Serenity is a 'mid-bulk transport, standard radion-accelerator core, classcode 03-K64, "Firefly" ship.' She is Captain Malcolm Reynolds' Firefly Class vessel, named after the battle of Serenity Valley. Serenity has no mandatory registration markings on the bow, suggesting that she's not entirely legal. But she's a durable and dependable space vessel.

Aught Three Firefly Ships (Overview)

The '03 Firefly was the last version of the Firefly design to make it to production. It featured a number of improvements over the earlier models, notably the extenders on the 'wings' of the ship to seperate the rotating VTOL-style ion jets further from the main body of the craft (which both keep the ship from shaking as much and allowed for two shuttle baysto be built into the design). Also, the 03 version of the Firefly is notably longer, with an extended 'neck', longer body, and generally roomier interior. (It still uses the reliable Trace Compression Block engine, though -- there's no shoddy Gurtsler in a Firefly.) There are 40,000 Firefly class vessels still in use. A Firefly class has some ceramic parts in her.


Shuttles
The Firefly model transport comes equipped with two short-range shuttles. The life-support and interiors are designed to handle four passengers each, and they have the ability to break atmo and reach wide orbit before needing to dock with the main Firefly. On the Serenity, one of these shuttles is the private quarters of companion Inara Serra.

Engineering
The Engine is the beating heart of Serenity, and without it the ship would cease all functions requiring power (including life support). Kaylee keeps the engine (and other parts of Serenity) running as smoothly as possible - but accidents happen and parts break down. The Firefly design utilizes the reliable Trace Compression Block engine, an integral piece of which is the Compression Coil. The compression coil is necessary to run the main engine of the ship, including the grav thrust, power plant, and life support. The Catalyzer is the part of the Compression Coil that makes the engine turn, generating power.

Another invaluable part of the engine is the G-line, which routes into the Grav-Boot system. The Grav-Boot supposedly keeps the ship flying safely and provides the artifical gravity and anti-inertial environment necessary to maintain safe living conditions (but, at least according to Kaylee, isn't necessary for optimal engine preformance, and tends to gum up the engine.) A related component, the Grav Dampener dampens the effects of gravity and inertia to allow the ship to turn safely and smoothly without damage or death to the crew and contents thereof. The Aft Alternator is also related to turning the ship (one could theorize that it is responsible for powering the jet rotation hydraulics). The Cooling Drive keeps things from overheating. The DC line refers to secondary power systems (from energy banks, as opposed to that from the engine itself.) The Motivator is another aptly named part that provides propulsion. The Pin-Lock and Ret Couple only hold other parts together - but when they break down, it can cause major engine malfunction. The Primary Artery is a term used to refer to the major fuel line. The main source of power for the engine is Fuel Cells, which must be refilled on a regular basis to keep the ship flying.

Synchronizers are electrical parts that help in the sequencing of ship's functions.

Extenders are necessary for a ship to fly without making the passangers nauseous by rocking the ship side-to-side. They can be easily broken if they are not properly braced to the hull.

The Cry Baby is a deployable device used by the crew of Serenity to mislead Alliance patrols. It's made from a Blue Sun Coffee can with a transmitter built in, to give the illusion that it's a stranded ship when launched. It is generally deployed in situations where the ship expects Alliance 'company'.

The Inter-Engine Fermentation System is not part of the Firefly's original design. This was improvised by Kaylee to harness the engine's power for making moonshine.

The Thermal Cap is a piece of the console that regulates temperature functions.
Bunks
Each crew member has their own private bunk/room area, which they have decorated as they like (River and Simon share a room). These areas are as unique as the personalities of the people who reside within.

Bathroom
The bathrooom facilities on Serenity are relatively primitive - water is a precious commodity when traveling through space, so while there is a wash area for sponge-bathing, actual bathing is best done while in port. And yes, toilet paper still exists.

Cargo Hold
The cargo area is large and roomy, and can be used to store anything from a herd of cattle to bobble-headed dolls. There are some secret hiding areas within the cargo hold that can be used to smuggle less than legal goods. The cargo area is also used as a sort of multi-purpose activity room by the crew during leisure moments when the cargo hold is not otherwise occupied (say, by aforementioned herd of cattle.)

Bridge
The bridge is the command and flight center of the ship. This is where Wash does his piloting. Passengers are generally not allowed in this area. The communications and sensory equipment of the ship is also located on the bridge.

Infirmary
This is where Simon Tam does his doctoring. Most ships meant to transport humans for any length of time have at least one Med Bay. Although they might be primitive or rudimentary, most any stocked Med Bay will have one or more exam tables, surgery supplies, a supply of basic pain-killers and sterilization kits, and some form of electronic imaging systems (which might range on the low-end from simple EKG-like displays and a small surgical camera all the way to Core-World-level technology like an Imaging Suite.)


Dining Room/Lounge
The group dining/cooking area has a large table. The walls feature a cheerful vine pattern painted on by Kaylee to make things look more homey. The lounge area features comfortable seating and pillows.

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Serenity's Specifications:
Ship specs available >>For Download Here<<:

Dimensions (LxBxH): 191 x 128 x 53 feet.
Tonnage: 2,400 tons.
Speed Class: 4 cruise / 6 hard-burn
Crew Quarters: Two double, three single cabins.
Fuel Capacity: 60 tons (600 hours)
Cargo Capacity/Maximum Deck Load: 75/80 tons in hold #1.
Passenger Capacity: Four double cabins aft of #2 hold.
Gear: Two 20-ton shuttles. Infirmary in #2 hold. Hover mule. At least six 50-pound, short range decoy missles in cargo.
Price: ₡38,500
Cost to Refuel 24 Hours (2.4 tons): 12 credits
Maintenance costs: ₡3,872/yr ₡323/month

Handling
The maneuvering of the ship is handled in two different ways. In atmosphere she has flaps and ailerons that in conjunction with the pitch of the side engines control her direction. In space she uses an RCS, (Reaction Control System,) consisting of Hydrazine fueled thrusters that work in a countered measure. For example if she were to turn nose up, thrusters on the back rear of the ship would fire upwards and thrusters of the front nose would fire downwards pushing the tail down and the nose up. Variations on this, tied into the side engines pitch, produce all her movement in space.

For landing her side engines rotate vertical and vents on the front of the engine open to allow the engine the “breathe” as she hovers.

Performance and Powerplants
Primarily powered by 2 wing mounted Smith & Davis SD-2595 (95,000 lb) turbofan and solar induction engines, she can achieve a maximum airspeed of mach 2 (1484 mph) at 1000 Meters EBSL (Earth Based Sea Level,) and mach 30 (22270 mph) at 100,000 Meters (62 miles) EBSL. During the transitional phase from atmospheric to orbital flight the fan blades rotate to collect photons emitted by a solar source to feed the engines keeping the relative thrust ratio comparable to it’s atmospheric rating. Although very reliable, this reaction produces large volumes of plasma as hot as the surface of a star. Thermal panels on the outside of the engine dissipate the plasma and heat that builds up during the process typically glowing in a yellowish hue as they cool down.

Gravity
The Firefly class ships gravity comes from a rotating ring just aft of the ships midsection known as the "Gravity Drive." It produces a gravity field using the “Peristere Principal,” that also acts as an momentum dampener to allow passengers more freedom of movement during all aspects of flight.  Kaylee talks about the Gravity Drive in one scene of one episode of the show.

NOTE:  This doesn't jive well at all with the show, "out of gas," in which the engine stops turning, and they are left floating in space, but Mal and another crew that boards Serenity have gravity just fine.   Similarly, we see in the premiere, where the crew enters the cargo hold, and when activated, the gravity engages pulling the crates to the floor.  The concept of "Gravity Plating" works well here, since it would be energized creating gravity, and would explain why they still had gravity even when the ships engine stopped turning.  At that point the air and heat were the real issue, even though he still had electric to run computers, broadcasting, and the like.



Serenity's Shuttles:
Dimensions (LxBxH): 25 x 13 x 10 feet.
Tonnage: 20 tons.
Speed Class: 1 cruise / 3 hard-burn (reaction thrusters only)
Crew: Pilot, copilot.
Life support: 20 man-days.
Fuel Capacity: 1 ton (1,000 hours)
Cargo and Passenger Capacity: 12 tons, or up to eight passengers on fold-down benches
Price: 480 credits
Cost to Refuel 24 Hours (0.02 tons): 0.1 credits
Maintenance costs: 16 credits a year.



Other images may be seen at:
http://www.shipschematics.net/bsg/images/colonial/transport_firefly03.jpg
http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/4640/serenitylowerlevel.jpg
http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/5470/serenityupperlevel.jpg