Aphelion

Aphelion was a sentient Lombax ship shot down on Fastoon during Tachyon's invasion. She was later repaired by Ratchet when he was stranded on Fastoon, Ratchet then continued to use her as his own ship for the events afterwards, including several instances of space combat. There were two words written in Lombax on Aphelion; one read as "Aphelion" and the second one as "angel". Her signature was 3371-Alpha.

Use by the Lombaxes
"I am sorry. My memory banks seem to have been damaged in the crash. The last thing I remember was laying down suppressive fire over the Court of Azimuth"

- The Aphelion answering Ratchet's question of the location of the Lombaxes

Aphelion was originally constructed by the Lombaxes, presumably as a defensive fighter as she was armed. It is unknown if she was created sentient, or developed the sentience over time.

During Percival Tachyon's invasion of Fastoon, Aphelion was assigned to defend the Court of Azimuth from Drophyd forces. However, she was shot down by Tachyon's soldiers, apparently using seeker ammo (which she later calls "cheating"). It was not known if Aphelion was piloted during the battle, however if she was, the pilot was probably either killed or escaped into the Lombax dimension. She was then abandoned, along with the rest of the planet, presumably because she was considered beyond repair.

Repair
"Miserable little Drophyds! I can't believe they used Seeker Ammo! Oh, what a bunch of cheats! Oh, a Lombax... I thought I'd never see one again. Thanks for reparing me."

- The Aphelion meeting Ratchet.

Many years later, Ratchet and Clank became stranded on Fastoon. While searching for a way off the planet, they came across the damaged Aphelion and found that she needed six parts to be repaired. The pair searched the planet's surface, finding the six parts needed to fix her. Upon reactivation, Aphelion thanked Ratchet for fixing her, identifying him as a Lombax. Ratchet used Aphelion 's HD-800 screen to view a Holo-Vite from Qwark inviting him to the Imperial Fight Festival on Mukow. The Aphelion took off with Ratchet and Clank to Mukow.

Under Ratchet's ownership
The Aphelion then became Ratchet's ship, taking him all over galaxy to whatever planets he needed to go to. She traveled with Ratchet and Clank to four sectors of Polaris: The Cerullean sector, the Praxus sector, the Drogol sector and the Verdigris sector. On Rykan V, the Aphelion even assisted Ratchet and Clank during a HALO jump with Cronk and Zephyr.

Voron Asteroid Belt
At the Voron Asteroid Belt, the Aphelion was used by Ratchet to destroy many Space Pirate fighters. At one point Clank used the rear-facing turret on the ship to destroy other enemy fighters. After defeating many space pirates the Aphelion with Ratchet controlling it went into combat with Puffy Pants Wallis and emerged victorious.

Rakar Star Cluster
At a later point the Space Pirates attacked Ratchet, Clank and the Aphelion again this time at the Rakar Star Cluster. Here they destroyed many more fighters and several pirate heat harvesters placed on nearby stars before facing Iron Crotch Caruso in a one on one battle.

Verdigris Black Hole
"We haven't even finished building the pub!"

- Rusty Pete commenting on the destruction of the Pegasus Outpost.

The Aphelion was involved in space combat with the pirates once more at the Verdigris Black Hole on the way to Jasindu. Ratchet decided to destroy the Pegasus Outpost on an ice moon as a "parting gift" to Captain Slag. Ratchet then piloted the Aphelion into a black hole where they confronted Greasepalms McGee. After defeating him, they arrived on Jasindu.

Return to Fastoon
"Tachyon's fighters have locked on to our position! I'm not sure we can shake them!"

- The Aphelion in the atmosphere of Fastoon.

When Ratchet, Clank and the Aphelion returned to Fastoon to defeat Tachyon and stop him from using the Dimensionator the Aphelion was nearly shot down by Drophyd fighters again. Clank suggested that the Aphelion should remove extra cargo, prompting the Aphelion to eject Ratchet and Clank from the ship. The Aphelion survived and Ratchet continued using her.

Search for Clank
During Ratchet's search for Clank, who had been taken by the Zoni, Ratchet and Talwyn traveled to Merdegraw with Aphelion. Later Ratchet and Qwark both traveled together in the Aphelion. At that point, an unknown energy wave rendered Aphelion's flight capabilities useless and, after a horrific crash, had her wings and several other parts blew off of the ship. He soon after used a Zoni device capable of containing Zoni and harnessing their energy to repair Aphelion, changing her look to that of Zoni technology. Later on she was used to travel through space and to land on moons, planets and depots once again. She was also needed for space missions and to destroy space enemies.

Light-Eating Z'Grute
"Ratchet: Hey! Thats my ship! Clank: Unhand the Aphelion right this instant! Nefarious: There goes your ride!"

- Ratchet, Clank and Nefarious in Luminopolis

The Aphelion transported Ratchet, Clank and Qwark to an awards ceremony in Luminopolis for Galactic President Qwark. This turned out to be a set up for a new plan of attack from Dr. Nefarious. However, after unleashing a Light Eating Z'Grute upon the city of Luminopolis, his plan went haywire and Ratchet, Clank, Qwark, and Nefarious himself were forced to work together in order to stop the beast. Following it's rampage on the city, the Light-Eating Z'Grute tore and bit into the Aphelion, impaling her and draining the ship's light-energy. She later survived the attack, as she reappeared at Ratchet &amp; Clank: Full Frontal Assault.

QForce
Aphelion was repaired by Ratchet after he returned to Luminopolis and she became a member of the new QForce, stationed in the Private Sector on the Starship Phoenix II.

Equipment and abilities
The Aphelion was fitted with a rapid fire cannon and a missile system which could be charged. The ship also had a rear-facing rapid fire turret which Clank used to take out enemies that were attacking from behind. A HD-800 screen, which could show the Galactic Map and other things, such as Holo-Vites was also fitted on the ship.

Aphelion had a sentient AI with a female personality and voice. She provided navigational and space combat help; she could also open the cockpit by herself and perform simple manoeuvers autonomously.

Upgrades
Aphelion could be upgraded by the Zoni. After Ratchet collected a certain amount of Zoni, Aphelion would receive an upgrade. The upgrades included weapon, armor, and thruster upgrades, as well as a Ship Tether and a forcefield known as a Quantum Reflector.
 * After Repair: Impaler Missiles
 * After Repair: Pulse Cannons
 * 9 Zoni: Harmonic Plating
 * 6 Zoni: Thrustmaster 500
 * 12 Zoni: Ship Tether
 * 15 Zoni: Kinetic Demolishers
 * 18 Zoni: Plasma Torpedoes
 * 21 Zoni: Quantum Reflector
 * 24 Zoni: Polarity Plating
 * 27 Zoni: Proton Cutters
 * 30 Zoni: Swarm Rockets
 * 35 Zoni: Xulian Overthruster

PlayStation Move Heroes
In PlayStation Move Heroes, Aphelion appears in the background of the Metropolis stage.

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
In PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Aphelion appears as Ratchet and Clank's Level 3 Super move, they jump into Aphelion and launch lasers and missiles at enemies from a first person perspective.

Behind the scenes

 * The Aphelion was voiced by Rajia Baroudi who also voiced the IRIS.
 * The name Aphelion may have come from the point in a planet's orbit; when the planet is the furthest from the sun.
 * It was confirmed that the Aphelion would return in Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time before the game's release. The Aphelion ' s new abilities in the game were also confirmed before release.

Trivia

 * In the Metropolis level in PlayStation Move Heroes, you could sometimes see Aphelion drifting in the background using her design from Tools of Destruction.
 * In the Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time manual, there is a picture of space exploration using the original Aphelion from Tools of Destruction. This indicates that Insomniac may not have originally intended to remodel her in A Crack in Time.
 * Aphelion's signature 3371-Alpha may have a connection with 1337 (due to it containing all the numbers of 1337), which in "Cyber Latin" (Internet lingo), translates to leet (elite).
 * In Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault, Aphelion's paintjob is very similar to the coulours of Ratchet, Copernicus Leslie Qwark and Clank armor at rank "Master" in Q force Campaign. The paintjob of ship may meant that she we already rank "master", also stating that she is a member of Q-Force.
 * In Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault, Aphelion doesn't talk.
 * For a brief moment in the intro for Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One bubbles can be scene coming from Aphelion.

Appearances

 * Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
 * Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty
 * Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
 * Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One
 * Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault

Non canon

 * PlayStation Move Heroes
 * PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale