DROPSHIP
Dropship
Dropships typically possess a short range and are designed only to work in conjunction with a larger orbiting mothership or vessel that is ill suited to land on the surface. Dropships are usually capable of both atmospheric and space flight, differing from craft only capable of flight in one of those mediums. The roles of Dropships are generally military in nature, including landing troops or equipment on a planet. Dropships featured tend to be portrayed as heavily armed and armoured, providing protection for troops from surface fire, similar to helicopters currently employed by military forces.The above text is a snippet from Wikipedia: Dropship (science fiction)
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.