Asp ExplorerPassenger

The Asp Explorer is a deep-space hull first and a passenger ship second — but the same traits that make it a great explorer make it a serviceable tourer. Its long FSD reach takes sightseeing boards to scattered scenic beacons in fewer hops than a small liner, it lands on a medium pad (and outposts) the dedicated large liners can't use, and it's cheap enough that most commanders already have one in the hangar. For a first passenger ship, or a part-time tourer that doubles as your explorer, it earns its keep.

The limits are real, though. The Asp has no liner comfort bonus, so passengers pay standard rates rather than the premium a Dolphin, Orca or Beluga commands; and only its two largest internals (class 6 and class 5) can hold first or luxury cabins, so it can't stack the high-value VIP berths that make passenger work lucrative. It carries a modest economy board well and far, but it isn't a money-printer per seat. The reach-and-access budget pick, not the luxury earner.

Four things shape the Asp as a passenger hull — two strengths, two ceilings:

• Long reach for a medium. The explorer-grade FSD takes sightseeing boards to scattered, distant beacons most small liners can't service in one hop.
• Medium-pad and outpost access. Lands where the big liners can't — opens up tourist boards routed through smaller stations.
• No comfort bonus. A Lakon hull, not a luxury liner — passengers pay standard rates, so per-seat earnings trail every dedicated tourer.
• Limited premium berths. Only the class 6 and class 5 slots take first/luxury cabins, so it can't stack the high-value VIP fares that make passenger work pay.

A cheap, long-legged medium tourer that leads on reach and cost-of-entry but is capped by no liner comfort bonus and only two premium-cabin slots.

The 60/100 headline is a verdict against the passenger role's priority-ordered factors. Each factor carries a weight (its share of 100); this hull earns part of each based on how it performs against the whole field. The points sum to the rating.

Both tables rate ships for passenger work specifically. The role column is the approximate maximum economy passenger capacity — but note that dedicated liners earn comfort bonuses (more profit per seat) the Asp does not, while the Asp's reach and medium pad open boards some rivals can't take.

Same class — medium passenger ships

Among mediums the Lynx is the real liner — its comfort bonus and berth count out-earn the Asp many times over. The Python and Krait Phantom edge it on room and pace; the Type-7 packs more economy seats but is too slow and fragile to tour comfortably. The Asp's distinction here is reach and price: it goes furthest for the least money, even if it earns least per seat.

Other classes — the dedicated and large options

The dedicated liners all out-earn the Asp per seat — the Beluga, Cutter and Dolphin through the comfort bonus, the Anaconda through reach and depth. The Dolphin is the instructive one: a small hull with fewer berths than rivals, yet rated far above the Asp because its comfort bonus and cheap operation make every fare pay. The Asp's edge over all of them is a medium pad and the lowest cost of entry — the budget tourer, not the earner.

At ~6.1M Cr the hull is among the cheapest credible passenger ships, with no permit, rank or engineer gate and no expansion requirement. A sensible passenger fit — a premium cabin in the top slot, economy below, a bi-weave shield and a long-range FSD — runs to around ~30M Cr all-in. The rebuy is light at roughly ~1.5M Cr, the lowest of any ship in this dossier set.

The real saving is double duty: the cabins swap out for an exploration suite at a station, so the same engineered hull flies tourists this week and the black the next. For a commander who already owns an Asp explorer, adding a cabin set is the cheapest possible entry into passenger work.

A budget tourer fit — a premium cabin up top, economy below, a real shield and a long-range SCO FSD, hardpoints clean. Initial is buy-only; A-Rated is the passenger baseline; Engineered maximises reach and keeps the board safe. The Asp has no military slots.

Buy the hull — its stock Lightweight Alloy bulkheads cost nothing and keep mass (and jump range) down, exactly what a tourer wants — and fit a starter cabin suite: a 6E Economy Passenger Cabin in the class-6 slot and two 3E Economy cabins below it, with a 5D Shield Generator in the class-5 slot and two 0E Shield Boosters for safety. A 1I Detailed Surface Scanner sits in the size-1 bay.

Fit the 5A Frame Shift Drive first — it's the one core you buy A-rated from the start; range and in-system speed are what let the Asp take scattered sightseeing boards.

Leave the two spare utility mounts and the smaller optional slots empty for now — they fill out at A-rating with a third shield booster, a heat sink, and a fuel scoop — and you have a cheap, expedition-ready tourer for well under 20M Cr all-in.

A-rating priority for a budget passenger hull:

• 1FSD → 5A — The defining stat; reach takes the distant boards. ~5M Cr
• 2Premium cabin (class 6) — One first-class cabin up top is where the per-seat money is. varies
• 3Bi-Weave shield (class 5) — Passenger safety on threatened routes. ~3M Cr
• 4Thrusters → A — Mobility for the loaded hull. ~2M Cr
• 5Power Plant → 5A & Distributor → 4A — Power and pips for cabins, shield and boost. ~4M Cr
• 6Utilities, scoop & board fill-out — A-rate all three shield boosters to 0A (the third replaces point-defence — on an unarmed runner raw shield MJ rides out interdictions better than missile interception), keep a 0I Heat Sink Launcher, slot a 1H Guardian FSD Booster in the size-1 bay, and trade one economy berth for a 3A Fuel Scoop so it self-fuels on the long sightseeing legs. Pack the rest with a 3D Business cabin and economy seats. varies

The passenger engineering pattern, range-weighted. Felicity Farseer (maxed) carries the FSD; pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application.

Recommended order

• 1FSD Increased Range first — reach is the Asp's case in this role; add a Guardian booster.
• 2Lightweight Life Support and Sensors, and run the Power Plant Low Emissions + Thermal Spread — lower mass and a cool, quiet plant compound with the FSD for more range per hop.
• 3Bi-weave shield and Heavy-Duty boosters for passenger safety.
• 4Cabins aren't engineered — just fit the right classes for the board.

Approximate progression across the three states (figures are representative, not exact rolls):

Note the seat count falls from initial to A-rated — that's deliberate. The stock build crams ~40 economy bodies into an all-economy layout; the A-rated mix swaps the class-6 for a 6C First cabin that earns far more per seat, and gives up one size-3 economy berth for the fuel scoop. Engineered, the Asp scoops its own fuel, carries a premium-led board ~45 LY a hop on a Guardian-boosted Long Range FSD, rides out interdictions on three Heavy Duty boosters, and lands on pads the big liners can't. It earns less per seat than any dedicated tourer — no comfort bonus, room for just one first-class cabin up top — but it is the budget passenger ship that goes furthest for the least money, not the one that earns most.

• A-rate and engineer the FSD first — reach is what the Asp brings to passenger work; add a Guardian booster.
• There's no liner comfort bonus — it earns less per seat than a Dolphin, Orca or Lynx; lean on cheap reach and medium-pad access instead.
• Only the class 6 and class 5 slots take first/luxury cabins — put your one premium cabin up top and pack economy below.
• Keep a real shield on threatened routes; passenger boards can spawn pirate interdictions.
• Swap the cabins for an explorer suite and the same hull changes roles — see the Asp Explorer Exploration and Multipurpose dossiers.