IDD

The Inter-Dimensional Drive (IDD) revolutionized space travel for mankind. German physicist Valerie Holder and Russian engineers Alexandra Yankova and Iliyana Nankova made the inter-dimensional breakthrough on August 17, 2044. The three-person crew on the shuttle went from orbit above Berlin to Tranquility Bay on the Moon. The 385,000 km trip took 10:08:35.016 (10.544 km/s) instead of the typical 30:25:47.892 (3.514 km/s). The flight was heralded as a great success. The three-man crew and the three inventors were honored by the Triumvirate with large retirement packages.

IDD2
Over the course of the next decade, Yankova and Holder continued to tweak the design. By October 2054, their IDD2 prototype was ready for a test flight. Having a better grasp of inter-dimensional physics, they were able to generate twice the speed between dimensional shifts. They repeated the test flight from ten years earlier. This flight lasted 5:04:17.501, half the time of the IDD1 drive (21.087 km/s).

IDD3
Working off the IDD2 test results, Om Kang Dae, Ye Pyae and Phone Nyan tweaked the design even further. Labeling their engine the IDD3, their test flight from orbit over Bangladesh to Qui Nhon on Mars took 21:15:59:46.68, one-quarter the time of the commercial IDD1 engine (42.174 km/s).

IDD4
Ever since the patent was approved for the IDD3 engine, the Triumvirate has been offering ten billion dollars to anyone who could improve upon the current design. Between 2061 and 2110, millions have tried to modify the IDD3 engine to either make it go faster (which seems to be against inter-dimensional physics) or to make it more stable to put on larger ships. So far, no one has been able to collect the prize money. The front runners in the race in 2137 included Inter-Dimensional Drivers, a company run by Todor Sashov, Cho Sung Ho and Apollos Pekan.

Inter-Dimensional Sightings
Ever since humanity has begun travelling through inter-dimensional space, there have been sightings of other spacecraft in inter-dimensional space that do not belong to Earth. The Triumvirate Space Agency, a section of the Triumvirate's Fifth Division, keeps track of all inter-dimensional flights. They schedule the flights so that there are no more than three Triumvirate spaceships in inter-dimensional space at one time. As of 2137, these extra-terrestrial starships have not made contact with Earth.

Am-Cym Ships
It is reported that Am-Cym Starships are able to achieve upwards of 507 km/s (twelve times the speed of the IDD3).


 * It takes Am-Cym Starships 27 days, 7 hours, 37 minutes and 56 seconds to get from Cym to Mars. The trip from Cym to Earth takes 29 days, 2 hours, 33 minutes and 13 seconds.