Heart Of Gold finished

Built in 2134 by Final Frontier Aerospace, The Heart of Gold was commissioned by Errol Thatch IX—helium-3 tycoon, private orbital port owner, and a man with a deep love for both classic aerospace and absurdly fast things. Designed exclusively for spaceflight, the ship blends vintage aesthetics with high-end engineering. Its orbital-only profile allowed FFA to push boundaries without worrying about reentry dynamics, resulting in a sleek 100-meter frame powered by four full-flow staged combustion engines producing a combined 22,000 kN of thrust. The cockpit incorporates real aerospace lineage: a yoke derived from a retired SR-71, throttle systems inspired by mid-century spaceplanes, and instrumentation referencing early Mars mission HUDs. Originally intended as a high-speed orbital cruiser for private use, the ship has become something else entirely under the control of Errol’s daughter, Aurora Thatch.

Now legendary among spaceflight circles, The Heart of Gold gained its notoriety after performing an unauthorized, three thousand mile per hour pass just 4,000 meters above the lunar surface. (Thats closer than airliners fly to earth) Traveling at over 4,800 km/h, the ship skimmed the Moon in a maneuver described by one ground controller as “equal parts ballet and war crime.” No guidance errors were recorded—this was not a mistake, but a flex. Aurora’s calculated burn leveraged the ship’s overpowered thrust-to-mass ratio to pull out of the pass with fuel to spare, leaving behind nothing but scorched sensors and an unforgettable silhouette across the regolith. Footage from the incident went viral before the ship was even out of Earth-Moon SOI, and the stunt is now studied both as a cautionary tale and a masterclass in orbital control under pressure.

Final Frontier Aerospace released a memo shortly after, equal parts reprimand and reluctant admiration. “We remind all stakeholders this vessel was not intended to perform sub-5km lunar flybys at orbital velocities,” it read. “Nor was it certified for full-throttle Jupiter periapsis slingshots while blasting the beastie boys over the speaker system.” Still, the ship held together—systems nominal, stress margins within limits, even as the espresso machine failed under g-load. The bulletin concludes with what has become a famous quote in engineering forums: ‘Stop doing this, but also… wow.’ The Heart of Gold may have started as a billionaire’s toy, but it’s now a symbol of what happens when cutting-edge engineering meets unapologetic recklessness—and survives.