A shuttle is a small transport spaceship usually operating at frequent intervals on a route between two or more places. They are generally short-ranged transports not intended for deep-space travel, and some may even lack an Epstein Drive altogether in favor of cheaper chemical rockets and RCS thrusters. Even those shuttles which do fit an Epstein Drive are usually still restricted to relatively short ranges from their mothership. This lack in capability is usually made up for by a shuttle's ability to conduct atmospheric landings, allowing them to serve as a link between a planetary surface and an orbiting spacecraft or space station. Almost every large spacecraft in the Sol system is required to maintain a certain number of shuttles to serve as escape vessels for the crew, should the mothership suffer a catastrophic issue. Shuttles have some broad crossover with skiffs and drop ships, the latter utilized by the military to deploy soldiers from space to a planetary surface. Shuttles and skiffs generally inhabit the size range of around 10-15 metres in length. However, some notable exceptions do exist.
The Excelsior-class luxury studio shuttle is a class of spacecraft built by Trayce Extrasolar Builders. Even by the standards of luxury yachts such as Guanshiyin, the Excelsior-class is a standout in its opulence. Although officially branded a shuttle (and with a great deal of irony), the Excelsior is more akin to a cross between a spaceborne hotel, cruise ship, and nightclub rolled into one. At 74 meters long, they are ruinously expensive to buy and take a significant time to construct-making them the domain of the ultra-wealthy and high society. Each one is custom-built according to a client's needs and combined immense personal comfort with a high-end creative suite with advanced recording and editing facilities suitable for interstellar celebrities. They can serve as a luxury hotel suite, top-class studio, and small nightclub rolled into one. The purchase of an Excelsior also comes with a top-of-the-line, experienced crew rolled in with the purchase - with such a hassle-free investment hard to turn down for anyone with the money to afford it. It requires a minimum of 3 crew members, but the standard is 5. The variety in fittings for Excelsior-class ships are extensive, and can include advanced medical facilities (sometimes modified for recreational or cosmetic use), PDCs, or (on working vessels) an advanced entertainment package that includes content-creation facilities or a boosted signal modification for journalist use.
The LaBrea-class shuttle is a type of modified shuttle that can be used for the transportation of prisoners. It is 15 meters long and can operate with a minimum of 1 crew member, but the standard is to have 8 crew members operating it. LaBrea-class ships are generally used for bounty hunting, and as such give over a portion of their cargo capacity to host up to eight small (Even by ship standards) cells for housing captured prisoners. If both cargo decks are given to the task, then this number can be raised as high as sixteen, though this is rare, due to the LaBrea's secondary function as a cargo and materiel transport. The use of LaBreas in official contexts are rare due to the uncommon need to transport prisoners offworld. However, they are well-used by bounty hunters, who often find second-hand and refitted LaBreas ideal for holding prisoners-finding their prisoner transport facilities much more secure than simply interring them in crew quarters for a journey.
The Khonsu-class shuttle is a class of shuttle used by Protogen, most notably aboard their Amun-Ra-class frigates. The Khonsu-class shuttlec is equipped with similar stealth features to the larger Amun-Ra frigate. This shuttle is able to serve as a forward scout for the frigate and is capable of traveling impressively long distances from its mothership to transfer personnel or supplies. The craft is kept in a concealed compartment, nearly indistinguishable from the rest of the frigate's hull, and can be quickly deployed as an evacuation craft in the event of an emergency. Following the Protomolecule outbreak on the Anubis, one of the Amum-Ra frigates, the lone survivor, Julie Mao, took the Anubis's Khonsu-class shuttle, the Anubis-1A, to Eros Station, waiting for an OPA rescue. However, she was exposed to the Protomolecule at some time, and died aboard Eros, allowing for the start of the Eros Incident. The Anubis shuttle likely remained there until Eros's crash into Venus. Hot on Julie's trail, Miller arrived at Eros to find that the ship that had docked at Eros was not the Anubis itself, but its shuttle Anubis-1A, registered to a "Lionel Polanski." However, his aggressive means of obtaining this information from Eros' dock master nearly landed him in jail.