Loon-class Shuttle

The Loon-class shuttle was a vintage atmospheric and orbital craft designed to ferry goods and passengers to and from orbital installations. The earliest Loons were launched into orbit with the assistance of disposable rocket stages. They returned to the surface by gliding while allowing atmospheric resistance to reduce velocity before landing. Later models would use orbital trebuchets, long rails that could launch the craft into the upper atmosphere, after which the Loon could reach full orbit under its own engine power.

During the Exodus from Blimnor, the generation ships were each host to a fleet of Loons, although after the establishment of Eddom Prime, shipwrights were quick to develop single-stage shuttles capable of reaching orbit and landing under their own engine power.