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Shuttlecraft (Star Trek)
Encyclopedia
In the Star Trek
fictional universe, a shuttlecraft is a small auxiliary spaceship
carried by the larger craft such as the Enterprise
. Shuttlecraft were documented in the writer's guide for the series in 1966 and first appeared in the episode The Galileo Seven. Galileo was the name of the shuttlecraft in the episode and had the registry number NCC-1701/7. Facsimiles and models of shuttlecraft have been built to serve as prop
s, toy
s and ride
s, such as the shuttlecraft simulator
at Star Trek: The Experience
.
, search & rescue operations, and on a few rare occasions to fly ahead of the mother ship
to provide forward navigational sensory data, map a safe flight path, and to provide course corrections to the mother ship. Most starships have shuttle bays for the launching and docking of shuttles as well as to serve as vehicle hangars, similar to the way large naval ships are often equipped with helicopter pads and aircraft hangars.
Additionally, shuttlecraft also serve as landing craft
since most starships are not designed to land on planetary surfaces or to even enter dense atmospheres. Although Starfleet
personnel typically use transporters
to teleport
themselves directly to and from a planet's surfaces for away missions, they do occasionally rely on shuttlecraft when the destination is beyond transporter range, such as distant planets or space stations, or when atmospheric disturbances or other conditions prevent the use of transporters. Shuttlecraft are also frequently used for planetary and stellar surveys. When sent on a planetary survey, the away team will often transport themselves to the surface and leave the shuttlecraft in orbit. Then when the team is ready to depart, they can activate the shuttlecraft's transporters by voice command.
Larger classes of shuttlecraft usually have their own weapons, defenses, and communication systems, as well as emergency transporters in case of a crash. As of Star Trek: Voyager
, advanced shuttles are capable of speeds of up to Warp 4.
The USS Enterprise
traditionally names its shuttlecraft after renowned explorers and scientists. The three original named shuttlecraft were Galileo
and Columbus
, which appeared during the original series, and Copernicus
, which appeared in the Star Trek: The Animated Series
episode "The Slaver Weapon". Galileo and Copernicus remained traditional names for USS Enterprise shuttlecraft among the many incarnations of that starship. During Star Trek: The Original Series
, several episodes depicted missions for the shuttlecraft. It was shown performing planetary exploration and search and rescue in "The Galileo Seven", and carried out a survey mission in "The Immunity Syndrome
".
Many other shuttlecraft (or shuttlepod) names were introduced during Star Trek: The Next Generation
such as Magellan
. Also, as homages to more contemporary scientists, names such as El-Baz
, Curie
, Onizuka
,
Goddard
, Feynman
, Cousteau and Hawking
were introduced.
_-_startrekvoyagers07e25e26.jpg)
SC-4 is the designation of a 25th-century Federation
Starfleet
shuttlecraft which appears from the future in the Star Trek: Voyager
episode "Endgame
". The craft belongs to a future Admiral Kathryn Janeway
and sports advanced weaponry and defensive systems, designed to fight against the Borg
.
The shuttle is equipped with transphasic torpedoes capable of destroying a Borg cube, which the crew adapts for use on USS Voyager
. The ship is equipped with a stealth device which is incompatible with Voyagers systems. Admiral Janeway uses it to hide "on the door step" of the Borg Queen's Unimatrix 01 when the Queen attempts to trick Janeway. The SC-4 is also fitted with ablative hull armor
generators capable of withstanding the disruptors of a Klingon
Negh'Var class battleship. When used by Voyager, the ship withstands an attack by three Borg cubes with minimal damage to the armor.
, avid pilot, and self-professed "grease monkey
", Tom Paris
, in response to the inadequacies he saw in the ship's standard complement of Class 2 Shuttles.
shuttles are known to be in use in the 2370s and are similar in size to a Federation Danube-class runabout.
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
fictional universe, a shuttlecraft is a small auxiliary spaceship
Spaceship
Spaceship can refer to:* Another name for a spacecraft* An Unidentified flr5tyqertaerying object * "Spaceship", a song by Puddle of Mudd from their album Vol...
carried by the larger craft such as the Enterprise
Starship Enterprise
The Enterprise or USS Enterprise is the name of several fictional starships, some of which are the focal point for various television series and films in the Star Trek franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. It is considered a name of legacy in the fleet...
. Shuttlecraft were documented in the writer's guide for the series in 1966 and first appeared in the episode The Galileo Seven. Galileo was the name of the shuttlecraft in the episode and had the registry number NCC-1701/7. Facsimiles and models of shuttlecraft have been built to serve as prop
Prop
Prop may refer to:* Prop , in position rugby union football* Prop , a position in rugby league football* PROP , in mathematics* Prop-, a prefix in chemistry* Mouth prop, used in dentistry...
s, toy
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
s and ride
Ride
Ride may refer to:* Amusement ride* Ride, a 2002 novel by David Walton* Ride quality, how well a vehicle copes with uneven surfaces* Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere, a sobriety testing program used by Canadian police...
s, such as the shuttlecraft simulator
Flight simulator
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and various aspects of the flight environment. This includes the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to applications of their controls and other aircraft systems, and how they react to the external...
at Star Trek: The Experience
Star Trek: The Experience
Star Trek: The Experience was a themed attraction at the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, based on the Star Trek entertainment franchise. It opened in January 1998, closed in September 2008, and was scheduled to reopen in the Neonopolis Mall on May 8, 2009 in time for the premiere of the...
.
Overview
Its role on starships is analogous to the use of naval helicopters on modern warships of the present day, as shuttlecraft often possess their own weapons and intelligence capabilities, and undertake a variety of missions—such as scouting/reconnaissanceReconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
, search & rescue operations, and on a few rare occasions to fly ahead of the mother ship
Mother ship
A mother ship is a vessel or aircraft that carries a smaller vessel or aircraft that operates independently from it. Examples include bombers converted to carry experimental aircraft to altitudes where they can conduct their research , or ships that carry small submarines to an area of ocean to be...
to provide forward navigational sensory data, map a safe flight path, and to provide course corrections to the mother ship. Most starships have shuttle bays for the launching and docking of shuttles as well as to serve as vehicle hangars, similar to the way large naval ships are often equipped with helicopter pads and aircraft hangars.
Additionally, shuttlecraft also serve as landing craft
Landing craft
Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...
since most starships are not designed to land on planetary surfaces or to even enter dense atmospheres. Although Starfleet
Starfleet
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet or the Federation Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory, peacekeeping and military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets . It is the principal means by which the Federation conducts its exploration, defense, diplomacy and research...
personnel typically use transporters
Transporter (Star Trek)
A transporter is a fictional teleportation machine used in the Star Trek universe. Transporters convert a person or object into an energy pattern , then "beam" it to a target, where it is reconverted into matter...
to teleport
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
themselves directly to and from a planet's surfaces for away missions, they do occasionally rely on shuttlecraft when the destination is beyond transporter range, such as distant planets or space stations, or when atmospheric disturbances or other conditions prevent the use of transporters. Shuttlecraft are also frequently used for planetary and stellar surveys. When sent on a planetary survey, the away team will often transport themselves to the surface and leave the shuttlecraft in orbit. Then when the team is ready to depart, they can activate the shuttlecraft's transporters by voice command.
Larger classes of shuttlecraft usually have their own weapons, defenses, and communication systems, as well as emergency transporters in case of a crash. As of Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
, advanced shuttles are capable of speeds of up to Warp 4.
The USS Enterprise
Starship Enterprise
The Enterprise or USS Enterprise is the name of several fictional starships, some of which are the focal point for various television series and films in the Star Trek franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. It is considered a name of legacy in the fleet...
traditionally names its shuttlecraft after renowned explorers and scientists. The three original named shuttlecraft were Galileo
Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...
and Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
, which appeared during the original series, and Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance astronomer and the first person to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe....
, which appeared in the Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe following the events of Star Trek: The Original Series of the 1960s...
episode "The Slaver Weapon". Galileo and Copernicus remained traditional names for USS Enterprise shuttlecraft among the many incarnations of that starship. During Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
, several episodes depicted missions for the shuttlecraft. It was shown performing planetary exploration and search and rescue in "The Galileo Seven", and carried out a survey mission in "The Immunity Syndrome
The Immunity Syndrome (TOS episode)
"The Immunity Syndrome" is a second season episode of Star Trek: The Original Series first broadcast January 19, 1968 and repeated June 7, 1968...
".
Many other shuttlecraft (or shuttlepod) names were introduced during Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
such as Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer. He was born in Sabrosa, in northern Portugal, and served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the "Spice Islands" ....
. Also, as homages to more contemporary scientists, names such as El-Baz
Farouk El-Baz
Farouk El-Baz is an Egyptian American scientist who worked with NASA to assist in the planning of scientific exploration of the Moon, including the selection of landing sites for the Apollo missions and the training of astronauts in lunar observations and photography.Currently, El-Baz is Research...
, Curie
Marie Curie
Marie Skłodowska-Curie was a physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes—in physics and chemistry...
, Onizuka
Ellison Onizuka
was a Japanese American astronaut from Kealakekua, Kona, Hawaii, who successfully flew into space with the Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-51-C, before losing his life to the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger, where he was serving as Mission Specialist for mission STS-51-L...
,
Goddard
Robert H. Goddard
Robert Hutchings Goddard was an American professor, physicist and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first liquid-fueled rocket, which he successfully launched on March 16, 1926...
, Feynman
Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics...
, Cousteau and Hawking
Stephen Hawking
Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA is an English theoretical physicist and cosmologist, whose scientific books and public appearances have made him an academic celebrity...
were introduced.
SC-4
United Federation of Planets
The United Federation of Planets, also known as "The Federation" is a fictional interplanetary federal republic depicted in the Star Trek television series and motion pictures...
Starfleet
Starfleet
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet or the Federation Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory, peacekeeping and military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets . It is the principal means by which the Federation conducts its exploration, defense, diplomacy and research...
shuttlecraft which appears from the future in the Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
episode "Endgame
Endgame (Voyager episode)
"Endgame" is the title of the series finale of the Star Trek spinoff series, Star Trek: Voyager. Originally shown as a double-length episode and presented as such in DVD collections, it is shown in repeat broadcasts as two linked episodes.-Plot:...
". The craft belongs to a future Admiral Kathryn Janeway
Kathryn Janeway
Kathryn Janeway, played by Kate Mulgrew, is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise. As the captain of the Starfleet starship USS Voyager, she was the lead character on the television series Star Trek: Voyager, and later, a Starfleet admiral, as seen in the 2002 feature film Star Trek...
and sports advanced weaponry and defensive systems, designed to fight against the Borg
Borg (Star Trek)
The Borg are a fictional pseudo-race of cybernetic organisms depicted in the Star Trek universe associated with Star Trek.Whereas cybernetics are used by other races in the science fiction world to repair bodily damage and birth defects, the Borg use enforced cybernetic enhancement as a means of...
.
The shuttle is equipped with transphasic torpedoes capable of destroying a Borg cube, which the crew adapts for use on USS Voyager
USS Voyager (Star Trek)
The fictional Intrepid-class starship USS Voyager is the primary setting of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager. It is commanded by Captain Kathryn Janeway....
. The ship is equipped with a stealth device which is incompatible with Voyagers systems. Admiral Janeway uses it to hide "on the door step" of the Borg Queen's Unimatrix 01 when the Queen attempts to trick Janeway. The SC-4 is also fitted with ablative hull armor
Ablative armor
Ablative armor is armor designed to negate damage or destruction to itself from the process of ablation. In contemporary spacecraft, ablative plating is most frequently seen as an ablative heat shield for a vehicle that must enter atmosphere from orbit, such as on nuclear warheads, or space...
generators capable of withstanding the disruptors of a Klingon
Klingon
Klingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
Negh'Var class battleship. When used by Voyager, the ship withstands an attack by three Borg cubes with minimal damage to the armor.
Delta Flyer
The Delta Flyer is an advanced custom-built shuttlecraft attached to the USS Voyager. It was built by chief helmsmanHelmsman
A helmsman is a person who steers a ship, sailboat, submarine, or other type of maritime vessel. On small vessels, particularly privately-owned noncommercial vessels, the functions of skipper and helmsman may be combined in one person. On larger vessels, there is a separate officer of the watch,...
, avid pilot, and self-professed "grease monkey
Mechanic
A mechanic is a craftsman or technician who uses tools to build or repair machinery.Many mechanics are specialized in a particular field such as auto mechanics, bicycle mechanics, motorcycle mechanics, boiler mechanics, general mechanics, industrial maintenance mechanics , air conditioning and...
", Tom Paris
Tom Paris
Thomas Eugene "Tom" Paris, played by Robert Duncan McNeill, is a character in the television series Star Trek: Voyager. Paris serves as the chief helmsman and an auxiliary medic aboard the USS Voyager...
, in response to the inadequacies he saw in the ship's standard complement of Class 2 Shuttles.
Romulan shuttle
RomulanRomulan
The Romulans are a fictional alien race in the Star Trek universe. First appearing in the original Star Trek series in the 1966 episode "Balance of Terror", they have since made appearances in all the main later Star Trek series: The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager...
shuttles are known to be in use in the 2370s and are similar in size to a Federation Danube-class runabout.