Quote:The OV-200 in 2064

The venerable OV-200 series space shuttle remains in service in and around the Sol system and the nearer interstellar colonies. While the ships built before 2025 have largely been retired and largely donated to museums across known space[1], the newer generation of shuttles continue operating much as they always have done. Overshadowed by the newer OV-400 and -500 series explorers and utility spacecraft[2] in recent years, the 200 series remains one of the top performers in Fenspace and a shining reminder of the early pioneer years.

While the original 200 series ships were largely scientific research vessels, most of the shuttle's modern work is related to support and supply missions for stations and colonies on the fringe. Out of the 55 OV-200s still in operation today, only one (OV-276 AFSC Ibn Battuta) continues to work as a first-in explorer. All the rest have been moved off the front lines to a support role. A few shuttles operate as high-end VIP transports: the oldest 200 series still flying (OV-206 SC Daedalus) started life as a personal yacht for a Lagrange millionaire and eventually became an exclusive charter tour ship.

Experts believe that the 200 series will continue to fly through 2100, if only as living museums, show displays and private bush spacecraft.

[1] To name a few: OV-201 USS Enterprise is on display at the Starfleet Museum; the Ackermanian Institution has multiple OV-200s both on display and in storage; the Museum of Martian History proudly displays OV-213-A PKGS Melchizedek; OV-215 AFSC Duyfken was donated to the NEMO Science Center in Amsterdam upon retirement.

[2] The OV-300 was a strictly notational vehicle, built in server farms in Utopia Planitia, Hephaestus and Black Mesa as a way to work out improvements in the shuttle design and test revolutionary new concepts that would eventually go into the physical 400 and 500 series. The OV-400 series is the practical heir to the shuttle legacy, a large (100m) utility vehicle, while the OV-500 series is the spiritual heir, a larger (~200m) deep space exploration craft. Both vehicles take design inspiration from Matt Jeffries' http://www.projectrho.com/SSC/index.html]Lief Ericson

Quote:The OV-100 in 2064

One would expect the remaining ships from the original hardtech Shuttle fleet would have been grounded long ago. While OV-104 Atlantis and OV-105 Endeavour have indeed been retired[3] and put on display at the Handwavium Propulsion Laboratory on 2709 Sagan and Stellvia Corporation Headquarters on 704 Interamnia, respectively, OV-103 Discovery remains in service – still flying and still carrying out scientific experiments, but now based out her private hangar on 2579 Spartacus. Discovery was always the hardest-working original Shuttle, and the experts at the Vesta Institute of Handwavium Studies believe her wavejob reinforced her hull along with that part of her history; "Dizzy" shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.

[3] The spaceframes only; their AIs have been moved into OV-500 series ships with the same names.

Quote:The de-facto matriarch of the space shuttle fleet USSR Ptichka remains in service with the Sozvezdie Soviet Red Banner Fleet (Starfleet 2nd Fleet)[4] - though with a twist. While the original Buran 1.02 airframe remains intact, and seemingly as indestructible as Discovery, Ptichka's capabilities as a long-range explorer are too limited for current Starfleet operations. When the 500 series spacecraft came online, a novel solution to the problem was devised: The first craft off the line (OV-500 USSR Ptichka, or Ptichka II depending on who you ask) was extensively modified after the initial shakedown, most of the changes in the cargo/smallcraft bay to accomodate a ship the size of a 100 series shuttle. The original Ptichka was then installed in OV-500's bay, allowing the older craft's AI core to interface and assume direct control over the newer craft's systems. As one observer put it, "we've built the first mobile suit for a space shuttle.[5]"

[4] There's only so many times you can see the word 'fleet' in close succession before it starts to lose meaning. Just sayin'.
[5] Utopia engineers have offered to build another modified 500 series hull for Discovery, but Dizzy finds the idea just a little too silly for her taste.

Quote:"So, you guys are from Earth? As in, there's another Earth out there?"

"Seventeen other Earths that we've found, including ours, actually. Yours makes number eighteen. And all the various extradimensional Earths, of course, but I don't think we should count those."

"Huh."

Proginoskes Wrote:I call Overzealous Translation. Most cultures capable of imagining space travel call their planet of origin by a synonym for "soil" or "ground".

Quote:http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2006-08-16

Quote:"So, if there's so many Earths out there... which one's the real one?"

"Weeellllll..." Yori scratched her head nervously. "That's kind of a sticky question."

"Sticky, great. How sticky?"

"Obviously, we wanna say that our Earth's the original, and you wanna say your Earth's the original, right? Well, right now our best guess is 'neither.'"

"... Okay, I admit I was not expecting that, but the question still stands: which one's the original?"

"We don't know about original, but the oldest one we've found so far nuked itself into oblivion sometime in the 1970s..."

"That's not that far back for either of us."

"Yeah, except that for them, the 1970s were about a million years ago."

"I know the feeling, the 70s seem like a million years ago to me too."

Yori shook her head. "No, I mean a real million years ago."

"The 1970s."

"Yep."

"A million years ago?"

"Uhhuh."

"And you know this because...?"

"Radiocarbon dating and some very durable public art."