Porpoise (Mineral) (ship)

The Porpoise mining ship had many of its systems provided by Deepwater Drilling Industries, a company which excelled in the engineering of deep ocean mining machinery and successfully adapted its technology to be suitable for space mining operations. The ship was released in 784 (NT) shortly after the death of Her Majesty Queen Atreus, making it the last ship of the Atreus Era.

Atreus Era ships were the first ships built in response to the beginning of the Jump Gate shutdowns of 778 (NT). Fearing that systems might be cut off, they were designed to operate more autonomously in contrast to earlier ships which specialised in combined usage. To reduce flight mass, the ships are mostly filled with air, requiring Boron crew to wear protective suits. The Atreus Era ships are sturdier than the later Menelaus Era ships, but not as manoeuvrable.

In response to further Jump Gate shutdowns, the Queendom of Boron attempted to expedite the development of new ships through increased funding and the involvement of additional corporations and research facilities. Following the great success of their initial ship frame design for S-sized ships, Atreus Shipbuilding Currents was commissioned to spearhead all work on the M-sized follow-on projects, specifically the Dolphin transporter and Porpoise miner, but it outsourced some aspects of the work and associated research.