Mankind has been in space for over 160 years. In that time, it has progressed in leaps and bounds, from the old chemical rockets of the 1950’s to the sleek machines plying the spaceways today. Originally, cost was the major factor prohibiting ventures into space. When space travel was in its’ infancy, it cost about $100,000 US dollars to put a pound into space. With advances in chemical rockets, this was cut down to $10,000 US dollars by 1990. Further advances in hybrid (air / rocket) engines and massive leaps in aerodynamics cut that figure by ten with the completion of the Venture Star program in 2008. Banji Corporation’s invention of the fusionjet engine in 2026 cut this figure down considerably more. As this trend continued, more and more companies found it feasible to exploit space.

The next critical step was the establishment of permanent habitats in space. Olympus came first, being finished in 2041. Camelot and Yeltsingrad followed in 2045. Once big money started being made in orbit, people flocked to the newly built orbital and moon stations. By the early 2100’s, there were entire cities in orbit! Populations bloomed, furthering the demand for trade into and out of Earth’s gravity well.

Space travel today is commonplace. Anyone catching a trans-continental flight brushes through space on their trip. Luna and the orbital stations are a popular vacation spot that the middle class can afford. Some businessmen even commute to the moon! The outer planets offer a wealth of bounty for entrepreneurs to explore. Some, like Mars and Mercury, are close enough to be used as vacation spots (much like the club Meds of the old days).

Even if you don’t travel, the closeness of space is apparent in everyday life. Most high quality machinery is made from orbital steel. Microgravity offers vast opportunities for new pharmaceuticals and crystal production. Leaving Earth’s gravity well finds opportunities for belt mining, or Martian terraforming.

A billion people live and work in space every day. They are spread over dozens of habitat cities, transports and colonies. The International Aerospace Administration (IAA) has over 50,000 ships in registry, from two man hybrids to 30 man transports. This primer is an important document for every one of them to read.

Earth to orbit is the most common type of space travel today. This includes moving anything from the surface of Earth to a point in space, as well as Earth – Luna travel. The main difficulty with this is punching out of Earth’s atmosphere and gravity well. This can be accomplished in many different ways. The cheapest is to merely "shoot" something into orbit. Large linear accelerators, like the Mauna Kea and Jomo facilities, use long electromagnetic rails to fire things into orbit, or even to other planets. Although cheap, this is too dangerous for human cargo.

Most human travel takes place on semi-ballistic liners or orbital shuttles. Semi-ballistic liners are craft that fly to the edge of space and "skip" across the atmosphere, only using their engines every forty minutes or so when the air is thick enough. These craft, also called "wave riders," service the majority of people who use space to travel across Earth. Orbital shuttles are large hybrid craft, and as such are fully space worthy. These craft bring people to the space stations and Luna.

Operating outside of an atmosphere, true spacecraft are notably different than their hybrid cousins. Gone are the smooth lines and lifting bodies, discarded in favor of cheaper and more rugged boxy shapes. These craft are typically larger, and almost exclusively powered by fusion-drive systems. This is because the average space voyage is at least one month, so the ship must be able to support itself for that amount of time.

Hybrids present an interesting engineering problem. They must be light enough to operate in an atmosphere, yet strong and powerful enough to endure space flight. What this usually requires is a self-supporting, or monocoque, design. To describe this simply, the walls of the hybrid also provide a significant amount of structural support. This is very strong and lightweight, but makes it very difficult to modify. Hardtech hybrids are usually constructed out of advanced metal and ceramic composites, possibly with plastic or metal stiffeners. Biotech hybrids typically have a hard shell or exo-skeleton as their primary support structure.

Hybrid shape is dominated by their need to fly in an atmosphere. This means they are typically sleek and aerodynamic. Often they will sport control surfaces such as wings or stabilizers. This is not always the case. Due to the massive amounts of thrust generated by modern fusion-jet engines, very rugged but un-aerodynamic craft have begun to emerge. These craft, typically military creations, are very strong but completely rely on engine thrust and thrust vectoring to fly. In general, they make better space going vehicles, and are easier to modify, but exhibit shoddy performance within an atmosphere.

In contrast to hybrids, dedicated spacecraft use much simpler construction techniques. This can be afforded because they don’t have to fly in an atmosphere, or deal with strong gravity. Instead of monocoque design, spacecraft are essentially a strong frame, with components attached onto it. Frames are typically metals or crystalline ceramics, but the hull is often made of reinforced plastics or plastic composites. Spacegoing biotech typically has a more of an endoskeleton and a thinner shell than hybrids. This usually gives them a more fleshy appearance.

Typically, spacecraft are long and thin. This is because moments of inertia are the governing factor in spacecraft stability. A long thin shape does not spin easy, so it is very stable and not subject to small mass perturbations. Military spacecraft are generally more squat, making it easier for them to exercise quick turns.

Spacecraft are almost exclusivly powered by the fusion-jet (or Magneto Hydrodynamic Drive, MHD) engine. However, craft exist that fly by other means. Although hobbled by fuel restrictions, chemical rockets and compressed air jets are smaller and chaper than fusion power. This makes them ideal for short range applications. Ion engines, which use charged "plates" to repel a stream of ions, are more efficient than MHD, but not nearly as powerful. These find applications with satellites, space stations, and slow cargo craft. Even solar sails have found an application, such as in the Nkumbe Windjammer.

More exotic means of propulsion lie in the near future. Scientists are still working on antimatter versions of the MHD. These would operate on similar principles, but would be an order of magnitude more powerful. Other groups are trying to develop the ever-elusive "reactionless drive". These would be engines that do not rely on a stream of expelled matter to provide thrust, giving them no fuel limitations.

Presently, a plethora of materials are used in spacecraft construction. Crystalline metal and ceramic alloys are very common. Composite structures are very popular in hybrid and aircraft. High density plastics also find many applications in space craft.

The discovery of Olmanium promises to produce even more materials for aerospace engineers to use. Presently unusable due to its’ immense weight and scarcity, products that use Olmanium componants are showing a lot of promise. Currently, a pourous crystalline Olmanium/Tungsten/Aluminum alloy is being developed in an attempt to create a stiffer and lighter version of the coveted armor element. Other groups are developing "strings" of Olmanium fiber to be incorporated into a Olmanium/Epoxy composite.

Aft: Back.
Biot: Slang for a ship with a biotech hull.
Boxcar or Brick: Slang for a hybrid that relies solely on thrust to fly in an atmosphere.
Dorsal: Top.
Gold Nugget: A metallic asteroid with a concentration of precious metals.
Fore: Front.
Jove, Jovian: Jupiter.
Nugget: A metallic asteroid, see also gold nugget.
Port: Left side facing front.
Rock: Asteroid or planet.
Snowball: An ice asteroid or comet.
Starboard: Right side facing front.
Ventral: Bottom.