shuttle n.
a small spacecraft used to transport passengers or cargo over a relatively short distance, as between an orbiting craft and a planet’s surface
Vehicles
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1940
page image
Nelson S. Bond
bibliography
The Andromeda has been sold, Bert,…to the Ionian freight shuttle. You and the gang are ordered back to Earth.
Legacy in Astounding Science-Fiction Dec. 39/1
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1950
Theodore Sturgeon
bibliography
I was waiting in the entry bell when Judson arrived on Curbstone. Judson had nothing to do with that. I didn’t even know he was on that particular shuttle. It’s just that, aside from the fact that I happen to be Senior Release Officer on Curbstone, I like to meet the shuttles.
Stars Are Styx in Galaxy Science Fiction Oct. 74/2
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1951
Robert A. Heinlein
A shuttle ship up from the surface could leave any spot on Venus, rendezvous with the ship in orbit, then land on its port of departure or on any other point having expended a theoretical minimum of fuel. As soon as the Nautilus had parked such shuttles began to swarm up to her. They were more airplane than spaceship, for, although each was sealed and pressurized to operate outside the atmosphere while making contact with orbiting spaceships, each was winged and was powered with ramjet atmosphere engines as well as with rocket jets. Like frogs, they were adapted to two media.
Between Planets vii. 83
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1953
Robert A. Heinlein
Fast little military darts, stubby Moon shuttles, winged ships that served the satellite stations.
Starman Jones (1975) iii. 39
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1960
page image
John Wyndham
bibliography
The acceleration in that shuttle would spread you all over the floor—very thinly.
Emptiness of Space in New Worlds (#100) Nov. 41 -
1982
Sonni Cooper
bibliography
He’s taking a shuttle.
Black Fire ix.175
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1986
J. M. Dillard
Take the evening shuttle to ShiKahr and I will meet you at the station.
Demons i. 12
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1988
Arthur C. Clarke
When the cloud had cleared, the shuttle was already landing, two hundred metres away.
2061: Odyssey Three 195
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1995
Chris Carter
Although the shuttle is damaged, Belt tells the astronauts to deliver their payload, fearing that millions of dollars will be lost—and the space program crippled—if they don’t follow through.
Truth is out There: Official Guide to The X Files The Episodes: Season 1 120
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1999
George Zebrowski
Charles Pellegrino
bibliography
He managed it after two tries, and in a few minutes was ascending through low gravity, into the brightly lit shuttle compartment.
Star Trek Next Generation: Dyson Sphere iv. 66
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2014
Stephen Coonts
bibliography
The shuttle from the starship left orbit twenty minutes ago.
Saucer: Savage Planet xviii. 296 -
2015
Nnedi Okorafor
The shuttle was one of the new sleek models…. These ones glided fast over land using a combination of air current, magnetic fields, and exponential energy.
Binti 11
Research requirements
antedating 1940
Earliest cite
Nelson S. Bond, "Legacy", in Astounding
Research History
Douglas Winston submitted cites from an Ace books reprint of Robert A. Heinlein's 1951 "Between Planets": we would like to verify these in pre-1960 editions, or, preferably, in the serialization in Blue Book Magazine, Sept.-Oct 1951.Irene Grumman submitted a 1950 cite from "The Stars are the Styx" by Theodore Sturgeon.
Ben Ostrowsky submitted a 2014 cite from Stephen Coonts.
Last modified 2021-02-04 18:14:38
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