Fram
| SS Fram | |
 SS Fram landed on Nifelheimr | |
| Spacecraft Characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Base Hull | double hulled icebreaker research vessel |
| Length | 154.91 m |
| Width | 35.07 m |
| Mass | 22,400 tons |
| Drive Type | 5x WPT Hawk MKII ArcJet Ion Thrusters 2x 4 blade propellers |
| Drive Rating | 0.015c with Ion Thrusters 15 knots on sea with propellers |
| Armament | None |
| Primary Manufacturer | Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, Kiel Whistler Services |
| Owner | Tycho Brahe Institute for Interstellar Research |
| Flag of Record | Norway |
| Faction | 'Danelaw (private) honorably Pulpers |
| Launched | October 10th, 2014 |
| Purpose | Scientific Vessel |
| Primary Crew | Fridtjof Nansen (AI) 20 crew members |
| Auxillary Vehicles | 6x Orbital Sled 1x Westland Sea King (waved) |
| Operational Status | Active |
The SS Fram is one of the most interesting vessels in Fenspace and a signs that there is astronomical and planetary research done by others than the Trekkies, Artemis or the Soviets, any one of the few vessels operating under 'danelaw.
Owned by the Tycho Brahe Institute for Interstellar Research, a Scandinavian Institute backed by the governments of Norway, Finland, Sweden, Iceland and Denmark and founded in 2009, the SS Fram is a purpose build hull largely based on the German icebreaker research vessel RV Polarstern, adapted to a space environment, but very well capable of operating on sea, especially in polar regions.
She is well equipped with a variety of sensors and research compartments, especially a pair of 2.5 meter reflector telescopes and a phased radar array designed for planetary surveys.
However only the barest minimum of Handwavium was utilized by the construction, mostly in the energy and propulsion systems as well as in the life support systems. However some Handwavium came into contact with the ships modern computer system during the 'waving of the life support, leading to the development of the AI Fridfjof Nansen, based on the builder of the original Fram.
During the first research mission to Jupiter and the discovery of non-Earth life in the sub-Europa ocean (simple microbiotic life) she was attacked by a small band Zwilnik pirates, but was able to defend against them, resulting in the crew being termed 'Space Vikings' and honorably adopted by the Puplers.
In the wake of the attack they got a gift of several Battle steel viking weapons from Hephaestus.
Other notable missions lead to Titan, Triton and the Oort Cloud before leaving the Solar System to visit Wolf 359 in late 2016.
Known Crew Quirks
- Pet Rock: The Fram got an actual one. And this one is alive. Sometimes listening to 'Gary' this creature got itself picked up on Muspellsheimr after it got itself biomodded with handwaved vacuum rated grease.
- No Big Boom Please: When the ship was outfitted by Whistler a number of Kerbals made the ship their home, just to get away from Jeb. They react poorly to anything that makes loud noise similar to an explosion.
- Nordic by Nature: Everyone on the shop is from a nordic country. With all that entails...
Known Vehicle Quirks
- Hall of the Mountain King: The ship works best if the PA systems plays music from Scandinavian countries of all kinds. However all systems, whether waved or not, actually decrease in effectiveness if ABBA is played.
- Lo, There do I see my father: If the ship is under attack all crew members or scientists of Scandinavian descent become, well, effectively Vikings. It is said that the Chief Mechanist, Thore Leifson (build like Thor out of the comics) managed to defeat a power armored Zwilnik during the attack near Europa.
- This is not cold...: The ship is very effective in any surface cryogenic environment it may be exposed to, leading to more discoveries then normally expected.
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