Escape Pods and Survival (Star Trek)

[@stevealigheri]

I like to think there's a cottage industry on earth, probably near Starfleet headquarters in San Francisco, that repurposed and sold off older escape pods as minimalist short range recreational spacecraft.

[@hello-ox5rf]

Ready-made bunkers or tiny houses too

[@bigdaddydons6241]

I could see them being sold or given to colonists too

[@MissMarinaCapri]

You do realize we’re talking about RVs. Motorhomes in the 20th & 21st century, and now the new improved RVs in the future.

[@jerwin2885]

Don't forget the little old ladies knitting seat covers for them. Lol

[@Mikanojo]

Contrary to what some people seem to think, replicators do not convert energy into cheesecake, they actually combine basic nutrients into food. If you study your ship and station manuals, you can find massive storage tanks for this raw food stock. From DS9 Technical Manual, pg. 99: "Primary food storage is handled by twenty-three large polysteel tanks connected to the replicator network." "The raw fiber and nutrient matrix is drawn off by electrohydraulic conduits and reduced in the replicator transmission processors prior to proportioning and reassembly at the user site." So using the replicator would not only require power, it would also require storage space.

[@CertifiablyIngame]

I Should have clarified, when I mentioned energy, I looked into replicators a while ago and came to the conclusion that they do indeed convert matter at an atomic level into new forms via a similar matter>energy>new matter process as a transporter. The energy requirement I was referring to in this video is just the power needed to run such as system.

[@Perktube1]

@@CertifiablyIngame wouldn't that also explain how one could have lunch in a cafe generated in the holo-suite?

[@turbopokey]

The survivors are storing the raw material for replicators, in their colons...

[@callumdonington2227]

What about when it replicates a glass, mug or plate?

[@patrickmccurry1563]

@@callumdonington2227 It's amazing what materials can be made with just hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon. Add a bit of silicates for that glassy coating, and it should pass basic inspection as a ceramic.

[@Parabueto]

I can only hope that one's assigned pod is the one closest to your action station (or refuge area for civilians). Here's me imagining having to get halfway across a vessel with minor catastrophic damage to get to my pod, only to find the entire section it was supposed to be in isn't where you left it.

[@connorfoley8114]

Parabuteo not to mention the sheer size of some ships

[@andromidius]

Probably correct. Also I suspect that is why there is a variable capacity, so if a lifepod is damaged its assigned crew can enter another pod if necessary.

[@lurkinturk4284]

They could perhaps be emergency beamed site to site straight to their escape pods. Site to site transport without a transporter at either the origin or destination is common in trek.

[@lurkinturk4284]

memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Site-to-site_transport

[@seraphina985]

@@andromidius Or if it is simply unreachable to some of it's assigned occupants as they were away from their assigned station for some reason at the time the order was given and the path blocked by failed turbolifts or corridors being blocked by emergency forcefields due to intermediate sections being exposed to vacuum.

[@southsidetattoo]

PAKLED ESCAPE POD : You can' open the window if you're in a hurry to clean your pod. It's like a built in ''VACUUM'' cleaner. And if you want to land on the sun you have to wait till nighttime . "You think we are not smart. We are smart."

[@fjmj1980]

Fredo class Pakled escape pod

[@anarchyantz1564]

I thought the escape pods were for ejecting young alternative timeline Kirk instead of putting them in the brig?

[@DoctorX17]

Alternative use in an alternative timeline

[@virginiaconnor8350]

Or helping a Chief Engineer get away with a princess?

[@joegrimes9232]

That sequence really screwed up thier "Revised scaling" for the JJprise. The Kelvin Connie measures around 700 metres making it comparable to a Sovereign. That shot of the pod has the singular pod has it take up about 2-3 decks worth of area. Meaning they ejected him in a pod about the size of a shuttlecraft. Heck a runabout But on 3 toed sloth, ice planet hoth it's teeeny. Nerd nitpicking (addendum) now during the making of 09 Trek, there was a back and forth between VFX folk about the rescaling, I think it had to do with some saying the realistic proportions for a ship like that ultimately had to be larger, the classic Trekkers on staff wanted to keep it proportional, but of course it's a movie, no one really cares or notices and the plot comes first. The escaped pod HAD to be in the plot to enable the players to be in the right place etc. But it was before the ultimate call the Kelvinverse ship is larger, so it goes by old scaling. It's quite interesting ( To me anyway) How productions are fluid right up till release

[@texasabbott]

Escape pods: "Bonus Round" Targets for enemy tactical officers

[@CertifiablyIngame]

They're to a Starship as sweets to a pinata. Hit a starship enough and all the little ones fall out.

[@JeanLucCaptain]

ringing sound for each pod hit.

[@flatflatspin9855]

If just a mercy kill. :-o

[@raideurng2508]

'All those escape pods... so small, so vulnerable, I'll order their destruction immediately."

[@aiosquadron]

It's a war crime to target escape pods.

[@plucas1]

Lifepod toilets (and their privacy screens) are probably collapsible into the wall, to save on space and minimize unpleasant odors. At least that's how I'd design them if I had ST tech, plus it would explain why they don't show up on deck plans. Plus I really like that 'gaggle mode' feature. That makes a lot of sense. I'm going to -steal- borrow that for a story some day.

[@popuptoaster]

Meh, I'd just fit a small transporter to beam the poop straight out of the butt and then just never reassemble it, ST tech is criminally under used by the writers in many situations, lifeboats would be totally different after it was discovered how long Scotty had survived in a pattern buffer.

[@greatsayain]

What gaggle mode? I didn't hear that word in the video

[@plucas1]

@@greatsayain It's mentioned at 4:55 in the video, and the phrase itself appears on screen at 5:01

[@greatsayain]

@@plucas1 oh, I thought he said gather.

[@GrandTriskelion]

there would not be any unpleasant order as you can put matter into the replicators and "recycle" it into energy to be used to make something else source: star trek Voyager year of hell that is probably also how they can function for 8 months

[@jaspr1999]

Soooo... Some of the pods linked up like Suliban pods attaching and forming a Helix? Very cool to know!

[@giin97]

Heh, forgot about them. I thought of the (potentially non-canon) Borg connecting smaller cubes to form larger cubes. I've read enough books, it's hard to keep canon straight sometimes, lol.

[@twistedxknights]

Would be ideal if pods from different ships of different classes or production dates could link together especially after a big battle.. eventually making like a Dyson's sphere. Or space station of sorts.

[@Coridimus]

I wouldn't be surprised if the Suliban pods were an inspiration to Starfleet engineers.

[@drumkommandr9779]

Hey, you see a good idea, you don't care who had it, you use it.

[@DrewLSsix]

@@twistedxknights a dysonsphere would require a very large battle indeed.

[@TightPantsJack]

Gave a like for Voyager's “infinite amount of magic shuttlecraft."

[@jacara1981]

Well Voyager had a ton of free space aboard as they weren't even at 75% crew capacity. Also its a exploration ship so likely a lot of cargo room. I'm guessing that they converted part of the ship to extra storage and shuttle craft construction.

[@Whazzupie]

@@jacara1981 It's also a tv show and not real, so

[@joegrimes9232]

This was pre-battlestar reboot. Before then, there's the TV land elastic-reality where lets face it - no one cares how many shuttle craft there are as long as the story is gripping. Battlestar prooved that you could put the effort into counting craft. The minutae matters on this knife edge drama. Again, hindsight post BSG2 we point at Voyager and go ohh they could have done X. But before BSG2, no. Trek had rules sure. It had people like Mike Okuda, but it was Diagnosis Murder Trek. TV that had a-b-c formulae and reset. Ds9 pushed the envelope, but it wasn't successful at the time. Trust me, it was TNG, Voyager. DS9 was the redhead stepchild. NOW we appreciate it. Then? I cut Voyager slack, it was mandated to push the reset each episode because that sold in the 90's

[@joegrimes9232]

TV has changed somewhat, plot arching drama was the domain of soap operas wherin you followed the characters on an arc. Other TV was one and done like I mentioned, Diagnosis Murder or Murder she Wrote. The X Files tried to push the envelope as far as an arch in sci fi and it succeeded garnering a huge cult following. If you want syndication in the 90's, your plots needed dip in and out stories. A hook that pulled in viewers but not investment. Execs learned from shows like battlestar and even as far back as Twin Peaks that resolution in an episode doesn't cut it anymore. People wanted to know who killed Laura Palmer and move on. Voyager was a response to DS9's slow burn plot 1 and done. Easy premise. So the shuttlecraft was a Gremlins affair to ensure the viewer just could dip in and out. They didn't need to watch episode X of Series Y to get they depleted thier reserves of type 9 shuttles. You'll notice midway through Voyager's run that it did improve and add concequences. But the internet was in infancy and feedback was only by people who were Manson like in cult devotion writing pieces or just viewing figures. Today everyone constantly critiques online, so we are seeing that reflected in new shows. Each successive season or movie in Star Wars case responds to "Engagement" There's a middle ground set in the tone I feel. You can do a post TNG series and respect canon and the minutae of trek as well as tell a new and exciting modern take. Just call New Trek: Pathfinder and retrace Voyager's route into the Delta Quadrant. Set up a new diverse crew of young, but capable crew of Starfleet with additional variables of a Vorta, who's the Dominion representative and serves as the Mr Spock and Worf of this show. A Romulan again serves as the other, connects with the Vorta and the bridge between the crew. . . Add some concequences that tie to an arc. It's DS9, meets Voyager in the middle. How does Federation ideology hold up on the frontier? Is a Vorta's faith challanged when a sporacistian lifeform informs them they were the solid that hunted changlings to near exctinction until they were "Domesticated"?

[@notaclerk1]

Actually... When Voyager started trading resources Etc with other races in the quadrant ( I grudgingly compliment & acknowledge neelix for that) and started seeking out and adapting the ship for alternate energy sources and new tech to extend their main power sources...it would be an easy thing to use the replicators for parts for Voyager rebuilding shuttlecraft the Delta Flyer and anything they needed or wanted. Thats how they go from replicating rations and emergency items to literally wine and roses. I mean they are not just on a mission like TOS,the ship is their home and all they really have or can count on is right there with them. And its a bit more..... Plausible...or what ever than TNG. Where the Enterprise D was always right around the corner from a Starbase...which they hurried to for repairs anytime the hull got scratched. You would think a ship like the Galaxy class with its guaranteed power supply replicators and a full engineering crew could have repaired or rebuilt anything on the ship.

[@MrHidethecheese]

Russian landing modules always included a shotgun in the survival kit. Because most of Russia is inaccessible and bear/wolf attacks are extremely likely. So a having a phaser seems prudent.

[@ballroomscott]

It's probably worth mentioning that rations may not take up as much space as you think. In DS9 they eat small combat rations that have "time released nutrients" that last for 3 days.

[@novoscorp7275]

It makes sense crew members have a designated Pod. I assume the crew complement of a Pod would have various Skill Sets to increase surviablity as well

[@Perktube1]

Or at least reading material for the on-board toilet.

[@fisk0]

I wonder if they would have primary, secondary and tertiary pod assignments though, we see on a fairly regular basis in the show that decks are cut off from each other and so on, so surely there has to be some kind of plan for when you can't reach your designated escape pod aside from dying on the ship?

[@mystify7478]

@@fisk0 perhaps site to site transporters would be used to increase the chance of evacuation.

[@larrydavison8298]

It also makes it easier to know that everyone has actually made it to an escape pod. Part of emergency drills is having a designated mustering area, so they can make sure no one is missing, or at least know who is missing.

[@fredblonder7850]

That’s precisely what they do on cruse ships: Have a lifeboat drill so you know where to go. This happens before you leave dock.

[@acedude112]

The extra capacity on the Defiant makes sense as it's a Tactical vessel, and it can provide pods for any potential ground forces it might be carrying. Granted the Defiant isn't the best ship (literally any larger ship is) to carry marines around with its limited space and facilities. However in a pinch making a landing run and dealing with orbital defenses, it is a "tough little ship" after all.

[@Janoha17]

And theoretically, you could use some of the escape pods as improvised drop pods.

[@giin97]

Larger isn't always better. Small, fast, tough, and able to cloak; seems like the perfect ship for a stealth insertion behind enemy lines.

[@kamenwaticlients]

They need a Defiant variant specifically for troops or maybe repurpose the Saber class for that job. No quarters just seats to sit and area to prepare and a sickbay. Small bridge. The underside of the ship can be layered with drip pods and tractor beams. The ship would have the ability to do mass high speed transport with transporters. Then the ship stays near to provide 24th century CAS.

[@CertifiablyIngame]

I like this theory. Also just thought, perhaps the extra pods are in-case many get destroyed in battle as it's far more likely to be in combat?

[@Janoha17]

@@CertifiablyIngame Or for misdirection. The Borg are likely to try to capture escape pods, and the Dominion aren't above sinking the lifeboats.

[@amazedsatsuma]

2:10 Since you talked about the use of shuttle crafts, I kinda shocked that you didn't mention how saucer separation can act a giant lifeboat starting with the Constitution class

[@robmckee5295]

Maybe in a future video.

[@DannyHeywood]

You are right, they say it's to keep the main population safe but it normally means something went very wrong.

[@KatrinaLeFaye]

@@DannyHeywood and to quote Data, "Oh shit!"

[@1968gadgetyo]

Life pod is for (potential) total lost of ship. Saucer separation is more for evacuation. Life warp core breach, Or using the aft section to distract enemy. Like the lizard dropping its tail.

[@DrewLSsix]

Remember, there's absolutely nothing in Canon suggesting such a thing was ever intended. It first made it into the franchise on a conceptual leven during the production of TMP, based entirely on fan theories about the TOS ship. In TOS the only similar concept was the ejection of the nacelles / engine pods with the rest of the shop intact.

[@Robocopnik]

It strikes me as kind of bonkers that people in Star Trek and Star Wars go into battle without space-suits. The first thing anybody does in a space-battle in Gundam is put on their space suit (or "normal suit", in their terminology, because it maintains normal atmosphere) in case their ship is damaged. Star Wars I can understand, because the rebels are under-funded and the Empire clearly has no regard for safety regulations (as seen from the lack of handrails), but people in Trek seem far too reasonable to forego such a step.

[@ClarinoI]

They also don't wear any type of body armour when they know they're going to be in a battle. Even when they're on a planet, or expecting to be boarded. Pretty poor for a military force.

[@unknown9126]

One thing I did really like from the JJ movies on this subject, safety belts to keep you in your seat.

[@DissociatedWomenIncorporated]

@@unknown9126 that was also a thing in Picard 😊

[@jhmcd2]

Problem with Trek is that, we spend most of the time in the 23rd and 24th century. The Federation of those time periods was far more technology dependent, so its always assumed that something within the ship will keep you alive...until it doesn't. But it would make since that the pods had some sort of space suit or breathing apparatus installed. We do know that shuttles have these and often use them for evacuation as we saw in Voyager at least once. As for that whole going into battle, oddly enough Trek does have personal force fields. They are mentioned in DS9 episode Paradise Lost. We also know that Starfleet, or at least the Federation does have a separate Marine division as the Defiant needs to go and escort one in a seven seven episode, so its likely they have better weapons than what Starfleet uses...however, yeah, we've never actually seen any of that on screen. Of course at the end of the day, up until recently, Trek has never had the best budgets. So that is pretty much the real problem.

[@jasonskeans3327]

@@ClarinoI what type of body armor would stop a shot from something that can vaporize a person

[@blackhawks81H]

"Hey everyone! Steve2289 here. I've got a special treat for you today, we're aboard a Starfleet escape pod, but we won't be eating the boring Starfleet rations today. I've gotten ahold of a Klingon type 5 emergency ration, which contains a main serving of Bregit lung, with some packets of grapok sauce. A side packet of live Gagh, still squirming, and, oh man, this is lucky.. The rokeg blood pie desert packet is still sealed so that'll be nice and fresh. It's also still got the original pack of 4 Praxis brand cigarettes. Those should be spectacular as klingon cigarettes are extremely potent.. Rounding everything out are two packets of powdered raktajino, which we can mix with some hot water for an excellent post meal drink. Alright, let's get this out onto a tray, Qapla'!"

[@knightmareAlpha]

"Hell is Other People"-Jean-Paul Sartre Seams a fitting quote for this episode

[@deadNightwatchman]

No pods for lone wolves. Then again, we wouldn't be in Starfleet in the first place, would we?😆

[@tedeng9428]

According to one of the official tech manuals, the "raw matter" used for the replicators came from the waste system.

[@jeeshadow1]

"I hope that is not where the food comes from" Star Trek Discovery Season 3: LLLOOOLLL

[@Nimmo1492]

Damn, now I want beans and sausages.

[@johnbockelie3899]

By the way, what happened to those escape pods the Enterprise E shot off to Earth on First contact ?. Are a lot of Picard.s.crew stuck.in the 21st.century?.

[@johnbockelie3899]

Crash on Delta-Vega " even the ore ships call once every twenty years " TOS. Pilot 2. " where no man has gone before".

[@ilejovcevski79]

Hungry now too!

[@backupplan6058]

@John Bockelie, could have used transports to return them to the ship, used shuttles to tractor them back or beamed up crew members and then destroyed the escape pods.

[@Perktube1]

Yay, I have beans and hot dogs. Escape pod-themed meal, get in mah belly! 😋

[@rankavik2651]

Escape pods should launch empty on press of the button and every person should be linked to escape pod they are assigned to so that escape pod can automatically beam you in. In case that pod is damaged or destroyed you will be beamed to secondary assigned pod. Crew of the starship should wear space "life jacket" , device that in case person is sucked out in space, creates shield and makes atmosphere around person so that he/she can be rescued.

[@Bondoz007]

You manage to make these vids very interesting, informative and funny at the same time. They are gems and a delight. Thanks again Rick (and I hope you got your tin of beans and sausage!)

[@cympimpin20]

I'm glad you included the text about species-specific requirements, as I was pretty curious about that. In Mass Effect, they mention that different species can't eat foods from certain other species, and that it will either provide no nutrition, or actually be toxic. Given the variety of species in Star Trek, I imagine there are similar concerns between species. It would really suck to be a non-human who can't eat human food but be stuck on a pod that only has human food. And if each pod has a little something for everyone, then you're taking up space that might otherwise be needed by the actual occupants.

[@compmanio36]

It's actually based on real science, as most things in Mass Effect are. Even just landing on another planet, the likelihood that air is the right concentration of oxygen, nitrogen and other gases to be breathable and usable to our bodies is very small. We were evolved to live and die on Earth, and nowhere else. The likelihood is that other aliens are under the same issues. Any common meeting is likely to take place entirely in spacesuits. We definitely won't be eating each other's food. Even Mass Effect is pretty lite on the realistic aspect of that, in order to make a good game. Real hard sci-fi would be pretty boring to watch or play as a game.

[@patrickmccurry1563]

@@compmanio36 Not just Earth, but Earth of the present and recent past. For over a billion years life made do without any atmospheric oxygen, for example. At the end of the Permian age, the oxygen levels had dropped to around 12% compared to today's 21%, which would not be survivable to many people and still dangerous to the very fit.

[@anshroow]

"I'm hungry" Same bro... same

[@virginiaconnor8350]

Surely, there would be ration packs in a shuttlepod. There would be a crew responsible for keeping the pods cleaned and supplied.

[@MrHidethecheese]

@@virginiaconnor8350some of those delicious federation field rations. One pack lasts days, much loved by engineers!

[@AdmiralBlackstar]

I never realized how optimistic Starfleet was about their crew's survival given that the ships mentioned have 100%+ crew escape pod support. In the Honorverse novels the Royal Manticorian Navy only has sufficient lifeboats for 1/3rd of the crew if I recall correctly, though others could be saved through the use of their small craft if the boat bays were still operational. Though given the size of their ships and the severe battle damage that would necessitate an evacuation (since abandoning your big tough ship for a tiny vulnerable pod should be a last resort given the dangers of space), it was deemed unlikely to need more than that.

[@peaceraybob]

No, Honorverse has sufficient lifeboats for the entire crew PLUS an additional third. Same as most every warship today.

[@rkbkirin5975]

I could see fishing lines still be used in the 24th century. Not just for fishing but tying stuff up. Plus who wouldn't like chowing down on alien fish you caught?

[@Hybris51129]

"You just ate our ambassador!" Alien fish peoples response to first contact with Starfleet.

[@MrHidethecheese]

It'd be like going into a forest and eating every mushroom you find. Unless you have a scanner of course.

[@patrickmccurry1563]

@@MrHidethecheese Once you start invoking sane precautions into Trek, the whole thing collapses. It's action adventure in space, not hard sci fi.

[@ExplodingConsole]

@@MrHidethecheese Don't eat them all. We need to save some for the Spore Drive ;).

[@hamishsewell4214]

Lifepod Fever could be a thing. Image being stuck in a small space with five other people for six months! No thank you!

[@3Rayfire]

Fine, then open the hatch and leave. Dibs on your rations.

[@rsuffridge1]

Ugh, the smell...

[@cromwelljones53]

I am trying to picture the training at Starfleet Command for such an eventuality. You think the pods have Nasal freezing agents, like T'Pol used?

[@wesleycrawford8500]

Been there done that. Except it was tube filled with 150 guys. SSN veteran.

[@1968gadgetyo]

Urrr...Covid lockdown?

[@simonwillis1529]

Why do I wanna go on Star Trek online when I watch your vids 🤣

[@aceman67]

An intrepid Class has enough physical room in its Main shuttle-bay, its maintenance bay and its hanger below the main shuttle bay for at least 15+ auxiliary craft. Given that Voyager is able to build new craft if they have access to the raw materials, it's perfectly reasonable that the loss or damage of ~17 or so shuttles on the show makes sense. Hardly 'infinite'.

[@artman2oo3]

There should be space suits and/or protective suits with breathing apparatuses. This is something that is never addressed in Star Trek (I read one Star Trek TNG book that one time, ONE TIME, addressed this) is that just because you’re landing or transporting on an M-class planet does NOT necessarily mean it’s safe. There could be microbes in the air or on surfaces that you are not a adapted to that could infect and/or kill you. Maybe quite quickly.

[@jedigecko06]

Just blow the hatch and eject all the shuttles cold! Jump start any that survive from the life-pods.

[@cympimpin20]

Better yet, include computer autostart and autopilot programs into the shuttle that automatically get activated as soon as an abandon ship is called. Or even have them all autostart and warm up whenever red alert is called. Then when they get jettisoned, they can be programmed to automatically seek out escape pods.

[@3Rayfire]

@@cympimpin20 The TNG Technical Manual indicates that all three shuttlebays are brought to launch readiness at Red Alert, two shuttles are brought to launch readiness. So somebody was thinking about it.

[@glitterboy2098]

@@3Rayfire honestly if i was in charge of a ship i'd have all shuttles brought to readiness with quick preflights and flight crews whenever a red alert is sounded. just in case that an evacuation is called or the captain orders you out to recover, tractor, or even engage in battle.

[@3Rayfire]

@@glitterboy2098 I don't know if having 25 loaded and fueled shuttles on the deck ready to go is a safety hazard or not. A torpedo into the hangar bay would make that much bigger a boom. I'm dubious on the efficacy of shuttles in battle, it's not a runabout.

[@korvasterindar9672]

You know, all this talk about the survival training of Starfleet Personnel, the Escape pods, and all that other stuff oh, it makes me want a survival simulator based in the Star Trek universe. The sole survivor of the ship that got destroyed who made it to an escape pod, and finds himself on an M or L class planet and has to survive, maintaining his gear, fashioning rudimentary tools and weapons, hunting and Gathering, building shelters, trying to alert a Starfleet vessel for Rescue. Could be a lot of fun

[@MICHAEL23505]

You would definitely like empyrion galactic survival for the survival aspect or stationeers for the station building aspect of it but I also wish there was a star trek themed survival game set in late 23rd to early 24th century. And having it in vr would be amazing.

[@johnwang9914]

Think about how far a habitable planet or moon where we would not need an artificial habitat is from us right now. Obviously anyone who made it to a life pod would just be floating in space till life support ran out hoping to be rescued, not actually descending to the surface of a habitable planet or moon especially if they did not have warp drive. I believe the life pods on say Voyager had minimal warp capability, likely warp 2 and likely on stored warp plasma rather than warp plasma generated in a engine core by antimatter reaction but the only other alternative would be suspended animation which we only saw on Calypso and that would likely not have been a Star Fleet life pod.

[@pills-]

Sounds like Subnautica, actually...

[@misshappensteed2028]

Empyrion was a decent game. It was limited in some aspects. But the survival was kinda neat.

[@patrickmccurry1563]

@@johnwang9914 Star Trek distances have never been consistent in any way. Everyone is always right next to an exceptionally Earth like planet. The real milky way likely has no other planet you could survive on without a suit for more than a few minutes.

[@stevealigheri]

I always like to think that in the future escape pods from old ships, say the enterprise D could be remodelled by a cottage industry to make it a chic personal craft. Neat little cottage industry.

[@chrismaverick9828]

In the DS9 video game "The Fallen" you come across several escape pods mainly by noticing the Portable Subspace Transmitter that is removed from the pod and setup outside or carried with the survivors to whatever shelter they seek. If it is portable and can be put in a Runabout or shuttle, no reason not to put one in a pod.

[@originaluddite]

I designed a space ship in which the bathrooms double as escape pods, so they definitely already have the most important facilities in a dwelling. The crew quarters are clustered around such bathrooms, meaning anyone sleeping gets to the escape pods easily. :)

[@Perktube1]

I say develop a rapid keep protocol for all shuttles to be implemented before an expected battle , and have all of them stocked with emergency provisions at all times.

[@gallendugall8913]

A closet? Nah man, in something that small you get a hose with a slight pressure differential to extract the waste to the recycling bin.

[@gallendugall8913]

making planet fall would be best... because most planets are perfectly habitable in Star Trek. Do not try this IRL.

[@gallendugall8913]

Also escape pods were kind of pointless for TOS as they were going where no one had gone before and where no one would be able to follow up for years, perhaps decades. Even the Enterprise D didn't have escape pods although the refit TOS Enterprise did have escape pods. Really seems to be a movie thing. Movies really like to dumb down the setting.

[@Krahazik]

@@gallendugall8913 Also, the manual even specifies that the ship is outfitted with escape pods. One feature of the Galaxy Class escape pods was that they could link together to form a larger survival vessel and allow the crew to share resources.

[@daverage4729]

Hah! Should have been a Miranda class exploding at the start. If ever a starship needed escape pods, that was top of the list.

[@ryanball8944]

If only because if you're on an Oberth, you aren't living long enough to actually reach the escape pods 😂🤣🤣

[@christopherg2347]

You forgot one Lifepod design. Wich is odd, given that it was easily the largest in the list: The Galaxy classes *entire Saucer Section* It was a roomy, Impuls driven, atmospheric entry capable, and slightly armed Life Pod (2 Phaser banks, 1 aft torpedo launcher below the docking spot). And they evacuated to it on numerours ocassions, with the movie Generations being the last. In the Books there were also cases where the Constution class split in a similar way. The JJ Consution actually had the full design used by the Galaxy Class - whole Saucer detaches.

[@christopherg2347]

7:20 IIRC, to save energy the Replicator do have stored carbon as counter-mass to eleminate. Guess where that Carbon comes form^^ Stuff was different in TOS times.

[@AC-gb7do]

The Constitution class saucer separation wasn’t like the Galaxy class and it would require a star base repair facility to reattach it to another vessel.

[@iBloodxHunter]

Ahhh, I remember the pilot episode of DS9, where Lt Sisko had to board the escape pod and there's only one window in the escape pod. Naturally it's facing the direction of the ship you're fleeing just so you can watch it blow up. 💥👀

[@rc1982]

In "Year of Hell", Janeway says to the crew: "get in the pods and go toward the Alpha Quadrant, make allies in the way". I also found this a weird think, because it implies that the pods have light speed and are able to sustein life for years.

[@paulhunter6742]

I have agree since shuttlecraft also have Warp engines. but I think speed limited Warp 2.

[@topogigio7031]

She was just telling them not to give up. If you were lost on the opposite side of the planet with no phone or money, I'm sure you'd start walking in the direction of home even if it were impossible to actually cross

[@rc1982]

@@topogigio7031, NO! I would walk in the direction of a city or of a similiar place where I could get shelter, food, resources, so I could find a realistic way to get a plain or a boat or a car to my home in the opposite side of the planet.

[@TheGreatGooglyMoogly430]

Also, Star trek Discovery had that personal escape pod shield that Michael used to remove Stamets from the ship. Maybe one of the new star trek shows could do an episode where a crew member is stuck in an escape pod and has to figure out survival for an extended period. Both Stargate Sg1 and Atlantis had similar episodes.

[@notaclerk1]

I would think escape pods would have a simplified replicator to make necessary clothing blankets etc and for food something along the line of " TKL's"

[@robertross8243]

Beenie-Weenies tossed into the sun. F'n beautiful. Thank you for that. LOL. They could replicate Beenie-Weenies couldn't they?

[@archangel20031]

The over capacity of the escape pods is because there might be passengers and the crew might not be able to reach some pods, and if a section decompressed before all the pods were filled to capacity, they would have to leave light meaning some of the crew would have to evacuate in other pods loaded heavy.

[@michaelgreenwood3413]

also means that if there's time, you can nab or even transport some spare supplies and such in as well.

[@christalbot210]

It is interesting to see what Star Fleet "innovations" occur because of a limited budget for the show. An early idea for making planet fall was to separate the saucer section and have it land (I believe this is where the idea of saucer section separation came from). When it was realized this would be too expensive to film, the idea of Transporters were created. In TAS, animating the space suits that were seen in TOS was an added expensive that they solved with the idea of personal "Life Belts". I was always sorry that didn't continue on to other series as I felt it was a smart way to keep the crew mobile in war, but allow them to stay alive (albeit briefly) in space if need be. I guess, even for _Star Trek_ tech it was asking a bit much.

[@longtimber]

So funny. I spent quite a while designing the escape pods for my "fan" ship to insure they could carry enough people (and it was more than 8 each), insuring that the people could fill all the seats without blocking ingress and egress, had maneuvering thrusters in all the right places, and a few other details, only to junk them and put hatches on the hull because I didn't like the way they protruded from the hull. Great video.

[@kaigreen5641]

As a musician who works on Cruise Ships and Ferries, I know only too well the horror of what we call "boat drill" where we drill what to do if abandon ship is ordered. The star trek escape pods look even worse than the lifeboats we use lol

[@samuelcaponi4516]

I never thought about the logistics of an escape pod. I always figured Star Fleet assumed that the ship would just explode before anyone got out

[@anarchyantz1564]

Voyager year from Hell, I think they used them in First Contact, Battle of Wolf 359 (Sisko) and several others I forget, but generally seeing as you have warp core breaches, venting into space and what not. Death is more likely.

[@setojurai]

Man, these reconstituted rations taste like crap.

[@anarchyantz1564]

@@setojurai The coffee tastes a bit "nutty" and not sure why I have sweetcorn floating in my hot chocolate, I am sure I asked for marshmallows.

[@admiralsquatbar127]

@@anarchyantz1564 more to the point, you haven't seen anyone eat any sweetcorn either...

[@anarchyantz1564]

@@admiralsquatbar127 Ah....they may be space weevils. Kryten states they generally are corn fed.

[@LordMJ]

Voyager's "Year of Hell" strongly implies that escape pods do have warp drives. Otherwise Chakotay's idea to abandon Voyager with escape pods and re assemble at the other side of Krenim space would never have worked. Also there would be little point to sending the crew out in escape pods at the end of YOH part 1.

[@LordMJ]

And DS9's "Changing Face of Evil". The Federation fleet was destroyed and the escape pods were allowed to "Return to the Federation"

[@anticarrrot]

Most useful kit in a survival pod woudl be a method of extracting hydrogen from your surroundings, given they probably run on some kind of very durable micro-fusion reactor, and you want to keep that going as long as possible. Followed by a thin but durable airtight tent (including airlock) for expanding the living space once planetside. Very useful for exercise, privacy, and sanity. Especially if the air outside is less than hospitable. Possibly also a long extension cable for if you need to run that micro-fusion on something a lot dirtier than deuterium and need to keep the subsequent radiation as far away from your living space as possible. It's also worth noting that those maneuvering thrusters can probably produce more deltaV than most early interplanetary craft, so you can make slow uncomfortable journeys part way across starsystems if you really need to.

[@johnwang9914]

I always thought the quarters themselves should be escape pods and if not the quarters then the beds. Not only would habitable space be a premium on a spaceship but it would be of benefit if sleeping crew members were already in a suitable lifeboat. At the very least, separate purpose made escape pods without a dual purpose should be foldable or inflatable to occupy as little space as possible when not in use.

[@scottmantooth8785]

*sometimes even the mere mention of the particular code/alert itself during a given situation/event/altercation triggered a near instantaneous evacuation of all personnel or crew...such as the infamous initiated (albeit very rare) Code Brown*

[@MrHidethecheese]

Code "brown pants"

[@Avokrypha]

I think it would be neat to make a game based around being trapped in an escape pod and forced to ration and manage resources properly while trying to slowly navigate to safety. As someone who doesn't even have claustrophobia, the thought of being stuck in a metal box for days drifting in the vast void of space is terrifying.

[@stormwell]

Hey Rick, any chance of a vid on the use of training ships by Starfleet please?

[@danielyeshe]

I have a model of a Sabre class starship and for a ship with a crew of 40 it sure likes its escape pods!

[@CertifiablyIngame]

The Sabre-class uses the intrepid style I think? Makes sense as it was made alongside the Defiant. I wonder why both have excessive pods.

[@littlekong7685]

I am sure the future generations of escape pod technology would be a shielded generator node with a micro warp drive (or transwarp drive) holding the entire crew in a pattern buffer, with a mini loop time cycle so that in the event it is destroyed it goes back 10 seconds and tries something different until all possibilities (or the power) are exhausted.

[@mb2000]

When you said that shuttles need prep time before launch (and I don’t doubt that they would) I made me think of how many times a shuttle has been stolen from a starship. Did the stealer sit there doing preflight prep for 10 minutes before leaving!? I think it was the TNG Technical Manual that said that the ASRVs that went onto the Galaxy-class were tested on the last Renaissance-class ship, the USS Hokkaido I think.

[@roachman7496]

I assume prep time would mean making sure a shuttle had necessary supplies to act as a life pod. Most shuttles already had some sort of emergency kit (basic first aid, tricorder, phaser, and simple tools for field maintenance, maybe rations), but the standard emergency kit on a shuttle would probably pale in comparison to the standard loadout of a lifepod.

[@jedigecko06]

Perhaps a shuttle is kept 'warm' for emergencies. You'd think that'd mean there's crew nearby... ...but how many times has someone fled the ship through an unmanned transporter pad?

[@gameoverwehaveeverypixelco1258]

I was just thinking about them today, I had the idea that they should have warp engines in all of them so they can instantly warp as the eject, would look cool but also escape away from attacking ships to safety.

[@the_kraken6549]

I don’t see them packing anything other than a warp sustainment drive (as seen on Photon-Torpedos, it does what it sounds like) into something as small as that and leave room for much else, maybe in a century or two with some more miniaturization, but in the 24th century it just wouldn’t fit.

[@kiwre]

I've enjoyed listening to all your videos. Excelent insight to the minute details.

[@jmesbgo7011]

I really enjoy these videos swear your videos answer questions that keep me up at night lol 😆😋

[@dorkavenger42]

Are the only escape pods on the outer hull? An obvious place to store others is part of the turbo lift shaft. Could enter one in the ship interior that would travel to the hull and ejected out from there. Provisions could also be loaded and launched to be recovered by the pods.

[@rafale1981]

I guess, the 8-months version of the intrepid & defiant classes would put you under, medically, for long stretches of time to conserve that much supplies

[@AngelRaivan8579-xh4fr]

Considering the size you'd think the pods would just be oddly shaped shuttlecraft. Seems like it would be feasible. They'd rescue themselves.

[@jhmcd2]

Interesting, I always though there was more information on these. But, oh well, you provided with a healthy dose of existential terror with your whole beans in a can thing.

[@Qardo]

Well, STO got rid of "Abandoned Ship" Ability. As it was kind of useless. In turn. When your ship blows up. Now it blows up with all hands. Think about that.

[@hawkeye5955]

Well, no one could trigger it quick enough when the ship's hull is about to collapse. I think the minimum hull integrity needed to be able to use it is 25%, but at that point the ship blows up before you can even use it.

[@compmanio36]

There was a few times it helped on a respawn to get crew back up to speed faster, but then they did away with crew counts too, so it eliminated any purpose for the "abandon ship" ability to exist.

[@hawkeye5955]

@@compmanio36 : If I remember correctly, they did away with the crew mechanics because it never worked properly.

[@Qaianna]

One of my captains uses fighters. I try to not think too hard about that. (Or that on console they never implemented carrier commands properly, such as 'retrieve fighters'. Her littering fees are measured in HEAPS of gold-pressed latinum ... )

[@mr.popper9759]

Simple solution, use a Galaxy class and when your hull reaches around 30% commence saucer separation. The saucer doesn't actually blow up with the hull.

[@jeffhallam2004]

Great video as usual...I wouldn't have thought of a video like this! :)

[@zombieshoot4318]

To save energy the replicators probably just replicate rations and water. Also supplies as needed. If you need a fishing line the replicator can make it.

[@Chaosmage42]

personally i think that there is probably an emergency scramble of all shuttles if a ships going down, consider that if the ships going down as you pointed out those pods have limited thrusters and the shuttles are long range craft, its quite possible or even probable that in the event of the ship going down that all the shuttles that are currently on deck are launched -the hanger door may even be blown out if the bay is sealed in order to allow all the ships to fly out as quick as possible. The reason i think this is because with say 2 or more shuttles on top of all the pods launched the shuttles can then head out and go get help if need be, if say they are in an area with enemy ships the shuttles can go a distance away and transmit a coded message, or head towards a star base enough for coms to reach if just outside range. But thats just me however i would suggest its, and if the ship has a runabout like the galaxy class thats even better chance of getting rescued

[@spacecitizen6756]

The absolute size of a galaxy class you’d think you could have a replicator on escape pods

[@davidmartin5483]

I imagine those escape pods that can link up being also linked to a shuttle and draged by it to the nearest survivable Planet to increase rescue and survival chances....who knows maby they accidentally start a new colony 😂😂😂.

[@builder396]

What always got me is that Klingon ships have escape pods. Yes they do. Why though? What about honorable death?

[@mikes1071]

Putting phaser strip on an escape pod is dangerous. If armed escape pods fired on enemy ships enemy ships might not bother to rescue or capture escape pods. Or those phasers on escape pods could confuse a weapons' and sensor operators to perceive the pod as some kind of drone or weapons platform that is hostile.

[@patrickmccurry1563]

It sounds a bit like armoring and arming a medical vehicle. A great way to make everyone consider them legitimate targets in war.

[@bc64100]

what wrong with hitting hospitals you kill your enemy before they get better and kill you

[@thebadgerman1211]

I love your channel it's very amazing greetings from the UK

[@Scott11078]

I was an engineer in the US Navy, an HT and the number one Attack Team Leader for the Kitty Hawks Flying Squad. That job might not mean much on a new ship but an older ship that job is a big deal. During 7 years I participated in one ONE abandon ship drill. I'm not saying they only did one drill ENGINEERING NEVER WAS INCLUDED. And the one time they did it was pure chaos and they made sure not to do it again.

[@KerbalSpaceCommand]

Replicators would need a lot of power, you are literally converting energy to matter. Take the mass of your food, use the formula E=MC^2 , that will give you how much energy you will need just to make the matter that's a lot of power. Plus how ever much power used for the replicator to do the conversion. It's unlikely the pods have replicators. They probably would have protein resequencers though.

[@limiv5272]

You talked a lot about the option of landing on a planet with an escape pod and surviving on it, yet that is a remote option. To give you some idea of the issue, the amount of time it takes to get from earth to out neighbor mars is about the amount of time you could survive on those escape pods. Space is vast and the chance of being that close to a suitable planet is slim

[@fredblonder7850]

Something I’ve always felt they should do on Starfleet vessels, is have the turbo-lifts double as escape pods, and each of the turbo-lift shafts end in a blow-out panel on the exterior of the hull of the ship. That would make for a very fast evacuation, though it would complicate the turbo-lift system. Perhaps the escape pods could be different from the turbo-lift cars, but run through the same shafts and open through the same door systems.

[@ryankirkpatrick959]

Thoroughly enjoyed this one! I've always been oddly fascinated by Starfleet escape pods and what might be in them. I'm curious what kind of emergency shelters they come with. Strange, the things my 10 year old self wondered about, and how it sticks with me all these years later.

[@vizthex]

gaggle mode should be standard, would be nice to find the entire crew at once. Plus, you have more things at your disposal.

[@danyelPitmon]

In Star Trek next generation at Wolf 359 I noticed they never mentioned about the escape pods when they enterprise showed up there to pick up any of the survivors and escape pods that did not make any sense because in a different episode with Cisco they showed him and others getting into escape pods and ejecting from the ship that he was on that he was commanding so I am very curious as to that situation Captain Pikard and others on the bridge had slowed down enough to notice all the damage to the ships I didn’t survive the attack from the board and I would’ve thought that they would’ve picked up on the transmitters from the pods but there was nothing somewhere those people assimilated by the Borg which of been Cisco would’ve been but he wasn’t and he was on TS9 so can anyone help me figure that one out because they just continued to earth without even thinking about the escape pads are talking about that

[@thatrealba]

Sooooo.. shuttle pod + prep time = plot armor = Batman?

[@salenstormwing]

Sometimes the escape pods contain folks who were attacked by a surprise attack! "They're so STRONG! We're weak! Can we leave now?!""

[@fatcoyote2]

Yay lifepod! Oh wait. We're fighting Borg.

[@paulhunter6742]

Has anyone seen movie Life Pod, made late 1980s. A Space cruiser carrying passengers is Sabatoge. Three Crewmembers and six passengers make it one of the Life Pods before Space cruise ship explodes. However, the Escape Pod has numerous malfunctions because Directors of Cruise line not paid to maintained them.

[@bpdmf2798]

I've always wondered why individual quarters didn't have their own escape pods seeing that a good percentage of the crew would be in quarters at any given time and if there are malfunctions you can't really count on being able to get to a pod. Pods on the bridge and other vital areas too seeing those would always be manned. Ships are huge, a few extra pods couldn't hurt.

[@TreGaming04]

I have always wondered how people on a galaxy class ship would get to the pods in time because those ships are huge

[@seldonwright4345]

Crew quarters AS escape pods. Just go to your room, do the procedure aanndd you're gone.

[@jedigecko06]

@@seldonwright4345 That would have changed the ending of TNG's _The Child._ TROY: _"Ian! Hold tight!! We're going on an adventure..."_ (Also, Kes should have used the nearest pod, instead of trying to get to the shuttlebay.)

[@DeathBYDesign666]

I always thought that the lifeboats should be equipped with enough emergency materials like replicators and warp coils to build a modest warp capable vessel from them. Just in case you get stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of rescue.

[@TreGaming04]

I have always wondered how people on a galaxy class ship would get to the pods in time because those ships are huge

[@thatrealba]

Theoretically your work area, quarters, and escape pod would all be within "were about to blow up" distance.

[@makeracistsafraidagain]

BA Hahahah!

[@TreGaming04]

@@thatrealba but still what about the bridge and engine room and people farther away from the outer hull

[@thatrealba]

@@TreGaming04 the bridge and main engineering are specifically close to escape pods, as it would be important to maintain as many of the senior officers as possible. Recall that the only senior officers whom we have seen blow up with a ship were those who stayed on purpose to maintain heading or keep enemy attention for as long as possible. They "went down with the ship."

[@jacksonwells292]

Enterprise had Trip and Ried in an escape pod for an entire episode. It seems larger.

[@danmoore4503]

A survival game set in the Trek universe could be interesting.

[@ChargerBoy01]

The fishing line on modern-day lifeboats is not intended to actually eat what is caught, as the fish contains salt. Lifeboats (and life rafts) aboard cruise ships contain enough food stores onboard for each crew member to eat 10,000 KJ per day. As well as freshwater supplies up to the stated capacity of people. If fish were caught, the only part encouraged to consume were the eyes, as they contain water and no salt. Emergency kit supplies include: Hand Signal Parachute Flares, Smoke Flares, Signal Mirror, Thermal Protection Aid, Sponges (to collect condensation and rain water) Sea Anchor, Lines, Knife/Blade, Rubber Patch Kit, Manual Air Pump, Plastic Bags, Dry Food Stores, Water Stores, Fishing Kit, Waterproof Instructions, First-Aid kit. (As of my last Shipboard safety training)

[@M33f3r]

The battle of the binary stars group mission in Star Trek Online has a segment where you are rescuing escape pods. Trying to race to rescue them before the Klingons can capture them.

[@Qaianna]

And somehow not blowing them up when you Torpedo Spread III all over the place.

[@johnburt7935]

I was listening to the excellent audio podcast *Escape Pod* [escapepod.org] when my child, then four years old, walked past and said thoughtfully, "Are escape pods true?" (his way of asking if they were real). I took the opportunity to tell him about the spaceship design called the *_Comet_* created in the 1950s for going to the Moon, which included a small conical escape pod. About ten years later, though, they decided the ship was too expensive, and just went to the Moon in the escape pod. Crazy humans.

[@STEPHENDANERD]

I'm kind of disappointed in the writers, I was hoping there'd be at least some level of - "Hey, we're in space, and can be easily rescued in space, how about instead of escape pods, we just split the ship apart?" Logically any ship would be built modular, even on the saucer section you could yank out an external room, rotate it in a circle, or even invert (so it fit on the bottom) then rotate it for up to 8 positions it would fit, with that idea in mind, why not allow these to function as "life barges" can fit plenty of people and for those that lived on the outer shell of the saucer, you get to take your home with you, away from the giant explosion. Think of it like peeling an orange, the insides are about to go boom, so eject all the skin off and boom goes the tangerine - what a hilarious sentence. The obvious downside is, the rooms designed to be ejected need to have extra design so that ejecting wouldn't damage or compromise the ship. But with the trek universe in mind, that doesn't seem like that big of a downside? Anyone see something I'm missing here?

[@adapedneau1114]

Who was the Guy that Won the Contest and made up the New Starfleet Ship ??? How long did Harry Kim stay alive in the Delta Flyer Escape Pod ??? Two Weeks ???

[@luciferangelica]

it's a very lovely ship, and i think you boys should go down with it

[@nunya3163]

The provisioning of life pods may be the only thing that the JJ Verse got right.

[@realitycheck3363]

"Pew pew, I'm over here!!" - Rick 2020. Somehow I don't think shooting at people would make them think you wanna be rescued. But that's probably just me. XD

[@michaelgreenwood3413]

I think the escape pod Phaser Strip is more a thing for, say, if you handed on a planet with large predators, it would be useful as a sentry gun to keep them away.

[@spookerredmenace3950]

that ep where Captain Picard, Wes Crusher and that other guy where they crashed, they had water and a phaser and some kinda fire blanket , and some snacks. but not much else

[@deeacosta2734]

You're videos are the best. Can you do one featuring all the aliens Kirk and Riker boned?