When the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) introduced the DY-100 space carrier in the late 1980’s it shocked the world. A symbol of the super-science being produced in southern Asia by the Singh regime, the DY-100 was now Earth’s most sophisticated (and only manned) interplanetary vehicle. With a cargo capacity many thousands of times that of the American STS or the Soviet Buran and capable reaching the moon in only two hours, it was hoped the DY-100 would kick-start a massive space mining industry. Unfortunately the series of conflicts that would later be called the “Eugenics Wars” halted their production and no further resources were available for an orbital support platform. Only three DY-100 carriers were ever built.

After the war’s end the United States and the Soviet Union each commandeered a single DY-100 carrier. The third was never accounted for. Even with their captured units, the two superpowers were unable reverse engineer them for the several decades before the start of World War III. The lesser Mir and International Space Station facilities had to be retrofitted to dock and receive cargo from the more advanced ISRO ships.