...not so much. Expanse is like 300 years in the future so it makes sense but in some sci-fi shows that occur in the millennia to come, its fair game. If we are still relying on conventional thrusters and centrifugal force for gravity then damn, maybe the future isn't all that better after all.

[@henrytoledo4103]

The Expanse has been the best sci fi show of late but,,,, you would have to force me on the Navoo. Everytime I see it I think of a giant Paper Thin Dixie Cup. I get the feel a softball sized asteroid could go through every deck and out the other side. Nevermind the turning radius of the planet Mercury..All im saying is the LDSS church congegration better be the chosen ones if they wanna make it ,at least past the Ort Cloud, in their Paper Towel Tube Ship,smh.

[@tracymetherell8744]

Henry Toledo hahahahaha! I agree!

[@nulnoh219]

@@henrytoledo4103 They also better be hauling some asteroids along the way cuz how you gonna make repairs out in the void between stars? Spare parts?

[@danielhaire6677]

Of the Enterprises, my personal favorite design is the Sovereign-Class Enterprise-E. A beautifully sleek explorer.

[@The_Irish_Fox]

The Enterprise E is a beautiful ship

[@zafranorbian757]

Daniel Haire The E is a battelcruiser/command ship though. Shure like most fed ships it has extensive science equipment. But over all the ship has other prioritys.

[@danielhaire6677]

The Sovereign class was a heavy explorer designed to supplement/succeed the Galaxy class. Its enhanced combat capabilities came about in design refits tio make it more survivable against the Borg. It was considered the most advanced Heavy multi-role explorer cruiser Starfleet had until the advent of the Vestas.. So basically it had every capability of a Galaxy-Class in a sleeker frame and without the additional families to worry about if Murphy came knocking.

[@GmodPlusWoW]

Yeah baby, Enterprise E was my favourite Enterprise. Especially since it was the stage for one of the best Star Trek movies (at least IMO) in the form of First Contact.

[@danielhaire6677]

Following Wolf-359, almost all surviving starships were upgraded to enhanced combat capabilities. Also, new designs added more combat capabilities to them. However, unlike the Defiant, Akira, and Steamrunners which were warships first, anything else second; Sovereigns were designed as explorers first. The Heavy Explorer designation means though it can act as a standalone ship even in high risk environments whether scientific or combat. They were meant to be the furthest ranging and capable of supporting themselves even long ranges away from Starfleet Command. The differences in ship size, beyond taking families out of the ship design, were primarily because advances in automation and system capability meant they were able to squeeze in everything the -D had in terms of scientific, diplomatic, and tactical capability (and then some) into the smaller frame. If Starfleet ever built a pure warship to the size scale of a Galaxy or a Sovereign, it would likely be able to go toe to toe with even a Romulan/Reman Scimitar Class. As to the previous comment about it being a command ship, one role of heavy explorers has always been being squadron command for any mission requiring multiple ships, whether combat, scientific or humanitarian. My biggest complaint is Star Trek though is that their command ship design and protocol concepts were cooked up by morons. Putting an Admiral whose running the overall larger mission on the same bridge as the ship's commander, who should be commanding the individual ship's contribution is lunacy. There should be a Flag Deck set up for the Admiral and his staff to do their jobs separately from the Captain's job.

[@joshikun7177]

I think the Destiny from stargate universe should have been in this list because not only does it look great (in my humble opinion) but also the story behind it, that includes it's mission, is really really cool. Another point you could make are all the technological features that it has, such as harvesting power by flying through a STAR.

[@bluetango5871]

Very surprised not too see Destiny there but I think the fact we only had two seasons with it meant a lot of its story wasn't told and hindered its place on this list

[@scottmurphy4946]

Its a shame that the show was just starting to become awesome with the AI drones then it was canceled:/

[@Vaasref]

@TentaclePentacle You mistakes exploration with behing the first or a drone collecting data. You can explore at personal level, go to a city you don't know and lost yourself, you will add new experience to your knowledge. You can explore at a specie level, rent a ship a crew and a diving robot and explore some deep see, still exploration, the fish you see on the other hand already know the place but from human point of view you will collect data never collected before, and if you share it you will transform it into knowledge. So even if the Destiny is paired with a gater drone ship, the Destiny is there to be the base ship for explorer team to experience the worlds the gater ships put gates on. The gater ships do transmit some data to the Destiny but the Destiny doesn't transmit to the Lanteans. We know that because Atlantis that is way newer than the Destiny is not equipped with a better mean of communication than the Stargate, so the Destiny was there to be the place where data from both gater and Destiny are transformed into knowledge for the Lantean people by its crew, without crew no knowledge, without knowledge no exploration. And about the set path it's just plain wrong sorry, the path is defined by the ship mission and need, when the Tau'ri got on the ship the ship altered its path since it conceive its mission as allowing the Lanteans to live on board to explore further. And for the big picture the directive to set a path is "whatever it takes to go investigate that". That he macro goal proves even more the point that the Destiny is an exploration ship. If the goal of the Destiny is only to find out what does or is the signal then why having dedicated infrastructure to explore along the path ?

[@vonfaustien3957]

Also shepherd revealed the awnser to everything was already know to humans in Atlantis when he guessed Rodney's password making the whole destiny thing pointless.

[@tomshore3788]

jordan rivard it would've been funny to have the Destiny crew go through all that hardship and pain to solve the mystery only for the ship's computer to spit out 42 onto the screen.

[@michaellewis1545]

I love the B5 explorer​ ship.

[@nefariousgremlin7554]

Michael Lewis yeah, its an interesting design that does a great job of mixing design elements from other earthforce ships

[@Diomedes01]

Same here. That design always impressed me.

[@valuesubtracted]

It's a great ship. All the exposed girders would be a perfect place to attach materials for constructing jumpgates.

[@nefariousgremlin7554]

I'd love to see starfury variants that are equipped for exploration rather than combat

[@chrissonofpear3657]

Did the name of Gideon's explorer ship every get revealed in another source? Official or otherwise?

[@Lepusrabbit]

Thank you sir, that B5 Explorer ship , definitely looks real world . Love it

[@tomaskops7119]

Like most B5 human build starships :)

[@PaulLemars01]

Just a quick note on choice 4, this ship is named the Cortez. I designed it for exactly the reasons you stated. I was one of the original designers on B5. My offerings were the Agamemnon, the Narn heavy cruiser and this ship. Ronny did most of the design work and I was on the computer side but every now and then I got to come out and play. The transfer hanger is the large opening on the front. I fancied the four ribbed tubes under the hanger was the Bussard ramjet array which allowed the Cortez to effectively travel forever. I was heavily influenced at the time by designs by Chris Foss. The funny thing is that I now fly an ASP Explorer in ED.

[@charlespfaff6585]

Chuck’s Favorites Off the top of my head before viewing your video - 2019 May 27 5. Explorer class (Babylon 5) 4. Discovery 1 (2001) 3. The Orville (The Orville) 2. C-57D (Forbidden Planet) 1. Galaxy class (Star Trek) The Tempest looks to be similar to the Leif Ericson model from AMT

[@alexboehm3919]

Thank you so much for including the tempest!

[@delta4phoenix4]

"I don't like wedge-shaped ships." *Picks the most screenshot ruining ship in the entire game*

[@jarlesleglerg9064]

@Romulus III yea totally imagine having a version that is completely worse and not worth anything. Imagine that.

[@pieppy6058]

The krait phantom looks so much better

[@delta4phoenix4]

@@pieppy6058 Federal Corvette at Sag A* or bust

[@pieppy6058]

@@delta4phoenix4 fed corvette is soo cool

[@delta4phoenix4]

@@pieppy6058 it is! I took mine to Sag A*

[@MandalorV7]

Glad the Tempest made this list. MEA had an interesting setting and characters. Personally like the NX Enterprise the best of the Enterprises. It has a more grounded feel to it. Think it's horrible to bring families along on a ship of exploration. There are so many possible dangers that you are exposing civilians to. Deep Space 9 points out why it's a bad idea to bring families on starships.

[@nick5661]

Jacob Clark I agree despite the flaws of the game Andromedas tempest is a beautiful design, not surprised a Star Trek ship made it. If I was to pick out of ALL Star Trek material the odyssey class from Star Trek online is my favourite.

[@dreamingflurry2729]

In war I totally agree (fill the extra crew quarters with additional shield generators etc.), but otherwise? I don't know, they know what they signed up for (Note: I draw the line at kids! You can have a spouse on board, but not children (so you'll take the Star Trek equivalent of the pill or whatever they use for birthcontrol!)!) and many are in the same (or a similar!) field to their spouse, so why not (hell, many are also in Starfleet (Riker and Diana are a couple for example and serve on the Enterprise and after their marriage they both transfer to the Titan (Riker himself as captain!))

[@TheSaoMagnifico]

For all of STO's issues, space combat is great and it's made all the better by many of the gorgeous ship designs. The Odyssey Class is one of the best. I also love the Guardian Class. The Trident Class science ship and the Sentinel Class star cruiser are nothing to sneeze at, either.

[@voxdraconia4035]

Well, the Enterprise was first and foremost meant to be for exploration and science, every one on board identified as a scientist to soem capacity. The ship however was THE most advanced of the Federation. It could go on par with dedicated military vessels by the Klingons and Romulans. So it was actually quite save. But the issue with "families" and non star fleet personnel actually is adressed i ncanon, but for budget reasons and writing never was part of the series much: The saucer-section could be seperated from the engine section. Done in the pilot and a couple of episodes. It basically removes teh "small town of civilians" and leaves the lower section as military-only ship with a small crew and a dedicated "war bridge"

[@jhmcd2]

I am trying to get back into visual arts and a big part of what I use to love to do was space ships, and these videos just give me so many ideas. Love it. Also, love the Fact that the Enterprise D (Galaxy Class) took top honors. I love that ship.

[@kerninjathefrog6569]

I liked the Tempest in Mass Effect Andromeda. Sleek design both in and out

[@princeprocrastinate6485]

Had to be the galaxy class Enterprise, to be honest I love Star Trek Federation star ship designs more than probably any other ship designs in Sci-fi, they're so different and unique. I hope that if humans ever become interstellar we will design ships similar to those of the Federation.

[@seanbigay1042]

They're different and they're unique, because nothing says, "The good guys are here!" like the Lady E swooping into orbit like the big, beautiful Great Bird of the Galaxy she is. (*snif* Sorry, I -- I got something in my eye --)

[@maximvandepoll3008]

My personal favorite Explorer Vessel is the Destiny from Stargate Universe, considering its mission and sheer age.

[@supastar4784]

About the Explorer class from B5 Actually, we take a look at it twice, the second time we meet it is in the first episode of B5 spin-off "Crusade"

[@chrissonofpear3657]

The EAS Cortez, and a second, unnamed ship, under Matthew Gideon's former command.

[@KamiRecca]

Nobody wants to remember Crusade...

[@SigmaWalker]

There's this: babylon5.wikia.com/wiki/Explorer_class_ship although I could've sworn I saw it in "Thirdspace."

[@xarglethegreat]

it had its moments, frankly i think it was starting to find its feet just as it got cancelled

[@davidlewis5312]

@@xarglethegreat actually it was canceled (for whatever studio politics bullshit reason) before it came out. That's why some of the effects were janky (even by B5 standards)

[@komandorbentus2731]

My top 3: 1. Tempest (Mass Effect) 2. Destiny (Stargate Universe) 3. Jumper (Stargate Atlantis)

[@g0lanu]

Elite's explorers, the Asp and Diamondback look more like space vans. The bulkiness is probably what justified the extra cargo space or modules available by comparison to ships of the same class, which is something you need as an explorer in that game.

[@Jonty-ue9jj]

The Asp Explorer also has a similar aesthetic to the Narn Frazi class heavy fighter from B5 but scaled up to a larger size. Also I'm really happy to see the Explorer class form B5 show up and the LDSS Nauvoo too, mainly because they are as close to real life physics of space flight as you get in sci-fi without the magical gravity and propulsion that you normally see in most sci-fi material. Love this channel, please keep up the amazing work Daniel. But I would love to see more profiles of B5 ships as it was that series which started my love of both Sci-fi and physics. Wouldn't be upset or see a few more Anime ships and Mecha pop up too although I understand fully that it isn't your own chosen preference of genre and as you have stated before not your area of expertise/knowledge either. But I will continue to wait excitedly for each video you release regardless of this..... Especially as it opens up knowledge of series etc I didn't previously know and now as a result am enjoying greatly (The Expanse is a prime example, Unknown to me a few months ago, now i am up to date with the series thus far and awaiting the next seasons release and on the 3 book of the series!!!) Thanks again Daniel and keep up the great work!!

[@JaxMerrick]

I'm a huge Elite Dangerous fan, and am so glad that my go-to ship made the list :)

[@ranekeisenkralle8265]

True, although I like the Beluga for exploration better than the ASP-X. Decent range and a MASSIVE fuel tank. Getting her in and out of a station takes some getting used to for inexperienced pilots though.

[@nefariousgremlin7554]

Nice Jayne hat

[@eyesofstatic9641]

He mentioned the diamondback explorer too! My favorite ship lol

[@martinjrgensen8234]

The Tempest is gorgeous. Literally took my breath away when it appeared in Andromeda for the first time.

[@StarGundam007]

Ah the Asp and Diamond back. Both my favourite ships on E:D.

[@oscarreid1232]

Asps in front of things is the best :D o7.

[@megabo3ed]

I love the military yacht aesthetic that shepard's ships have.

[@MarlonSardini]

Your videos are always great, and this Top5 is also very agreeable I think.

[@williamsquires3070]

Totally agree with NCC 1701-D at #1! 1st, the Federation is about exploration, and (for their era) all the Enterprises could hold their own, but for exploration, Picard’s Enterprise wins hands down. 2) Even during wartime,, you’re probably better off in a well armed and shielded starship, than on the surface of a planet, so I think that having families on board helps from a psychological aspect. Plus, who wouldn’t want to serve on the Federation’s flagship? 3) It’s big enough to carry around a sh*tload of mission specialists, equipment, shuttle craft, etc... for almost any exploratory mission. 4) It can kick some serious alien butt if it has to! 5) What other ship has a bartender with a BFG?!

[@rfletch62]

Spacedock had always been fair to B5 fans, with nets them another subscriber.

[@IDCStuff]

How had I not found this video till now, this is my literal subject, I love exploration ships, in fact, an exploration ship will be the main ship in my hard sci-fi story.

[@EksaStelmere]

I see absolutely no problem with the size of the Captain's quarters on the Tempest. Admittedly, spaceships with FTL capability have zero excuse to not be nice and spacious. As I always have to tell people, square-cube law doesn't stop a ship from being nice and roomy. Not like empty space weighs as much as steel and titanium.

[@pflaffik]

Sheridan said it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see an explorer class ship, they spent most of their time out on the rim so its only reasonable that we viewers also got only one encounter with one. A touch of perfection by JMS there.

[@sastrei]

*waits to make sure the Cortez is in there* *clicks thumbs up*

[@jediarchives7826]

I know it's pretty biased because of how much I love Timothy Zahn as a writer and Thrawn as a character, but my favorite exploration vehicle is the Outbound Flight

[@BigHeadClan]

Nice work as always, I do love your scripted analytical breakdown of individual ships but when your doing a top X list this format really works a lot better.

[@zeetos7853]

No script! How dare you! lol. Nice video as always, and I like the no script approach. It feels more natural and friendly. Keep up the good work.

[@kerensky02]

Knew that hoping for Rama was a fools wish, but it has been my #1 for decades.

[@TwizztidAngel]

As a design the Voyager ship is an EXCELLENT explorer ship. Not a long term one but its systems and sensors are top of the line at its inception.

[@danielsimmonds2507]

My personal favourite explorer is the ISF's Marco Polo from Dan Dare. A cutting edge, multi-drive ship designed to explore the Asteroid Belt and later helped retrieve the Z-19 Prototype and map the Sargasso Sea of Space.

[@augurseer]

Unscripted is fine. Passion and knowledge can lead a lot of good conversation. Keep up the good work.

[@Vehrec]

It seems like we have two very different kinds of Exploration Ships here-Capital Explorers, who are the first ones to open up virgin territory, are very large, and go far beyond what any other ship can reasonably do, and the Back-filling Explorer, which can be operated by a tiny crew at shorter ranges to get all the spots the big ships either missed or bypassed.

[@les4767]

Pretty good list. I'd recommend a few honorable mentions: USS Discovery One-"2001 A Space Odyssey"(not to be confused with the USS Discovery from "Star Trek") Space Battleship Yamato-while mostly used as a warship, the Yamato is great as an exploration ship too USS Orville-"The Orville" A great callback to the Galaxy Class from TNG...with an outer look more like the Starship Voyager.

[@eltomaxmidwest6553]

Got nervous for a moment. Saved the best for last, yet alone my favorite starship in sci-fi. I think you stated appropriately, a luxury liner capable of military/scientific actions. 👍🖒

[@jamesp7987]

I would like to point out that the tempest's model in-game was at least half the size that is should have been. If you like the Tempest, I think you will also enjoy the Anvil Carrack from Star Citizen.

[@topgun92x]

Keep up the great work! Please cover the high guard star ships from Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda

[@SeekerLancer]

I spent many, many, many hours in the Asp, just flying off into uncharted regions of the galaxy. I don't have the patience to return to Elite Dangerous today but it was a great experience.

[@lovipoekimo176]

I completely love the Earthforce Explorer ships from Babylon 5. Not only was it a long-haul ship of exploration that carries a ton of equipment and fuel and support craft, but it also is designed to deploy Jump Gates.

[@JustTooDamnHonest]

I agree with you 100% on the Tempest ship from Andromeda and my mother is a trekkie and her favorite ship overall is the Galaxy Class ship from TNG.

[@artembentsionov]

I would also recommend the Bellerophon in the Andromeda show. Only shows up once, but made an impression on me. Launched in the 22nd century, ironically a mere 8 years before the Perseids made contact with Earth and gave humans the slipstream drive, which allows one to go to other galaxies in minutes. The ship has a MASSIVE fusion drive that can allow it to reach relativistic speeds in short order. Unarmed but can use said drive as a giant flamethrower, although it eats up a lot of fuel that then needs to be replenished. Despite nearly 1500 years passing since its launch, only a few decades have passed for the crew thanks to the time dilation, and its captain is determined to continue his mission, even though it’s mostly moot given that humans now populate a sizable portion of 3 galaxies (and the captain is well aware of that fact). Then again, slipstream drive can’t go everywhere, so maybe there may still be a use for an STL ship.

[@jcj94brony]

I'm hurt that you like the Asp X over the Diamondback X ;-; Diamond back X feels nice and cozy inside to me, and I like the more squished look of it all. Plus she sips fuel and her angular plated design means she runs cool.

[@linusorm]

I'm surprised you didn't include Destiny in this video. The entire purpose of that ship was space exploration on a massive scale. Also gives a good example on how early era Ancient space technology is vastly different from late era space technology.

[@bradknightable]

That iteration of Stargate leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

[@tesstickle7267]

@@bradknightable shame you weren't a taste in your mother's mouth. Sgu was a dam good show, cancelled way too soon. Season 3 and 4 would have had amazing footage, not sure how the ancients were going to come into it maybe a ship memory,time travel etc who knows but they were going to appear, as was mckay again. Could have seen earth become the most powerful species ever, powerful enough to bring back the asgard maybe?

[@Arashmickey]

Maybe the coolest thing about the Nauvoo is that golden figurehead! I don't know if I've ever seen that before on a starship. Maybe some WH40k stuff. I guess the necromongers from Riddick. But those ships don't put a big smile on my face like the Nauvoo figure.

[@chrissonofpear3657]

Allegories, mythologising of ancestral stories, and attempts to re-present certain divine messages - which seem easy to distort... or so I hear.

[@martinleopard193]

What about Destiny from SGU?! The grandest exploration ship ever!!!

[@hunternightshadow9289]

Destiny... is science ship (maybe exploratin ship too... sorry...i am not good in english)... find some lore.

[@scelonferdi]

Yeah, one could argue that it is more of a research than an exploration ship. It's purpose is to find something out and not chart/discover new places. The whole exploration thing is just part of the way to get to it's goal. It isn't the final purpose of the ship.

[@tomshore3788]

Was gonna ask the same bloody question. Destiny deserved at least an honorable mention.

[@tesstickle7267]

@@TentaclePentacle destiny is an exploration science vessel. The ship collects information all own it's own,the ship can even get into people's minds lol the seed ships just follow a path and drop gates on that path,it does a basic scan and that's about it

[@Kyronea]

Because the Destiny, like everything about SGU, was kind of crap.

[@truaxe815]

I was really hoping for Discovery One from 2001: A Space Odyssey to be here.

[@JAYEL236]

Ryan Truax me too. It’s still one of the most realistic designs in Sci-fi.

[@MattMcIrvin]

@@JAYEL236 The one thing they fudged about it was that in real life, a nuclear-powered ship like that would need enormous radiator surfaces to dissipate heat. They decided they didn't want people wondering why the ship had wings.

[@JAYEL236]

Matt McIrvin I’ve heard that story too.

[@orionbarnes1733]

Cool design for the movie, however in the book it's described more like the Hermes from The Martian. it had a spinnig disc on the outside, a Cargo Bay in the ???, and a large engine array if I remember correctly.

[@vichodeivis1219]

If the series manage to cover all the books or is canceled at some point, the Nauvoo deserves a stand alone video xD Patrons take note. You won't regret it xD

[@davideinfeld4815]

Vicho Deivis agreed! I just finished Persepolis Rising. So much history wrapped up in that ship!

[@vichodeivis1219]

Shhhhhh I'm at the page 400 something. Shit is going down and I don't have my book at hand xDDD

[@earnestbrown6524]

Just started the 2nd season of the TV show. Need to get the books if they are just as good. Loving this expansive universe.

[@vichodeivis1219]

I like how in the show fix some gaps in the first book. A small warning: the books get a lot more better after the second book. The story passes from being a not-that-good-action-story with interesting details to something else entirely. Character development (and more importantly their mental state) becomes an important factor when reading chapters from their point of view.

[@davideinfeld4815]

I really enjoy the Amos and Naomi chapters. And all the other chapters really. I love that the authors went with perspective characters

[@hallofo8107]

Cool list, I like the informal style to these unscripted videos. Also: "Yay, Space Mormons made the list!"

[@acceptablecasualty5319]

The Aurora from Subnautica is amazing.

[@kenhyden3391]

One of my favourite ships is the "Second Chance " from Pandoras Star By Peter F Hamilton.

[@bltxlettuce3444]

One of my top is Outbound Flight from Star Wars, unusual design and very unique from my fav universe.

[@InventorZahran]

What about the USS Voyager? I've heard that the Voyager's warp core was modified to run on discarded coffee-grounds...

[@nothandmade9686]

Because "there's coffee in that nebula".

[@catjudo1]

I like to think Voyager was fueled by Harry Kim's disappointment over his lack of promotions.

[@cookiemonsterdayz]

@@catjudo1 True. Seven years a an ensign.

[@gibster9624]

You know what else makes the tempest such a badass ship? It's based on the most badass machine on Earth. The SR-71 Black Bird stealth and reconnaissance. A machine that was so fast it could out run missiles. I do wish it had some sort of fire power because I think that is important to have but if it's anything like the machine it's inspired from it really won't need it. Tho I wouldn't mind some more stealth missions with it that involve shooting something.

[@fyreantz2555]

If you had ever played Starflight back in the 80's, their explorer class ship would be on this list! Fantastic game!

[@robertmandl9326]

My two personal favourites are in this list: B5 Explorer class, now that's an impressive ship indeed, sturdy and straight on made for the Job; and of course the by now legendary Galaxy class from Star Trek - a multipurpose vessel that truely embodies the spirit and idea of the Federation and Starfleet.

[@adenowirus]

I like the Outbound Flight from Star Wars Expanded Universe. I has sort of cobbled together look, seeing as it is just six Dreadnaughts arranged around a central core. As a consequence it also doesn't have a clearly defined top and bottom, unlike almost any other ship in Star Wars universe. All in all it has this hard-SF feel in space opera world and I really like that.

[@mrthewubbie]

United States Space Probe One. USS Cygnus. The coolest damn explorer ship ever

[@MattMcIrvin]

Impractical design, but, yeah, it was beautiful.

[@DionStabber]

So funny you mention the Ghost in relation to the Asp- I’ve always thought it but I’ve never heard anyone else say it before!

[@daveh7720]

I never thought about the Nauvoo being an exploration ship. It was presented in The Expanse as a colony ship but since the crew and passengers didn't know what they were going to find when they arrived in another star system, they'd need some pretty good exploration and research capabilities as well.

[@thenightlyguy7621]

You can see several of the inspirations that they used to develop the Wanderer/Avalon platforms from The Sojourn in this video

[@artembentsionov]

The Explorer class in B5 also has onboard factories to build new jumpgates in promising systems

[@ShermanMatt]

Subscribed. Good original content

[@donovian111]

Imagine being in a society like the Federation of Planets and just being a metal worker putting together craft like the Enterprise.

[@jacktraveller8290]

I only subscribed yesterday, but I've already been sucked into hours worth of your material. Generally, much prefer your unscripted videos, or commentary videos. it's nice to hear your opinions and critique.

[@valuesubtracted]

Pretty much a perfect list.

[@CL-no3si]

Very nice. Really enjoyed this one

[@v_ktr4358]

man your videos are awesome! Thank you!

[@jeffanderson8165]

With respect, while you made excellent cases for all the ships in this video, IMO, you excluded the most breathtakingly beautiful exploration ship in all of Science Fiction; the Discovery, from "2001: A Space Odyssey." Another exploration ship that really caught my heart is one that's less well known; the Pegasus, from BBC's "Voyage to the Planets and Beyond" (also known as "Space Odyssey"), a made-for-television movie by the same folks behind "Walking with Dinosaurs." (If you've not yet seen it, look for it; it's well worth it...) ^_^

[@farmerned6]

good call

[@JuryRigged]

You mention transparent material used on the tempest, but it always felt to me that everything that looked transparent was more a 'holographic viewscreen'. From the bridge and cabin windows all the way to the meeting room 'cupola', the surfaces are lined with hexagonal texture and don't quite seem to have the same resolution and clarity that the rest of the ship does.

[@shadowqueen1701]

There is an Explorer ship in the B5 spin off show Crusade

[@silenthunter5074]

Just come back from an 80 jump stint in my Asp explorer myself and if you ever want to join me Daniel I’d be happy to take you as far as you’d like when you need to feed that exploration bug!

[@joaquinenriquemejiaescaro8043]

What about the Outbound Flight? I got blown up but it was a exploration ship notheless its objective was to reach and chart the Unknown Regions of the Star Wars Galaxy.

[@mill2712]

To be fair, every one of these ships has some sort of moving visuals from the televised/game media from their respective series. And you get to see and spend a good amount of time with the ships. The outbound flight has a picture...

[@chasebelongia1590]

My personal preference for elite dangerous explorer ships goes to the anaconda but combat goes to the federal corvette and my fav the fer da lance.

[@kineticdeath]

I'm pretty sure that the B5 explorers also build jumpgates as well as charting unknown space. Doing so they would facilitate later expansion by earthforce into those regions

Ah Daniel.... number 1 was perfect. Very nice

I was about to riot if Star Trek and it's Galaxy class didn't make the list. Thanks for giving it the #1 spot. 😉

[@jamesdiehl8690]

Honorable mentions: Event Horizon and the ship from Disney's Black Hole?

[@geekhillbilly2636]

The Intrepid Class USS Voyager -Could make planet fall. Smaller and more versatile. Same Technology but with interesting differences

[@marie-noellebaechler1433]

An exploration ship goes in unchartered areas. The crew will need sensors in order to build maps, the larger the better, especially if the ship does not have years to collect datas for every small place. Some of these sensors take quite a lot of place. The same crew will also need protection in order to resist radiation belts, flares and son on. Being alone in far away places, the ship also requires to be built in such a way that it can be completely maintained and repaired by its crew. All these elements favor larger ships, at least "frigate sized". In your list, the federation ships seem the most appropriate.

[@reulingue8151]

Venture Star from Avatar?? It's a nice ship too

[@ns129]

You HAVE to do the Battleship Yamoto! :)

[@dreadedpixel9022]

One of my favorites is the Kuun Lan from homeworld Cataclsym, shes a beautiful ship

[@Daimon-X]

My No. One: UNSC Spirit of Fire a modified UNSC Phoenix-class colony ship.

[@shayminthedoctor9663]

That's not an exploration ship Don't get me wrong I love the SoF, but it doesn't qualify

[@AlindBack]

Yeah, that's at best a colony ship, and at worst a planetary assault ship. Neither really fit the "explorer" classification. An ONI Prowler might fit that class, and would probably be the closest ship class that the UNSC has to an "explorer" ship, but even the Prowler doesn't quite line up. While I love Halo, and the Spirit of Fire is one of my favorite UNSC ships, there just isn't really anything in current Halo cannon that fits in this list.

[@Dark_Fusion19]

AlindBack UNSC Infinity, since it was repurposed as an exploration ship.

[@AlindBack]

Sure, that's a fair point. It could be said that the Infinity by 2558 is technically an exploration ship. But, calling it that, and using it like that, is akin to calling, and using, an M1-A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank as a commuter car. Sure, you could call an Abrams a car, and it would certainly get you from home to work and back reliably, but that isn't what it was built for, and it has a lot more going on with it than would even be reasonable on a 'commuter car.' Ultimately, calling the Infinity a ship of exploration is more a publicity stunt by the UNSC than it is an actual change in mission parameters for the ship. The ship still stands at full wartime readiness and routinely engages in combat, either directly or in support of other assets. The ship is staffed by a crew of nearly, if not completely, all military personnel, it has the most powerful weapons of any ship in the UNSC's arsenal, and it is the primary staging platform for the SPARTAN Branch. At any given time there are hundreds of SPARTANs aboard, as well as the potential for hundreds, if not thousands of Marines, ODSTs, military vehicles, and even up to 10 UNSC Strident class frigates. Again, if any UNSC ship that we know of right now fits the explorer ship description, it would likely be the Prowler. It is a dedicated sensor and reconnaissance platform, with just the barest armament. What really holds the Prowler back from taking on that mantle is its cloaking ability, and the simple fact that its basic mission perimeters have it acting as a ship of espionage. tl;dr: The Infinity is an exploration ship in name only. Its armament and continued mission parameters would classify it as nothing short of a warship.

[@Dark_Fusion19]

I'd like to think of Infinity as both, a ship that can explore the galaxy, and yet be large enough and armed enough to defend itself should the need arise. At the end of the war, Infinity was the elephant in the room, it's sole purpose for being created was now redundant. I wouldn't class the Prowler as an exploration ship, since it's used by ONI agents and is designed to be a stealth and intelligence gathering ship. I guess the Pheonix Class Colony ship could be fairly close, since it was used to colonise worlds before being retrofitted for war.

[@MihzvolWuriar]

If I would make a list, the SRF-003 Calnus (or any of the 5 similar crafts) would be on this list, that ship is a beauty, though lightly armed, it's fully equipped to any kind of planetary exploration, and very adaptive, can integrate any kind of new technology with ease, be it alien or not

[@weldonwin]

I have to say that, the Galaxy Class is special, because its the very last ship of the old Starfleet, IE, Starfleet as it was before that first encounter with the Borg and then the catastrophe that was Wolf 359. The Galaxy was the last Starfleet ship, that was built just to explore, when in a lot of ways, Starfleet and the Federation were for the most part innocent and the very idea of building pure-blood warships like the Defiant and Akira would have been met with horror. After the Galaxy and Wolf 359, Starfleet would never be the same again.

[@Canadamus_Prime]

I do love the Galaxy Class. I also love the sleek design of the Sovereign Class, but I have a soft spot for the Galaxy Class.

[@kyokithedeist5082]

While you describe the Nauvoo to be a City-in-space, I would say that the Enterprise is either a Town or a Village in comparison simply due to size.

[@davidmackenzie9899]

I know Red Dwarf is technically a mining ship but with all the equipment on board, stasis pods, a drive system that makes able to run forever and where it is in the universe surely it would be considered a exploration ship now.

[@PeterNissen878112]

You missed the Voyager II and Connestoga Class ships from the Terran Trade Authority (TAA) universe?

[@Dr.Westside]

Event Horizon explored dimensions of hell. I think it qualifies

[@richardbenjamin8535]

here are some ships you might want to consider if you can find illustrations of them to show. the cylinder ship rama and the beagle from the Arthur C. Clarke novel "Rendezvous with Rama". also the ship(s) that contained the last plant life on earth in the movie "Silent Running". I can't think of any others, but this is a good place to start, wouldn't you agree?

[@bb-6359]

I really like the look of the Outbound Flight

[@abnegazher]

Hey. There is the Sydonia, from the manga "Sydonia no Kishi". Ok... That counts as a colony ship too... But there is the exploration part because the destiny of the trip was not set (you know... Earth destroyed and needed to get out of the planet fast... Not much time resarching habitable planets on the galaxy).