TechMemo:Small Craft:Conventional

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Star Fleet Engineering
Bureau of Starship and Starcraft Technology

Star Fleet Engineering Bureau of Starship and Starcraft Technology

Conventional small craft are broken down into a series of general classifications. These are:


Various types of craft fit into each category, so there is a wide variety in the age and appearance of each class of shuttle. Each class of shuttlecraft have some general characteristics in common, however.

Work pods and Work bees

Workbees are small maintenance vehicles, generally not listed in a ship's shuttle complement. Workpods are larger and generally used only in spacedocks.

Shuttlepods

Shuttlepods carry a maximum of 2 crew and have room for only a small cargo or up to four passengers in lieu of cargo. They are limited to sublight propulsion only and typically have very limited range. Their primary use is ship-to-ship or ship-to-planet personnel transfer. Shuttlepods carry limited phaser armament, generally a pair of type IV phasers.

Personnel Shuttle, Small

Small personnel shuttle are the smallest warp capable vehicles in the Federation inventory. However, with a top speed of only warp 3 which can be maintained for 36 hours, they are suitable only for very short range warp trips. These craft typically carry a crew of two and up to six passengers. Most small personnel shuttles are unarmed, though some carry a pair of type IV phasers.

Personnel Shuttle, Large

Large personnel shuttles are, actually, only slightly larger than the small personnel shuttles. However, they carry a crew of two and up to eight passengers at speeds up to warp 4 for up to 48 hours and so are classified as medium range warp shuttles. Like their smaller cousins, they are usually unarmed. When armed, they usually carry two type V phasers.

Shuttle, D-Warp

Dimensional warp shuttles are the smallest hyperspace capable craft in the inventory. They are generally used for long-range personnel transfers. Most hyperspace-capable starships carry four of these craft, though others may carry as few as one. D-warp shuttles are the fastest faster-than-light craft employed by the Federation. Capable of covering 10,000 light years in as approximately one week, they are able to cross all of known space in under 10 days. Dimensional warp shuttles have no conventional warp drive and cannot travel faster-than-ligh in normal space. They are not armed.

Cargo Shuttle

Cargo shuttles, as their name implies, are used to move cargoes which cannot be beamed by transporters between ships, bases, and planets. They carry a two-person crew and a cargo specialist. Cargo shuttles are capable of maintaining up to warp 4 for 48 hours. Cargo shuttle are normally unarmed, but can be outfitted with two type V phasers.

Runabout

Runabout is the term for a variety of relatively large spacecraft. These are the largest craft commonly carried aboard starships. They are, in fact, small starships in their own right. In general, runabouts are capable of sustaining speeds of warp 5 for extended periods of time and reaching speeds of up to warp 8 for brief periods of time. A runabout normally carries a crew of four and has modest sleeping and dining spaces. The range of most runabouts is approximately 30 light years (6 weeks). A normal runabout will be armed with six type V phasers, covering forward and aft arcs, and a type V mini-photon torpedo launcher.