Top 5 spacecraft from sci-fi

In honour of the final flight of the Space Shuttle I thought I'd share with you a few of my favourite spacecraft from TV and movies

Executor class Imperial Super Star Destroyer - Star Wars

The very epitomé of the Empire's technological and military might. Measuring in at 17 Kilometres it carries 4000 turbolasers and 144 starfighters; with a crew complement of over 250,000 she could put enough boots on the ground to subjugate planetary populations if the theat of bombardment is not sufficient. The Executor class is effectively a self contained fleet. She's pretty and deadly topping my list due to the collossal size, versatility and intimidation factor.

Battlestar Galactica - Battlestar Galactica

Old, broken and obsolete. The Galactica was built during the first Cylon war. Armed with over 500 point defence weapons her primary purpose was to house and launch strike craft. She was built to last, serving the Colonial fleet for over 50 years before a catastrophic failure of her superstructure after her final battle with the Cylons. (I wont spoil the ending for you all)

Andromeda Ascedant - Andromeda

Easily the prettiest ship on the list. The Andromeda Ascendant was the flagship of the System's Commonwealth; after the fall she was in effect the most powerful starship in the entire galaxy, more than a match for the various pirate and warlord fleets arrayed against her. On a slightly of topic note I felt Andromeda was seriously underrated; as one of the last sci-fi series taking the ultra futuristic and camp approach of earlier generations the fanbase was considerably smaller than it wold have been even 5 years earlier.

Excelsior Class Starship - Star Trek

The workhorse of the Federation; the design was in service for nearly a century which was hailed as a testament to it's versatility and a triumph of forward thinking design. The flat area between the nacelles is reminiscent of the first modern nuclear submarines which has clearly influenced the concept artists. We usually saw Excelsior's taking a pounding or acting as support for fleet engagements due to her heavy armour and shielding.

Incom Corporation T-65 X-Wing Starfighter

Nothing Says Star Wars more than the omnipresent, seemingly invincible X-Wing. The backbone of the Rebel Alliance (and later the New Republic and Galacitic Federation of Free Alliances) it was a rugged, cheap and vesitile combat vehicle. Best summed up in a quote from Star Wars: Rogue Squadron by General Carlist Rieekan:

"The Incom T-65 X-wing is the fighter that killed the Death Star. An almost perfect balance of speed, maneuverability, and defensive shielding make it the fighter of choice for Rogue Squadron."

usually scored with laser hits and their pilot corps were some of the brightest and most daring in the armed forces. Armed with quad linked lasers and proton / concussion missile launchers it was a formidable foe especially when compared the to Tie Fighter which had no shields, ejection system and only dual linked lasers.

So that's a rundown of my 5 favourite spacecraft. We know that within our lifetime there will not be a new variant of space vehicle on par with any of these but maybe in a few hundred years we could explore our solar system and beyond in our very own Imperial Super Star Destroyer. I can but dream.