StarBase 118 Drydock: Difference between revisions

The '''drydock''' is a massive internal docking area for ships and shuttles inside StarBase 118. Due to the high amounts of traffic, most of the ship bays are usually occupied by visiting StarFleet and commercial ships.  

Though some [[ma:spacedock|spacedock]] installations also maintain starship refurbishing units (usually up to three refits occurring at one time), StarBase 118's important tactical location, and high volume of traffic, keep this duty to a minimum. The [[Downwater Fleet Yards]], 30 light years away, does most of the starship construction for the surrounding sectors, freeing up StarBase 118 to act as a commercial and tactical vantage point.  

[[Image:Sb118 2.jpg|left|thumb|''View of the spacedock doors from the interior.'']]

Docking a StarFleet vessel at a StarBase such as 118 is a well-established, by-the-book procedure. This manuever is overseen by the StarBase's Flight Control ([[StarBase 118 Command Center#Flight Control: (FLY-CON)|FLY-CON]]) and can be automated once the captain of the incoming vessel hands control over to the docking commander.

Flight Control in the main Command Center is responsible for giving all clearances to the space-doors. In case a starship doesn't follow the correct procedure, either Approach Control or Flight Control can issue a yellow alert to the entire spacedock. Usually, only Flight Control has command over the opening and closing of the space doors, but it has been possible to over-ride this command from aboard a starship.

The docking procedure has been designed to allow for maximum safety, and to ensure that vessels do not cross paths in their approach or departure from the spacedock. While traffic in and out of the main spacedock can at times be light, and at other times be quite heavy, vessels are always required to queue properly to avoid disaster.  

Starships must drop out of warp at least 100,000 kilometers from StarBase 118. Once dropping out of warp, vessels continue in a pre-determined path towards StarBase 118, under the guidance and jurisdiction of the [[StarBase 118 Flight Control Department]]. While they may immediately begin moving at 1/4 impulse, this speed must decrease continually until the vessel has entered a guideway of lighted beacons, which begins 900 kilometers from the spacedock doors. At this point, the vessel must slow to the standard orbiting speed of 10,000 kilometers/hour. At this speed, a vessel will take approximately five minutes to traverse the guideway, assuming they are not required to pause due to traffic or spacedock door malfunction. Vessels are required to maintain a distance of at least 20 kilometers from the vessel ahead of them, if a queue exists.  

Once the proper acknowledgments have been made, the space doors will open (if closed during approach) and the starship commences the final automated docking procedure, traveling over a directional array of evenly spaced lights toward its assigned bay. The starship slowly enters the docking bay using its aft thrusters only. Each starship is assigned a docking port which is set back from the docking bay in what could be compared to a "parking space." Each docking port is numbered, e.g.- Port 4. (Alternatively, they are sometimes called "Airlocks".) Assuming that there are no other starships waiting to enter the bay, the space doors will be closed immediately.

The departure of the starship from spacedock is effectively the same procedure in reverse. Depending upon the confining space within the docking bay, a starship can either back out the space doors, or go forward. The starship cannot initiate warp drive or impulse engines until safely outside the immediate vicinity of the base.