Battlestar Galactica (2003)/Colonial One

Colonial Heavy 798/Colonial One

First seen in the miniseries designated as "Colonial Heavy 798", Colonial One (the show's equivalent of Air Force One) was originally a government transport spacecraft, used to shuttle minor dignitaries and media around the Colonies. Colonial One is fitted with offices and cabin space along with a decent amount of passenger seating and a great deal of cargo space in the lower area that has, since the fall of the Colonies, been retrofitted as living area for Colonial survivors.

There is a large passenger section on Colonial One, and in the hours after the fall of the Colonies it was used as sleeping quarters for the passengers. There appear to be quarters and office areas in the ship as well, and the Colonial One has sufficient docking capability to allow Vipers and small shuttles to land aboard it. Its apparent large size makes the Battlestar Galactica's size all the more significant: Colonial One can apparently fit into Galactica's landing bay with room to spare.

At the time of the Cylon attack on the twelve colonies, this specific Colonial transport was being used to ferry Education Minister Laura Roslin, her entourage and members of the Colonial media back to Caprica following the end of Galactica's decommissioning ceremony. Minister Roslin used Colonial One to gather a rag-tag fleet, initially containing approximately 50,000 survivors, of any FTL-capable ship that could make a rendezvous with the Battlestar Galactica at Ragnar Anchorage.

Following the confirmation that the government had been wiped out, Laura Roslin was sworn-in as the new President of the Colonies, and Colonial Heavy 798 was redesignated Colonial One in recognition of its status transporting the President. President Roslin kept the majority of her day-to-day operations separate from the military operations of the fleet by using Colonial One as her command center, usually tucked in close beside the heavily-armed battlestar.

Trivia

• Colonial One's cockpit is a redressed NASA space shuttle cockpit simulator.
• Colonial One's external color scheme is extremely reminiscent of Air Force One.
• Partway through Season One Colonial One's "paint job" was updated and the seal of the President of the Twelve Colonies added.