The Tesotek 2100-B was a type of interstellar refinery and cargo hauler manufactured by CYGNUS.[1] It was designed to transport and process vast quantities of mineral ore during the course of long-distance interstellar journeys. One such refinery was towed by the USCSS Nostromo during its final voyage in 2122.
Overview[]
CYGNUS' Tesotek 2100-B was designed to be hauled by a cargo tug, automatically processing and refining up to 20 million tons of raw mineral ore during the course of long interstellar journeys.[1] Any K- or M-class starship fitted with a docking clamp connector was capable of towing the refinery.[1] Although the platform was fully automated, limited commands could be facilitated through the connected tug's MU/TH/UR computer. While essentially unmanned, the refinery also featured a skeleton complement of Seegson synthetics capable of performing basic maintenance should the need arise during during transit. The internal spaces of the refinery featured standardized architecture designed by Hideo Kimura.[3]
The refinery platforms were comprised of four individual towers, constructed in a square formation, rising above the main platform structure with dewatering and sedimentation tanks below. The refinery process starts a pickup location where dock transition terminals load untreated and unrefined ore into the refinery's front left storage tower. Next, the solid materials are sent through the front right processing tower, where the platform's communications dish is also located. There, CYGNUS crushers, screens, grinding mills, and classifiers reduce the solid materials from one average particle size to a smaller average particle size.
Once the ore is crushed, ground, and classified into the required particle size, the material is moved into the rear right separation and concentration tower where the ore is separated into a multitude of various valuable ore minerals by sorting, gravity and dense-medium separation, magnetic separation, and froth flotation methods. Lastly, the ore is processed through the dewatering sedimentation tanks on the underside of the refinery's platform where the removal of water from the valuable mineral particles, or the concentrate, takes place. The final mineral product is sent to the rear left storage tower where the valuable minerals are stored for direct transition in the destination facility upon arrival. It is important to note that less valuable minerals are additionally stored at other areas of the refinery.[3]
History[]
- "We'll be taking the ship out to Neptune first, to meet up with the hauler."
- ―Ellen Ripley to Amanda Ripley (from Alien: Isolation (novel))
Built between 2112 and 2115, the Tesotek 2100-B interstellar refinery, registration number 168257(TK),[3] scheduled to be towed by the M-Class towing vehicle Nostromo, had been the third interstellar refining platform constructed by CYGNUS.[1] By 2121, Captain Dallas and his crew had flown the Nostromo from Earth to Neptune where it connected with the Tesotek refinery before its scheduled eight month trip to Thedus where the hauler would be loaded with 20,000,000 tons of mineral ore before returning to the Sol System.[4]
Twelve months into its flight home, the towing vessel's AI intercepted a transmission emanating from a derelict alien craft on a barren moon in the Zeta II Reticuli system, and woke the crew to investigate. Upon arrival, the crew of the Nostromo encountered a parasitic alien organism that made its way back on board and nearly killed the entire crew. As of June, 2122[5] the refinery, its cargo, and the Nostromo were all destroyed in transit when the tug's Warrant Officer, and sole surviver, Ellen Ripley, triggered its self-destruct function in order to eradicate the Xenomorph that was loose on board.[6]
Behind the scenes[]
In an interview with Fastastic Films,[7] Ridley Scott discussed his design of the refinery by saying "I didn't want a conventional shape, so I drew a sketch and handed it to the model makers. They refined it, as it were, and built the model. I originally drew it upside down, with the vague idea that it would resemble an inverted cathedral."
Trivia[]

Sevastopol Station as seen in the 2014 video game Alien: Isolation.
- While the 1979 film Alien states the USCSS Nostromo was towing 20,000,000 tons of mineral ore, the original script, as well as the film's novel and comic adaptations all mentioned the interstellar refinery was instead filled with oil or fuel.
- The design of Sevastopol Station, the primary setting of the 2014 video game Alien: Isolation, bears a striking resemblance to the interstellar refinery seen in the 1979 film Alien.
- Similarly, the design of Mendel Station, the primary setting of the 2019 mobile game Alien: Blackout, a sequel to Isolation, also bears a striking resemblance to the refinery.
- The idea of an oversized cargo hauler being towed through space by a smaller vessel was revisited in the 1990 comic book series Aliens vs. Predator, which featured the commercial transport vessel Lector hauling an enormous food processing plant from Earth to a ranching outpost on the distant planet Ryushi.
Appearances[]
- Alien/novel/comic
- Aliens/novel (indirect mention)
- Aliens: Colonial Marines Technical Manual (mentioned only)
- Aliens: Apocalypse (appears in flashback)
- Alien: Sea of Sorrows/audio drama (mentioned only)
- Jonesy: Nine Lives on the Nostromo
- Alien: Isolation (novel) (mentioned only)
- Alien: The Blueprints
- Aliens: Aftermath (indirect mention)
- Alien: Romulus (mentioned only)
Gallery[]
Concept art[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Graham J. Langridge. Alien: The Blueprints, p. 12 (2019), Titan Books.
- ↑ Graham J. Langridge. Alien: The Blueprints, p. 10 (2019), Titan Books.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Graham J. Langridge. Alien: The Blueprints, p. 13 (2019), Titan Books.
- ↑ Keith R. A. DeCandido. Alien: Isolation (novel), p. 64 (2019), Titan Books.
- ↑ Lee Brimmicombe-Wood. Aliens: Colonial Marines Technical Manual, p. 135 (2012), Titan Books.
- ↑ Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett (writers), Ridley Scott (director). Alien (1979), 20th Century Fox [DVD].
- ↑ Fastastic Films #11, p. 20 (1979), Big O Publishing.