The hull was the body or main structure of a starship or vehicle. A hull's most basic requirement was to be airtight to allow organic passengers to breathe while riding inside the starship; the only openings found in them were either pressure-sealed airlocks or shielded hangars.[1] Capital ship hulls were frequently constructed with duralloy, although some smaller ships would also equip their hulls with similar materials for greater protection.[2] Other common materials found in starship hulls were durasteel, which was able to resist kinetic damage[3] and could be molded to create a form-fitting armored shell around the starship's body[4] and the more resistant titanium.[5] Starship hulls typically couldn't withstand direct fire from laser cannons and instead relied on protection afforded by the deflector shields covering them.[6] When unshielded, even a single hit from a laser weapon could tear apart entire hull sections and expose a starship's inner workings; such damage could be catastrophic for the ship and required immediate maintenance.[7]
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