The YT-1000 transport, also referred to as the YT-1000 freighter, represented a starship design intended for transporting both passengers and cargo across interstellar distances. Its design featured a circular hull, characterized by an external cockpit positioned between a set of rectangular mandibles. By 14 BBY, the YT-1000 was already considered an older model, having been in operation for over a century.
The YT-1000 freighter was designed as a starship with a saucer-like shape, featuring a centrally located cockpit at the front, nestled between a pair of mandibles. This cockpit incorporated large transparisteel windows, which were adapted from the canopies of Barloz-class freighter cockpits. The freighter had a length of 28 meters and required a crew of two for operation. It was provisioned with consumables sufficient for two months and could achieve speeds of 740 kilometers per hour. Standard YT-1000 models were equipped with sublight engines, a navigation computer, a sensor suite, and a primary Class 3 hyperdrive, complemented by a Class 16 backup hyperdrive. The freighter was armed with a typical laser cannon. The cost of a new YT-1000 was 85,000 credits, while used models were priced at 20,000.
The YT-1000 functioned as both a freighter and a transport vessel. It had the capacity to accommodate up to four passengers and could carry a cargo load of 75 metric tons.
The Corellian Engineering Corporation conceived the YT-1000 freighter as an innovative departure from their YG series, aiming to provide a potential successor to the aging Barloz-class freighter. The design drew inspiration from the ancient XS stock light freighter. Consequently, the YT-1000 was engineered with a saucer-shaped hull and a cockpit positioned centrally on top.
CEC introduced the YT-1000 in a limited production run, which garnered largely favorable feedback. Surveys indicated that consumers appreciated the YT-1000's design but expressed a willingness to invest more in a larger, more adaptable vessel.
The YT-1200 transport and the YT-1210 transport followed the YT-1000 freighter. While neither represented a substantial advancement over the YT-1000, they introduced the side-mounted cockpit design that would become a hallmark of subsequent YT-series freighters.
During the Age of the Empire in 14 BBY, an Imperial Moff named Wilhuff Tarkin and Darth Vader seized a YT-1000 freighter known as the Reticent. The Reticent, which was at least a century old, belonged to a Koorivar captain who had acquired it from an information broker named Knotts in 17 BBY.
Within the established Star Wars canon, the YT-1000 made its initial appearance in the 2014 novel Tarkin by James Luceno. In the Star Wars Legends continuity, the freighter debuted in Gamemaster Toolkit: Live-Action Adventures, a gamebook published by West End Games in 1996.