Line #25 Main/SpaceSailing


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7	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spacetitanicspf0.jpg]]
8	[[caption-width-right:250:Not the regular ''[[UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic Titanic]]'', but [[http://community.livejournal.com/doctorwhy/70795.html three of the several spaceship ones.]]]]
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10	As has been established, SpaceIsAnOcean, and in fiction, naval and maritime terms are often applied to spaceships. Some works, however, take things further beyond metaphors, and make their characters go Space Sailing on literal ships [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace IN SPACE]]! The reason for this? The RuleOfCool, and nothing else.
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12	While, in RealLife, there are proposals for spacecraft with {{solar sail}}s or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_sail magnetic sails,]] those are different concepts. Those would be spacecraft-with-sails but otherwise designed like any other spacecraft;[[note]]relatively speaking, as a sail-propelled spacecraft would still need to be airtight and wouldn't need streamlining, but it also wouldn't need any kind of fuel tank (a major part of current spacecraft designs).[[/note]] these are literal oceangoing-type ''boats'' in space, with all the shape and features that implies.
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14	An Administrivia/InternalSubtrope of this is the idea of a space ''[[UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic Titanic]]'', an oddly common meme. [[WhatDidYouExpectWhenYouNamedIt They are invariably doomed.]] Compare StarshipLuxurious.
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16	Interestingly, Space Ships don't go after {{Space Whale}}s as often as you might think. They are quite likely to house SpacePirates, though.
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18	----
19	!!Examples:
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21	[[foldercontrol]]
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23	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
24	%%* ''Anime/DairuggerXV'': The aircraft carrier-esque ''Rugger Guard'', known to U.S. audiences as Vehicle ''Anime/{{Voltron}}''.%%Is an example why?
25	* Particularly abundant in the ''Anime/{{Leijiverse}}''; the anachronistic vehicles are partially what gives the shows their charm.
26	** ''Manga/CaptainHarlock'' has both Space Sailing and Space Trains. Not only does Harlock's ''Arcadia'' appear to have the back-end of a galley, she can effectively function as a submarine.
27	** ''Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato'' takes place aboard a risen-from-the seas and retrofitted-for-space UsefulNotes/WorldWarII battleship Yamato.
28	* ''Manga/MobileSuitCrossboneGundam'' has the Mother Vanguard, which has broadside beam cannons, a sail that mounts more cannon plus missiles and a high-speed flight system, and a masthead statue of a woman made of gold. This fits with the series' general pirate aesthetic, even if the ship was built before the heroes decided to become {{Space Pirate}}s.
29	* ''Anime/NadiaTheSecretOfBlueWater'' has none other than Captain Nemo take a Yamato-esque New Nautilus into space to battle a gigantic Atlantaean FlyingSaucer named Red Noah. The scene in which the New Nautilus first breaks free of the ground it is imprisoned in is a direct and clear homage to a similar scene in the aforementioned Yamato.
30	* ''Anime/OdinPhotonSpaceSailorStarlight'' begins with a scene showing lots of futuristic ships plying the spaceways -- then brings on its masterstroke, a new, better space ship, which is... a wooden sailing ship, complete with decks and rigging and masts and such.
31	* ''Anime/SailorMoon'': Had Creator/ToeiAnimation accepted the [[WesternAnimation/ToonMakersSailorMoon Toon Makers bid]] for remaking ''Sailor Moon'' (in the infamous "Saban Moon"), instead of Creator/DiC's dubbing, Americans would have gotten the Sailor Senshi battling evil by going sailing in space... on space-windsurfers... involving fights with such ships. Needless to say, they took the "sailor" part of the title a bit literally.
32	* ''Anime/SolBianca'' revolves around a space "submarine", which "dives" and "surfaces" to enter and leave its cloaking effect.
33	%%* ''Anime/SpaceCarrierBlueNoah'', a.k.a. ''Thundersub''.
34	* ''Anime/SpacePatrolLuluco'': [[SpacePirates Lalaco's]] CoolStarship takes cues from stereotypical pirate ships, complete with sails and an anchor. [[spoiler:She lends it to Luluco during the finale so she can go and confess to Nova.]]
35	%%* ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'' and [[Anime/{{Macross}} its successors]] have an aircraft carrier look.
36	* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'': The Hyper Galaxy Dai-Gurren looks much like a ''huge'' aircraft carrier.
37	[[/folder]]
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39	[[folder:Comic Books]]
40	* ''ComicBook/{{Lucifer}}'' launches the [[http://comicbookdb.com/graphics/comic_graphics/1/234/54425_20080108014907_large.jpg Naglfar]], a legendary Norse ship made from the fingernails of the dead and capable of making journeys "beyond the heavens".
41	* ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'':
42	** Captain Fate is a FlyingDutchman {{Space Pirate\|s}} who travels through space in his golden age of piracy sailing ship.
43	** ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'': Jason Aaron's ''Thor: God of Thunder'' run features Thors from the past, present, and future sailing through the heavens together in a Viking longboat named Skithblathnir. Gorgeous art, plus [[FlyingSeafoodSpecial space sharks]].
44	* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': ''ComicBook/JediVsSith'', set during Darth Bane's time, includes a ''wooden-hulled'' starship called the ''[[https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Fairwind Fairwind]]''.
45	* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: Wonder Woman and the Holliday Girls end up captured aboard a Saturnian spy submarine which they soon afterwards discover is both submarine ''and'' spaceship.
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48	[[folder:Film -- Animation]]
49	* ''WesternAnimation/BraveStarr'': In the movie, Bravestarr and JB travel on a spaceship with sails, which has leather couches, huge picture windows, and shelves of paper books.
50	* ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet'' takes this to the extreme, featuring a direct transplant of ''Treasure Island'' in space, with immense spacefaring galleons crossing voids populated by great pods of {{Space Whale}}s and stalked by {{Space Pirate}}s DressedToPlunder, and a quest for a hidden treasure cache on a secret planet with X-shaped rings.
51	* ''WesternAnimation/WallE'' featured the ''Axiom'', a "Starliner" with a design evoking that of a seagoing cruise ship.
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54	[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
55	* ''Film/TheFifthElement'': The Fhloston Paradise hotel does double as both a space and a (hovering-just-above-the-) sea vessel. It looks like a futuristic version of a steam paddleboat. The steam-stacks, however, may be just for show -— it is a luxury toy meant for the amusement of rich tourists, after all.
56	* ''Film/MessageFromSpace'' takes this to the extreme. These space sailors sail wooden Renaissance-era ships, and the movie also includes SpacePirates and a musket-toting [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot droid]].
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59	[[folder:Literature]]
60	* ''Literature/AlexisCarew'': Ships are propelled through darkspace via charged sails that harness the "winds" of dark energy, which tends to flow towards massive objects like planetary systems. Since nothing electrical works in darkspace unless shielded with expensive [[{{Unobtainium}} gallenium]], this means the sails have to be set by hand, and complexity and cost of sailplan governs the size of interstellar ships.
61	* ''Literature/TheBookOfTheNewSun'': The spaceships of the Hierodules are described in terms almost identical to nautical vessels, with decks, sails, and rigging. They are almost certainly not supposed to look like nautical ships (for example, Tzadkiel's ship has a series of decks all around the ship, rather than deck, sides, and keel) but the reader must struggle to escape that impression given Severian's habit of not drawing distinction between nautical and space-going ships.
62	* ''Literature/TheCrewOfTheCopperColoredCupids'' has the "tachyonic sailing ships", which are ''interdimensional'' vessels that just so happen to look like 18th century sailing ships. They are {{lampshaded\|Trope}} as AwesomeButImpractical, with only eccentrics using them anymore, while most dimensional travellers use less overdesigned Void Ships.
63	* ''Literature/TheDaedalusSeries'' is set in an AlternateHistory where an [[UsefulNotes/{{Alchemy}} alchemical invention]] made in the late 15th century allows ordinary sailing ships to fly through space. The story follows the adventures of an 18th Century British naval officer who is employed on a perfectly ordinary wooden, sail-driven frigate -- that happens to be en route to the planet Jupiter.
64	* ''Literature/MarkDelewenAndTheSpacePirates'': Despite being in outer space, the pirates' ships look just like 18th Century pirate ships, with some modifications.
65	* ''Literature/RanksOfBronze'': A follow-on novella, "Delenda Est Carthago" by Creator/EricFlint, features the newly created space navy of Terra, based on stolen [[ImportedAlienPhlebotinum technology]] brought back to 21st century Earth by the survivors of Crassus' Roman legions. Said technology included a warp drive and DeflectorShields which would also work to keep the air in, resulting in humanity's first space fleet consisting of converted submarines, frigates, carriers, and battleships, pulled from the waves and into space. The battleship ''Missouri''[='s=] part of the action is particularly reminiscent of ''Anime/UchuuSenkanYamato''. There is, also, one ship included in honour of the returned Romans: a restored Roman galley.
66	* ''Literature/IntoTheLookingGlass'': The Human-Adar Alliance's first warp ship is a converted ''Ohio''-class ballistic missile submarine, the USS ''Nebraska'' (SSBN-739), and is mostly crewed by US Navy personnel who primarily use naval terminology except where the third dimension is involved.
67	* ''Literature/{{Larklight}}'': The starships are nothing more than Victorian sailing vessels with [[MagiTek alchemical]] engines.
68	* ''Literature/MarkDelewenAndTheSpacePirates'': Although regular spaceships are also seen, the [[SpacePirates pirates]] use 18th century style ships.
69	* ''Literature/{{RCN}}'': The ships maneuver through a hyperspace with sails.
70	* ''Literature/TheShipThatSailedToMars'': The ship constructed by the Old Man and the Fairies looks exactly like a sailing ship, only it can fly. Whenever it lands on a planet for a visit, it touches down on the water and sails like a typical watercraft.
71	* ''Literature/TheTwoSpaceWar'': Hyperspace is literally two dimensional, and spaceships are sailing ships made of wood infested with an alien fungus.
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74	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
75	* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
76	** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS20E5Enlightenment "Enlightenment"]]: The Fifth Doctor and his companions find themselves on board a SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Edwardian ship in space, powered via solar sails, which is participating in a race around the planets, along with other such ships from different periods from human history, including a Greek trireme... with ''rowers''.
77	** [[Recap/DoctorWho2007CSVoyageOfTheDamned "Voyage of the Damned"]] features one of the aforementioned Space ''Titanic''s. It could be justified, though, since the aliens purposely made it to look like the ''Titanic'', and many other spaceships in the series look nothing like boats. In other words, it doesn't look like a boat because space is an ocean, it looks like a boat because they wanted it to. The aliens, that is, not just the scriptwriters.
78	* ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'': Gokai Galleon of the SpacePirates Sentai. It's the Red Ranger's mech, the central piece to the CombiningMecha, and transportation (with pretty nice living quarters) for the entire team.
79	* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': Commander Sisko built a lightship that employed a solar sail for propulsion -- Bajorans had even traveled [[FasterThanLightTravel faster than light]] with these contraptions.
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82	[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
83	* ''Series/StarFleet'': The Skull, a space-going pirate ship complete with sails.
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86	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
87	* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'': Spaceships discusses solar sails. You can even give space boats wooden hulls if the setting demands it or the characters are incredibly desperate. One example is the Star Galleon which uses astral sails to move through space and is designed to sail on a normal sea.
88	* ''TabletopGame/{{Spelljammer}}'': [[SpaceIsMagic Space is very literally magic here]], and the ships crossing the Ptolomean solar systems and the great voids between the crystal shells containing them are typically wooden, sailed-and-rigged, and very ornate. Notably, sails only provide maneuverability -- conventional means of propulsion has the same performance when strapped on almost any object of acceptable size.
89	* ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}'': There's artwork where a space carrier appears with flight deck and island as if it was a seagoing one.
90	* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
91	** The Eldar's ships use solar sails for propulsion, which means that, if you play as them in the space combat spin-off, ''TabletopGame/BattlefleetGothic'', you'll have to keep track of which side of the table is sunward and adjust your movement rates accordingly.
92	** In the regular game, Dark Eldar skimmers fit the trope to a T. Especially fifth edition ones released in November 2011.
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95	[[folder:Video Games]]
96	* The Lor Starcutter in ''VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLand'' looks more like a magical boat than a spaceship, and can not only travel space, but between dimensions.
97	* ''VideoGame/{{Lusternia}}'': Aetherships allow players to fly through [[VoidBetweenTheWorlds aetherspace]]. Since aetherships are customized entirely by the player who owns them, they run the gamut from hi-tech spaceships, to [[CoolAirship airships]], to pirate ships, and even floating stately homes!
98	* ''VideoGame/Rayman2TheGreatEscape'': The [[SpacePirates robot pirates]] invading Rayman's world are headquartered on a massive galleon outfitted with rocket engines. Smaller flying pirate vessels can occasionally be seen in the game, and you eventually end up piloting one near the end.
99	* ''VideoGame/SinsOfASolarEmpire'': Some of the TEC's ships are space liners refitted for combat. The [[http://sinsofasolarempire.wikia.com/wiki/Akkan_Battlecruiser Akkan Battlecruiser]] for one looks like a cruise ship.
100	* ''VideoGame/{{Spore}}'': A spaceship can be designed like a boat, jet-ski, submarine, tank, blimp, or a solid cube, and still function the same.
101	* ''VideoGame/StarshipTitanic'' features, well, a Space ''Titanic''.
102	* ''VideoGame/{{Steredenn}}'': Most enemy ships have chunky, utilitarian designs, but the Cruiser boss and its regular enemy counterpart resemble seafaring vessels, with gun turrets on the top and a keeled hull on the bottom.
103	* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'': Bowser's fleet of wooden, propeller-driven airships here flyes through space in quite a few of the levels, notably Bowser Jr's Airship Armada.
104	* ''VideoGame/TachyonTheFringe'': At least one freighter model has a strong resemblance to oceangoing ships.
105	* ''VideoGame/TreasurePlanetBattleAtProcyon'': Similar to the [[WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet film]] it is a sequel to, ships resemble 18th to 19th-century ships, with the [[{{Solar Sail}} solar-sail]] powered ships resembling 18th to early 19th century ships, and the Ironclads resembling mid-19th-century Ironclads and late 19th-century Cruisers and Battleships.
106	* ''VideoGame/VegaStrike'' has [[http://wiki.vega-strike.org/Vessel:Hidalgo Hidalgo.]] It's a luxury yacht made by [[FeudalFuture Highborn faction]], so extra-extra-fancifulness is to be expected. And yes, it's one of {{Space Pirate\|s}} ships of choice too.
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109	[[folder:Webcomics]]
110	* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': Vessels capable of crossing the space between the players' planets, [[AsteroidThicket the Veil]], and Prospit and Derse, such as [[spoiler:Grandpa]]'s battleship and the white and black armies' fleets, resemble WWII-era warships capable of moving through the void -- although the Medium [[BatmanCanBreatheInSpace is not exactly space]].
111	* ''[[http://www.webcomicsnation.com/cousinted/oits/series.php Oceans in the Sky]]'' features, very prominently, a sailing ship capable of space travel as a plot point.
112	* [[http://www.bigheadpress.com/pk Phoebus Krumm]]'': Thanks to "S-fields", starships are open-topped sail ships with no electronics on board. Not really any explanation why they're open aside from the field containing the atmosphere, and it seems like a rather bad idea since the field vaporizes organic matter that comes into contact.
113	* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'': The "Oceans Unmoving" storyline. This one isn't space either, but flying sailing ships in a place outside time itself, which sail above the frozen oceans of the title. This one is an interesting variation in that, although the ships' hulls look like those of sailing ships, they can have masts ''on the bottom'' as well with additional sails.
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116	[[folder:Western Animation]]
117	* ''WesternAnimation/ThreeTwoOnePenguins'': "[[Recap/ThreeTwoOnePenguinsEpisode4RunawayPrideAtLightstationKilowatt Runaway Pride at Lightstation Kilowatt]]" features an entire setup of this, with a giant cargo spaceship and a lighthouse-like beacon that's set up on a beach-like asteroid with energy waves floating off of it.
118	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Bobobobs}}'': The eponymous creatures traverse deep space on a wooden galleon outfitted with a glass dome to protect them form the vacuum of space.
119	* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' has this when the candy pirates "modify" their ship for space travel (the modifications consist of an air bubble... thing and engines)
120	* ''WesternAnimation/DuckDodgers'' features a spaceship designed to look like an eighteenth-century [[SpacePirates pirate ship]] assaulting a spaceship designed to look like a nineteenth-century cruise liner. Also, the Klunkian ([[AlternateCompanyEquivalent not Klingon]]) warship resembles a Viking longship, complete with oars.
121	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'':
122	** "[[Recap/FuturamaS1E10AFlightToRemember A Flight to Remember]]" centers around the ill-fated voyage of the Space Titanic, a luxury spaceship resembling a nineteenth-century ocean liner in every detail except scale and medium traversed. It survives Zapp Brannigan's decision to take it through a field of comets ("Ah, yes, comets, the icebergs of the sky!"), but then he has to steer it near "that black-ish, hole-ish thing".
123	** "[[Recap/FuturamaS3E5TheBirdBotOfIceCatraz The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz]]": A Dark Matter tanker, essentially a modern oil tanker in space, causes a major disaster when it crashes on Pluto's penguin reserve.
124	** "[[Recap/FuturamaS3E20Godfellas Godfellas]]": At the beginning, the Planet Express crew is attacked by a {{Space Pirate\|s}} dressed to the piratical nines and sailing in a galleon-like ship.
125	** "[[Recap/FuturamaS6E15MobiusDick Möbius Dick]]" has the crew hunting a very literal SpaceWhale after outfitting their ship with solar sails. To reach the beast, they need to brave the perilous Bermuda Tetrahedron[[note]]a four-dimensional shape made up of triangles[[/note]] and fields of diamond "spacebergs".
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128	[[folder:Real Life]]
129	* The closest thing even proposed in real life would be the Sea Dragon, an ultra-heavy lift rocket concept launched from the sea to simplify logistics requirements. But it's almost an inversion of the concept, a conventional rocket that's a ship rather than a ship in space.
130	[[/folder]]
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Context Main / SpaceSailing