HOME | DD

Description

This series on the DY sublight interplanetary transports includes the following articles: Dinyan-Yoyodyne DY-T Heavy Launch Vehicle (1989) ; DY-50 Experimental Transport (1989) ; DY-100 Interplanetary Transport (unladen) (1990) ; DY-A1 Launch Booster (1990) ; DY-B1 Interplanetary Drive (1990) ; DY-A2 Launch Booster (1991) ; DY-A3 Launch Booster (1994) ; DY-110 Mission Spacecraft (unladen) (1991) ; DY-120 Interplanetary Transport (unladen) (2021) ; DY-120 Brenton Mission Spacecraft .

Image provided by: Adrasil (Additional laden views also provided on his profile)

Made with parts by: Captshade

Original inspiration from: Star Trek: "Space Seed"

History from: Hobbyist's Guide to the UFP Starfleet, by Timo Saloniemi &
Delta Dynamics

Variant blueprints: Access via Adrasil's Download button

Featured in: Starship Recognition Manual #300

It what would appear to have been a bit of brilliant marketing by Dinyan-Yoyodyne to demonstrate its open-market nature—in light of the sudden awareness of Chinese launch technology with the DY-50 —the rights to the first DY-100 interplanetary transport were sold to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in 1989. With a targeted invitation and complete openness by their Sino hosts, the Indian leadership, accompanied by their space technologists, were quick to accept ownership of the next generation vessel well underway in the construction bay, with a surprisingly minimal markup. The first launch would have to, by necessity, be from Wenchang, but a menu of pre-planned missions was provided to the ISRO, with a rapid and targeted training regime for each of their space corps candidates. The agency chose a cislunar mission for their trial run.

The sale of the Sahasrara (Hindi for “Thousand Petals”) to the Indians was the kernel of a revolutionary business concept, where space was an international “sandbox” for commercial purposes, without the decades of intergovernmental competition that had stifled near-Earth development. The question as to why the Chinese did not immediately nationalize Dinyan-Yoyodyne, to prevent the use of the company’s space technology by other nations and provide itself an enormous technological and economic advantage, has never been satisfyingly answered. A strong theory is that the emerging network of the (yet unrealized) Augments recognized the opportunities that came with a much larger client base. How they came to have this leverage over the authoritarian Chinese regime is still debated, but if similar dealings with other governments, corporations, and individuals are of any enlightenment, targeted corruption played a large part in providing the Great Khanate the early upper hand.

Similar sales were made to the United States and South Korea, with their own ships being delivered in 1991 and 1992, respectively, following China’s own acceptance of the second and third vessels to be built. Dinyan-Yoyodyne was open to the construction of production centers in India (at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre) and the United States (at Kennedy Space Center and at a USAF spacecraft construction facility in California), from which those two countries built most of their remaining orders, for a total fleet number of 4 and 6, respectively. Between 1989 and 1996 (when the Great Khanate fell, taking most of Dinyan-Yoyodyne’s proprietary production facilities with them), 7 DY-100s (known as Kaitòuzhe) were built for the Chinese, 2 (Iskra) for the South Korean’s KARI, 4 (Vayu) for India, and 6 (Copernicus) for the American air force. The Great Khanate reserved one for their own use (built in 1994), for a total production of 20 first-run interplanetary transports.

Another opportunity presented to the client states by the Great Khanate, headlined by the brilliant and charming technologist Khan Noonian Singh, was the spaceborne industry which he pitched to them with great grandiosity. Orbiting construction platforms—initially similar in features to the international Space Station Freedom, but with extensive lattices and gantries—would serve to build super-capable ships of exploration and resource gathering; space stations could be built to serve extensive numbers of purposes, such as zero-gravity material fabrication, pharmaceutical development, and platforms for habitation. The stalled Deep Space Gateway, orbiting the moon, could be completed in short order with the DY-100s, and Dinyan-Yoyodyne‘s more specialized follow-on designs. Darkside, deep space-focused telescopes, lunar mining sites, and “moon towns” on the “shores” of Mare Tranquillitatis itself were now a potential reality within the near future.

Of course, while all these goals were achieved, it was without the Great Khanate leading the way, as the historical record is understood. However, the craft with which these were to be delivered was indeed an incredibly capable vessel for its time. While the DY-50s were an experimental testing of the launch capabilities of Dinyan-Yoyodyne and the general space worthiness of the unconventional hullform, the DY-100 proved sustainability and range—equipped with fission reactors for power and propulsion—instead of massive batteries and chemical reactant thrust. Also, unlike the relative light weight of a 2,200-metric ton test spacecraft, the triple-rocket DY-A1 launch booster was lifting both a 2,700-ton transport and the additional 7,552 tons of cargo in the 16 detachable Type DY cargo containers (though these were not fully-laden launch-tested until the delivery of the Chinese Mìngyùn in 1991).

With the initial vessels, the launch booster would be detached upon achieving orbit and allowed to burn up in the atmosphere. The ship would maneuver, on RCS thrusters, to mate with the DY-B series (see article below) interplanetary drive—delivered to a shared orbit previously by a DY-T heavy launch vehicle—providing the DY-100 with the massive and capable fission power systems installed within the module. At this point, the 12-person crew had a complete vessel on their hands, with any destination within 6-months travel a possibility, and capable of achieving 0.01c, given enough time for acceleration and a minimum mass load.

Most vessels engaged in early exploration and construction missions to Luna or resource scouting in the Main belt. In either case, the ventral bay on the bow of the DY housed an auxiliary craft appropriate for the destination: the lunar lander, reminiscent of the previous Apollo series (but fully capable of lunar surface launches), could carry 2 crew and 2 passengers to the surface. The asteroidal landers had grappling hooks on winches, to assist the minute but precise chemical thrusters in getting the miners secured to their target. Specifically for early lunar base construction tasks, the DY would deliver a lunar tug in place of one of the sixteen cargo containers; the tug was capable of delivering 4 of the containers to the low-gravity lunar surface. The tug would remain behind, shuttling cargo up and down between the base and future visiting transports.

The DY-100 had 68 metric tons of internal cargo space, providing plenty of sustenance and spare parts for a one-year round-trip mission. If the mission was delivery of construction materials or base supplies, the crew would have little need to linger on station; time is money, afterall, and as ground- and orbital-based industry began picking up, the ship would not have to wait long at Earth to begin another run. They could—theoretically—soft-land on large asteroids or the moons Phobos or Deimos, but not on Luna or Earth itself. Additional fissionable materials and reactants for thrusters would be provided by resupply DY-Ts or the stations from which the vessels took their cargo. Between 1990 and 1995, the rate of orbital launches (of the newest transport ships and DY-T resupply missions) increased by 200% annually.

Details on the final dispensation of the DY-100s are sparse, due to the extreme violence and levels of destruction the planet would suffer over the coming decades. “Salting the earth” was a repeated practice by the Augments when they saw their individual domains rapidly slip from their fingers, with the DY ship production facilities destroyed decidedly and with little chance of immediate recovery. This would set the Humans’ interplanetary capabilities back to almost 1988 levels. The scientists of Delhi had just perfected the first practical long-term cryogenic sleep technology to allow “safe” use by living beings; however, this went unannounced in the growing chaos, with the early achievement only realized when the SS Botany Bay was discovered lightyears downrange in the Mutara Sector, 270 years later. The remaining first-run DY-100s would serve various roles—generally military in nature—close to Earth, as the various competing nations seized what Dinyan-Yoyodyne assets they could.

Limited interplanetary drives would quickly emerge from the working models the space agencies would spare for reverse engineering, but it would not be until 2021 when the series re-entered production. Russia, the core member of the Eurasian Confederation, had uncovered D-Y production plans for the spacecraft in Baikonur two years previously, and ramped up the Eurasian Confederation Space Agency’s production and launch capacities precipitously. China was provided the plans in a trade agreement and by 2023, the United States—working with D-Y offshoot Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems—had them as well. No later than 2028, China had 5 additional DY-100s, the United States 12, and the ECSA operated 21. Ground-based production of large spacecraft had transitioned to the various space platforms in orbit of Earth, positioned at the trailing L-5 point, or above Luna and the less gravity-restrictive conditions had seen the introduction of vessels either directly descended from the DY-100 series, or working off entirely independent design concepts.

DY-B2 Interplanetary Drive (1991)

The DY-B2 interplanetary module is the classic propulsion drive most associated with the DY-100 transport. While a few early DY-100s first operated with the chemical reactant DY-B1 booster upon achieving post-launch orbit, by 1991 the fission-powered ion thruster module was being lifted to orbit to replace them, or standing ready to be mated up with newer -100s and the DY-110 Apex variant reserved for the Great Khanate. The 2nd production run of DY-100s did not launch with the DY-B2 attached, as the four-rocket DY-A2 booster set could not accommodate the increased drag of the module’s non-aerodynamic shape, nor the considerable 780 metric tons. However, with the advent of the six-rocket DY-A3 in 1994, designed to slip right off without snagging the hearty radiator fins of the module, the ships could be launched fully completed and laden with the full load of 16 cargo containers.

Not to be overlooked is the incredible leap forward—yet again—in spacecraft technology provided by the ion drive, a form of electric propulsion generating thrust through the acceleration of ions. Not nearly as responsive as the fifteen chemical thrusters of the DY-B1, nevertheless, the ion drive was the clear choice in propelling a spacecraft. At full acceleration, the DY-100 could achieve a typical top speed of 0.01 the speed of light, over 40% faster than the chemical thrusters, given enough time. Usually, this would take weeks to achieve, and was much too fast for trips to the Main belt, as the ship would need to flip around to begin deceleration far before that top speed could be achieved. However, other than topping off the propellant for the RCS and minute amounts of xenon for the ion drive, the DY-B2 equipped spacecraft did not have to be concerned with post-mission refueling. It was presumed the fission power reactors (numbering eight) would need to be refueled about every 13 years, and only due to the constant acceleration and deceleration maneuvers of “short-hop” routes. The Great Khanate’s long-phase plans foresaw a spaceborne service economy, operating under their banner, that would be so well established as making nuclear refueling an evolution of low-concern.

Would you like to learn more about this class of ship? Download the free Hobbyist's Guide to the UFP Starfleet , a three-volume, 1236-page history of space flight, by Timo Saloniemi.

For an extremely rich gallery of Star Trek starships and vessels from other universes, check out my partner, Adrasil , here on DeviantArts. For more on the ships of the DD-verse, visit, explore, and download from Delta Dynamics .

Description

This series on the DY sublight interplanetary transports includes the following articles: Dinyan-Yoyodyne DY-T Heavy Launch Vehicle (1989) ; DY-50 Experimental Transport (1989) ; DY-100 Interplanetary Transport (unladen) (1990) ; DY-A1 Launch Booster (1990) ; DY-B1 Interplanetary Drive (1990) ; DY-A2 Launch Booster (1991) ; DY-A3 Launch Booster (1994) ; DY-110 Mission Spacecraft (unladen) (1991) ; DY-120 Interplanetary Transport (unladen) (2021) ; DY-120 Brenton Mission Spacecraft .

Image provided by: Adrasil (Additional laden views also provided on his profile)

Made with parts by: Captshade

Original inspiration from: Star Trek: "Space Seed"

History from: Hobbyist's Guide to the UFP Starfleet, by Timo Saloniemi &
Delta Dynamics

Variant blueprints: Access via Adrasil's Download button

Featured in: Starship Recognition Manual #300

It what would appear to have been a bit of brilliant marketing by Dinyan-Yoyodyne to demonstrate its open-market nature—in light of the sudden awareness of Chinese launch technology with the DY-50 —the rights to the first DY-100 interplanetary transport were sold to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in 1989. With a targeted invitation and complete openness by their Sino hosts, the Indian leadership, accompanied by their space technologists, were quick to accept ownership of the next generation vessel well underway in the construction bay, with a surprisingly minimal markup. The first launch would have to, by necessity, be from Wenchang, but a menu of pre-planned missions was provided to the ISRO, with a rapid and targeted training regime for each of their space corps candidates. The agency chose a cislunar mission for their trial run.

The sale of the Sahasrara (Hindi for “Thousand Petals”) to the Indians was the kernel of a revolutionary business concept, where space was an international “sandbox” for commercial purposes, without the decades of intergovernmental competition that had stifled near-Earth development. The question as to why the Chinese did not immediately nationalize Dinyan-Yoyodyne, to prevent the use of the company’s space technology by other nations and provide itself an enormous technological and economic advantage, has never been satisfyingly answered. A strong theory is that the emerging network of the (yet unrealized) Augments recognized the opportunities that came with a much larger client base. How they came to have this leverage over the authoritarian Chinese regime is still debated, but if similar dealings with other governments, corporations, and individuals are of any enlightenment, targeted corruption played a large part in providing the Great Khanate the early upper hand.

Similar sales were made to the United States and South Korea, with their own ships being delivered in 1991 and 1992, respectively, following China’s own acceptance of the second and third vessels to be built. Dinyan-Yoyodyne was open to the construction of production centers in India (at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre) and the United States (at Kennedy Space Center and at a USAF spacecraft construction facility in California), from which those two countries built most of their remaining orders, for a total fleet number of 4 and 6, respectively. Between 1989 and 1996 (when the Great Khanate fell, taking most of Dinyan-Yoyodyne’s proprietary production facilities with them), 7 DY-100s (known as Kaitòuzhe) were built for the Chinese, 2 (Iskra) for the South Korean’s KARI, 4 (Vayu) for India, and 6 (Copernicus) for the American air force. The Great Khanate reserved one for their own use (built in 1994), for a total production of 20 first-run interplanetary transports.

Another opportunity presented to the client states by the Great Khanate, headlined by the brilliant and charming technologist Khan Noonian Singh, was the spaceborne industry which he pitched to them with great grandiosity. Orbiting construction platforms—initially similar in features to the international Space Station Freedom, but with extensive lattices and gantries—would serve to build super-capable ships of exploration and resource gathering; space stations could be built to serve extensive numbers of purposes, such as zero-gravity material fabrication, pharmaceutical development, and platforms for habitation. The stalled Deep Space Gateway, orbiting the moon, could be completed in short order with the DY-100s, and Dinyan-Yoyodyne‘s more specialized follow-on designs. Darkside, deep space-focused telescopes, lunar mining sites, and “moon towns” on the “shores” of Mare Tranquillitatis itself were now a potential reality within the near future.

Of course, while all these goals were achieved, it was without the Great Khanate leading the way, as the historical record is understood. However, the craft with which these were to be delivered was indeed an incredibly capable vessel for its time. While the DY-50s were an experimental testing of the launch capabilities of Dinyan-Yoyodyne and the general space worthiness of the unconventional hullform, the DY-100 proved sustainability and range—equipped with fission reactors for power and propulsion—instead of massive batteries and chemical reactant thrust. Also, unlike the relative light weight of a 2,200-metric ton test spacecraft, the triple-rocket DY-A1 launch booster was lifting both a 2,700-ton transport and the additional 7,552 tons of cargo in the 16 detachable Type DY cargo containers (though these were not fully-laden launch-tested until the delivery of the Chinese Mìngyùn in 1991).

With the initial vessels, the launch booster would be detached upon achieving orbit and allowed to burn up in the atmosphere. The ship would maneuver, on RCS thrusters, to mate with the DY-B series (see article below) interplanetary drive—delivered to a shared orbit previously by a DY-T heavy launch vehicle—providing the DY-100 with the massive and capable fission power systems installed within the module. At this point, the 12-person crew had a complete vessel on their hands, with any destination within 6-months travel a possibility, and capable of achieving 0.01c, given enough time for acceleration and a minimum mass load.

Most vessels engaged in early exploration and construction missions to Luna or resource scouting in the Main belt. In either case, the ventral bay on the bow of the DY housed an auxiliary craft appropriate for the destination: the lunar lander, reminiscent of the previous Apollo series (but fully capable of lunar surface launches), could carry 2 crew and 2 passengers to the surface. The asteroidal landers had grappling hooks on winches, to assist the minute but precise chemical thrusters in getting the miners secured to their target. Specifically for early lunar base construction tasks, the DY would deliver a lunar tug in place of one of the sixteen cargo containers; the tug was capable of delivering 4 of the containers to the low-gravity lunar surface. The tug would remain behind, shuttling cargo up and down between the base and future visiting transports.

The DY-100 had 68 metric tons of internal cargo space, providing plenty of sustenance and spare parts for a one-year round-trip mission. If the mission was delivery of construction materials or base supplies, the crew would have little need to linger on station; time is money, afterall, and as ground- and orbital-based industry began picking up, the ship would not have to wait long at Earth to begin another run. They could—theoretically—soft-land on large asteroids or the moons Phobos or Deimos, but not on Luna or Earth itself. Additional fissionable materials and reactants for thrusters would be provided by resupply DY-Ts or the stations from which the vessels took their cargo. Between 1990 and 1995, the rate of orbital launches (of the newest transport ships and DY-T resupply missions) increased by 200% annually.

Details on the final dispensation of the DY-100s are sparse, due to the extreme violence and levels of destruction the planet would suffer over the coming decades. “Salting the earth” was a repeated practice by the Augments when they saw their individual domains rapidly slip from their fingers, with the DY ship production facilities destroyed decidedly and with little chance of immediate recovery. This would set the Humans’ interplanetary capabilities back to almost 1988 levels. The scientists of Delhi had just perfected the first practical long-term cryogenic sleep technology to allow “safe” use by living beings; however, this went unannounced in the growing chaos, with the early achievement only realized when the SS Botany Bay was discovered lightyears downrange in the Mutara Sector, 270 years later. The remaining first-run DY-100s would serve various roles—generally military in nature—close to Earth, as the various competing nations seized what Dinyan-Yoyodyne assets they could.

Limited interplanetary drives would quickly emerge from the working models the space agencies would spare for reverse engineering, but it would not be until 2021 when the series re-entered production. Russia, the core member of the Eurasian Confederation, had uncovered D-Y production plans for the spacecraft in Baikonur two years previously, and ramped up the Eurasian Confederation Space Agency’s production and launch capacities precipitously. China was provided the plans in a trade agreement and by 2023, the United States—working with D-Y offshoot Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems—had them as well. No later than 2028, China had 5 additional DY-100s, the United States 12, and the ECSA operated 21. Ground-based production of large spacecraft had transitioned to the various space platforms in orbit of Earth, positioned at the trailing L-5 point, or above Luna and the less gravity-restrictive conditions had seen the introduction of vessels either directly descended from the DY-100 series, or working off entirely independent design concepts.

DY-B2 Interplanetary Drive (1991)

The DY-B2 interplanetary module is the classic propulsion drive most associated with the DY-100 transport. While a few early DY-100s first operated with the chemical reactant DY-B1 booster upon achieving post-launch orbit, by 1991 the fission-powered ion thruster module was being lifted to orbit to replace them, or standing ready to be mated up with newer -100s and the DY-110 Apex variant reserved for the Great Khanate. The 2nd production run of DY-100s did not launch with the DY-B2 attached, as the four-rocket DY-A2 booster set could not accommodate the increased drag of the module’s non-aerodynamic shape, nor the considerable 780 metric tons. However, with the advent of the six-rocket DY-A3 in 1994, designed to slip right off without snagging the hearty radiator fins of the module, the ships could be launched fully completed and laden with the full load of 16 cargo containers.

Not to be overlooked is the incredible leap forward—yet again—in spacecraft technology provided by the ion drive, a form of electric propulsion generating thrust through the acceleration of ions. Not nearly as responsive as the fifteen chemical thrusters of the DY-B1, nevertheless, the ion drive was the clear choice in propelling a spacecraft. At full acceleration, the DY-100 could achieve a typical top speed of 0.01 the speed of light, over 40% faster than the chemical thrusters, given enough time. Usually, this would take weeks to achieve, and was much too fast for trips to the Main belt, as the ship would need to flip around to begin deceleration far before that top speed could be achieved. However, other than topping off the propellant for the RCS and minute amounts of xenon for the ion drive, the DY-B2 equipped spacecraft did not have to be concerned with post-mission refueling. It was presumed the fission power reactors (numbering eight) would need to be refueled about every 13 years, and only due to the constant acceleration and deceleration maneuvers of “short-hop” routes. The Great Khanate’s long-phase plans foresaw a spaceborne service economy, operating under their banner, that would be so well established as making nuclear refueling an evolution of low-concern.

Would you like to learn more about this class of ship? Download the free Hobbyist's Guide to the UFP Starfleet , a three-volume, 1236-page history of space flight, by Timo Saloniemi.

For an extremely rich gallery of Star Trek starships and vessels from other universes, check out my partner, Adrasil , here on DeviantArts. For more on the ships of the DD-verse, visit, explore, and download from Delta Dynamics .