CorsairExploration

The Corsair is Gutamaya's contemporary multirole medium, and as an explorer it leans on the same trait that defines it everywhere else: room. Ten optional internals — three of them class-6 — swallow a full expedition suite without the compromises a smaller hull forces. You can carry two AFMUs, a planetary vehicle hangar, a repair-limpet controller, a shield and a big fuel scoop, and still have bays to spare.

The problem is the drive. Its FSD is only size 5 and the hull is a heavy 265 t, so even with a size-5 Guardian FSD booster and full G5 range engineering it settles near ~45 LY per jump — respectable, but a clear tier below the Asp Explorer, Krait Phantom and Mandalay. The Corsair is the explorer you take because you already own one and value its comfort, not because it reaches furthest.

Three things make the Corsair a capable — if not class-leading — explorer:

• Ten optional internals. Large-ship-style depth, with three class-6 bays — enough for twin AFMUs, an SRV bay, a repair-limpet controller, a shield and a second fuel tank without cutting the scoop.
• Size-6 scoop, size-5 tank. Fills fast and holds a long reach between stars, so multi-jump legs across sparse regions don't strand you.
• Comfort and self-sufficiency. Two crew seats, a good canopy and the room to fix anything that breaks make it a pleasant hull to live in for weeks at a time.

Ten optional internals carry a full self-sufficient expedition suite, but a size-5 FSD dragging a heavy 265 t hull caps engineered range near ~45 LY, well behind the lighter dedicated explorers, landing it mid-field.

The 58/100 headline is a verdict against the exploration 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.

Every table rates ships for exploration specifically, split by landing-pad class. The Optional cap. column is total optional-internal capacity — room for scanners, AFMU and fuel; the rating is the same 1–100 suitability verdict used across the site.

Same class — medium exploration ships

9 medium-pad exploration hulls carry a rating, led by Mandalay (96). Every same-pad rival lands where this one does — the direct field to shop.

Other classes — the long-range flagships

The large-pad exploration field (5 rated), led by Anaconda (94) — bigger pads and bankrolls. They out-muscle this hull on the numbers, but sit a pad class away.

Other classes — the pocket explorers

The small-pad exploration field (9 rated), led by Diamondback Explorer (88) — cheaper hulls and tighter pads. They undercut this hull on the numbers, but sit a pad class away.

At ~76.9M Cr the Corsair is one of the priciest hulls anyone would take exploring, and the return per credit is poor: a Diamondback Explorer reaches further for a fraction of the price, and an Asp Explorer does the classic job for far less. There is no rank or permit gate — just credits — but credits are exactly where this build struggles to justify itself.

The case for spending the money is dual-use: if you already own a Corsair for combat, trading or multirole work, converting it into a capable expedition ship costs only modules, and you get a hull that carries everything and fixes itself. As a purpose-bought explorer it makes little sense.

A long-legged expedition fit built around the size-5 SCO drive and a Guardian booster, then stripped for mass and cooled for close scooping. Initial is a buy-only starter scooper; A-rated is the pre-engineering explorer; Engineered applies the house exploration pattern. The Corsair carries a large ship's worth of expedition kit — its ceiling is jump range, not room.

Buy the hull and fit the largest fuel scoop a class-6 bay allows plus a detailed surface scanner — that is enough to start scooping across the bubble and mapping bodies for data. Bulkheads stay stock Lightweight Alloy; there is no reason to pay for heavier plate on an explorer.

Leave every hardpoint empty from the start. An explorer carries no guns, and the Corsair gains far more from the mass saved than from token defences — the drive is already the bottleneck.

Keep the deep internals empty for now; the expensive expedition kit — AFMUs, the planetary vehicle hangar, a shield — waits for the A-rated pass.

A-rating priority for a long-range explorer:

• 1FSD → 5A SCO overcharge — The single biggest range gain; buy the overcharge drive first. ~11M Cr
• 2Guardian FSD Booster → size 5 — A flat multi-LY bonus on every jump; unlock and fit it early. ~20 Guardian mats
• 3Fuel Scoop → 6A — The fastest scoop the hull allows; less time skimming stars. ~10M Cr
• 4Lighten the cores — D-rate the plant, distributor, life support and sensors; a weaponless hull needs little from them. mass, not credits
• 5AFMU ×2 + SRV hangar — The self-sufficiency kit the deep internals exist for. ~6M Cr
• 6Shield → light bi-weave — Cheap insurance against a botched planetary landing. ~4M Cr

The house exploration pattern on a heavy modern medium. Pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application; visit in person for experimentals.

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

The engineered gains are range and heat, not room — the internals are already generous at A-rated. G5 Increased Range on the SCO drive plus Lightweight bulkheads and D-rated cores lift the laden jump from the low-30s to ~45 LY, while Low Emissions keeps the hull cool enough for close scooping and neutron top-ups. It never becomes a long-range ship — the size-5 drive forbids it — but it becomes a comfortable, cool, self-sufficient one.

• Range is fixed by physics here — a size-5 drive on a 265 t hull will never leap far, so plan expeditions around ~45 LY and stage long crossings carefully.
• Spend the internal depth on self-sufficiency: twin AFMUs, a repair-limpet controller and an SRV bay are what justify choosing this hull.
• Strip every gun and undersize the distributor and cores hard — on an explorer, saved mass is the only lever you have on range.
• There is no transparent cockpit floor; line up exobiology landings the old way, with the SRV or a careful approach.