Spacebase 2000 [antikvár]

IntroductionFor year upon silent year the massive docks and rusting gantries of the once great Saharan Spaceyards sprawled forgotten, decaying and desolate among the encroaching dunes of the desert. Here more than anywhere, Man's future had been shaped in the white heat of technological innovation, and the ships created that were to carry the people of Earth into the very heart of the Galaxy.How fitting, then, that when the Historical Bureau of the Terran Federation decided to found a great IVIuseum of Spaceflight, it should turn to the place from which Man had truly begun his voyage to the stars. Rendered obsolete by the very technology it had done so much to create, its ancient hangars, test beds and slipways were themselves monuments to the early pioneers of interstellar travel.Restoring the old yards and adapting them to their new role proved a massive undertaking, but now, four Earth-years later, the efforts of the army of researchers, technicians, engineers and architects have been amply rewarded. The huge towers and sprawling fabrication bays gleam beneath the protective transparent bowl of a new Envirodome, which keeps both the harsh climate and the invading sands at bay.To celebrate the opening of this magnificent tribute to the ingenuity and enterprise of our forefathers, the Terran Trade Authority has decided to publish a commemorative edition of its Handbooks, covering the crucial early years of spaceflight. These were the golden years when man ventured into the unknown reaches of space and found he was not alone among the stars.Space travellers then did not enjoy the security and safety afforded to us today. The rewards were great, the risks immeasurable and as Man pushed ever deeper into the Galaxy another grave threat loomed out of the darkness - the catastrophe of interstellar war. Twice in the Federation's tumultuous history mankind's very existence has been threatened, first by the unexpected horror of the Próxima Wars and then by the almost disastrous Laguna War.The ships that fought to preserve the worlds of the Federation, the great settler ships that carried the seeds of the human race to distant suns and the myriad craft that defended the spaceways are all recorded here. Some, like the celebrated Cutlass, may seem unbelievably primitive by modern standards. Some, like the Proximan K4 Interceptor, may be all but forgotten, while others, such as the venerable Interstellar Queen, may still be operational. All of them, however, represent milestones in the history of spaceflight.But the ships alone do not tell the full story of these vital years and this Commemorative Edition also describes some of the lesser-known conflicts and hardships endured by our ancestors during the Federation's formative years. It is to these courageous men that the Terran Trade Authority dedicates this book, in the hope that they will always be remembered as the real heroes of Spacebase2000.