Guide:DY sublight series: Difference between revisions

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The Dinyan-Yoyodyne Conglomerate '''DY series''' space transport vessels represent a continuous chain of shipbuilding tradition, from [[Earth]]’s first practical commercially produced manned interplanetary craft in the [[1990s]] to the colonization and cargo ships of the late [[23rd century]]. Considering that for the first hundred years of operations, all the various types of spacecraft in the DY series were vastly inferior to the ships of most extraterrestrial races and alliances of the time, it seems rather curious that they would in fact propel Earth into becoming a major military and exploratory power in the region. The sociopolitical reasons for the success of Earth’s colonial expansion have been exhaustively discussed elsewhere, but these would not have come to play had Dinyan-Yoyodyne not produced these humble colonization vessels in notable quantity.
The Dinyan-Yoyodyne Conglomerate DY series space transport vessels represent a continuous chain of shipbuilding tradition, from Earth’s first practical commercially produced manned interplanetary craft in the 1990s to the colonization and cargo ships of the late 23rd century. Considering that for the first hundred years of operations, all the various types of spacecraft in the DY series were vastly inferior to the ships of most extraterrestrial races and alliances of the time, it seems rather curious that they would in fact propel Earth into becoming a major military and exploratory power in the region. The sociopolitical reasons for the success of Earth’s colonial expansion have been exhaustively discussed elsewhere, but these would not have come to play had Dinyan-Yoyodyne not produced these humble colonization vessels in notable quantity.


The experimental DY-50 was an early attempt at a ship capable of interplanetary travel at a then incredible delta-v of 0.005c. Two ships of this type were constructed in [[1989]] in the province of Xuhan in the country of China, part of the vast number of technology breakthroughs of that time that were the result of a long international, clandestine eugenics program. The genius of the selectively bred, chemically and genetically augmented scientists could not be hidden for long: in [[1992]], the results were dramatically made public as these supermen took over most of South and Southeast Asia. Despite an initial civilized establishing of diplomatic relations, the rulers soon began an endless cycle of revolutions and coups in a quest for ultimate power. But many leading nations still turned a blind eye on the supermen’s cruel reign, lest the stream of new technology and scientific breakthroughs from their labs end. As an example of this tolerance, mass production of DY spaceships was continued in China, and also expanded to Russia and the United States.
The experimental DY-50 was an early attempt at a ship capable of interplanetary travel at a then incredible Δv of 0.005c. Two ships of this type were constructed in 1989 in the province of Xuhan in the country of China, part of the vast number of technology breakthroughs of that time that were the result of a long international, clandestine eugenics program. The genius of the selectively bred, chemically and genetically augmented scientists could not be hidden for long: in 1992, the results were dramatically made public as these supermen took over most of South and Southeast Asia. Despite an initial civilized establishing of diplomatic relations, the rulers soon began an endless cycle of revolutions and coups in a quest for ultimate power. But many leading nations still turned a blind eye on the supermen’s cruel reign, lest the stream of new technology and scientific breakthroughs from their R&D centers end. As an example of this tolerance, mass production of DY spaceships was continued in China, and also expanded to Russia and the United States.


[[Image:DY-100 4.jpg|left|300px|thumb|An early model DY-100 blasts out of Earth’s atmosphere on chemical thrust, utilizing a finned booster stage typical of these pathfinding vessels. In the later DY-100 ships, this stage would be replaced by an improved fission propulsion module that featured no aerodynamic surfaces and only served as dead weight during liftoff from Earth. In space, the stage would unfold a series of radiator panels and be energized to propel the ship to previously undreamed-of accelerations and speeds. Later vessels would introduce even more advanced sublight propulsion systems, including fusion power, and would serve as a sturdy basis for warp-capable colonizer vessels as well. Note the smooth instrumented nose cone of this vessel, as well as the partial cluster of modules complete with their forward atmospheric fairings – apparently, a circumlunar mission not involving independent orbit-to-surface operations was intended for this DY-100.]]
[[Image:DY 100 blastoff.png|left|300px|thumb|An early model DY-100 blasts out of Earth’s atmosphere on chemical thrust, utilizing a finned booster stage typical of
these pathfinding vessels. In the later DY-100 ships, this stage would be replaced by an improved fission propulsion
module that featured no aerodynamic surfaces and only served as dead weight during liftoff from Earth. In space, the stage
would unfold a series of radiator panels and be energized to propel the ship to previously undreamed-of accelerations and
speeds. Later vessels in the family would introduce even more advanced sublight propulsion systems, including fusion
power, and would serve as a sturdy basis for warp-capable colonizer vessels as well. Note the smooth instrumented nose
cone of this vessel, as well as the partial cluster of payload modules complete with their forward atmospheric fairings –
apparently, a circumlunar mission not involving independent orbit-to-surface operations was intended for this DY-100.]]


In the hectic years of the rule of Khan Noonian Singh, perhaps the most famous of the victors of superhuman wars of supremacy, technologies flourished in a way that put to shame the industrial revolution and the birth of computer technology. There are persistent rumors of longevity drugs and antigravity devices, perhaps even time travel methods, having been developed by Khan’s or his less civilized usurpers’ scientists; given our fragmentary knowledge of that era, no such rumors can be completely discredited. What is certain, however, is that spaceflight technology took a major step forward. Super-efficient reaction drives were built for DY-100 fission-powered interplanetary craft expanded from the early cislunar DY-50 hulls, and used to found a spaceborne industry for Singh’s kingdom. As the movement spread to northern Africa, several spaceports were built there to support this industry. Other countries were sold parts of this technology, usually heavily laden with propaganda and sometimes also with hidden psychochemical weapons.
In the hectic years of the rule of Khan Noonian Singh, perhaps the most famous of the victors of superhuman wars of supremacy, technologies flourished in a way that put to shame the industrial revolution and the birth of computer technology. There are persistent rumors of longevity drugs and antigravity devices, perhaps even time travel methods, having been developed by Khan’s or his less civilized usurpers’ scientists; given our fragmentary knowledge of that era, no such rumors can be completely discredited. What is certain, however, is that spaceflight technology took a major step forward. Superefficient reaction drives were built for DY-100 fission-powered interplanetary craft expanded from the early cislunar DY-50 hulls, and used to found a spaceborne industry for Singh’s kingdom. As the movement spread to northern Africa, several spaceports were built there to support this industry. Other countries were sold parts of this technology, usually heavily laden with propaganda and sometimes also with hidden psychochemical weapons.


DY-100 was an ingenious design featuring a pencil-like central hull with two support decks and two full-width longitudal zero-gee habitat decks, a ring of wedgelike jettisonable fuel tanks or cargo pods, a one-, two- or three-chamber solid-core fission rocket with adjoining radiator assemblies and possible chemical boosters, aerodynamic surfaces and other mission-specific additions at the stern, and an offset control/docking tower at the bow. For planetary take-off, the ship used a cluster of four to six huge solid booster rockets attached aft of the fuel wedges. While this complex configuration required an elaborate gantry system to stack, the simplicity of the propulsion system facilitated rapid launch preparations; a DY hull and a set of boosters could be taken from storage, equipped for the mission, stacked and launched in less than two days if necessary.
DY-100 was an ingenious design featuring a pencil-like central hull with two support decks and two full-width longitudal zero-gee habitat decks, a ring of wedgelike jettisonable fuel tanks or cargo pods, a one-, two- or three-chamber solid-core fission rocket with adjoining radiator assemblies and possible chemical boosters, aerodynamic surfaces and other mission-specific additions at the stern, and an offset control/docking tower at the bow. For planetary takeoff, the ship used a cluster of four to six huge solid booster rockets attached aft of the fuel wedges. While this complex configuration required an elaborate gantry system to stack, the simplicity of the propulsion system facilitated rapid launch preparations; a DY hull and a set of boosters could be taken from storage, equipped for the mission, stacked and launched in less than two days if necessary.


‘Landings’ were theoretically possible on low-gravity worlds like asteroids and the moons of Mars, both of which were targeted by manned missions in the 1990s and [[2000s]]. It was usual to utilize a dedicated landing craft housed inside a bow shroud or carried in place of a cargo container for true orbit-to-surface operations, for example on Earth’s Moon. No DY ships ever returned to Earth surface, but were refueled in orbit by dedicated tankers launched on simple throttleable-combustion single-stage solid boosters not unlike those used to loft the ships themselves to space. The boosters were also used for a variety of other missions, most importantly for launching orbital laser platforms to bolster the military muscle of the supermen. Between [[1990]] and [[1995]], the rate of orbital launches from Earth grew by almost 200% every year, and more than twenty interplanetary launches were performed between [[1993]] and [[1996]] alone, mostly to [[Mars]] where the Singh hegemony unsuccessfully tried to establish a colony of supermen.
‘Landings’ were theoretically possible on low-gravity worlds like asteroids and the moons of Mars, both of which were targeted by manned missions in the 1990s and 2000s. It was usual to utilize a dedicated landing craft housed inside a bow shroud or carried in place of a cargo container for true orbit-to-surface operations, for example on Earth’s Moon. No DY ships ever returned to Earth surface, but were refueled in orbit by dedicated tankers launched on simple, throttleable-combustion single-stage solid boosters not unlike those used to loft the ships themselves to space. The boosters were also used for a variety of other missions, most importantly for launching orbital laser platforms to bolster the military muscle of the supermen. Between 1990 and 1995, the rate of orbital launches from Earth grew by almost 200% every year, and more than twenty interplanetary launches were performed between 1993 and 1996 alone, mostly to Mars where the Great Khanate unsuccessfully tried to establish a colony of supermen.


Theoretically capable of acceleration to 0.4 lightspeed with full fuel load and minimum cargo, the DY-100 could also carry 6,000 tons of material swiftly across interplanetary distances; had the relatively stable Singh rule continued for another decade, the ships would no doubt have established a systemwide industrial base for the supermen. But the final breakthrough in interplanetary travel came just before the collapse of the Singh kingdom. As the surrounding countries finally prepared to join and end the constant war between the genetic supermen, Khan’s scientists perfected the first practical long term cryogenic sleep technology, earlier used only to preserve biological samples or even dead bodies in bizarre attempts at afterlife. And when the walls of Khanton came crumbling down in 1996, a group of Singh’s followers were able to escape on one of the final-batch DY-100 ships they had prepared for interstellar ‘seeding’ operations. No one outside the Khan regime suspected that these ships would be capable of interstellar travel, though – Khan’s escape was only revealed [[2266|270]] years later, when his ship was found adrift in space in the [[Mutara sector|Mutara sector]], some fifty lightyears away from Earth.
Theoretically capable of acceleration to 0.4 lightspeed with full fuel load and minimum cargo, the DY-100 could also carry 6,000 tons of material swiftly across interplanetary distances; had the relatively stable Singh rule continued for another decade, the ships would no doubt have established a systemwide industrial base for the supermen. But the final breakthrough in interplanetary travel came just before the collapse of the Singh kingdom. As the surrounding countries finally prepared to join and end the constant war between the genetic supermen, scientists at Delhi perfected the first practical long term cryogenic sleep technology, earlier used only to preserve biological samples or even dead bodies in bizarre attempts at afterlife. And when the walls of Khanton came crumbling down in 1996, a group of Singh’s followers were able to escape on one of the final-batch DY-100 ships they had prepared for interplanetary ‘seeding’ operations. No one outside the regime suspected that these ships would be capable of interstellar travel, though – Khan Singh’s escape was only revealed 270 years later, when his ship was found adrift in space in the Mutara sector, some fifty lightyears away from Earth.


The Singh kingdom left some two dozen DY craft and their associated launch equipment lying around in various states of construction, an enormous technology base for the rest of the world even though the original Dinyan-Yoyodyne Conglomerate factories and labs now lay in ruins. In addition to two active ships operated by the USAF and one by the RRKS, half a dozen abandoned Chinese-flagged vessels were adrift in Earth orbit. International missions were mounted to salvage these craft; no such effort was made on the doomed Martian conquistadors. It has been speculated that some of these ships, also equipped with crude cryogenics, may have allowed more supermen to escape the way Khan did, but no evidence has been found to support such speculation.
The Singh kingdom left some two dozen DY craft and their associated launch equipment lying around in various states of construction, an enormous technology base for the rest of the world even though the original Dinyan-Yoyodyne Conglomerate factories and labs now lay in ruins. In addition to two active ships operated by USAF and one by RRKS, half a dozen abandoned Chinese-flagged vessels were adrift in Earth orbit. International missions were mounted to salvage these craft; no such effort was made on the doomed Martian conquistadors. It has been speculated that some of these ships, also equipped with crude cryogenics, may have allowed more supermen to escape the way Khan did, but no evidence has been found to support such speculation. ‘Upgrades’ and ‘refinements’ to the original design yielded mixed results. The DY-120 series from
the 2020s was a moderate success, yet the further enlarged DY-130 failed to perform according to specifications, reflecting the science community’s poor theoretical understanding of the original inertia manipulation breakthroughs. More than four hundred and fifty DY-120 and -140 series ships were eventually finished by commercial operators; a total of 43 saw UEDP service under the respective class names Brenton and Helsinki. The unsuccessful DY-130 in turn spawned the DY-135 military project, half a dozen high speed patrol vessels armed with four laser cannon and a missile tube and backing up the slower Liberty class in defending Sol in the late 21st century.


More than fifty DY-200 series ships were later finished by commercial operators for extended interplanetary operations, featuring an improved gas-core fission powerplant assembly that required only 50% of the propellant mass of the original design. For translunar missions, a mission spacecraft was added to the booster stage, propelled by a conventional fission-powered ion engine or, on Jovian or Saturnian expeditions, a fission nuclear thermal rocket. For lunar runs, a simple landing tug was carried; up to 16 cargo wedges could be externally mounted onto the booster stage, and the tug could carry four at a time down to the lunar surface. These ships were able to fulfill mankind’s dream of an offworld colony, too, running supplies to Luna from asteroid mining rigs.
[[Image:DY200.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Two DY-142 improved lunar transports orbit Earth’s sole satellite, with a tug about to lower four cargo modules down to
lunar surface. A DY-B5 interplanetary booster is being fueled in the background, and carries the Ares III mission
spacecraft Lucifer for the 2032 mission to Mars, the thirteenth successful manned sortie to reach that planet. All the
vessels are equipped with advanced fission propulsion modules, distinguishable from each other mainly by their differing
radiator panel assemblies. Conversions from one standard to another were common as well, a DY-B booster mission being
a likely end for a veteran transport of another model.]]


[[Image:DY200.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Two DY-202 improved lunar transports orbit Earth’s sole satellite, with a tug about to lower four cargo modules down to the lunar surface. A DY-240 interplanetary booster is being fueled in the background, and carries the ''Ares III'' mission spacecraft for the [[2032]] mission to Mars, the thirteenth successful manned sortie to reach that planet. All the vessels are equipped with advanced fission propulsion modules, distinguishable from each other mainly by their differing radiator panel assemblies. Conversions from one standard to another were common as well, a DY-B booster mission being a likely end for a veteran transport of another model.]]
The extended interplanetary operations of the second generation of DY vessels were facilitated by an improved Amjet gas-core fission powerplant assembly that required only 50% of the propellant mass of the original design. For lunar runs, a simple landing tug was carried; up to 16 cargo wedges could be externally mounted onto the core stage, and the tug could carry four at a time down to lunar surface.


The permanent settling of [[Mars]] was once again put on hold, however. Far more interesting dreams were now taking its place, as the wave of probes built with the new technology began sending back evidence of near-Earthlike worlds in this area of space.
For fast translunar missions, standard practice still called for a mission spacecraft to be added to the booster stage. The Apex, Afrodite and later Ares “upper stages” utilized a conventional fission-powered
ion engine for regular flights to and from Venus and Mars, while the much heavier Aventeurs relied on a cluster of the same nuclear thermal rockets that propelled the booster stages when launching on “Grand Tours” to the outer planets. The Aventeurs were also able to fulfill mankind’s dream of an offworld colony, running a steady stream of supplies to the Moon from asteroid mining rigs, as well as setting up automated bases at Ganymede.


As the secret of faster-than-light travel was revealed to humanity, warp technology was quickly added to the DY design simply by altering the aft propulsion module. Popular upgrades included the DY-430 and DY-500 with a single inboard warp coil and an enlarged forward hull, but lacking the cargo grapples; the larger DY-730 (''Bremen'' and ''Gardner'' classes in civilian use, ''Tycho'' in UE Starfleet service) and DY-950 (''Grove'' class in civilian use, ''Manchester'' as UESF tender) featuring twin FWA 4b coils and a large fusion powerplant, and a completely redesigned forward hull; and the DY-1200 (''Cimarron'' class), with three FWA 5 coils. The largest vessels had the capacity to establish a fully functional 500-person colony across distances of up to 100 lightyears. Before, during and following the Romulan war, these ships formed the second major ‘Gold Rush’ of Earth colonists, carrying hopeful settlers to [[Gourami]] and [[Nebed]] sectors and pushing Earth zone of influence far antispinwards.
[[Image:DY-500.jpg|left|300px|thumb|The first of the Grand Tours. Christopher, Fontana and O’Herlihy launched on Aventeur I, the Lewis and Clark (2009),
riding via Jupiter (2014) to Saturn (2020) with a payload of 12 scientists in deep cryosleep. It was only at the return of the
spacecraft, in 2039, that reports were released on the team’s discovery of evidence of alien mining at Enceladus and
Dione. By that time, the Aventeur design was propulsively completely outdated: Lagan, Murray and Ulrich and their
coldsleep chattel on Aventeur V, the Frémont, were actually recalled halfway to Neptune when it became evident that they
would be preceded there by expeditions launched much later.]]  


A typical colonization mission would involve a promising star system being picked from the accumulating database; a DY series vessel being stocked with the gear needed for settling on a class M planet, in the hopes that one would exist in the target system; the colonists being loaded aboard mostly under stasis, with a small operating crew awake; the ship being launched, and spending years or decades in transit; and finally, a planetfall being made, a colony founded, and a transmitter built for sending back to Earth a triumphant message of success (unless the colonists aimed for complete isolation and independence, a goal of some 20% of the missions).
The permanent settling of Mars was once again put on hold, however. Far more interesting dreams were now taking its place, as the wave of probes built with the new technology began sending back evidence of near-Earthlike worlds in this area of space.
 
[[Image:DY-500.jpg|left|300px|thumb|DY-500 vessel ''Mariposa'' in launch configuration, [[2123]]. Note scabbed-on modern navigational sensors on command tower, as well as the ventrally mounted hull extension that housed improved life support gear and consumables. Sublight and low-warp colonization vessels of this or derived types were produced until [[2188]], and some are still believed to be in transit. Surprisingly few disasters befell these extremely primitive vessels – a colonization mission success rate of 58% is reported.]]
 
Having delivered their payload, the ships were generally left idle until the colony would start producing a commodity that needed to be shipped back to Earth. When the time came, the old colonizer would be the ideal choice for ore carrier – automated operations would negate the need to maintain the often finicky life support systems, and the sturdy propulsion machinery could well remain operational for centuries. By the early [[23rd century]], faster commercial vessels would finally take over the cargo carrier role from the old colonizers, but several DY-500 and especially DY-1200 ships would continue in this role until the [[2280s]] and beyond.
 
However, all that was in the far future of the [[2030s]], as mankind slowly moved towards the next level of space travel – manned interstellar exploration.




Revision as of 13:19, 16 January 2014

DY-100 interplanetary transport
DY series (sublight)
Class Overview
Category interplanetary transports
Operational 1989 - 2289
Constructed 61 total:
  • 2 Shuguang (DY-50, PRC)
  • 4 Vayu (DY-100, ISRO)
  • 12 Kaitouzhe (DY-100, PRC)
  • 21 Zeus (DY-100, ECSN)
  • 18 Copernicus (DY-100, USAF)
  • 2 Iskra (DY-100, RRKS)
  • 17 Atlatl (DY-B, ISA)
  • 48 Atlatl (DY-B, UEDP)
  • 31 Brenton (DY-120, UEDP)
  • 6 Black Mamba (DY-135, UEDP)
  • 12 Helsinki (DY-140, UEDP)
Dimensions
Length
  • 107.6m (DY-100)
  • 149.0m (DY-135)
Beam
  • 48.8m (DY-100)
  • 30.1m (DY-135)
Height
  • 32.3m (DY-100)
  • 30.3m (DY-135)
Mass
  • 2,200 tons (DY-50)
  • 2,720 tons (DY-100)
  • 3,500 tons (DY-110, typical)
  • 2,170 tons (DY-B)
  • 4,100 tons (DY-120, typical)
  • 3,850 tons (DY-135)
  • 5,200 tons (DY-140, typical)
Performance
Max Speed
  • 0.005c (DY-50)
  • 0.4c (DY-100, -110, -B)
  • 0.5c (DY-120, -140)
  • 0.75c (DY-135)
Endurance
  • 4 months (DY-50)
  • 1 year (DY-100, -110, -135)
  • 1.5 years (DY-120, -140)
  • 5+ years (all cryosleep variants)
Complement
Crew
  • 2 (DY-50)
  • 24 (DY-100, -110, typical)
  • 29 (DY-120, -140, typical)
  • 20 (DY-135)
Passengers
  • 20 (DY-100 w/ cryogenics)
  • 100 (DY-100 w/ cryogenics)
  • 30 (DY-120, typical)
  • 500 (DY-140, typical)


Tactical Systems
Beam Weapons
  • none (standard)
  • experimental lasers (select early vessels)
  • TDM-8, -13 and -16.2 class plasma cannons (UEDP transport variants)
  • 4x laser emitters (DY-135)
Missile Weapons
  • experimental missiles (select early vessels)
  • 1x nuclear missile launcher (36 missiles) (DY-135)
Other Weapons experimental railguns or mines (select early vessels)
Shields
  • normally none
  • glass-cloud anti-laser shields (on some 21st c. vessels)
  • reflective armor (on some 21st c. vessels)
Laboratories
  • typically none
  • various (mission dependent)
Auxiliary Craft various (mission dependent)
Canonicity
Design TOS, TNG (Aridas Sofia, et al.)
Name TOS, TNG (Aridas Sofia, et al., own)
History TOS, TNG (own, adapting TOS, TNG and SFC)



Apex mission spacecraft
Apex
Class Overview
Category mission spacecraft
Operational 1991 - 2008
Constructed 12
Dimensions
Length 107.6m
Beam 48.8m
Height 32.3m
Mass 2,810 tons
Performance
Max Speed 0.4c
Endurance 3 years
Complement
Crew 6
Passengers 6 (cryosleep)


Tactical Systems
Shields none
Laboratories 1x planetary sciences
Auxiliary Craft 1 Venus (or Mars) lander


Afrodite mission spacecraft
Afrodite
Class Overview
Category mission spacecraft
Operational 2001-2047
Constructed 22
Dimensions
Length 61.2m
Beam 97.6m
Height 6.6m
Mass 680 tons
Performance
Max Speed 0.4c
Endurance 3 months
Complement
Crew 2
Passengers 8


Tactical Systems
Shields normally none
Laboratories 1x planetary sciences
Auxiliary Craft 1 Venus lander or 2 asteroid landers


Aventeur mission spacecraft
Aventeur
Class Overview
Category mission spacecraft
Operational 2008-2039
Constructed 6
Dimensions
Length 126.0m
Beam 28.5m (plus antennas)
Height 28.5m (plus antennas)
Mass 2,810 tons
Performance
Max Speed 0.4c
Endurance
  • 8 months (w/o cryosleep)
  • up to 30 years (w/ cryosleep)
Complement
Crew 3
Passengers 12 (cryosleep)


Tactical Systems
Shields normally none
Laboratories 2x planetary sciences
Auxiliary Craft 2 exoatmospheric landers, 2 work pods


Ares mission spacecraft
Ares
Class Overview
Category mission spacecraft
Operational 2030-2048
Constructed 8
Dimensions
Length 37.3m
Beam 48.8m
Height 6.6m
Mass 92 tons
Performance
Max Speed 0.4c
Endurance 4 months
Complement
Crew 2
Passengers 4-10


Tactical Systems
Shields EM fields (4T)
Laboratories 1x planetary sciences
Auxiliary Craft 1 ballistic Mars lander, 1 aerodynamic Mars lander


The Dinyan-Yoyodyne Conglomerate DY series space transport vessels represent a continuous chain of shipbuilding tradition, from Earth’s first practical commercially produced manned interplanetary craft in the 1990s to the colonization and cargo ships of the late 23rd century. Considering that for the first hundred years of operations, all the various types of spacecraft in the DY series were vastly inferior to the ships of most extraterrestrial races and alliances of the time, it seems rather curious that they would in fact propel Earth into becoming a major military and exploratory power in the region. The sociopolitical reasons for the success of Earth’s colonial expansion have been exhaustively discussed elsewhere, but these would not have come to play had Dinyan-Yoyodyne not produced these humble colonization vessels in notable quantity.

The experimental DY-50 was an early attempt at a ship capable of interplanetary travel at a then incredible Δv of 0.005c. Two ships of this type were constructed in 1989 in the province of Xuhan in the country of China, part of the vast number of technology breakthroughs of that time that were the result of a long international, clandestine eugenics program. The genius of the selectively bred, chemically and genetically augmented scientists could not be hidden for long: in 1992, the results were dramatically made public as these supermen took over most of South and Southeast Asia. Despite an initial civilized establishing of diplomatic relations, the rulers soon began an endless cycle of revolutions and coups in a quest for ultimate power. But many leading nations still turned a blind eye on the supermen’s cruel reign, lest the stream of new technology and scientific breakthroughs from their R&D centers end. As an example of this tolerance, mass production of DY spaceships was continued in China, and also expanded to Russia and the United States.

An early model DY-100 blasts out of Earth’s atmosphere on chemical thrust, utilizing a finned booster stage typical of these pathfinding vessels. In the later DY-100 ships, this stage would be replaced by an improved fission propulsion module that featured no aerodynamic surfaces and only served as dead weight during liftoff from Earth. In space, the stage would unfold a series of radiator panels and be energized to propel the ship to previously undreamed-of accelerations and speeds. Later vessels in the family would introduce even more advanced sublight propulsion systems, including fusion power, and would serve as a sturdy basis for warp-capable colonizer vessels as well. Note the smooth instrumented nose cone of this vessel, as well as the partial cluster of payload modules complete with their forward atmospheric fairings – apparently, a circumlunar mission not involving independent orbit-to-surface operations was intended for this DY-100.

In the hectic years of the rule of Khan Noonian Singh, perhaps the most famous of the victors of superhuman wars of supremacy, technologies flourished in a way that put to shame the industrial revolution and the birth of computer technology. There are persistent rumors of longevity drugs and antigravity devices, perhaps even time travel methods, having been developed by Khan’s or his less civilized usurpers’ scientists; given our fragmentary knowledge of that era, no such rumors can be completely discredited. What is certain, however, is that spaceflight technology took a major step forward. Superefficient reaction drives were built for DY-100 fission-powered interplanetary craft expanded from the early cislunar DY-50 hulls, and used to found a spaceborne industry for Singh’s kingdom. As the movement spread to northern Africa, several spaceports were built there to support this industry. Other countries were sold parts of this technology, usually heavily laden with propaganda and sometimes also with hidden psychochemical weapons.

DY-100 was an ingenious design featuring a pencil-like central hull with two support decks and two full-width longitudal zero-gee habitat decks, a ring of wedgelike jettisonable fuel tanks or cargo pods, a one-, two- or three-chamber solid-core fission rocket with adjoining radiator assemblies and possible chemical boosters, aerodynamic surfaces and other mission-specific additions at the stern, and an offset control/docking tower at the bow. For planetary takeoff, the ship used a cluster of four to six huge solid booster rockets attached aft of the fuel wedges. While this complex configuration required an elaborate gantry system to stack, the simplicity of the propulsion system facilitated rapid launch preparations; a DY hull and a set of boosters could be taken from storage, equipped for the mission, stacked and launched in less than two days if necessary.

‘Landings’ were theoretically possible on low-gravity worlds like asteroids and the moons of Mars, both of which were targeted by manned missions in the 1990s and 2000s. It was usual to utilize a dedicated landing craft housed inside a bow shroud or carried in place of a cargo container for true orbit-to-surface operations, for example on Earth’s Moon. No DY ships ever returned to Earth surface, but were refueled in orbit by dedicated tankers launched on simple, throttleable-combustion single-stage solid boosters not unlike those used to loft the ships themselves to space. The boosters were also used for a variety of other missions, most importantly for launching orbital laser platforms to bolster the military muscle of the supermen. Between 1990 and 1995, the rate of orbital launches from Earth grew by almost 200% every year, and more than twenty interplanetary launches were performed between 1993 and 1996 alone, mostly to Mars where the Great Khanate unsuccessfully tried to establish a colony of supermen.

Theoretically capable of acceleration to 0.4 lightspeed with full fuel load and minimum cargo, the DY-100 could also carry 6,000 tons of material swiftly across interplanetary distances; had the relatively stable Singh rule continued for another decade, the ships would no doubt have established a systemwide industrial base for the supermen. But the final breakthrough in interplanetary travel came just before the collapse of the Singh kingdom. As the surrounding countries finally prepared to join and end the constant war between the genetic supermen, scientists at Delhi perfected the first practical long term cryogenic sleep technology, earlier used only to preserve biological samples or even dead bodies in bizarre attempts at afterlife. And when the walls of Khanton came crumbling down in 1996, a group of Singh’s followers were able to escape on one of the final-batch DY-100 ships they had prepared for interplanetary ‘seeding’ operations. No one outside the regime suspected that these ships would be capable of interstellar travel, though – Khan Singh’s escape was only revealed 270 years later, when his ship was found adrift in space in the Mutara sector, some fifty lightyears away from Earth.

The Singh kingdom left some two dozen DY craft and their associated launch equipment lying around in various states of construction, an enormous technology base for the rest of the world even though the original Dinyan-Yoyodyne Conglomerate factories and labs now lay in ruins. In addition to two active ships operated by USAF and one by RRKS, half a dozen abandoned Chinese-flagged vessels were adrift in Earth orbit. International missions were mounted to salvage these craft; no such effort was made on the doomed Martian conquistadors. It has been speculated that some of these ships, also equipped with crude cryogenics, may have allowed more supermen to escape the way Khan did, but no evidence has been found to support such speculation. ‘Upgrades’ and ‘refinements’ to the original design yielded mixed results. The DY-120 series from the 2020s was a moderate success, yet the further enlarged DY-130 failed to perform according to specifications, reflecting the science community’s poor theoretical understanding of the original inertia manipulation breakthroughs. More than four hundred and fifty DY-120 and -140 series ships were eventually finished by commercial operators; a total of 43 saw UEDP service under the respective class names Brenton and Helsinki. The unsuccessful DY-130 in turn spawned the DY-135 military project, half a dozen high speed patrol vessels armed with four laser cannon and a missile tube and backing up the slower Liberty class in defending Sol in the late 21st century.

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Two DY-142 improved lunar transports orbit Earth’s sole satellite, with a tug about to lower four cargo modules down to lunar surface. A DY-B5 interplanetary booster is being fueled in the background, and carries the Ares III mission spacecraft Lucifer for the 2032 mission to Mars, the thirteenth successful manned sortie to reach that planet. All the vessels are equipped with advanced fission propulsion modules, distinguishable from each other mainly by their differing radiator panel assemblies. Conversions from one standard to another were common as well, a DY-B booster mission being a likely end for a veteran transport of another model.

The extended interplanetary operations of the second generation of DY vessels were facilitated by an improved Amjet gas-core fission powerplant assembly that required only 50% of the propellant mass of the original design. For lunar runs, a simple landing tug was carried; up to 16 cargo wedges could be externally mounted onto the core stage, and the tug could carry four at a time down to lunar surface.

For fast translunar missions, standard practice still called for a mission spacecraft to be added to the booster stage. The Apex, Afrodite and later Ares “upper stages” utilized a conventional fission-powered ion engine for regular flights to and from Venus and Mars, while the much heavier Aventeurs relied on a cluster of the same nuclear thermal rockets that propelled the booster stages when launching on “Grand Tours” to the outer planets. The Aventeurs were also able to fulfill mankind’s dream of an offworld colony, running a steady stream of supplies to the Moon from asteroid mining rigs, as well as setting up automated bases at Ganymede.

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The first of the Grand Tours. Christopher, Fontana and O’Herlihy launched on Aventeur I, the Lewis and Clark (2009), riding via Jupiter (2014) to Saturn (2020) with a payload of 12 scientists in deep cryosleep. It was only at the return of the spacecraft, in 2039, that reports were released on the team’s discovery of evidence of alien mining at Enceladus and Dione. By that time, the Aventeur design was propulsively completely outdated: Lagan, Murray and Ulrich and their coldsleep chattel on Aventeur V, the Frémont, were actually recalled halfway to Neptune when it became evident that they would be preceded there by expeditions launched much later.

The permanent settling of Mars was once again put on hold, however. Far more interesting dreams were now taking its place, as the wave of probes built with the new technology began sending back evidence of near-Earthlike worlds in this area of space.


Major Production Runs

  • DY-50 (1989): Test model constructed for the PRC by the Dinyan-Yoyodyne Conglomerate
  • DY-100 (1990-2060): First production run, used for orbital, lunar and Mars colony missions, usually by military organizations
  • DY-200 (2001-2098): First general commercial production run, used for lunar, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn missions
  • DY-300 (2035-2063): First extrasolar STL colonizer, capable of holding 45 passengers and crew in cryo-storage
  • DY-430 (2065-2073): FTL adaption of the 300 series, with rear propulsion modified to include single inboard warp coil (w1.2)
  • DY-500 (2073-2286): Faster colonizer (w2), 24 crew, 100 crew
  • DY-600 (2071-2173): First FTL cargo vessel
  • DY-730 (2102-2222): Civilian cargo vessel and UESF (Tycho) tender
  • DY-900 (2125-2242): Civilian cargo vessel
  • DY-950 (2128-2273): Civilian cargo vessel and UESF (Manchester) tender
  • DY-1000 (2146-2149): Experimental neo-Vulcanoid warp-ring model
  • DY-1200 (2160-2289): Civilian/UESF bulk cargo vessel
Most of these dates are based on conjecture and represent when they were ceased to be used by either military organizations or by major corporations; many of the classes would continue to be used by smaller merchant companies or individual traders.

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