The first successful manned interstellar mission (the
Tsiolkovsky)
was launched
in 387 a.t.arriving at Tau
Ceti in 488. A few years before
it arrived the first
shuttle colony ship, Red, was
completed and launched. This ship survives and is preserved in
a pristine condition
using
picotech.
It is one of
the oldest surviving spacecraft in the Orion Arm Civiilisation.
The total length of the Red
is 1443 meters. The bow is
protected by the seven ice shields/tanks, containing water ice for use
as
reaction mass and radiation shielding. Behind the tanks are the
cylindrical
main section, containin life support, habitat modules, cryosystems and
biological storage. On both sides external cargo sections have been
attached,
and two of the shuttle bays are visible at the top as well as the
long-range
transceiver which was used for Earth-ship communication during the
trip. Most
of the hull is covered with grey and brown radiation insulating foam.
The main
fusion systems and thrusters are located at the stern.
The other three Nova
colony shuttles, Yellow,
Green
and Blue
were constructed along
similar lines, with minor differences mainly in the crew compartments
and
equipment sections. Yellow was
unfortunately contaminated with nanogoo before departure from the Solar
System and was dismantled during decontamination on arrival. Despite
this setback the basic design proved reliable and was used (with some
upgrading) by later colonisation efforts such as the mission to Dante
in 1380
a.t.
Stern
view of Red.
Here the four main thrusters are visible, as well
as the cooling boxes of the fusion reactors.
The
Red is currently a museum in
Oakmann Orbit, operated by
the
TerraNova Colonial Foundation. Opening times are weekdays 9:00-16:00,
weekends
7:00-16:00. Tours of the exterior are done every hour. On Arrival Day
special
showings and celebrations are held, tickets have to be pre-ordered well
in
time.
Infomercial
Sponsored by the Nova Tourism Consortium
