LEAVING, ON A SPACEPLANE

All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go, I’m standing here outside your door,
I hate to wake you up to say good-bye.
But first shift is starting, the ships will board, the steward’s waiting He’s blowing his horn.
Already I’m so lonesome I could die.

So kiss me and smile for me, tell me that you’ll wait for me, hold me like you’ll never let me go.
‘Cause I’m leaving on a spaceplane, don’t know when I’ll be back again. Oh, babe, I hate to go.

There’s so many times I’ve let you down, so many times I’ve played around,
I tell you now they don’t mean a thing.

Every place I go I’ll think of you, every song I sing I’ll sing for you,
when I come back, I’ll bring your wedding ring.

So kiss me and smile for me, tell me that you’ll wait for me, hold me like you’ll never let me go.
‘Cause I’m leaving on a spaceplane, don’t know when I’ll be back again. Oh, babe, I hate to go.

Now the time has come to leave you, one more time let me kiss you,
then close your eyes, I’ll be on my way.

Dream about the days to come when I won’t have to leave alone,
about the times I won’t have to say:

kiss me and smile for me, tell me that you’ll wait for me, hold me like you’ll never let me go.
‘Cause I’m leaving on a spaceplane, don’t know when I’ll be back again. Oh, babe, I hate to go.
I’m leaving on a spaceplane, don’t know when I’ll be back again. Oh, babe, I hate to go.

Author's notes. Spacers don't really have day or nights. They have three 8 hour shifts. "First Shift" is the time from 0800 to 1600 where most official business is conducted. Second Shift is between 1600 and 2400. 0000 to 0800 is the Third Shift.

Schools generally operate in First shift. Clubs, restaurants, and consumer stores are generally open Second shift. In generally, white collar workers work first shift. Service workers work second shift. Emergency worker and Blue collar workers in industries that have coverage 24 hours work third shift.

Spaceplanes are a form of single stage to orbit transport. Their performance is tailored to getting from Earth's surface to the Moon/Earth L1 Lagrange point. A massive facility in orbit at that platform allows the ships to refuel and transfer cargo to moon shuttles. Airlines will usually end up using Earth rated shuttles for lunar surface to orbit trips as well. The They can simply trade the extra fuel needed for LEO jumps for extra cargo. And having only one type of shuttle in service simplifies their logistics, even if a single-stage-to-LEO vessel is way overpowered for single-stage-to-lunar-orbit.

Fusion propulsion really doesn't eat that much extra mass and volume compared to the power generators needed to operate the life support system. While the flight surfaces are superflous when operating in a vacuum, their inclusion mainly affects the shape of the vessel, not its mass.


Original song

Credit
LEAVING, ON A JET PLANE

All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go, I’m standing here outside your door,
I hate to wake you up to say good-bye.
But the dawn is breaking, it’s early morn, the taxi’s waiting He’s blowing his horn.
Already I’m so lonesome I could die.

So kiss me and smile for me, tell me that you’ll wait for me, hold me like you’ll never let me go.
‘Cause I’m leaving on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again. Oh, babe, I hate to go.

There’s so many times I’ve let you down, so many times I’ve played around,
I tell you now they don’t mean a thing.

Every place I go I’ll think of you, every song I sing I’ll sing for you,
when I come back, I’ll bring your wedding ring.

So kiss me and smile for me, tell me that you’ll wait for me, hold me like you’ll never let me go.
‘Cause I’m leaving on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again. Oh, babe, I hate to go.

Now the time has come to leave you, one more time let me kiss you,
then close your eyes, I’ll be on my way.

Dream about the days to come when I won’t have to leave alone,
about the times I won’t have to say:

kiss me and smile for me, tell me that you’ll wait for me, hold me like you’ll never let me go.
‘Cause I’m leaving on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again. Oh, babe, I hate to go.
I’m leaving on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again. Oh, babe, I hate to go.

(written by John Denver)