Hangar Bay, Cargo Hold & Steerage Cargo

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Humabout

Hangar Bay: Serenity's cargo hold, what a C-130 offers.

A Hangar Bay would be space within a vehicle specifically for storing other, smaller, vehicles. It tends to have facilities, either within it or associated, for launching and recovering said smaller vehicles. So the hangar deck of a present-day aircraft carrier would be a hangar bay, and has lifts for moving aircraft to the flight deck, where the aircraft can be launched and recovered. I have no idea about Serenity, but a C-130 has cargo, rather than hangar, space.

Originally Posted by Humabout

Cargo Hold: Where the baggage goes in a 747, the hold of a fishing boat, etc.

A cargo space is anywhere intended for carrying stuff you are transporting, a "hold" is specifically part of a ship.

Originally Posted by Humabout

Steerage Cargo: Where everyone hid in the Millennium Falcon in Episode IV.

"Steerage cargo" is not a well-defined term, unless you're referring to some specific game system, in which case, mentioning it would help. "Steerage" was historically a type of passenger accommodation, described in detail here.