Europa Shuttlecraft

Europa Class Shuttle (click to enlarge).

Europa Program Overview

ZMI’s Space Shuttle Europa program, officially designated ALJN-PRO (Air Launched Jet/ NERVA propelled reusable orbiter) is the Incorporated State of Zeppelin Manufacturers largest pre Resource War 1 manned launch vehicle capable of re-entry.

The Europa’s titanium upper aeroshell is manufactured by Megacity Aerospace Systems (MAS), its avionics systems were manufactured by MAS and GDT, its Teflon coated ceramic heat shield is manufactured by CCA (Chemicals for Commercial Applications) a jointly owned SCAPA and General Data Technologies subdivision. The reusable jet pod based around the MAS E-1490 Jet engine were assembled by SCAPA as were the associated drop tanks. The primary drop tank was constructed by Radical Designs for Exospheric operations ltd.. The twin block 1 DMN - Starlight 80 nuclear engines for rocket vehicle application were used on test frame Silver and orbiter 001 Drexel produced 1,480,340 kilo Newton’s of thrust and were manufactured by SCAPA but later replaced with the more powerful and thrust vector capable Samson Aviatrix 220’s which generate 1,690,400 kilo Newton’s of thrust. The Aviatrix 220’s were initially developed for the failed Corona orbital bomber program. The Corona was originally designed to be a sister program to the Europa but was officially cancelled due to extreme projected cost overruns and insurmountable technical difficulties with the Corona’s heat shield and fast launch / constant standby systems, though many conspiracy theorists think this was merely a cover for continuing the Corona program covertly. Though a study of the direct military uses of the Europa as a weapons platform were continued and eventually applied. The Corona program was finally made superfluous when its mission niche was filled by the successful deployment of the ZMN’s Starbolt under its Tactical Bombardment Program.

The Europa is the second ZMSF orbital spacecraft designed for reusability. It carries large payloads to various orbits, provides crew rotation for Space Station Monarch, and performs servicing missions. The vehicle was designed with the capacity to recover satellites and other payloads from orbit and return them to Earth, this capacity is used often to replace or service [[ONDA (Orbital Nuclear Deterrent Array) and DBP (Defensive Orbital Array) components.

Each Europa was designed for a projected life span of 380 launches or 20 years of operation.

The program started in the late 1980s and has dominated the ZMSF’s manned operations since the Drexel’s launch on may 5th 1996. The initial requirements were for a reusable orbiter capable of carrying 30 tons to orbit and prolonged stay in orbit. The NERVA allows the Europa to fulfil the later which most of the conventionally propelled proposals failed to do without large mass expenditures in the form of mission specific solar panels or NTR units. The initial five years of operation were designated to the completion of Space Station Monarch’s OCS (Orbital Construction Scaffold) under the aegis of the ZMSF ’s Solar Exploration Initiative (SEI) and the completion of the deployment of the EWAONT (enormous wide area orbital networked telescope) Magellans Eye.

The last Europa, series number 1,239 Torrent was formally decommissioned 23 years after the end of Resource war 2 after over sixty three years of service. At their height in the midst of Resource War 1a fleet of over 128 Europa’s were in use. The same basic aeroshell layout was still in use by the rebels in Gastins world revolt over 380 years later.

Initial Europa fleet

Silver (test bed, no series number)
001 Drexel (Operational May 1996)
002 Dawn (Operational December 1996)
003 Dreamer (Operational April 1997)
004 Dancer (Operational June 1998, Destroyed June 4th 2004 by integral fuel tank rupture while docked to Monarch)
005 Venture (Operational May 1999)