The Douglas DSC-2
Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 6:46 pm
The General Electric Fusormak of 1952 made space flight practical, but the Douglas Space Craft 2 of 1959 made it economical. These are episodes in the long career to date (2/26/2035) of the 42nd DSC-2 spaceframe, USAF serial 60-21577.
She entered service in 1963 as a VCSF-2, working regularly on flag officer transport runs between the old Clavius spaceport (Footnote 1) and Baskin-Robbins AFB, UT.
After a varied USAF career, in 1997 she was sold as surplus to Ed's Wrecking and Spacecraft Spares at Lagrange 3, who sold her to Sure To (footnote 2) of Selenium, WV, having fitted her with an uprated reactor from a DSC-6 and an eckso (Footnote 3) for asteroid towing.
In 2014, she had avoided an orrie (Footnote 4) and the other hazards of asteroid towing and returned to Ed's, where she was stored for parting out. In 2017, she was bought by HeritageSpace of Miami. FL, who removed the eckso and restored her original appearance. She was used for regular nostalgia flights to low Earth orbit.
By 2024, demand for these heritage flights fell, potential passengers preferring a $140 RyanSpace (oxygen extra) return trip to the Moon and its attractions, and HeritageSpace closed. 21577 was sold to Beauregard Bingley, MIT graduate and renegade spacerodder from Nusquam, KY (Footnote 5) for use in his "FTel" project. This was regarded as a scam by most reputable physicists, who never got invited to Beau's cookouts.
In 2029, Beau and "Spirit of Nusquam" disappeared near the Moon. A search for wreckage was unsuccessful, and eight days later the ship reappeared in Earth orbit, where it was intercepted by a Northrop FSF-9 launched from William Cody class SSBN USS Wyatt Earp. Bingley produced spectroscopic records and camera film showing he had orbited Barnard's Star, six light years from Earth. The era of human interstellar flight had begun.
21577 is now preserved at the Bingley Starflight HQ in Nusquam.
Footnotes
1. Now the site of LegoMoon.
2. This may have been meant to be SureTow, but Earl don't spell too (or to or tow) good.
3. Eckso (n.) Belter slang for an exoskeleton fitted to a spacecraft to reinforce it for strenuous work such as asteroid towing.
4. Orrie (n.) Belter slang for an accident where an eckso folds up under stress, usually with fatal results. Thought to derive from Japanese origami (折り紙)
5. Spacerodder (n.) Belter slang for a participant in loosely regulated spacecraft racing, usually involving highly uprated fusion reactors operating near detonation.
Returning to 2023 and our timeline, I don't suppose anyone in the group has a Glencoe Marsliner kit (must be a 1/144 kit because it says so on the box) that they might part with?
She entered service in 1963 as a VCSF-2, working regularly on flag officer transport runs between the old Clavius spaceport (Footnote 1) and Baskin-Robbins AFB, UT.
After a varied USAF career, in 1997 she was sold as surplus to Ed's Wrecking and Spacecraft Spares at Lagrange 3, who sold her to Sure To (footnote 2) of Selenium, WV, having fitted her with an uprated reactor from a DSC-6 and an eckso (Footnote 3) for asteroid towing.
In 2014, she had avoided an orrie (Footnote 4) and the other hazards of asteroid towing and returned to Ed's, where she was stored for parting out. In 2017, she was bought by HeritageSpace of Miami. FL, who removed the eckso and restored her original appearance. She was used for regular nostalgia flights to low Earth orbit.
By 2024, demand for these heritage flights fell, potential passengers preferring a $140 RyanSpace (oxygen extra) return trip to the Moon and its attractions, and HeritageSpace closed. 21577 was sold to Beauregard Bingley, MIT graduate and renegade spacerodder from Nusquam, KY (Footnote 5) for use in his "FTel" project. This was regarded as a scam by most reputable physicists, who never got invited to Beau's cookouts.
In 2029, Beau and "Spirit of Nusquam" disappeared near the Moon. A search for wreckage was unsuccessful, and eight days later the ship reappeared in Earth orbit, where it was intercepted by a Northrop FSF-9 launched from William Cody class SSBN USS Wyatt Earp. Bingley produced spectroscopic records and camera film showing he had orbited Barnard's Star, six light years from Earth. The era of human interstellar flight had begun.
21577 is now preserved at the Bingley Starflight HQ in Nusquam.
Footnotes
1. Now the site of LegoMoon.
2. This may have been meant to be SureTow, but Earl don't spell too (or to or tow) good.
3. Eckso (n.) Belter slang for an exoskeleton fitted to a spacecraft to reinforce it for strenuous work such as asteroid towing.
4. Orrie (n.) Belter slang for an accident where an eckso folds up under stress, usually with fatal results. Thought to derive from Japanese origami (折り紙)
5. Spacerodder (n.) Belter slang for a participant in loosely regulated spacecraft racing, usually involving highly uprated fusion reactors operating near detonation.
Returning to 2023 and our timeline, I don't suppose anyone in the group has a Glencoe Marsliner kit (must be a 1/144 kit because it says so on the box) that they might part with?
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