Gigamon Station
Third Largest Class of Union Prefab Space Station. 200 kilometer
- Gigamon I - 20 km
- Gigamon II - 36 km
- Gigamon III - 50 km
Gigamon Stations are prefabricated in large sections and then towed into place. Several Corporations provide the components. This class of space station was first planned and conceived for the Union when building the Bridge project and the largest Gigamon Station assembly yard is still in Threshold System.
They are usually deployed outside of Star systems to provide a base of operations where no planetary bodies are available.
Gigamon Stations are still built for other Bridge Projects (such as the bridge to Fornax, the bridge to M32 and the recently started String connection to Leo II which is going to be the longest and most ambitious project. They can also be found in System Gate roles, meaning restricted Star Systems where it was found desirable to restrict space ship traffic. Examples are Arsenal Gate, Narth Gate, the new Coven Gate and the recently completed Koken Gate.
The most famous Gigamon Station is Core Watch, the closest object of any kind to the Super-massive Black Hole at the Center of the Milky Way Galaxyto provide a base for Astrophysical research.
The largest Gigamon Station is Midway, the Station at the exact Center of the Bridge. Five Gigamon Stations have been connected in a ring shaped arrangement.
The station class has the same standard elements of all Union Space Stations:
- Top Section – Command, Living Quarters, In Station Communities (Station Cities)
- Central Section: Hangars, Space Port facilities, Docks, Cargo handling, Storage, Central Concourse
- Upper Shaft – Engineering, Environmental Services
- Lower Shaft – Power plants and Fuel
- Gravo Anchor – Large Gravitational Constant calibrated Gravitation Device keeping the Station at its position (relative to galactic movement)
Specific equipment, offensive and defensive weapon systems vary by the stations mission or purpose profile. Arsenal Gate is a purely Military Installation and very heavily armed, while most of the Bridge Stations are of civilian nature and only carry minimal or no offensive systems. There are of course bigger Space stations but these are constructed on site. (The biggest of all Space stations being SOL-HUB) but the Gigamon class is still the most common large Space Station in Union Space. (See also Megamon, Kilomon and MinimonStation Classes) The proposed Terramon Station remains on the drawing boards so far.
Image shows a Gigamon Station with Space Train Station attached.