Federation Shuttlecraft

Standard ShuttlesEscape PodsCaptain's YachtsShort-Range VehiclesOtherUncertain TypeUnknown Type

 

Standard Shuttles


Argo type

General description

This is a cargo shuttle with a large aft door. The wings are swept down for atmospheric flight. The shuttle is warp-capable, with the nacelles located very close to the hull.

Known shuttles

Argo
 

Annotations

A cargo shuttle named Argo appears in "Star Trek Nemesis". The wheeled ground vehicle aboard the shuttle is also named Argo. This is why we can suppose that the vehicle belongs to the shuttle's standard complement.

Class specifications

Length: approx. 20m

 


Enterprise-E shuttle

General description

The Enterprise-E carries this type of large warp shuttles.
Gallery: Federation Shuttlecraft

Known shuttles

No name given
 

Annotations

  1. The Enterprise-E shuttle from "Star Trek: Insurrection" has an extremely streamlined look like the Type 9, but it is big enough for a comfortable trip for a crew of four. The cabin is a redressed runabout set. The set has lateral doors that are not on the shuttle model.
  2. According to the Official Starships Collection, this is the Type-11 shuttle.

Class specifications

Length: 16m

 


Galileo 5 type

General description

This shuttle type is among the standard complement of the Enterprise-A as of 2287.
Gallery: Federation Shuttlecraft

Known shuttles

Copernicus - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 3
Galileo - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 5
 

Annotations

The Galileo 5 type appeared in "Star Trek: The Final Frontier". Like all small shuttles of that time, this is supposed to be a sublight vessel. This isn't contradicted by on-screen evidence.

Class specifications

Length: 9.1m

 


Galileo 7 type

General description

This type of shuttles is carried aboard Federation starships and also used on starbases in the 2260s.
Article: Starships in TOS and TOS Remastered
Gallery: Federation Shuttlecraft

Known shuttles

Columbus NCC-1701/2
Conrad
Da Vinci SB4-0314/2
Einstein NCC-1701/6
Galileo NCC-1701/7
Galileo II NCC-1701/7
Picasso SB11-1201/1
(Name unknown) NCC-K7
 

Annotations

  1. For dramaturgical reasons the TOS shuttle had to be much slower than the Enterprise, and it wasn't even supposed to have warp drive. Three out of only eight TOS episodes in which shuttles were used, however, would require the shuttle to travel at warp. In TOS: "The Menagerie" a shuttle from Starbase 11 clearly pursues the Enterprise at warp. TOS: "Metamorphosis" shows our heroes on interstellar travel with the shuttle - although we may make up an explanation that their shuttle was dropped at the edge of a solar system. In TOS: "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" Lokai's shuttle is encountered in deep space, although it was reported stolen just two weeks ago.
  2. The starbase shuttle that appeared in TOS: "The Menagerie" was called "Class F". This could be either the name for the shuttles aboard the NCC-1701 too, or it could denote a warp-capable variant, if we insist on the Enterprise shuttles being impulse-only (although it would make no sense to give the ship such an inferior shuttle type).
  3. 6.7m is the length as laid out by Matt Jefferies. The interior set appears to be larger, but I'm going with the original size.
  4. The number "NCC-K7" was in the shuttlebay of Deep Space K-7 in DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations". It was not visible in the episode, though.
  5. The Director's Cut DVD of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" shows TOS shuttles at Starfleet Headquarters, one of which is named Conrad.
  6. The shuttle named Einstein is the one that Decker steals in the remastered version of "The Doomsday Machine", according to Mike Okuda (he fixed a naming error because the original episode re-used stock footage of the meanwhile destroyed Galileo). The Picasso is the so far unnamed shuttle from Starbase 11 in TOS-R: "The Menagerie", the Da Vinci the one from Starbase 4 in TOS-R: "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield". On a perhaps more important note, the grille on the aft end of the shuttle in TOS-R: "The Doomsday Machine" is lighted red, indicating that this is supposed to be the impulse engine. This insinuates that the two tube engines are indeed warp nacelles, although no lighting effect was added to the Bussard collectors.

Class specifications

Length: 6.7m

 


"Generations" shuttle

General description

This shuttle seems to belong to the complement of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D.
Gallery: Federation Shuttlecraft

Known shuttles

Hawking - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 15
 

Annotations

  1. The shuttle appeared only in "Star Trek Generations". It combines elements of the standard Type-6 shuttle and the longer shuttle from "Star Trek V". It is possible that it is actually an upgraded version of the latter shuttle.
  2. In addition to several duplicate shuttlecraft numbers on the Enterprise-D, the Hawking is a duplicate name. Berman was very fond of the noted physicist Stephen Hawking (and so am I), and he decided to name yet another shuttle for him - maybe the Type 7 had been destroyed or assigned to another ship in the meantime.

Class specifications

Length: 9.1m

 


Janeway's shuttle



Active hull armor

General description

Admiral Janeway uses such a shuttle on her mission to save Voyager in 2404. The shuttle is equipped with a novel ablative armor.
Gallery: Federation Shuttlecraft

Known shuttles

(Name unknown) SC-4
 

Annotations

The similarity to the Type-9 shuttle is undeniable, but with its considerably different proportions it clearly is a new type. Rick Sternbach labeled his production art of the design as "uprated Type 18 H shuttle". The "SC" in the registry obviously refers to "Starfleet Command".

Class specifications

Length: approx. 9.5m

 


Type 6

General description

This is a standard shuttlecraft in use at least aboard ships of the Galaxy, Nebula and Intrepid classes. It is equipped with two 1250 millicochrane warp engines and microfusion thrusters. Unarmed by default, it can be fitted with type 4 phaser emitters.
Article: Starship Mutations
Article: Voyager Inconsistencies
Gallery: Federation Shuttlecraft

Known shuttles

Curie - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 03
Fermi - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 09
Feynman - assigned to USS Enterprise
Galileo - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 07
Goddard - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 15
Justman - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 03
Magellan - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 15
Sacajawea - Voyager Shuttlecraft 05
Verne - assigned to Relay Station 47
(Name unknown) Enterprise Shuttlecraft 04
(Name unknown) assigned to NCC-71325
 

Annotations

  1. The Type 6 exterior was built as a 1/1 scale model from the beginning, modifying the shuttle from "Star Trek V". Although it seems that Type 6 gradually replaced Type 7, this is only because no good 1/1 scale exterior of the latter was available. Actually, we should assume that both types were on board for the whole eight years of TNG until "Generations".
  2. Type-6 shuttles are also used during the run of DS9 and on USS Voyager. According to the DS9TM they were available on the station itself, although any visual evidence is missing. The type is explicitly mentioned in the Star Trek Voyager Technical Guide V1.0 for the writers. It is unknown whether the Type-6 shuttles unintentionally found their way into the series although the Type 8 became available, or whether Voyager was supposed to have Type 6 and Type 8 from the very beginning (Type 9 being a creation of the second season). Anyway, we have seen Type-6 shuttles several times in the series, but official publications like the Fact Files still claim that exclusively the similar Type 8 was used. This may be out of ignorance, or it is an excuse that the VFX people used to confuse the shuttle types and didn't even notice that they changed the shuttle type during the flight! This happened in VOY: "Coda" and "The Raven".
  3. According to ship status displays, the Prometheus and Nova classes carry Type-6 shuttles too.
  4. The Type-6 shuttles in the shuttlebay in TNG: "Cause and Effect" were labeled "Berman" and "Piller". Their names were not supposed to be readable, so they may fall into the same category as in-jokes on labels and diagrams - although there would be no problem with their names.
  5. In TNG: "Ship in a Bottle" Moriarty entered a Type-6 mock-up which later appeared as a Type 7. This may be due to a glitch in the holodeck.
  6. In TNG: "Lower Decks" Ensign Sito Jaxa is supposed to take an escape pod back to Federation space. Thereby it is implied that the Type-6 shuttle Curie is equipped with an escape pod, although the only conceivable place underneath the floor would be urgently needed for power systems and fuel.
  7. The numbers of the apparently new Type-6 shuttles are generally not in line with those of the Type 7. Perhaps some of the shuttles were simply replaced or renumbered.

Class specifications

Light short-range warp shuttle
Length: 6m
Mass: 3.38t
Warp 2 for 36 hours (uprtd.)

 


Type 7



Lettering variant



Long-windowed variant



"Skin of Evil" variant

General description

This type of shuttlecraft is in use at least aboard ships of the Galaxy class and Excelsior class.
Article: Variations of the Type-7 Shuttle
Gallery: Federation Shuttlecraft

Known shuttles

Ansel Adams - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 08
Clarke - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 05
Copernicus - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 03
Cousteau - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 10
D'Alison - Repulse Shuttlecraft 10
Descartes - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 11
Einstein - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 02
Hawking - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 15
Indiana Jones - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 09
JF Kennedy - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 15
McAuliffe - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 20
Kotoi - assigned to USS Liberator NCC-67016
Sakharov - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 01
Tereshkova - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 20
Von Braun - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 04
(Name unknown) Enterprise Shuttlecraft 06
(Name unknown) NCC-70367 (number unknown)
 

Annotations

  1. The shuttle was designed by Andrew Probert. Probert originally intended the Type 7 to have a longer window band, extending backward across the side hatch. This variant can be seen on a computer screen in TNG: "The Naked Now", "The Last Outpost", "Datalore" and "Conspiracy".
  2. In TNG: "Skin of Evil" a shuttlecraft that is obviously supposed to be a Type 7 is partially buried in rock, with the rear end sticking out. The 1/1 scale mock-up is painted differently and, moreover, is missing the aft hatch of the miniature and several hull details. It may qualify as another variant of the shuttle design.
  3. The shuttle type most often appears as a miniature. We see a 1/1 scale mock-up of the Type-7 shuttle Sakharov in the shuttlebay in TNG: "Unnatural Selection" (and as stock footage in a few more episodes). The attempt to correctly reproduce the elegant curves of the miniature failed, and the 1/1 model looks very clumsy. Since this big model is explicitly said and labeled to be the same as the small model used for the shots in space, there is no point in assuming that the boxy version could be a distinct type of shuttle.
  4. There is also an even more streamlined potential variant, showing up on an unused matte painting for TNG: "Home Soil" and in the background of "11001001" (see below).
  5. In TNG: "Q Who" Data states that this type of shuttle has no warp drive, which will be contradicted later.
  6. Type 7 is the first shuttle depicted with an escape transporter, as seen in TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds II". Later shuttles, especially on Voyager, will have a transporter as a standard.
  7. Since TNG: "Evolution" a display in the shuttlebay lists the available shuttles, which at that time were apparently all meant to be Type 7. It was never readable but is serious enough to qualify as close to canon. Some names and numbers on the list are of Type-7 shuttles that we actually saw on the show, some are new. The names on the list are: Shuttle 01 - Sakharov, Shuttle 02 - Einstein, Shuttle 04 - Von Braun, Shuttle 05 - Clarke, Shuttle 08 - Ansel Adams, Shuttle 09 - Indiana Jones, Shuttle 10 - Cousteau, Shuttle 11 - Descartes (misspelled as "Decartes"), Shuttle 15 - JF Kennedy, Shuttle 20 - Tereshkova, Shuttle 21 - McAuliffe.
  8. The shuttle in TNG: "Identity Crisis" has NCC-70367 clearly visible on the starboard hull, while the aft hatch is labeled NCC-70637. The latter would become the registry of the USS Galaxy.
  9. The stock footage of the Sakharov shuttle mock-up was digitally relabeled for TNG-R to from "Sakharov - 01" to "Einstein - 02", to comply with the dialogue.

Class specifications

Light short-range warp shuttle
Length: 8.5m
Mass: 3.96t
Warp 2 for 36 hours (uprtd.)

 


Type 8

General description

This type of shuttlecraft is in use at least on ships of the Intrepid class.
Article: Starship Mutations
Article: Voyager Inconsistencies
Gallery: Federation Shuttlecraft

Known shuttles

Drake - assigned to USS Voyager
Tereshkova - Voyager Shuttlecraft 01
 

Annotations

  1. It is unknown why the Type-8 shuttle was created for Voyager although the similar Type-6 shuttle was available. The silly reason may be that, like all of the Enterprises too, Voyager should have shuttles with nacelles that resemble the nacelles of their mother ship.
  2. The VFX people nevertheless retained the similar Type-6 shuttles for the series, which led to mix-ups in a few episodes, particularly the total mess in "The Raven". Some of the alleged Type-8 shuttles on Voyager mentioned in the Fact Files (or the loss list in the ST Magazine) are actually Type 6. Type 8 was effectively dropped in Voyager's third season, now in favor of the more streamlined Type 9. With the exception of incorrect stock shots, all later boxy shuttles were in fact the TNG Type 6, with new lettering and hull pennants for the Voyager era. No specific mock-up was built for Type 8, the interior was always identical to Type 6.

Class specifications

Length: 7m

 


Type 9

General description

This modern type of shuttlecraft is commonly used on USS Voyager and also by Starfleet facilities in Sector 001.
Article: Voyager Inconsistencies

Gallery: Federation Shuttlecraft

Known shuttles

Cochrane - Voyager Shuttlecraft 04
Harris - assigned to USS Voyager
Dawkins - assigned to facility in Sol system
 

Annotations

  1. The authors didn't care that Rick Sternbach designated this shuttle as "Type 12" - considering that Type 9a is already taken by the cargo shuttle from the TNGTM (see below). At least in VOY: "Resolutions" the shuttle was explicitly called "Type 9". The maximum speed of Warp 4 also comes from this episode. Later, in the fifth season, the authors forgot their own "Type 9" too, and suddenly came up with the designation "Class 2", now completely ignoring the established nomenclature of shuttles. We may still assume that "Class 2" is a collective name for all small shuttle types, considering that B'Elanna seemed to know "Class 2" shuttles from her time at the Academy a couple of years ago, obviously before the Intrepid class and therefore this class-specific shuttle type even existed. On the other hand, the Type-9 shuttle has an especially impractical design compared to the Type 6 and Type 7, for instance, so B'Elanna should remember an even more comfortable "Class 2" shuttle from her Academy days.
  2. It has become a silly habit that many Starfleet shuttlecraft look like miniatures of their mother ships, although for economic and technical reasons there should be standard types irrespective of the ship class on which they are based. The nacelles of the TOS shuttlecraft (although these were never supposed to be warp nacelles!) and of the Type 7, which look like almost exact copies of their mother ships' nacelles, may still be explained in that it's the generic look of nacelles - be they large for starships or small for shuttles. Type 9, however, has details aside from the nacelles that remind us rather of the Intrepid class than of other shuttles (the deflector, the impulse drives and the sensor pallets, for instance).
  3. Aside from its resemblance to the large Intrepid class, the exaggerated streamlined look results in a sufficient height to stand upright for only 2m of the overall length of 8.5m (barely fulfilling a stipulation from the producers). All other shuttles, such as the shorter Type 6, have a much better usage of the available room. As with Types 7 and 8, there was never a full-scale mock-up of the exterior of Type 9.
  4. It seems that Voyager is only using Type-9 (or rather "Class-2") shuttles besides the Delta Flyer since the sixth season. The most likely real-world reason is that the Type 9 looks "cooler" than the boxy Type 6 and Type 8. The in-universe explanation may be that Voyager has finally run out of spare parts for shuttles, and it was regarded useful to build only the most advanced type, namely Type 9, from scratch.
  5. Although the model ended up as "Shuttle 4 - Harris", there is no evidence of a shuttle of this name and number in the series.
  6. Here is my rant about the miraculous flight at infinite speed in "Threshold".

Class specifications

Length: 8.5m
Max. speed: Warp 4

 


Type 10

General description

One Type-10 shuttlecraft is carried aboard the USS Defiant.
Article: Defiant Problems
Gallery: Federation Shuttlecraft

Known shuttles

Chaffee - Defiant Shuttlecraft 01
 

Annotations

  1. The designation as Type 10 comes from the DS9TM. It was not established on screen.
  2. The Chaffee was an emergency concept drawn up by Doug Drexler after the Type-18 miniature was discovered missing, possibly stolen. As a result, it is unclear on screen if the Defiant carries two shuttle types or one replaced the other.
  3. The DS9TM gives a length of 9.64m for the Type-10 shuttle. Since the Defiant is rather 120m long than 170m, we have to scale down the shuttle that could be seen only once, in DS9: "Sound of Her Voice". This would make make it impossible for passengers to stand upright inside, though.
  4. Type-10 shuttles, like those of Type 9, are a silly construction from an engineering viewpoint. Actually, Type 10, whose unusual warp drive seems to be derived from the large Defiant, rather than from any other shuttle, is even more irrational. Yet, considering that Starfleet has better things to do than toying around with shuttle designs in face of the Borg threat and the Dominion War, we should imagine that small ship classes other than the Defiant are equipped with these shuttles too.

Class specifications

Length: approx. 6.5m

 


Type 14

General description

Type 14 is a long-range shuttle around the year 2400.

Known shuttles

Emerson (USS Titan-A)
Gorkon (USS Intrepid)
USS Jemison
Saavik (USS Titan-A)
 

Annotations

  1. One shuttlecraft of this type carries Picard to the USS Stargazer in PIC: "The Star Gazer". More Type-14 shuttles appear in various episodes of season 3: the Saavik in "The Next Generation" and "Disengage", the Gorkon in "Imposters", the Emerson in "Surrender" and an unnamed shuttle in "Vox".
  2. The design of this shuttle (by John Eaves and Harald Belker) follows the lines of the one attached to the Enterprise-E from "Star Trek: Insurrection". But it was given the same nacelle style as on the USS Stargazer (and later the USS Titan-A).
  3. The individual shuttle in PIC: "The Star Gazer" is named USS Jemison, indicating it is not attached to the Stargazer or any other starship. This might warrant to list it as a starship itself, but I assume that normally these shuttles don't have a USS prefix.

Class specifications

None available

 


Type 15



Lettering variant



Variant with pod

General description

Type 15 is a light short-range shuttle with two seats. It is used on the Galaxy class and Renaissance class.
Article: Variations of the Type-15 Shuttle
Gallery: Federation Shuttlecraft

Known shuttles

Armstrong - Enterprise Shuttlepod 15
Campbell - assigned to USS Enterprise
Chris Pike - Enterprise Shuttlepod 02
Cochrane - Enterprise Shuttlepod 14
Cousteau - Aries Shuttlepod 20
Curie - Enterprise Shuttlepod 16
El-Baz - Enterprise Shuttlepod 05
Feynman - Enterprise Shuttlepod 18
Heinlein - Enterprise Shuttlepod 08
Ley - Enterprise Shuttlepod 09
Lindbergh - Enterprise Shuttlepod 09
Onizuka - Enterprise Shuttlecraft 07
Pike - Enterprise Shuttlepod 12
PT Farnsworth - Enterprise Shuttlepod 10
Sam Freedle - Enterprise Shuttlepod 12
Voltaire - Enterprise Shuttlepod 03
(Name unknown) Enterprise Shuttlepod 01
 

Annotations

  1. The Type 15, unlike the larger Type 7 and the later Type 6, was always supposed to be a sublight shuttle (as explicitly stated by Riker in TNG: "Time Squared" and by Geordi, who mentioned its "impulse nacelle" in TNG: "In Theory"). Nevertheless it seems that occasionally it must have been warp-capable. Most obviously this must have been the case in TNG: "The Mind's Eye" when Geordi's shuttle was kidnapped by the Romulans in open space (although here we see the ship at sublight speed only). Well, it could be that Geordi's shuttle had just been dropped by a starship and was waiting for a rendezvous with another one that would have taken him to Risa. A similar problem exists with the shuttlepod Cousteau of the USS Aries in TNG: "Identity Crisis". I think a renegade Starfleet officer would have had difficulties in finding someone to take him to Tarchannen so quickly. The episode made no mention of a possible vessel that could have taken him there.
  2. In all scenes with the shuttle miniature in space we can see a red light in the center of the aft wall, which has to be the impulse exhaust. However, on the life-size model, there is a cargo hold only centimeters behind the aft hatch, and in TNG: "Power Play" the "impulse drive" even serves as an emergency exit...
  3. A display in the Enterprise-D shuttlebay lists the available shuttlepods, most likely all of Type 15. It was never readable but is serious enough to qualify as close to canon. Some names and numbers on the list are of Type-15 shuttles that we actually saw on the show, some are new. The names on the list are: Pod 02 - Chris Pike, Pod 05 - El Baz, Pod 07 - Onizuka, Pod 08 - Heinlein, Pod 09 - Lindbergh (misspelled as "Lindberg"), Pod 10 - PT Farnsworth, Pod 12 - Sam Freedle, Pod 14 - Cochrane, Pod 15 - Armstrong, Pod 16 - Curie, Pod 18 - Feynman. It is possible that the shuttle Pike (No. 12?) we saw was really the one listed as "Chris Pike" (No. 02).

Class specifications

Light short-range shuttle
Length: 3.6m
Mass: 0.86t
Max. speed: 12,800m/s

 


Type 18

General description

The Defiant is equipped with two of these small warp-capable short-range shuttles.
Gallery: Federation Shuttlecraft

Known shuttles

Defiant Shuttlecraft 01
 

Annotations

  1. It is incredibly ironic that all three Type-18 shuttlepods that ever appeared in the series, though allegedly capable of sublight speed only (according to DS9TM), must have gone to warp! In DS9: "The Search" it was very unlikely that the Defiant could have been so close to the Omarion Nebula when the Jem'Hadar boarded the ship and Odo and Kira escaped with one of these shuttles. On the contrary, the plot logic requires that they were a long way from the Nebula because, prior to the attack, Odo tried in vain to talk Kira into going there. In the Founders' simulation in the same episode, Sisko and Bashir even took a shuttlepod to go back to the wormhole, at least several light years. Their energy supply was exhausted after six days, but since they seemed to act on their own within the simulation parameters, they should have anticipated that this was absolutely impossible. In DS9: "Destiny", finally, the pod was explicitly said to have warp drive: "A shuttle pod could maneuver between them [the comet fragments], and its warp drive should be able to create a large enough subspace field."
  2. Even more strangely, the shuttlepod Sisko and Bashir used in "The Search" had an aft hatch, as opposed to the wing doors that Type 18 was designed with. Kira's and Odo's shuttle was the same set from inside, but the model used to represent the outside definitely didn't have anything like such a hatch. It seems very unlikely that a two-seated shuttle should have three doors.
  3. The shuttle has an aft compartment for passengers according to the Eaglemoss Official Starships Collection, whose existence is doubtful because the shuttle does not seem to be long enough. The Eaglemoss model is too long, among other inaccuracies.

Class specifications

Length: 4.5m

 

Escape Pods


Defiant/Intrepid escape pod

General description

The Defiant class and the Intrepid class employ the same type of escape pods. They are hidden behind flush hull plates on the Defiant class and behind hatches on the Intrepid class. The lifeboats may be combined to clusters in the "gaggle mode".
Gallery: Federation Shuttlecraft

Known shuttles

No name given
 

Annotations

  1. The Defiant escape pods could be seen in DS9: "Valiant" and "The Changing Face of Evil". The hull plates don't completely break away, but it is unknown if the pods are supposed to be re-integrated into the ship. If the Defiant escape pods are the same size as on the Intrepid, the ship is some 150m long.
  2. The Intrepid lifeboats may be easily retrieved. They were used in VOY: "Dreadnought", "Year of Hell" (although not in the persistent timeline), "The Haunting of Deck Twelve" (although this all may be a tale by Neelix), "Inside Man" and "Workforce". Some of them were destroyed in the latter episode, but we may assume that building new ones is as easy as building new torpedoes or shuttles.

Class specifications

Width: 3.5m
Height: 3.6m
6-8 seats

 


Delta Flyer escape pod

General description

The Delta Flyer has at least three of these small lifeboats.
Gallery: Federation Shuttlecraft

Known shuttles

No name given
 

Annotations

The escape pod could be seen in VOY: "Good Shepherd". Its shape suggests that each pod accommodates only one person. The escape pod was also mentioned in "Muse".

Class specifications

None available

 


Deneva escape pod

General description

The escape pods of the Deneva class are much like shuttlepods.
Article: Redresses of the Nenebek

Known shuttles

No name given
 

Annotations

A lifeboat of the USS Arcos could be seen in TNG: "Legacy". It is obviously the same mock-up that would appear as the Nenebek, only without the aft section that may not yet exist at this time. The versatile full-scale model will also appear as Rasmussen's time pod, the Iyaaran shuttle and the Klingon Toron shuttle.

Class specifications

Length: approx. 3.5m

 


Galaxy escape pod

General description

The Galaxy class carries autonomous survival and recovery vehicles (ASRVs) with accommodation for up to six persons. These lifeboats can be docked to each other, in order to form larger clusters.

Known shuttles

No name given
 

Annotations

  1. I counted 420 lifeboat hatches on the Enterprise-D. The hatches are about 7m x 8m and obviously much larger than the lifeboats themselves.
  2. The image shows a colored version of the b/w depiction in the TNGTM. Thanks to Kris!
  3. The term ASRV is mentioned in the TNGTM. It may be a more formal name for escape pods or lifeboats in general, or it may be a special or new type used on the Galaxy class. Since already ships of the Constitution class were supposed to have escape pods ("Star Trek II"), but the TNGTM states that ASRVs were introduced as late as 2337 for the Renaissance class, the latter seems to be true

Class specifications

Width: 3m
Height: 3m
4-6 seats

 


Saratoga escape pod

General description

The Saratoga has lifeboats that are launched from the shuttlebays.
Gallery: Federation Shuttlecraft

Known shuttles

#10
 

Annotations

The Saratoga lifeboats as seen in DS9: "Emissary" are apparently larger than those of other known starships. They accommodate more than twelve people.

Class specifications

None available

 


Sovereign escape pod

General description

The Sovereign lifeboats can be quickly launched and retrieved. There are no hatches, but the upper surface of the lifeboats is almost flush with the hull. When the escape pods are about to enter an atmosphere, the top surface is turned "down" to serve as a heat shield.
Gallery: Federation Shuttlecraft

Known shuttles

No name given
 

Annotations

We could see the launch of the lifeboats in "Star Trek: First Contact". It was implied that they could return on their own.

Class specifications

None available

 

Captain's Yachts


Galaxy captain's yacht

General description

The captain's yacht of a Galaxy-class and a Nebula-class vessel is docked to the center of the ventral saucer section. It is equipped with impulse drive and atmospheric thrusters.
Gallery: Federation Shuttlecraft

Known shuttles

Calypso
 

Annotations

  1. The TNGTM has an embarrassing mistake because the dimensions of the captain's yacht are less than half of what they should be, considering that the yacht's outline is clearly visible in ventral views of the ship. Therefore the depicted cross-section of the yacht is wrong too, unless it was built for giants. The correct length is 23m in flight direction, as can be easily measured in the Enterprise-D Blueprints.
  2. The yacht of the Enterprise NCC-1701-D was christened "Calypso", after Jacques Cousteau's ship, by Patrick Stewart. We could never see this vehicle in action.

Class specifications

Length: 23m (in flight direction)
Width: 41m
Max. speed: 0.65c

 


Intrepid aeroshuttle

General description

A large warp-capable shuttle, the aeroshuttle, is docked to the ventral side of the saucer of an Intrepid-class starship.
Article: Voyager Inconsistencies

Known shuttles

No name given
 

Annotations

  1. The contours of a shuttle can be clearly seen on the ventral side of Voyager's saucer hull. Nevertheless, the aeroshuttle has never been mentioned, much less been shown in the seven years of Voyager, although to use it would have been an option several times and although the crew even took the efforts to build the Delta Flyer from scratch. There are several possible explanations. Since we can't simply deny the shuttle-like structure on the saucer bottom, I like the suggestion by Rick Sternbach that there was just a placeholder for the aeroshuttle or that the aeroshuttle was not yet finished at the time of "Caretaker". The aeroshuttle could be seen as a vessel of its own on Daniels's display in ENT: "Future Tense" though.
  2. Foundation Imaging did create a launch sequence in CGI for the Voyager producers, showing how the aeroshuttle would launch from Voyager and enter a planet's atmosphere. Cabin footage used a still of the DS9 Danube cockpit. Rick Berman liked it, but as "Insurrection" was imminent he did not want to overshadow the launch of the Enterprise-E's Cousteau in that film.
  3. There is a depiction of the aeroshuttle in the book Starship Spotter, based on the unused test shots by Foundation Imaging. This version appeared in Star Trek: The Magazine too. The aeroshuttle was finally released by Eaglemoss as part of the Official Starships Collection.

Class specifications

Length: 27m

 


Nova waverider

General description

The Nova class features a streamlined shuttle, which is docked to the underside of the saucer hull.

Known shuttles

No name given
 

Annotations

Like the captain's yacht of the Galaxy class and the Intrepid aeroshuttle, this vehicle was never seen in action, but that's no problem to explain since we saw the Nova class only two times in classic Trek.

Class specifications

None available

 


Sovereign captain's yacht

General description

Like other starships too, the Sovereign class features a captain's yacht at the bottom of the saucer. The large shuttle is warp-capable. Its nacelles move down to their flight position after undocking from the mother ship.
Article: Sovereign Class Variations
Gallery: Federation Shuttlecraft

Known shuttles

Cousteau
 

Annotations

  1. The captain's yacht was worked out by John Eaves for "Insurrection". The yacht, or more precisely, its lower half already existed on the original studio miniature of the Enterprise-E at the time of "First Contact". The only design flaw is that the quantum torpedo launcher of the Enterprise was placed on the very same deck as the upper half of the yacht. The launcher must be a tiny piece of technology and the torpedoes almost scratch the windshield of the yacht. Originally, the yacht would have had a recessed window, which would have alleviated the problem.
  2. For "Nemesis" the ventral side was designed to be slightly more streamlined than it looked in "First Contact".

Class specifications

Length: 33.5m

 

Short-Range Vehicles

Note Ground vehicles like hovertrains or hovercars have been moved to Ground Transportation.


Academy trainer craft

General description

Starfleet Academy uses this small sublight craft for the flight training of cadets.

Known shuttles

No name given
 

Annotations

  1. Greg Jein built this small vessel for TNG: "The First Duty", based on a sketch by Rick Sternbach. The model depicted on many websites is not the actual studio model though, but a replica that was detailed by Rick Sternbach. There are differences, such as the wings that are black in the episode. Moreover it appears that the cockpit bulge is not as wide on the replica as it should be.
  2. The above side view replaces the completely wrong depiction in the ST Encyclopedia II that actually shows a Federation fighter. Yet, it is based on the replica, rather than on the actual studio model, of which no clear pictures are available.

Class specifications

Length: approx. 12m

 


Docking shuttle

General description

The docking shuttle resembles a work bee and is used in spacedocks.

Known shuttles

No name given
 

Annotations

This vehicle can be spotted in the spacedocks in TNG: "11001001" and "Remember Me" and at the Remmler Array in TNG: "Starship Mine". It can also be identified on Relva VII in TNG-R: "Coming of Age". The hull was made from a foot of a GoBots toy. Its engine pods were built from disposable razors.

Class specifications

None available

 


Earth shuttle

General description

The same basic shuttle design appears in a wide variety of (mostly civilian) roles at the end of the 24th century, including a school shuttle and a taxi.

Known shuttles

No name given
 

Annotations

  1. We can see the shuttle design on many occasions in SHO: "Children of Mars" and in the first four episodes of Star Trek Picard, on Earth as well as on Vashti.
  2. Of course, this is the Class-C shuttle from Star Trek Discovery, in several slight hull and color variations. This CG model was most likely chosen because new designs were not yet ready when Picard went into post-production (or to save costs). In order to preserve the status of Picard as unrebooted Star Trek, it is inevitable to disregard the crossover with Discovery. The assumption that the shuttle type is relatively new in the late 24th century also removes the dilemma to explain why there are suddenly so many shuttles of a previously non-existing type that is otherwise established to be as old as 150 years. This shuttle arguably fits a lot better into the late 24th century anyway than into the TOS era.

Class specifications

Length: ca. 13m

 


Executive Shuttle



Blue variant

General description

The executive shuttle is used to transfer (important) personnel from Earth's surface to Earth Spacedock.
Gallery: Other Small Federation Vessels

Known shuttles

(Name unknown) NAR-25820
(Name unknown) assigned to USS Farragut
 

Annotations

  1. The only time the executive shuttle could be seen was in "Star Trek VI" when it transferred our heroes to the Spacedock. It is uncertain whether the shuttle is equipped with warp drive. There are two flat cylindrical structures that resemble Galaxy-class warp nacelles on the underside, but such warp nacelles shouldn't exist as early as 2293.
  2. The miniature was later converted to represent a large starship, the Sydney class, by adding many rows of windows, a bridge module and Constitution-type warp nacelles. The remaining similarity between the small shuttle and the large starship must be a coincidence. It is absolutely wrong to call the shuttle "Sydney class", as it is done in the Fact Files.
  3. I assume that the "blue shuttle" that picked up survivors from the saucer of the Enterprise-D in "Star Trek Generations" was of this type too. This shuttle is attached to the Farragut, as indicated by its hull number NCC-60597. The size of the blue shuttle which can be seen floating above the saucer is consistent with the structural analysis of the shuttle model. The footage of the blue shuttle is actually the same as the Spacedock approach in "Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country", only flipped and rotated to approach the Enterprise-D saucer.
  4. The Excelsior miniature has two of these shuttles in the keel shuttlebay, as barely visible at the end of "Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country".
  5. The shuttle's registry is "SD-103" in the dialogue of "Star Trek VI".

Class specifications

Length: approx. 26m

 


"Nemesis" work bee 1


"Nemesis" work bee 2


"Nemesis" work bee 3

General description

This type of work bees is in use in drydocks around 2379.

Known shuttles

No name given
 

Annotations

The work bee appeared in three slightly different variants in "Star Trek Nemesis".

Class specifications

None available

 


Spacedock shuttle

General description

Large shuttles of this type are assigned to Earth Spacedock.
Gallery: Other Small Federation Vessels

Known shuttles

Earth Spacedock Shuttlecraft 5
Earth Spacedock Shuttlecraft 6
Earth Spacedock Shuttlecraft 7
 

Annotations

  1. It seems the spacedock shuttle is equipped with impulse drive only. Shuttles of this type can also be seen in Earth's atmosphere in "Star Trek IV". The size of 8m is based on the human figures inside the studio model.
  2. The studio model itself does not seem have a name painted on the hull. In the Official Starships Collection, the shuttle type is called a "Starfleet tug". Bill George purportedly designed them for this purpose.
  3. The publication 30 Jahre Star Trek calls the shuttle #5 "Magellan". I don't know where this information comes from.
  4. A spacedock shuttle in unusual yellow color can be seen in TNG: "11001001" when the Enterprise is leaving the spacedock. This shuttle is stock footage from "Star Trek III" that was accordingly recolored for the TNG episode.

Class specifications

Length: approx. 8m

 


Travel pod

General description

The travel pod serves to transfer personnel between orbital facilities and to starships. A standard docking hatch is located at the rear end.
Gallery: Other Small Federation Vessels

Known shuttles

#05
 

Annotations

First seen in the same famous spacedock scene in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", the travel pod also appears in "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan" and "Star Trek: The Voyage Home".

Class specifications

Length: 4.4m

 


Travel pod II

General description

This newer type of travel pod serves to transfer personnel between orbital facilities and to starships. A standard docking hatch is located at the rear end.

Known shuttles

#05
 

Annotations

Picard and Riker use the travel pod to transfer to the Titan-A in PIC: "The Next Generation".

Class specifications

None available

 


Utopia Planitia shuttle

General description

This is a large shuttlecraft that is in service at Utopia Planitia around 2384.

Known shuttles

No name given
 

Annotations

  1. Several shuttles of this type can be seen in the flashback in PIC: "Maps and Legends".
  2. The shuttle was designed by John Eaves, originally for the Ships of the Line calendar. It shares a design lineage with the above Argo-type shuttlecraft from "Star Trek Nemesis".

Class specifications

None available

 


Work bee



with manipulator



with cargo containers

General description

Work bees are used in drydocks and space stations for starship maintenance and to tow cargo containers.
Gallery: Other Small Federation Vessels

Known shuttles

05
342
 

Annotations

  1. The yellow work bees first appeared in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". The same type still seems to be in use in the 24th century, such as at Deep Space 9 or Utopia Planitia, now colored gray or white. The numbers of the depicted two white work bees (008 and 010) may be conjectural.
  2. In the DS9TM the length of the work bee is given as 4.11m. Whilst this would be a quite comfortable size, it would make the single-seated craft bigger than a Type-15 shuttlepod. In the original TMP blueprints the work bee is only 2.7m long. Looking at Probert's sketches of the TMP cargo bay, it seems that a length of a bit more than 3m is a good compromise, considering that humanoids of more than 2m should be able to use the craft too.

Class specifications

Length: 3.2m

 

Other


Baxial type

General description

USS Voyager carried one warp-capable shuttle of this type for seven years.
Article: Redresses of Jaheel's Ship
Gallery: Delta Quadrant Ships, Part 1

Known shuttles

Baxial
 

Annotations

  1. Neelix's shuttle is included here because he was a member of the crew and his shuttle belonged to Voyager's complement for quite a long time.
  2. Like the Delta Flyer too, the Baxial may barely pass through the shuttlebay door (as seen in VOY: "Workforce"), but definitely doesn't fit into the small shuttlebay set as it was shown a couple of times, so it is a miracle that it could be stored. At 15m length, at least the door height would be just sufficient for the Baxial, still, the cockpit section would be only as large as a shuttlepod. I think that the rest of the ship is dedicated to supplies and propulsion systems.

See also Delta Quadrant Ships S-Z

Class specifications

Length: approx. 15m

 


Mod. Class-8 probe

General description

A modified class-8 probe, equipped with a life support system, was used to transfer Ambassador K'Ehleyr to the Enterprise in 2365.

Known shuttles

No name given
 

Annotations

The probe was shown in TNG: "The Emissary" as a miniature and as a full-size model.

Class specifications

Length: approx. 2.5m
Max. speed: Warp 9

 


Delta Flyer

General description

The Delta Flyer is a singular design for a large long-range shuttlecraft. The first Delta Flyer was built by the crew of USS Voyager in 2375, using Federation technology with Borg enhancements. The Delta Flyer has extendable warp nacelles, extendable supplemental impulse exhausts and escape pods.
Gallery: Delta Flyer
Article: Size of the Delta Flyer

Known shuttles

Delta Flyer
Delta Flyer II
 

Annotations

  1. The Delta Flyer was built in VOY: "Extreme Risk". After the ship had been blown up in "Unimatrix Zero II", the new Delta Flyer II was first seen in "Imperfection" (although the actual verbal introduction as a "new" ship would be one week later in "Drive", owing to a reordering of the airing sequence.
  2. The Delta Flyer was designed by production designer Richard James and senior illustrator Rick Sternbach. The ship had to "grow" from its original size of about 17m, in order to accommodate the cockpit and aft section sets.

Class specifications

Length: approx. 21m

 


Nenebek type

General description

The Nenebek is a sublight shuttle in use on the Federation mining colony on Pentarus V.
Article: Redresses of the Nenebek
Gallery: Other Small Federation Vessels

Known shuttles

Nenebek
 

Annotations

  1. The Nenebek is the most prominent redress of a full-scale mock-up that started off as the Zibalian shuttlepod in TNG: "The Most Toys". The Nenebek is the first incarnation for which also a miniature was built.
  2. It is not known from whether the design of the Nenebek (TNG: "Final Mission") originates from the planet Pentarus V or if it is a common civilian short-range shuttle. Capt. Dirgo, who may be indigenous to Pentarus, obviously owns the shuttle.

Class specifications

Length: approx. 5m
Max. speed: impulse only

 

Uncertain Type

Some of these shuttles types are depicted in the TNG Technical Manual. They were never shown on screen, but their appearance in this official and very consistent reference book may qualify them as canon.


"11001001" type

General description

This might be a new type of shuttle, roughly resembling Type 7.
Article: Variations of the Type-7 Shuttle

Known shuttles

No name given
 

Annotations

A possibly new shuttle type can be seen in the background of a matte painting by Andrew Probert for TNG: "11001001" (large depiction in The Art of Star Trek). It seems to be an early concept of Type 7 with a front hatch that can also be seen on a matte painting cut from the final version of TNG: "Home Soil". The hardly visible shuttle may be regarded as a Type 7 (variant), though.

Class specifications

None available

 


Class 1

General description

This seems to be a type of shuttle that is outdated by 2376.

Known shuttles

No name given
 

Annotations

Tom Paris knows this shuttle type from his youth: "It's the kind of shuttle my father used to take me up in." (VOY: "Fury"). Given the creativity of Voyager authors in renaming, it may be a shuttle type we already know. But it would make some sense as a predecessor or a lighter/slower variant of "Class 2".

Class specifications

None available

 


S Class

General description

This is an older class of shuttle that must have existed around 2360. It has two seats, manual helm control and no warp drive.

Known shuttles

No name given
 

Annotations

In VOY: "Alice", Tom mentions that his father once took him on a ride with an S-class shuttle. "S class" may be a yet unknown shuttle type or, like "Class 2", an alternative designation for a familiar shuttle.

Class specifications

2 seats

 

Shuttles on Earth, many small spacecrafts that appear in Boston (PIC: "Remembrance", "Maps and Legends"), Okinawa (PIC: "Remembrance", "The End is the Beginning") and Paris (PIC: "Remembrance").

Some of them may be the already known Discovery-style Class-C shuttle or the aircar.
  

Shuttles on Mars, small spacecrafts that can be seen at Utopia Planitia in SHO: "Children of Mars".

One of them appears to be a Discovery-style workbee.

Shuttles in "Farewell", appeared in orbit and near the surface of an unnamed Federation planet (PIC: "Farewell")

There are different types, but they can't be properly identified.
 

Shuttles on M'Talas Prime, appeared next to the Starfleet Recruitment Center (PIC: "The Next Generation")

This is the SNW-style re-imagination of the original TOS shuttle. In the unrebooted Prime Universe, it may be a different older type of shuttle.

Shuttles in Paris, appeared in Picard's holodeck simulation of Paris in 2342 (TNG: "We'll Always Have Paris")

The two shuttles seem to be of different types. None of them can be identified as a known design.

Shuttles in San Francisco, appeared near Starfleet Academy in 2401 (PIC: "The Star Gazer")

There are different types, but too small for an identification.

Shuttles in Spacedock, seen passing by the Titan (PIC: "The Next Generation")

It is not recognizable whether these are shuttles, travel pods or work bees.

 


Spacematic

General description

The Spacematic is a small private-owned vessel from the 2260s, somewhat larger than a Starfleet shuttle.

Known shuttles

Spacematic
 

Annotations

A small miniature was built for DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations" and put into the shuttlebay of Deep Space K-7 as Cyrano Jones's ship, but was not clearly visible in the episode. It is not known whether "Spacematic" is the true name or only a nickname.

Class specifications

None available

 


Sphinx workpod

General description

The Sphinx workpod is a small single-seated vehicle for starship maintenance. There are different versions, including light industrial manipulator (Sphinx M1A), medium industrial manipulator (Sphinx M2A) and medium tug (Sphinx MT3D), the latter with two seats.

Known shuttles

No name given
 

Annotations

  1. The Sphinx workpod is based on a sketch by Andrew Probert for TNG. The budget didn't allow to build this shuttle with its curved surfaces, but the idea was picked up for the TNGTM.
  2. I have taken the color and the number of the shuttle from Probert's sketch.

Class specifications

Workpod
Length: 6.2m
Mass: 1.2t
Max. speed: 2000m/s

 


Type 9A

General description

Type 9A is a heavy long-range cargo shuttle.

Known shuttles

No name given
 

Annotations

  1. The shuttle only appeared in the TNGTM. There is a designation conflict, since we would expect that Type 9A should be derived from Type 9 (which Rick Sternbach always named Type 12).
  2. The name and registry of the depicted shuttle are conjectural.

Class specifications

Long-range cargo shuttle
Length: 10.5m
Mass: 4.5t
Max. speed: Warp 2.2 for 32 hours (uprtd.)

 


Type 15A

General description

Type 15A is a light short-range shuttle, just like the very similar Type 15.

Known shuttles

No name given
 

Annotations

  1. The shuttle only appeared in the TNGTM.
  2. The name and registry of the depicted shuttle are conjectural.

Class specifications

Light short-range shuttle
Length: 3.6m
Mass: 0.97t
Max. speed: 13,200m/s

 


Type 16

General description

Type 16 is a medium short-range variant of Type 15 with largely the same appearance.

Known shuttles

No name given
 

Annotations

  1. The shuttle only appeared in the TNGTM.
  2. Although the shuttle looks the same except for some details, the TNGTM gives a length of 4.8m for Type 16, as opposed to the 3.6m of Type 15 and Type 15a. The width and height are the same. The different length of Type 16 is only plausible as a typo. On the other hand, Type 16 is supposed to be heavier than Type 15a, and slower despite the more powerful impulse drive.
  3. The name and registry of the depicted shuttle are conjectural.

Class specifications

Light short-range shuttle
Length: 3.6m
Mass: 1.25t
Max. speed: 12,250m/s

 

Unknown Type

Pontiac, shuttle assigned to the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D, purportedly on a display in the shuttlebay

The TNGTM mentions the Pontiac, along with the meanwhile identified Sam Freedle and the Indiana Jones, as in-jokes in a footnote. Indiana Jones is a noted archeologist, Sam Freedle the unit production manager during the second season and Pontiac an allusion to the automobile commercials Patrick Stewart was doing at the time. Maybe we should not take these names too seriously, as they were never supposed to be readable, just like the jokes on the master systems display.

Laiyka, long-range shuttle, mentioned in radio chatter in "Star Trek I" (Director's Cut DVD)

 


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