You know, I normally am against ship-type variants, but this one I could get behind. Tweak the shape a little, cut out some weapons and internal module slots, leave one class 5 for a fuel scoop, another 5 for an extra tank, three 4's for shields and a pair of maintenance modules, bump it to the highest class FSD, 6 or maybe 7 if it's ever going to exist. Add a special utility mount for a scanner nothing else can mount--maybe use this for planetary landings in some way. It'll need good turn rate in supercruise but sublight maneuvering is not that critical for an explorer, though it should have good straight-line speed so it can run away from psychos in Open... Yeah, I can totally see an Orca variant as a pure exploration ship. I'd sure enjoy it more than the plug-ugly DBE; nobody wants to spend a week in a coffin. Even a flying coffin.
While FSD range isn't strictly required for exploration ships, it certainly does save time getting out to unexplored space.
