Hundreds of years before the discovery of the ZTT effect, and the construction of interstellar craft, mankind had been building spacecraft. The modern term spacecraft is used to distinguish vehicles which simply operate in space, from those that travel between stars, or between distant planets within a starsystem.

ZTT, and to a lesser extent the Bitek equivalent both make very specific demands on the form and function of a Starship. As a result Starships tend to be built using a small number of variations of form.

Spacecraft on the other hand are enormously varied. Their forms can be extremely varied, even between vessels that are apparently built for the same purpose.

In the Federation, at the beginning of the 27th century there are millions upon millions of spacecraft, some are modest 'space cars' while others are vast, almost classifiable as mobile space stations.

In this section you can learn a little about the most commen types of spacecraft. With so many vessels in existence, the examples here can be considered only a tiny sample.