A single-use space-to-ground spacecraft meant to be dropped or fired from orbit for rapid deployment of personnel and cargo. It is similar in concept to a space_capsule but without the parachute.

Drop pods are sometimes equipped with thrusters to slow down the descent and adjust the trajectory but often times they're meant to crash straight down to the ground. They may even have topside boosters to make them go down even faster. How it accomplishes this without turning the passenger into paste or destroying the cargo is often left unexplained or waved away with science fiction technology.

See also

• dropship
• escape_pod