This is a pair of ships that I designed for an all-achievements run. They can serve all of my transportation needs up until I've reached the solar system edge and cleared all achievements that can be failed.

**The Mote**:

> Rush-to-space-compatible. 12 launches to build. 228 free cargo slots.

> 9 minute trip between any inner planets - 3 mins travel, then rearming/loading (reduced with bullet damage above 5).

An inner-planet cargo ship capable of reaching and idling around any inner planet indefinitely. It uses no quality components and requires only technology that can be researched before completing the "Rush to Space" achievement. It is totally self-sufficient after construction.

It's not especially fast or high-capacity, but it can do one circuit of the inner planets every 36 minutes bringing 70 stacks of each planet's science packs. That's enough for almost 400 SPM before biolab/productivity bonuses, while beating the game in 40 hours requires less than 20 SPM.

**The Shard**:

> Requires bullet/explosive damage 6. 300 free cargo slots.

> Add the railguns, deliver one rocket of copper wire, and produce 300 railgun ammo to reach the solar system edge in around an hour. Return trip not guaranteed.

An outer-planet cargo ship capable of reaching and idling around Aquilo and then being upgraded to reach the solar system edge. It uses no quality components and requires no levels of any infinite research. It features an automatic speed regulator to slow or stop when ammo is low, so higher levels of damage research will let it move faster.

It's not totally self-sufficient, but close. A single rocket of nuclear fuel cells is enough to get it to the solar system edge, and a single rocket of copper wire lets it make enough railgun ammo to get there.

As bonus features, it's also capable of producing about 14 rockets worth of concrete from 1 rocket of stone bricks, for efficiently paving over Aquilo, and it can even gather a few promethium chunks to bring back if you want to quickly grab the Research With Promethium achievement. Those require some constant combinators to be flipped because they impair normal operation when active.

There's also a derived design called **The Spark**:

> Rush-to-space-compatible. 7 launches to build. 48 free cargo slots.

> Insufficient power for Gleba or Fulgora. Upgrades to The Mote with 5 more launches.

The Mote but with enough stuff stripped away that it only needs 7 launches to build. It upgrades in-place to The Mote with 5 more launches. It doesn't have enough power to visit Gleba or Fulgora, but if you're going for Keeping Your Hands Clean then Vulcanus is going to be your first destination anyways.

Questions, comments, and suggestions for further improvement welcome.

Blueprints: https://factoriobin.com/post/bo1m7s

The Mote and The Shard - reliable and cost-conscious ships for early- and mid-game