Sensor Buoy

A Sensor buoy is an extremely helpful and important item of equipment for starships which operate in the deep space. These tiny objects can be launched from the mothership and then transmit every piece of information caught by its sensors back to the mothership. Transmissions can be received by the mothership up to a distance of more than 100 light years, depending on the size and quality of the buoy. Sensor buoys are also used to mark the path through space of the mothership, and so help following ships to locate the sensor ship and assist it. The buoys can, of course, only hardly be detected by enemy vessesls, due to the buoy's stealth.
A well-known product of sensor buoys is a co-production by "Myskeler & Gorlan Star Drives" and "Hiad Engineering". It is a very reliable buoy of high of high quality. It looks like turned round truncated cone, bristling with antennas and other sensor technology. It's eneryg cells keep the buoy active for about ten years, while small maneuvering jets guarantee for the optimal position of the buoy. In case that enemy forces should discover the buoy although having sensor stealth, and try to steal the collected information of the buoy, a self-destruction is activated, to prevent information of falling into wrong hands.

Sensor Buoy

Craft: Myskeler & Gorlan Star Drives/Hiad Engineering "Sensor Buoy"
Type: Sensor Buoy
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 1.5 meters
Skill: Sensor operations
Crew: None, automated
Crew Skill: Search 7D, sensors 8D
Consumables: 10 years (energy cells)
Cost: 5,000 credits (new)
Maneuverability: 2D
Space: 1 (maneuvering jets)
Hull: 1D
Sensors:
Passive: 25/1D
Scan: 50/2D
Search: 75/3D
Focus: 3/4D
Stealth: +2D sensor difficulties
Com. Range: Transmits data up to 100 light years to base/mothership
Weapons:
Self Destruct
Fire Arc: All
Fire Control: 0D
Space Range: 1
Damage: 2D
Source
Stats:Christopher Deck & Chris Curtis
Illustration:Ralph McQuarrie in The Art of Star Wars, Ep. 5, Del Rey.