Jupitris class (Gundam)

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A Jupitris class energy fleet vessel.

In the Universal Century Gundam story, the fuel used for power fusion reactors is mined from the atmosphere of the planet Jupiter. Moving this fuel to and from the earth is the job of the massive, 2000 meter long Jupitris class freighters, a fleet of energy transportation vessels.

The Jupritris class, as mentioned above, is designed exclusively for the movement of large quantities of Helium-3, so the ships carry no weapons. While the class makes no mark in or on major battlefields, they have bred interesting characters, most notably Paptimus Scirocco, one of the main villains in Zeta Gundam. Scirocco was captain of the lead ship Jupitris, and joined with the Titans when he returned to the Earth Sphere in UC 0087. Even though the Jupitris was an unarmed freighter, Scirocco continued to use it as his base of operations. While the huge ship stayed well away from combat, its huge cargo bays were used to carry Scirocco's immensely powerful custom-made mobile suits.

The Jupitris class would continue to see service throughout the Universal Century, despite its namesake's fate. The Jupitris II appears at the end of Gundam ZZ, and the Thousandth Jupiter appears in Gundam F91. In manga sidestories, Gundam F90 features the Kobayashi Maru, which is destroyed by the Mars Zeon in the prologue to the story. The Jupitris 9 appears in the popular manga Crossbone Gundam, where it is Crux Dogatie's personal ship and carries his arsenal of EMA-10 Divinidad mobile armors to Earth.

There is also a notable cameo of a ship resembling a Jupitris Class in the Cosmic Era(CE) series, Gundam Seed. The UC Jupitris design was used as the basis for George Glenn's exploratory mission to Jupiter. This mission occurred in continuity long before the actual series, and the appearance of a Jupitris-like vessel was intended as a tribute to the older UC Gundam series, just as many CE Mobile Suits are.