Geonosian solar sailer

• Appeared in:
  
  I
  II
  III
  IV
  V
  VI
  CW

• Homeworld:
  Geonosis

• Size:
  16.76 meters long

• Weapon:
  Array of 84 narrow tractor/repulsor beams

• Affiliation:
  Confederacy of Independent Systems

• Type:
  Punworcca 116-class interstellar sloop

• Manufacturer:
  Huppla Pasa Tisc Shipwrights Collective

• 

From the Movies

An exotic, alien conveyance befitting Count Dooku's enigmatic character, the Geonosis solar sailer uses unique technology to propel the craft through both realspace and hyperspace.

The seed-shaped vessel has a bracketed bubble-like cockpit within which resides the ship's droid pilot, FA-4. The vessel's carapace opens to expel its diaphanous sail, which unfurls into a parabolic chute that gathers energetic particles for propulsion.

Count Dooku used the interstellar sail ship to escape from the opening battle of the Clone Wars on Geonosis and meet with his dark master, Darth Sidious, in the abandoned districts of Coruscant.

From the Expanded Universe

Count Dooku's solar sailer is a hybrid of obscure technologies, its core body being a modified Punworcca 116-class sloop while the sail was provided by the Count himself. Geonosian engineers, who have long had a history of designing atmospheric sailing vessels, had no problem merging the two into the finished craft.

The term solar sail is a misnomer, since Count Dooku's interstellar sloop uses an as-yet unknown brand of energetic propulsion far more exotic than stellar radiation. Dooku acquired the delicate and ancient sail from mysterious Gree artisans, who developed a technology that harnesses supralight emissions for interstellar travel.

The solar sailer, like other Geonosian ships, uses a sophisticated array of narrow tractor/repulsor beams as offensive grapples and steering aids when in flight, affording the vessel an impressive maneuverability.

Behind the Scenes

Inspirations for the solar sailer came from abandoned concepts for the Queen's Royal Starship in Episode I. When the solar sail idea was removed from the chrome aesthetics of Naboo design sensibilities and placed into the harsh insectoid warrens of Geonosis, the ship itself also developed insect-like characteristics. Some designs closely resembled a water beetle in shape and texture, while others were more elegant, butterfly-like incarnations.

At first, Dooku's ship was envisioned like a limousine, with its pilot in an enclosed compartment separated from its important passenger. Later, during filming, it was decided that a shot of Count Dooku seated next to the pilot droid was needed, so the ship was redesigned with the cockpit bubble more connected to the ship's interior space.