View source for StarCitizen:Drake Interplanetary

{{Short description|Human low-tech spacecraft manufacturer}}
{{Infobox company
|image = Sc-logo-drake.svg
|name = Drake Interplanetary
|industry = Spacecraft manufacture
|products = Spacecraft
|race = Human
|headquarters = [[StarCitizen:Odyssa]], [[StarCitizen:Borea]], [[StarCitizen:Magnus system|Magnus]]
|areaserved = [[StarCitizen:United Empire of Earth]]
|keypeople = [[StarCitizen:Anden Arden]] <small>(CEO)</small>
|founder = [[StarCitizen:Jan Dredge]], along with other Cutlass designers
|founded = {{SDA|sctime=yes|2845}}
|fate = <!-- Fate of the company if defunct -->
|defunct = <!-- Defunct date, use {{Start date and age|sctime=yes|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
|formerly = <!-- Formerly known as, if the company is renamed -->
|predecessor = <!-- Predecessor of the company -->
|successor = <!-- Successor of the company -->
|parent = <!-- Parent company/organization of the company -->
|subsidiaries = <!-- Subsidiaries of the company -->
|galactapediaurl = https://robertsspaceindustries.com/galactapedia/article/RLMm9KeZed-drake-interplanetary
|portfoliourl = https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/spectrum-dispatch/13441-Drake-Interplanetary
}}

'''Drake Interplanetary''' is a [[StarCitizen:Human]] spacecraft manufacturer that designs, manufacturers and sells spaceships in the ''[[StarCitizen:Star Citizen]]'' universe. It is headquartered in [[StarCitizen:Odyssa]], [[StarCitizen:Borea]], [[StarCitizen:Magnus system|Magnus]]. It is the fifth largest spacecraft producer in human space. Drake was founded in [[StarCitizen:2845]] by [[StarCitizen:Jan Dredge]] to produce the [[StarCitizen::Category:Drake Interplanetary Cutlass|Cutlass]] medium fighter for militia use. Drake has cultivated its image since then to appeal to those seeking less conventional designs.<ref name="galactapedia">{{Cite RSI|url=https://robertsspaceindustries.com/galactapedia/article/RLMm9KeZed-drake-interplanetary|text=Galactapedia: Drake Interplanetary}}</ref> Their ships have a characteristically robust and geometrical design that utilizes many low-tech materials. Drake's target group also includes militias and pirates. The former CEOs [[StarCitizen:Jan Dredge|Jan]] and [[StarCitizen:Jon Dredge]] cultivated the outlaw image from the beginning of the company, which raised controversies about Drake's responsibility for pirate-related crimes.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite RSI|url=comm-link/transmission/15821-Around-The-Verse|text=Around the Verse - Trouble at Drake|trx=around-the-verse-trouble-at-drake}}</ref><ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/comments/d7szye/a_summary_of_star_citizen_live_all_things_lore/ A Summary of Star Citizen Live "All Things Lore"] - reddit.com, 09.2019, acc. 2019-10-03, source: [https://youtu.be/uuwOy8IslqU Star Citizen Live: All Things Lore (YouTube)]
</ref>

== History ==
{{Cleanup|Should be edited for flow, chronology, paraphrasing. See https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/spectrum-dispatch/13441-Drake-Interplanetary for source}}
=== Cutlass development ===
After losing a [[StarCitizen:UEE]] contract bid in 2845 for a low-cost, fast-production "volksfighter" ship, Drake Interplanetary re-appropriated their design, the [[StarCitizen:Cutlass (series)|Cutlass]], as a civilian craft.

The initial pitch was to provide ships to private militia groups. The plan was that private squadrons in more distant areas of the galaxy would welcome a low-cost spacecraft solution. Regions specifically classified high insurance risks, the Drake board reasoned, would especially welcome an easier way to replenish lost spacecraft.

=== Incorporation and Success ===
Following the public release of the Cutlass, Drake Interplanetary incorporated, with [[StarCitizen:Jan Dredge]] as CEO, along with a seven-member board consisting mainly of designers who had worked on the Cutlass. Drake was not the surname of anyone involved in the project; it was selected as an acceptable "smooth-sounding" name, chosen specifically in the hopes that it would make their spacecraft more appealing. This was the first of a series of money-over-all decisions that would quickly come to define the company.

Another decision was also telling: rather than incorporate on one of the UEE's traditional "homeworlds" like [[StarCitizen:Earth]] or [[StarCitizen:Terra (planet)|Terra]], Drake based itself in the economically embattled system of [[StarCitizen:Magnus system|Magnus]]. Basing both corporate governance and key factories on [[StarCitizen:Borea|Borea (Magnus II)]], Drake's outlaw image became well established before the first production model Cutlass left the factory floor.

Sales were phenomenal: within nine months, Drake had opened six offworld factories and had licensed dealerships in nine systems. In the year following, the company had quadrupled again. Within five years they were the fifth largest spacecraft manufacturing concern and couldn't license subsystems manufacturers quickly enough. The successful company was credited in financial magazines as the little engine that could — finally a competitor that would change how companies like [[StarCitizen:Roberts Space Industries (manufacturer)|Roberts Space Industries]] and [[StarCitizen:Musashi Industrial and Starflight Concern|Musashi Industrial]] ran their businesses. From the numbers alone, it looked like everyone would be flying a Cutlass in ten years.<ref>{{Cite RSI|text=Galactic Guide: Drake Interplanetary|int=Comm-Link:Galactic Guide - Drake Interplanetary|url=https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/spectrum-dispatch/13441-Drake-Interplanetary}}</ref>

=== Pirate scandal ===
{{Quote|The [[StarCitizen:Travel Safety Advisory]] System estimates that 15,000 people die annually in outlaw raids and the Cutlass Black accounts for two thirds of all ships used by known piracy groups.|[[StarCitizen:Terra Gazette]] <ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite RSI|url=comm-link/transmission/15821-Around-The-Verse|text=Around the Verse - Trouble at Drake|trx=around-the-verse-trouble-at-drake}}</ref>}}

In an undercover job interview, the company CEO Jan Dredge was recorded making a controversial statement about selling the [[StarCitizen:Cutlass Black]] to known [[StarCitizen:piracy]] groups. After which family members of piracy victims expressed their outrage by calling for a ban on the Drake Cutlass. On April 6, 2947 Drake Interplanetary released a press statement in which they apologize for the comments made by Jan Dredge and are announcing that she is retiring as CEO of the company to spend more time with her family. Her son [[StarCitizen:Jon Dredge]] would fullfill her duties as acting-CEO until a replacement can be found.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite RSI|url=comm-link/transmission/15821-Around-The-Verse|text=Around the Verse - Trouble at Drake|trx=around-the-verse-trouble-at-drake}}</ref> In early 2948, Drake called a press conference in [[StarCitizen:Odyssa]] to introduce [[StarCitizen:Anden Arden]] as new CEO, possibly against the will of Jan and Jon Dredge. Arden condemned the use of the ships by Outlaws and instituted ''a policy that all sales associates attend a mandatory training session every year that reviews our company policy alongside local and Empire-wide law''.<ref>{{Cite RSI|text=Kaizen - Pushing Metal|int=Comm-Link:Kaizen - Pushing Metal|url=https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/spectrum-dispatch/16626-KAIZEN-Pushing-Metal}}</ref>

== Drake DefenseCon ==
{{Main|Drake DefenseCon}}
Drake DefenseCon is a yearly event organized by Drake Interplanetary to promote its products.<ref>{{Cite RSI|url=https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/17599-Invictus-Launch-Week-Guide|text=Invictus Launch Week Guide|accessdate=2020-05-16}}</ref> It is a tagalong of [[StarCitizen:Invictus Fleet Week]], because the company is not formally invited to the event due to the long-running antagonism between Drake and the UEE military.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAS9RLqdweY Inside Star Citizen: A Cut Above], starting at 10:30. Star Citizen YouTube channel. Retrieved 2022-11-17.</ref> DefenseCon is usually held in the same city immediately after Fleet Week.

== In-game description ==
<blockquote>Makes affordable, modular ships that have become the go-to manufacturer for anyone looking to get their first ship, but have become associated with criminal elements.<ref>In-game description in Alpha 3.9.1</ref></blockquote>

== Gallery ==
{{gallery
|Drake Interplanetary - JP0904.svg
}}

== References ==
<references />

{{Navplate manufacturers|DRAK}}

[[Category:Vehicle manufacturers]]
[[Category:Ship manufacturers]]
[[Category:Ground vehicles manufacturers]]