Mass effect is the phenomena that allows for the alteration of mass within its area of effect
and by reducing a ship to near-zero, it can reach extreme speeds, allowing for interstellar travel.
This process led to humanity developing a myriad of technologies based on it from vehicles to
weapons, but my Personal favourite from the Mass Effect series is the ship of Commander
Shepard themselves, the SSV Normandy SR-1. Its design to me is one of the best in science
fiction and I love the attention to detail that permeates not only the ship, but the Mass Effect
universe as a whole. So, I’m going to drop some lore on it while simultaneously gushing about it.
For a start, the Normandy was designed to be a “Deep Scout Frigate” stealth ship, plain and
simple, but that brief came with a myriad of problems and a long research and development
process. Helmed by the Human Systems Alliance, the Citadel Council nonetheless had a vested interest
in the project and helped support it, primarily through the Turian hierarchy who worked alongside
the alliance in designing it from the frame up. The original design for the Normandy was much
larger than the final frigate and many cuts had to be made to the initial designs to make it
more reserved and completable within a realistic time. These original schematics would not see
fruition until the illicit creation of the Normandy SR-2 by Cerberus in 2385, but that
is a different vessel for a different video. Its captain was to be one Elli Zander,
however David Anderson was selected to replace him as Captain before 2183
and its initial shakedown cruise to Eden Prime. The vessel’s construction was rather controversial
among some in the Systems Alliance brass for several reasons. Firstly, the myriad
of experimental and specialised technologies that were being developed for the Normandy drove
the cost up prohibitively, hence the multitude of design retractions. By the time it was completed,
the billions it had cost could have funded a much more powerful and proven heavy cruiser.
The second objection was how involved the Turians were. This was mostly based on the fact that
only 26 years earlier, the Turians had attacked a fledgling Humanity in the First
Contact War. So aside from there being a number of old wounds among the militaries of both sides,
there were those who wished to keep human innovations strictly away from
the eyes of a species that less than three decades ago had been considered an enemy.
This tension increased when the Normandy was assigned to Commander Shepard,
despite the blessing of Captain Anderson, because as a SPECTRE, it effectively put the Normandy
under the control of the Citadel Council, taking the prototype away from the Systems Alliance’s
63rd reconnaissance fleet that it was originally supposed to be posted to.
From the outset, we can see that the Normandy is relatively small for a frigate in design.
It’s internals however do not line up with the outside scale, suggesting that the in-game model
of a docked Normandy is slightly too small, but even overlooking that, it is a compact vessel.
The vessel has a single airlock to the port and fore of the ship for easy access and each section
of the vessel has emergency shields that drop to secure against a hull breach. Beyond the entry,
which has some railings on the ceiling, is the bridge where the pilot, co-pilot sit as well as
several other stations that are not always manned. In the SR-2. One of these was to house the A.I
interface, so presumably one of these is the ship’s Virtual Intelligence control.
Here we have a network of screens and layouts that very much place the helm as the main point
of focus, with all displays angled for the pilot to see. Just as well as the Normandy’s
drive core is large for its size and it has an overabundance of manoeuvrability and speed.
Behind this is the neck of the vessel, where the corridor houses an array of stations.
The function of each console is not mentioned, but I think these are effectively the redoubts
and management systems for the majority of ship functions, such as Communications, sensors and
most likely the ship’s defensive weapons and kinetic barriers. The vessel is armed with GUADIAN
point-defence lasers for shooting down incoming projectiles, javelin missiles and a single mass
effect accelerator cannon. It’s sensor systems are also numerous and range from reading all levels of
electromagnetic waves, using LADAR and an array of deployable micro-satellites for scanning.
Following the raised walkway down the spine of the vessel, we come to the CIC, or Combat Information
Centre. This is the information hub of the vessel where tactical decisions can be made on the fly,
in and out of combat. This room’s most striking feature is the galaxy map in the centre of the CIC
stations. This holographic display is a frequently updated galactic layout to plot
courses and examine locations. It’s viewable from every CIC station, but operable from the
walkway that juts into its centre. The navigator and command officers are frequently found here.
The station being so far back is something inherent in Turian design and was incorporated
based on their input. There are pros and cons for this placement over the traditional
method of having the CIC and bridge be the same location, usually nearer the fore of the vessel.
Firstly, the CIC is more shielded in this location from external attack,
and quicker to reach from other areas of the vessel. It is also a Turian practice to allow
the captain to have a view over all their crew and its placement facilitates this.
However, it does mean that orders to the pilot have to be relayed by internal or personal comms.
The more I think about this, the more I actually agree with Rear Admiral Mikhailovitch,
but I think I’ll examine that in a follow up video if you want to see that.
It should also be noted that none of these stations have seating,
as people are frequently going to be moving among stations to share information and this
would just get in the way. Behind the CIC and grand display of the ship’s name, we have a
corridor that follows the curvature of the ship to the briefing and communications room. This chamber
has numerous chairs for the senior staff to hold briefings, as well as three holographic terminals
to display incoming transmissions or data. To both port and starboard of the CIC we have
descending stairs that move down to the crew deck. The initial point here, aside from some computer
displays, is the main cargo lift. On the other side of it is the mess hall where the crew can
enjoy their meals. The relatively small nature of it reflects the compact nature of the ship
and small number of crew, around 51. There is then an open deck area which serves little function
although it does have a seating area, possibly for recreational use and the officer’s lockers.
At the fore of this deck are the sleeping pods, these are single occupancy capsules that are
either evacuation and stasis pods or simple beds, it’s a little unclear. There are also
accessible multi-person escape pods accessible on this deck somewhere. To the starboard of this deck
is the sickbay and being a combat vessel, it is rather well stocked with three beds complete
with standard robotic surgical equipment, medigel dispensers and the Medical officer’s desk. Moving
through medical, we can find the research lab, which has only one desk and a small
sampling of scientific equipment. It is also currently being used as storage as the Normandy
has no dedicated science officers. Good job you can find a research specialist in the field then.
On the port side is the captain’s quarters which is a rather opulent one in size when compared to
the efficient utilisation of space elsewhere. Inside is a double bunk, personal computer and
small lounge. This seems a rather egregious waste of space and in the original blueprints, the cabin
was just as large, but relegated to a small, out of the way area at the top of the vessel.
Which means that when it was downsized, someone insisted on keeping the captain’s cabin size.
Heading back into the lift, we can descend to the hanger deck. The majority of this deck is
dedicated to a single open space, crossed by supports. Opposite the lift is the hanger door
which has variable levels of opening, creating a large aperture for vehicles to leave with
motorised ramps ready to extend should they be needed. The Normandy came equipped with a standard
M35 Mako fighting vehicle. This too deserves its own video because it’s a mad little lad and
a love it’s craziness. Behind the Mako station is a maintenance desk with a link to communications,
making it a good spot for the requisitions officer. On the opposite wall we have the crew
lockers and armoury. Having it on the hanger deck is a solid choice as it allows soldiers
to gear up and be ready to drop in an unimpeded space, right next to their method of departing.
Towards the aft of this deck is the engine room. This houses the main Tantalus Drive
Core of the ship, fuelled by Element Zero and is the heart of the vessel.
As mentioned before, the Normandy has a rather oversized core for even the fast
Alliance frigates, making the ship unbalanced in the hands of an inexperienced pilot and engineer.
Naturally this deck has all sorts of maintenance and observation displays.
The highlight of the Normandy however, is its prototype stealth system, the Internal Emissions
Sink. Lined throughout the vessel, deep beneath the hull are lithium heat sinks, into which
all emissions of the Normandy can be channelled. Instead of radiating the energy into space as most
vessels do, the Normandy holds onto this build-up of heat, effectively reducing its outgoing
emissions to zero. This makes it incredibly difficult to detect, however it can only keep
this state up for around 2 to 3 hours before the level of heat build up begins to affect the crew.
Once this time has exceeded, the danger of expiring due to the heat increases and remaining
in stealth mode can “cook the crew” alive. So that is the Normandy SR-1.
There also has to be more to the vessel than we see, for a start, there is not a single latrine to
be seen, and we have no crew bunks. The lore tells us that on a small vessel, such as the Normandy,
the crew would most probably hot bunk, where some remain off duty and can catch some sleep,
then make the bed to hand over to the crewman they’re replacing. Even this however requires some
cots or bunk beds somewhere, which we don’t see. These things are also referred to as sleeper pods,
but they also function as stasis pods and there is only a handful so I have to assume there is a crew
quarters somewhere we do not see. Additionally, where is the galley and the access ways to the
actual escape pods? The original blueprints of the Normandy class that the SR-2 was built to,
rectify much of this, but quite simply, there still has to be more to the SR-1.
Unless everyone share’s the captain’s bunk. Ayy. One detail I really like about the Normandy,
in fact a lot of technology in Mass Effect, is the consistent appearance that it has all been
fabricated and assembled. So many components have serial numbers printed on them which makes
it look as if the vessel was almost 3D printed, which considering the construction methods and
presence of Omni-gel in Mass Effect, it probably kind of was.
There was mention of a second Normandy-Class frigate the SSV Ain Jalut in a news report in Mass
Effect 2, suggesting that the Systems Alliance did indeed continue production of this stealth ship,
despite the costs. Understandable considering its proven track record. Thanks for watching
this breakdown on the internals of the Normandy. I’m going to do a few more Mass Effect videos on
the universe’s tech and locations and intersperse them with other content, so until the next video,
thanks again. I’ve been Ric and this is my favourite ship on the citadel, goodbye!