Full record for sleeper ship n.

Definition	a spaceship in which most or all of the passengers are in some form of suspended animation such as cold sleep in order to avoid aging during a very long voyage
OED requirements	antedating 1968
Earliest cite	J. Blish 'Space Seed'
Comment	Edward Bornstein submitted a cite from a 1990 reprint of Steve Jackson and William Barton's "GURPS SPACE". Jonathan Dale verified the cite in the 1988 first edition. Imran Ghory submitted a cite from a 1992 reprint of Gene Coon and Carey Wilbur's "Space Seed" in James Blish's print adaptation "Star Trek 2": Kevin Shelly verified this cite in the 1968 first edition. Douglas Winston submitted a 2002 cite from Timothy Zahn's "Manta's Gift". We would like cites of any date from other sources.
Last modified	6 July, 2008

Citations for sleeper ship n.

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1968 J. Blish Space Seed in Star Trek: Classic Episodes 1 (1992) 540	I've got it!‥ It's a sleeper ship!
1988 S. Jackson & W. A. Barton Gurps Space (1990) 86/1	Sleeper ships , colonists are frozen in suspended animation. This is the most economical method, as more colonists and their supplies can be contained in a ship. Such ships might be computer-controlled, with hundreds or thousands of freeze tubes, holds full of the equipment the colonists will need, and shuttlecraft to get them down to their new home.