# Shuttlecraft > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Shuttlecraft > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Shuttlecraft.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuttlecraft > Source revision: 1340213434 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Smaller vessel that is launched from a mother ship For other uses, see [Shuttlecraft (disambiguation)](/source/Shuttlecraft_(disambiguation)). A **shuttlecraft**, also known as a **shuttle spacecraft**, **shuttle ship**, **drop shuttle**, **drop spacecraft**, or **dropship**, is a type of [spacecraft](/source/Spacecraft) described in theory and [science fiction](/source/Science_fiction). Serving the same purpose as a [ship's tender](/source/Ship's_tender), it is a smaller vessel that is launched from a [mother ship](/source/Mother_ship), and has the ability to transport people or cargo between ships, or to and from a planet's surface without being damaged or destroyed. It has a secondary purpose as an evacuation ship if the mother ship is destroyed. While the [Space Shuttle](/source/Space_Shuttle) was envisioned to make this type of craft a reality and reduce the cost of going into space, it ultimately [failed](/source/Criticism_of_the_Space_Shuttle_program) in its goal and [expendable launch systems](/source/Expendable_launch_system) remained a more cost-effective option. ## Examples The idea of a shuttle craft used for space travel first appeared in *[The Great Romance](/source/The_Great_Romance)* (1881), where it was called the *Midge* and was used to explore [Venus](/source/Venus).[1] These types of craft later became a mainstay of science fiction.[1] The use of the word "shuttle" was taken from nautical terminology.[2] The idea was later used in *[Star Trek](/source/Star_Trek)*, where they are called [shuttlecraft](/source/Shuttlecraft_(Star_Trek)). Similar craft are also used by the [Visitors](/source/Visitors_(fictional_race)) in *[V](/source/V_(franchise))*, and a more military-styled version known as the UD-4 *Cheyenne*-class dropship was used in *[Aliens](/source/Aliens_(film))* (1986), popularizing the use of the term to refer to shuttles that serve the same purpose as [military transport aircraft](/source/Military_transport_aircraft). The dropship concept was a major plot point in the 2009 film [District 9](/source/District_9). Usage in [video games](/source/Video_game) includes the drop shuttles from *[Mass Effect](/source/Mass_Effect)* and the Pelicans and dropships from *[Halo](/source/Halo_(series))*, as well as the Terran dropship unit in the *[StarCraft](/source/StarCraft)* series. Shuttlecraft have seen widespread use by all the major factions in the *[Star Wars](/source/Star_Wars)* franchise. There are numerous variations on the concept within the *Star Wars* [expanded universe](/source/Star_Wars_in_other_media), but the main uses include use as: drop-ships, boarding craft, [assault landing craft](/source/Landing_Craft_Assault), and as non-combat personnel transports. ## Hypothetical usage The use of shuttle ships was proposed as a means for economical transport to Mars.[3] People would ride a shuttle to a mother ship in orbit around the [Sun](/source/Sun), which would not need to slow down. This would increase the speed of travel from Earth to Mars, being able to transport hundreds of people at regular intervals.[3] ## See also - [*Lambda*-class shuttle](/source/Lambda-class_shuttle) ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Alessio_2008_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Alessio_2008_1-1) Inhabitant (2008) [1881]. Alessio, Dominic (ed.). [*The Great Romance: a Rediscovered Utopian Adventure*](https://archive.org/details/greatromanceredi00inha/page/28). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. p. [28](https://archive.org/details/greatromanceredi00inha/page/28). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0803259966](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0803259966). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [171287687](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/171287687). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Crystal, David (18 September 2014). *Words in time and place : exploring language through the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary* (1st ed.). Oxford [England]. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0191501654](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0191501654). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [889211169](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/889211169).{{[cite book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_book)}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_location_missing_publisher)) 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Faure_2007_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Faure_2007_3-1) Faure, Gunter; Mensing, Teresa M. (2007). *Introduction to planetary science : the geological perspective*. Dordrecht: Springer. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1402055447](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1402055447). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [187312870](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/187312870). --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Shuttlecraft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuttlecraft) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuttlecraft?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.