Earth's Space Stations played a major role in early space travel. By 2043, when the fusion drive was developed, there were seven stations in equatorial orbit at about 300 km altitude. These stations were major relay points for travel between space and the ground, as well as ground-to-ground travel. In a typical journey, one would lift off from the Kilimanjaro spaceport, dock with Kuumba station, transfer to another ship, and then fly down to New York or White Sands.
The stations were also early space settlements, and paved the way for the establishment of much larger settlements in the L4 and L5 positions.
Here are the stations, their sponsors, and the approximate date of their founding:
Station | Sponsor | Founded | Comments |
Kuumba | Umoja | 2031 | later became a fusion-powered passenger vessel on the Mars-Terra run. |
Mir II | Europe | c. 2010 | |
Viracocha | South America | 2028 | |
Freedom | North America | 1999 | aka The International Space Station |
Legeilan | Polynesia | 2031 | |
T'ien Hsien | China | 2008 | |
Sumeru | India | 2024 |