Puddle jumper
Overview
In the science fiction television show Stargate Atlantis, the Puddle Jumper is a small craft capable of space travel created by the Ancient's. Several of these ships were discovered in the Atlantis hangar, located above the control room in the central tower, accessing the Stargate through a retractable door in the room's floor. The hangar bay is also a maintenance facility for up to twelve of the craft. There are six bays on the main floor of the two-story structure.It's name is a pun on the ship's ability to travel through Stargate event horizons, which visually resemble pools of water. It was named by Major John Sheppard, an Air Force pilot, in the Stargate Atlantis pilot Rising. The nomenclature of the ship was protested by Dr. Rodney McKay, who preferred the name "Gateship," but Sheppard's name appears to have been favoured.
Design
The Puddle Jumper is a small cylindrical ship smaller then a Tel'tak but large enough to transport a small strike force. Like the Tel’tak it is split into two sections, the hull and cargo hold with a bulk head door to separate them.This door is capable of retaining atmosphere against the vacuum of space as seen in episode 119, (The Siege) or holding back the pressure of deep ocean water as seen in episode 214 (Grace Under Pressure.) The vessel is tube-shaped with an angled front and rear allowing it to slide perfectly through open Stargates. Entry and exit to the Puddle Jumper is provided through the use of the cargo bay door on the rear. The cargo bay door can be lowered and raised in normal operation or can be jettisoned by use of the emergency release located in the rear section of the cargo bay as seen in episode 104 (Thirty-Eight Minutes). The cargo area also serves for additional seating within the jumper for more than the flight crew. It is safe to assume that the Jumpers have limited power source due to the power depletion of Jumper six in episode 214 (Grace Under Pressure). The power source of a jumper is unknown, but it presumably recharges upon return to Atlantis.
Propulsion system
Puddle Jumpers have two retractable thruster pods that power the craft to sublight speeds allowing interplanetary travel, and has an inertial dampening system to shield its passengers from sudden accelerations and stops. This system can also alter the weight of the Puddle Jumper. While the thruster pods are responsible for propelling the craft, the pods must be closed to allow the ship to fit through the Stargate. Limited thrust is apparently possible with retracted pods, as seen on several occasions in the Atlantis control room. The thruster pods also house at least eight Ancient Drone Weapons, and must be extended to use the weapons. There are also control crystals through out the jumper in places like be hind the benches and seats, in cubbies, and most likely on the control panels that even a Wraith can use as seen in episode 1.14 ( The Defiant One).
Mental interface
Puddle Jumpers have a mental interface that essentially reads the pilot's thoughts and controls the ship based on those commands, assisted by two control joysticks built into the ship's "dashboard". Like a great deal of Ancient technology found in the Pegasus and Milky Way galaxies, the Puddle Jumper requires the user to have the ATA gene but after being initialized is useable to all.
Puddle Jumper DHD
The Puddle Jumper DHDs are are very similar to the Atlantis DHD with the exception of the extra control-crystal. The ships DHD is used for travel through an orbital stargate possibly in conjunction with a Stargate Power Node since orbital Stargates have no constant DHD. These DHDs seem to be tailored to the galaxy they will be used in since the Puddle Jumpers from Atlantis have the Pegasus set of glyphs where as the Gate Ship in Stargate SG-1 had the Milky Way set.
Shields
There have been two shields used with a puddle jumper. The first which seems to be the original Jumper shield was activated by a Wraith in episode 1.14 ("The Defiant One"). The shield was invisible until touched as it then turned into a circular globe encompassing the Jumper and throwing the assailant over five feet away. The second shield was designed by the scientist at Atlantis reversing the steps they used to cloak the city. The shield looks like a multi-colored aurora that sways around in gentle waves. This shield presumably uses more power then the Wraith shield but this is speculation as the modifications done by the Wraith are still a mystery.
Cloaking generator
The Puddle Jumpers utilize an advanced cloaking generator. This generator is used not only to power the cloaking but other things such as shields. The generator can only perform one option or the other, but it is theorized that if an extra generator was added then a Jumper would be able to cloak and use the shield simultaneously but has never been tried. Also note that it would require more power to power two generators then one.
Submersible properties
The Puddle Jumper can also be used as underwater submersible using the drive pods as the means of propulsion as seen in episode 2.14 (Grace Under Pressure). A damaged Jumper can dive to little over twelve-hundred feet without a shield before the front window cracks, however with a fully operational jumper it may be possible to function deeper without a shield. Using the jumper as an under water vessel requires a copious amount of power. A damaged Jumper has a minimum of three to four hours before its power source becomes completely depleted. The heat the jumper puts out can be adjusted and the inertial dampeners deactivated to reserve power.
Time Jumper
Originally, one of the Puddle Jumpers had an experimental time travel device installed. The Ancient who built the time machine was named Janus. In the Stargate Atlantis episode 1.15 Before I Sleep, it was discovered by some of the alternate Pegasus team members, who accidentally went back in time. Due to concerns about altering history any more, it was evidently dismantled by the Ancients before departing for Earth. However, there was another secretly built, to be found later by SG-1, who used it to go back to ancient Egypt for a ZPM in the Stargate SG-1 two-part episode 8.19/8.20 (Moebius).