In the Mass Effect games, many impressive and high-tech spaceships and space stations populate the galaxy, from the groundbreaking SSV Normandy to the Shadow Broker's unique ship hidden in the eternal thunderstorms of Hagalaz. But even ships like these can be upgraded, and in 2185, the astounding Normandy SR-2 entered service, outclassing the original upon which it was based.
It's true that the original Normandy was still relatively new; it was less than a year old when Commander Shepard used it to pursue the rogue Spectre Saren and take him down. But that ship was destroyed by a Collector ambush in 2183 that killed Shepard. Fortunately, the ship and her captain both made their triumphant return two years later.
The New Normandy's Construction & Mission
It should be noted that, while the original Normandy was built and owned by the Terran Alliance Systems navy, the Normandy SR-2 was built privately by Cerberus based on schematics of the original vessel. In fact, the Alliance had no apparent intent to build a new Normandy, so the Illusive Man took matters into his own hands. He carefully ordered thousands of ship parts from various suppliers to hide what he was doing and ordered his engineers to build the new ship in a hidden location within the Voyager cluster. This project was time-consuming and quite expensive, but before long, the new Normandy proved itself worth the sticker shock.
Commander Shepard was brought back to life in 2185 thanks to Miranda Lawson's Lazarus Project, just in time to lay eyes on their new ride. The Normandy SR-2 was docked at a Cerberus space station, but once Jeff "Joker" Moreau and Shepard stepped aboard, the ship made its first trip into the stars and never looked back.
This ship was a marvel, but it did come with strings. This was no luxury yacht; the Illusive Man needed Shepard to use this ship and its abilities to discover the truth about missing human colonists. It was with this ship that Shepard recruited a new combat team to battle the Collectors. At some point, the SR-2 was the only ship that could journey to the heart of the galaxy via the Omega 4 Relay and return in one piece. Even then, the new Normandy was sorely tested.
The New Normandy: Under The Hood
This new frigate was an enhanced version of the original ship that hunted Saren and destroyed Sovereign. The Normandy SR-2 mimicked the original ship's visual design and interior layout, but it also included a variety of upgrades and additions. To start, the new vessel was twice the original's size, meaning it had far more room for crew and soldiers inside, not to mention an even bigger drive core and the room for a shuttle bay. In fact, the new Normandy was too big and heavy to land directly on planets, so the crew used Kodiak shuttles to land on planets and moons, though it could still dock with space stations and other ships.
Unlike the original Normandy, which had three decks, the SR-2 had five, including a captain's quarters at the top. It's like a small apartment, complete with a work desk, a private bathroom, a king-sized bed, a sound system, a fish tank and a terminal where the captain could order armor upgrades. The main deck featured the familiar sight of a galaxy map and the cockpit. The crew deck was a roomier version of the original that added an AI core (where the advanced AI EDI resided) and even a kitchen. Below that was the engine deck, which featured storage rooms and the engine room itself. Here, Shepard could see the gigantic, ultra-advanced drive core through a window.
Finally, the shuttle bay was a roomy area where crew members could tinker with the shuttle or weapons. At first, the armory and weapons lockers were on the main deck, near the CIC, but they were eventually relocated to the shuttle bay for convenience. For communications, the SR-2 featured a quantum bit entangler, which could send and receive messages from other quantum bit entangler communicators from vast distances with no issue.
The Normandy SR-2's exterior was equally impressive. It featured enhanced armor for its day, and during the course of the mission to destroy the Collectors, Shepard may consult Jacob Taylor to get even better armor installed on the hull. This made the Normandy practically indestructible in ship-to-ship combat, and Tali'Zorah can pull some strings to add enhanced kinetic barriers to make it highly resistant to enemy fire.
As expected, the new Normandy shares the original's stealth drive, meaning it can trap its thermal and energy emissions within the hull to prevent the ship from appearing on enemy radars and sensors. Thus, like the original, the SR-2 is a highly effective scout vessel and troop insertion vehicle when used in tandem with the Kodiak shuttle to deliver troops to the mission site. As for weapons, the Normandy SR-2 features Javelin disruptor torpedo launchers to destroy enemy ships. Later, it would be outfitted with powerful, Turian-designed Thanix cannons that can destroy any target with impunity.