The Ithullan Ore Hauler first took to the spacelanes 4,000 years ago to bring valuable ore to the deeper core worlds from what was then the frontier of charted space. It owes its unusual appearance to a unique design and construction philosophy. These ore haulers are built using the carapace of Ithullan Colossus Wasps as the ship's hull. The wasps are large insectoids that live in asteroid fields in the Airon sector. Once the carapaces of dead wasps were recovered by prospectors and miners, the shipwrights would convert the three distinct sections into ship modules. The head would be used for the bridge, life support control, and crew quarters; the naturally spacious thorax would be used as a cargo bay; and the abdomen housed the engines and other critical systems. The unbelievably resilient exoskeleton not only kept the crew and cargo safe from the vacuum, but also protected the ship against asteroid impact, light laser fire, and the stress of hyperspace travel.

The Ithullan Ore Hauler gradually was replaced by more conventional freighters as the Airon sector became integrated into 'civilized' space. Lighter and more resilient alloys became more affordable and accessible, allowing shipwrights and freight captains to design and fly ships that appeared more respectable to their core world clients. The Colossus Wasps, once brought near extinction, have rebounded in recent millennia, allowing enterprising ship designers the opportunity to revive this ancient technique and design.