Sardines fit into very tight spaces and the last one in closes the tin - this much you know already... but for those of you born off-world where there are no S.A.R.D.I.N.E's, here's SAVTec's official data sheet.

S.A.R.D.I.N.E's are intended for light exploration duties. Although Silver Dawns mission dictates that it be armed, it's not expected to participate in any real combat - ending up in a battle would be the worst case scenario for the Silver Dawn & is a scenario we want to avoid if at all possible.

In its secondary role, S.A.R.D.I.N.E will be used to transport mined Uranium Ore back to the Silver Dawn. It will naturally become necessary at some point to refuel SLV-3R and so the crew will need to scout out potential sources of Uranium on the journey, mine them by hand and carry the spoils back for processing.

What S.A.R.D.I.N.E isn't intended for is use as an escape pod or life raft. While she does have the capability to sustain a single pilot for a short length of time if an emergency were to arise, realistically the Silver Dawn will be so far from settled space that there would be no chance of S.A.R.D.I.N.E making it back on her own.
SLV-3R will truly be out there alone. Should she suffer damage serious enough to warrant the crew abandoning her, their only chance of survival would be to construct a new ship from the wreckage and attempt to return home - or land on the nearest hospitable planet.
The crew know this and have all agreed to accept the risk.

For situations that would be too dangerous to send a living crewman, S.A.R.D.I.N.E can be operated on remote from the relative safety of the Silver Dawn. This feature can also be used to take remote control of the S.A.R.D.I.N.E in the event her pilot is injured or incapacitated.

While we would've very much liked to have a craft on board Silver Dawn that was capable of landing on & launching from the surface of planets & moons, the reality was that there just wasn't enough room for a ship of that capability.
The primary mission of Silver Dawn is to chart new regions of space & catalogue new planets - not to explore them thoroughly - that task will fall to follow-up missions, the first of which are already on the drawing board.

S.A.R.D.I.N.E is a short-range vessel only. She's equeipped with an Oxygen tank and a backup battery but does not feature her own long-term life support system (Oxygen Generator). She'll cover a good distance before her tanks need topping up but since she's a one-man craft, it's pretty much expected that the Silver Dawns crew wont be letting her out of transmitter range.
The length of time S.A.R.D.I.N.E can spend in the field will of course be increased if she's operated by remote from the Silver Dawn.

The S.A.R.D.I.N.E fits into a 2x1x5 large-grid hangar with a door measuring 2x1 blocks. Yes, it really is that small.
It'll take a skilled & careful pilot to launch & land a S.A.R.D.I.N.E without scratching anything but once you've got a few practice runs under your belt you'll be able to do it blindfolded!

The S.A.R.D.I.N.E features connector ports on both sides, meaning it can enter & exit the Silver Dawns' hangar from either side & not have to worry about turning round.
This design feature will also make it easier for her pilot to drop off Uranium Ore into her cargo container.

• 2X Small Reactor
  
• 1x Backup Battery
  
• 1x Oxygen Tank
  
• 1x Medium Cargo Container
  
• 2x Small Cargo Container (for tools & emergecny supplies)
  
• 2x Connector
  
• 1x Antenna
  
• 1x Remote Control
  
• 1x Emergency Beacon
  
• 2x Spotlight
  
• 2x Camera (forward & aft views)
  
• 1x Ore Detector