Drone barge

Drone barges ordroid barges^[1] were self-pilotingstarships controlled by an installedcommand/control module^[2] ordroid brain. They were popular with haulage firms, as they were significantly cheaper to run than using vessels that required a crew, and were regularly used on simple routes when supervision was not necessary.

Description[]

These drones had no individual personality programming and had only enough intelligence to calculate simple hyperspace jumps, locate guidance beacons when arriving at a port and run self-diagnostic checks on cargo and engine systems. While this was cheaper than hiring a sentient crew, drone barges were more vulnerable to navigational error,hyperdrive failure and even outrightpiracy.

Since drone barges were not designed to accommodate organic life forms, these vessels were not equipped with living quarters and life-support systems. Their cramped corridors only had the first gulps of planetary atmosphere that entered the vessel during freight loading or unloading. Despite these, many desperate people would stowaway onboard these drone barges knowing the impending risks for various reasons.

This type of starship was produced by several companies including predominantly droid manufacturers likeCybot Galactica or ship-building corporations likeGallofree Yards, Inc. andCorellian Engineering Corporation. The latter company (Corellian Engineering Corporation) was noted for manufacturing the giganticStarHauler-class which included more than 24 different versions.

Operational history[]

Drone barges were used for a variety of tasks including the transportation of goods including grain fromOrron III or ice blocks fromOhann and the disposal of massive amounts of industrial waste churned out by shipyards on industrial worlds likeCorellia,Fondor andKuat. A considerable number of these starships were also hijacked or sabotaged by pirates or shipjackers, knowing the vessel's vulnerability and that their actions were unlikely to be recorded by the authorities.

As a youth,Han Solo once stowed away on board atransport that had been converted to a drone barge; luckily for him that particular vessel still maintained a limited atmosphere.Tanith Shire – asupply-tug operator at the Fondor shipyards – regularly sabotaged these vessels by reprogramming their control systems to exit hyperspace prematurely and crash-land on the remote desert world ofOphideraan where their cargo and electronic systems would be plundered by theSerpent Masters who employed her.

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Examples[]

• StarHauler 131-T3
• StarHauler 131-SX2

Appearances[]

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• The Clone Wars: Secret Missions 3: Duel at Shattered Rock
• The Paradise Snare
• Droids (1995) 2
• Droids (1995) 3
• Droids (1995) 4
• Han Solo at Stars' End(First appearance)
• Han Solo at Stars' End comic(First appearance)
• Star Wars Missions 9: Revolt of the Battle Droids
• Star Wars Missions 10: Showdown in Mos Eisley
• Star Wars Missions 11: Bounty Hunters vs. Battle Droids
• Star Wars Missions 12: The Vactooine Disaster
• "Darth Vader Strikes"(colorized inClassic Star Wars 2–4)
• "The Serpent Masters"(colorized inClassic Star Wars 4–6)
• "Shadow Stalker" —Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 10
• Star Wars (1977) 98(recolorized inStar Wars: A Long Time Ago... Volume 7: Far, Far Away)

Sources[]

• A Guide to the Star Wars Universe
• "The Yard of Opportunity" —Star Wars Adventure Journal 8
• The Essential Guide to Droids
• The Official Star Wars Fact File 87BAR 1-2: Drone Barge
• The Official Star Wars Fact File 91BAR 3-4: Drone Barge
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
• Shire, Tanith in theDatabank(original site is defunct)
• Millennium Falcon Owner's Workshop Manual

Notes and references[]