Aurora (Ship)
The Aurora is an Alterra Corporation Long-Range Capital Ship and the central landmark of the original Subnautica. Its crash on Planet 4546B is the event that strands the player, Ryley Robinson, on the alien ocean world. The wreck is visible from almost anywhere on the map and serves as a major exploration location.
Specifications
Specification | Value |
|---|---|
Classification | Long-Range Capital Ship |
Owner | Alterra Corporation |
Length | Approximately 1,280 meters |
Height | Approximately 500 meters |
Crew | 157 (23 command, 85 engineers, 40 support, 9 passengers) |
Captain | Hollister |
Lifepods | 50 (25 deployed before crash) |
Mission
The Aurora's primary mission was phasegate construction in the Ariadne Arm of the galaxy, extending Alterra's faster-than-light travel network. Its secondary mission was to search for the Degasi, a ship that had disappeared in the same sector approximately ten years earlier.
The crash
As the Aurora passed near Planet 4546B, the Quarantine Enforcement Platform (an Architect weapon on Mountain Island) fired an energy beam that struck the ship, causing catastrophic damage. Captain Hollister manually controlled the descent to minimize casualties, dying in the process. Of 50 lifepods, 25 managed to deploy. Ryley Robinson escaped in Lifepod 5 and was the only occupant to survive on the planet's surface.
The wreck
The Aurora's wreck sits partially above the waterline on the eastern edge of the map, in a region called the Crash Zone. The ship broke into multiple sections on impact. The intact portion of the hull is explorable once the player obtains a Radiation Suit and Laser Cutter.
Inside the wreck, players can find:
Prawn Suit blueprints (from fragments in the cargo bay)
The Captain's quarters with Hollister's personal logs
The drive room with four radiation leaks that must be repaired with the Repair Tool
Data terminals and PDA logs documenting the crew's final hours
Various high-tier resources and crafting materials
Radiation
The Aurora's damaged nuclear reactor leaks radiation in a wide radius around the wreck. Players without a Radiation Suit take damage when approaching. Repairing the four breaches in the drive room stops the radiation leak permanently.
Reaper Leviathans
The Crash Zone surrounding the Aurora is patrolled by 11 Reaper Leviathans, the highest concentration of any biome in the game. Exploring the Aurora wreck often results in terrifying encounters with Reapers, making it one of the most tense locations in the original Subnautica.
The Sunbeam
A rescue ship called the Sunbeam received the Aurora's distress signal and traveled to Planet 4546B. When it attempted to land on Mountain Island, the Quarantine Enforcement Platform shot it down just as it had the Aurora. If the player is present on the island, they witness the destruction. The event drives home the danger of the QEP and motivates the player to find a way to deactivate it.