What's In A Shuttlebay? (Star Trek)

This is not as dumb as it sounds. Maybe it is.
But Shuttles aren't the only thing that a Starship carries around in its hangers and this video looks at the reason for the different types of small craft that are canonically within a Federation Starship.
Other Trek Lore Videos:
San Francisco Fleet Yards: • San Francisco Fleet Ya...
Where Does Voyager Get Its Shuttles?: • Where Does VOYAGER Get...
Music from bensound.com, purple-planet.com and freesfx.co.uk
Star Trek Online developed by Cryptic Studios and Perfect World.
Star Trek, Star Trek Enterprise/Voyager/Deep Space Nine/Discovery/Picard and The Next Generation are all owned and distributed by CBS.
Star Trek Films are owned and distributed by Paramount Pictures
This Video is for critical purposes with commentary.

[@jeffantonson2304]

Shuttles: small disposable craft designed to strand main characters in unique and interesting settings to move the plot forward.

[@johnbockelie3899]

The Voyager also had.another mysterious techknownology. Endless shuttle crafts.

[@Sn0wc4t]

@@johnbockelie3899 Maybe they had/constructed one of those fancy industrial replicators to play with?

[@DissociatedWomenIncorporated]

@Voltaic Fire and like most cars in action movies. Someone keys your car in one of those, and it'll explode in slow motion while they're walking away, coolly not looking back at the fireworks!

[@Xalgucennia]

@Voltaic Fire Well Jesus, what else are they gonna do with all they explodium?

[@JeanLucCaptain]

kinda like transporters!

[@OuttaMyMind911]

In the early 90's when I was young, our family needed a new minivan. I begged my parents to go for a Pontiac TranSport since I thought they looked like a shuttlecraft from the Enterprise D. Since my dad was a big Star Trek fan as well, that's what we got.

[@Menaceblue3]

How long did the vehicle last?

[@janwitkowsky8787]

Just googled it and the first one to pop up is the 1992 model. Spiffy. How is the fuel economy?

[@sheilaolfieway1885]

@@janwitkowsky8787 a little less than a car but better than a big truck... (drove a 1992 dodge minivan) For all i know it's still driving around somewhere.. older cars tend to last longer ,but in this case the A/C broke.

[@Shawn_White]

I honestly thought it looked like one of those hand held vacuum cleaners.

[@Tarv1]

@@Shawn_White Dustbuster was a nickname of the Pontiac TranSport, Chevrolet Lumina APV, and Oldsmobile Silhouette

[@salenstormwing]

The Class 7 Minivan. Because it was the late 80s, and the Captain would turn this shuttle craft around if you kids don't settle down!

[@Plasmacore_V]

Captain Lonestar of the Eagle 5 "Hero for Hire"

[@g85w20]

'I love Uranus!'

[@DissociatedWomenIncorporated]

"But Daaaad, Worf's shooting me with quantum spitballs again!" "🙄 For God's sake Will, how many times do I have to tell you I'm _not_ your _father?"_

[@DissociatedWomenIncorporated]

"This is the Captain, all hands to escape pods!" "ALL escape pods urinated in and on, Captain! Now the Borg will _KNOW_ they're our territory!" "That's... not even close to what I asked for, Mr. Worf."

[@chrismulders2344]

Pontiac transport: you could carry mr woof, mr holms & large suitcases, your prospective mother in law, a weeks worth of field rations, thought sensing girlfriend, all in the comfort of a silver colored, plastic trim cladded vehicle. P.S. the ad features your captain describing it in a glowing light. Starfleet issue ca. 1989-1996.

[@casbot71]

So when I get transported to the 24th century, I'm going to revolutionise Starship design by suggesting vertical storage racks to greatly increase shuttle capacity in bays. Shuttles have such fine maneuvering control that they could park themselves inside - without even the help of tractor beams or mechanical arms. Hell Sovereign class ships can beam small ships directly into their bay. Then I'm also going to suggest quick release seatbelts for flight crew… and this will blow their minds, but not their consoles … circuit breakers and fuses. Once these innovations have cemented my reputation, I'll lobby for Holodecks to have their own independent computer systems, completely separate from the ships main computer. And with a physical on/off override situated outside the door. Then I'll have a big sit down and explain camouflage to their uniform designers, along with the concept of practical pockets. Then I'll quiz then on the state of the art on personal short term fold up emergency life support. Once I've done all that, I'll just take it steady with advancing the science of ergonomics. And maybe try and get the Federation to lift it's blanket ban on all copywrited material - a hold over of the trauma of the great copywrite wars of the mid 21st century. I'll be so successful they'll give me my own office on Utopia Planetia, and even a synth assistant.… _hang on?_

[@ooglefluffg857]

It just now clicked why everyone in Star Trek listens to classical music and reads Shakespeare and Moby Dick. It's not that everyone in the 24th century is an enlightened lover of classical arts, the showrunners just couldn't afford royalties.

[@fisk0]

@@ooglefluffg857 Royalties were probably the primary reason, but I figure they also wanted to be safe on the "what of current culture will still be relevant in 400 years?" subject. Stuff that had already survived for centuries (or at least many decades like the jazz and 50s rock that occasionally popped up) had already proven to be sticking around, but how can you tell what of the currently popular stuff will have lasting power? Since these shows were made to be broadcast under syndication for many years, it could quickly date them if they misjudge what will remain revelant, and for that maybe it wouldn't be worth it to waste royalty money on it.

[@anarchyantz1564]

Also ban plasma relays behind consoles and display screens unless they are explosion proof as well as banning "rocks" that are always blasted across a command deck. Should reduce some fatalities.

[@travissmith2848]

Hey.... while you are at it remind them of one Barkley's successes in interfacing holodeck constructs to the computer. And that it should be possible to increase the use of replicator technology inside the holodecks, even industrial kinds. Sure, run it through a patch through so you can separate the systems if needed, but you could just spin up any lab you can think of. And I get the desire to have families on long duration missions during peace time, but can we have civilians already live in the "giant lifeboat" part of the ship and if that is not the main drive section give it its own warp drive so it can actually get _away_ from the fight? And don't forget some tips about operational security and how since the computer seems to already know who is crew and who is not that the ship's computer should limit what it will do and what doors open for guests of various types.

[@limiv5272]

@@travissmith2848 I was just about to comment about the last thing you brought up - security. Strangers shouldn't be able to just walk into the bridge, let along be able to operate the computers without a password or fingerprint or something. Half of ST plots wouldn't have been possible if they just used passwords

[@lloydtshare]

runabouts are great little ships

[@CathrineMacNiel]

little?

[@mb2000]

Kirrim Kerman You do remember how to phasers don’t you?

[@KingSandvich1]

A runabout? I'LL STEAL IT

[@CathrineMacNiel]

@@mb2000 it's the green button, right?

[@SlashDotDash121]

Give me a runabout with a mini holodeck and I’ll be a happy man

[@OllamhDrab]

I kind of want an Argo. "Cars and coffee in England or drift matsuri at Ebisu? Yeah, I can make it." :)

[@maverickbna]

I wonder how big one holosuite is, and if the Ferengi could sell the Federation the plans for a few.

[@tigersebel]

@@maverickbna why would they need to buy them? the federation knows really well how to make holodecks

[@maverickbna]

@@tigersebel You're right. I was thinking a holosuite would be more appropriate for a vessel of that size, but of course, I have no idea how big one is, so I'm probably wrong. :)

[@TiagoTiagoT]

How big are the computers required to run a realistic enough holodeck though?

[@Noone-jn3jp]

A coworker of mine, around 55 yo, got plates for his Tesla that say "Engage”. I asked him what it was from and he looked nervous like i was going to roast him. “ahh... its a scifi thing... its from Star Trek" 🤦‍♂️ I’ve never felt so ashamed in my life, i love Star Trek.

[@davidmarquardt2445]

I remember all the runabouts on DS9 were named after Earth rivers: the Ganges, the Danube, the Orinoco.

[@limiv5272]

@@davidmarquardt2445 One of the many things that made me facepalm. The federation supposedly consisted of almost 200 species at the time, but all ship names and 98% of personnel were human. I get that prosthetics are expensive, but naming a ship after some Vulcan lava river isn't and it would've made the Federation feel much more real and diverse

[@limiv5272]

@Reunite The British Empire That simply doesn't make sense to me. First, I don't see what speaking English as a second language has to do with anything. The rivers on other planets would still have their names. Second, those other species have their own complex history and they were able to independently invent warp technology and wage wars and create empires and whatnot, so they're clearly not useless. It's just lazy writing

[@janreznak881]

Apparently Starfleet is a mainly human organisation because humans have the hyper need to just see what’s out there. No matter what. You can clearly see this dynamic in Enterprise. And the Vulcan response to it. Most other Federation races just aren’t interested, those individuals that are you see in Starfleet. And don’t forget each individual member planet still retains its local space force. Of course it’s likely due to cost as you say, but in universe that’s supposed to be the reason.

[@michaelgreenwood3413]

@@janreznak881 That, and we just saw the specific Runabouts assigned to DS9. There's plenty of Federation ships that AREN'T human stuff, both in class and whatever their designation is, like STO's Shiakur-class Frigate or Ushaan-class Escort Starships. TBH, it probably depends where the Starship was built too. Willing to bet the two I named were probably designed and built at the Andorian shipyards.

[@liljenborg2517]

Q: What's in a Starfleet shuttlebay? A: Whatever the episode/movie writer needs to have in the shuttlebay, no matter how many or large the "shuttles" might be how much room you need to choreograph the phaser/fist fight scene or how small the space you actually have in the ship. (I'm looking at you Delta Flyer!)

[@Me-qp8vz]

Shuttles you idiot. Why they need to dribble? Attention seeking maybe?

[@SymbioteMullet]

I always like the shuttles and runabouts in Trek, I always wanted to see more of them.

[@Ag3nt0fCha0s]

Since runabouts can warp, if memory serves, I always wondered why they weren't used in place of bigger craft.

[@lightningcat82]

@@Ag3nt0fCha0s size. A runabout is about the size of an apartment, with between 2 and 8 people in it, for days, weeks, or maybe months. Cabin fever can set in fairly quickly.

[@danielcostanza4628]

They also had fighter craft

[@SymbioteMullet]

@@Ag3nt0fCha0s i think it's mostly economies of scale. As Adams said, "space is big, like, really really big". Runabouts can for sure outpace an NX class for instance, but they aren't fast enough / don't have the range for really big journeys. Full size ships, even those as small as the defiant, just have more fuel supply...

[@ibanezleftyclub]

Hate to have to go to the bathroom in anything less than a runabout lol.

[@greywizard2557]

Why didn't you go before we left? Well you're just going to have to hold it; we've got another 7tn miles to go.

[@Amar7605]

Use the transporter to remove the pee from your body?

[@anarchyantz1564]

I know right, they don't even use the three sea shells for Picard's sake! OK tying the number two chute into the food replicator was a good design though but urine recyc for Synthahol leaves a foam mustache that only paint stripper can remove.

[@jimdigitalvideo]

Just don't try to pee out the airlock. It's hazardous to your health.

[@limiv5272]

@@Amar7605 Ever since seeing a baby being delivered using a transporter I was wondering if it can be used on patients instead of catheters. Also, how about the content of pimples?

[@casbot71]

The shuttle bay in the *Intrepid class* was experimental and utilised _Gallifreyan technology_ to be bigger on the inside and also had relative dimensional hanger doors, which is how craft that were too big to fit through were able to … fit through.

[@johnbockelie3899]

The run about , used for those pesky Star fleet mandatory picnics, and get togethers.

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

Also known as Acme Company Hammer Space. Bugs Bunny used it.

[@nursemark447]

Look at you with the big brain. Good on ya.

[@nursemark447]

@EmperorJuliusCaesar i never heard of it either, i thought it was a joke.

[@LoT945]

@@nursemark447 its a joke but the delta flyer legitimately shouldn't fit in either the shuttlebay nor through the door

[@Sci_fi_and_cars]

They way I view the runabouts is how the Navy looks at things. I.E. Enterprise is a "ship" and a Runabout is a "Boat" While the shuttles and stuff are auxiliary craft. The point being that a Runabout can be an Auxiliary craft but a shuttle will never be a boat.

[@williammagoffin9324]

Runabouts were commissioned starships with their own registry number, so in naval terminology, they are indeed a ship, albeit a small one. The closest analogy I think would be a Submarine Chaser, a fully commissioned ship in their own right just really small and designed for limited operations.

[@Sci_fi_and_cars]

@@williammagoffin9324 I was thinking of. Subs when I was writing it that or PT boats but I don't think pts were commissioned. I don't think of sub chaser's :)

[@AzraelThanatos]

@@Sci_fi_and_cars Boats would, likely, be some of the other smaller craft. Ones intended for remaining in a system for patrol or commerce compared to the ships that are set up to travel.

[@pwnmeisterage]

I suppose that a dedicated ship registry number implies dedicated ship captain and crew. Maybe a runabout is valuable/expensive/dangerous enough that it isn't permitted to leave until somebody responsible has assigned somebody responsible to officially command it.

[@davidmkohl1984]

I always liked the runabouts, kind of Treks "space Winnebago".

[@luciandragos8556]

*Lonestar approves* =P

[@johnbockelie3899]

The lady who played Yeoman Meats in " The Galileo 7 " where the.shuttle.was destroyed towards the end of.the episode, also was in " the.way.to Eden" . She played. space hippy. At the end of this episode the space hippies steal the.shuttle Galileo 2,( so as the Yeoman, she rode on the original, as a hippy she rode in the replacement. What a coincidence .) Galileo 7 / Galileo 2. - 7 the only shuttle in TOS that got replaced. Yeoman Mears. / space Hippie . Same actress.

[@DogsRNice]

@@johnbockelie3899 what

[@andrelandry548]

Win a bagel?

[@jackychang9148]

I call dibs on the name *Eagle 5*

[@tomalexander4327]

Video on the Captain's Yacht please!

[@TheBigExclusive]

You should really do a separate video using the "Stage 9 Enterprise - D Virtual Tour". They recreate the Enterprise - D for a person to walk inside. They redid the Shuttlebay to actually look, and feel like a massive hangar deck. Much better than what we saw in the show in my opinion. Probably would give you a lot of material for a video.

[@Locutus]

I saw that video, and it really filled in holes regarding the Galaxy. It also shows how versatile the Galaxies are.

[@Krahazik]

We never saw the main shuttle bay in all of TNG. I do admit he did a great rendition of it and the rest of the ship though. Not really hard to visualize what it might look like base don the blueprints and what other visuals we have, especially since the whole ship had a visual consistency to its main areas.

[@BrianGriffinQuahog]

I have a Galaxy Class MSD on a large desk mat. It shows that Main shuttle bay took up almost 3/4s of 2 decks (2 & 3) with some shuttle storage on decks 4/5. Main shuttle bay, as previously mentioned was never shown because of limitations of CGi (impossible as a practical set). If memory serves, it was always shuttle bay 2 that was used which is tiny in comparision

[@joemannchen]

Yes, I think they took the time and created Shuttlebay 1, never seen on air.

[@gallendugall8913]

The Intrepid had a modest hanger bay but the ship itself was mostly shuttlecraft allowing one to be lost every week for fifteen years without running out.

[@schwarzerritter5724]

Intrepids probably have an industrial replicator. But even if they have not, a cargo transporter can probably be used as industrial replicator. Of course, that does not explain where they got the resources they needed. It is not completely consistent if replicators generate matter out of energy of it it simply rearranges matter and still needs the ore to make ship parts. Either way, Voyager should not have the resources.

[@limiv5272]

@@schwarzerritter5724 I'm not sure how accurate this is, but I think most things could be replicated from energy, although some would have a high energetic cost or would require a specialized replicator to make correctly. The latter you'd want to get the old fashioned way if you can. Some things can't be replicated, or at least no one found a way yet.

[@anarchyantz1564]

Rick: What's in a shuttle bay? Answer: Shuttles. Video ends a second after intro :P

[@Darkfenris]

Everytime i see an opened shuttlecraft, i ask myself... Where is the toilet? I mean, there travel days in this things.

[@mikespangler98]

Very precise transporter? Beam the waste products from your bladder or colon directly to recycling? I've wondered the same thing.

[@Utubesuperstar]

Or fold out ones in the back

[@limiv5272]

Toilets, showers, sonic washing machines...

[@epiendless1128]

What we are talking about in privy terms, is a retracting window panel protected by a permiable forcefield, and an insatiable void outside.

[@TheShivABC]

Nothing like traversing through space and a giant dookie slaps your window

[@Taz.B]

Shuttle bays are my favourite locations. Who doesn't little ships coming out of bigger ships! :D

[@SchardtCinematic]

The big ship just took a little ship. Now it feels relieved.

[@limiv5272]

@@SchardtCinematic That was equally funny and disgusting

[@lorzon]

A small point of correction. Shuttlecraft don't have warp cores, they use micro-fusion power units. That's why they are limited to very low warp speeds. That's what the Danube-class so revolutionary that it gets its own registry, it actually houses a full feature matter-antimatter annihilation power core. Also, the aft section is modular, allowing it be modified for anything from cargo duty to diplomatic functions.

[@riakm921]

The shuttles and bays were always some of my favorite parts of Star Trek, they lent a greater amount of verisimilitude to the world by showing more variety in ships.

[@NeilBlumengarten]

I seem to remember seeing somewhere that the runabouts were modular and could easily be fitted with different mission specific modules. You did mention swapping out labs, but something I see seemed to show the entire cabin could be removed and swapped.

[@lray801]

The external pod on top could be switched out, much like on the Nebula-class ships.

[@Sci_fi_and_cars]

I think TrekYards has a video on that.

[@schwarzerritter5724]

They definitely have the option to be equipped with a torpedo launcher on the back, since we have seen both versions.

[@nlinecomputers]

Correct, Runabouts had several different modules that could be swapped out. Cargo, lab modules,. Passenger seating like a bus, extra power plants. Plus it had a hard point up top for a weapon platform or custom sensor module. If you can fashion some thing to fit the space a module can be replicated to fit.

[@Krahazik]

The middle section between the forward flight deck and the aft cabin between the nacelle wings could be removed (downward) and replaced with another module. also as mentioned and see, another module or equipment package could be mounted ontop above the spine.

[@CardboardSliver]

Runabouts: 1 time use Shuttles: WE EXIST Delta Flyer: Crashy McCrash Worker Bees: Space Forklift

[@uss_04]

Given the Star Trek universe focuses so much on its Capital Ships, I appreciate this visit on shuttlecraft and their operation and maintenance. These smaller craft and the bays have always fascinated me.

[@SnowmanTF2]

It is kind of interesting we did not see more ships sized similar to the USS Raven, especially since could be achieved by redresses of existing sets, but with a smaller exterior model.

[@sarasifg]

I for one would love a video specifically about the different shuttlecraft!

[@plugsocket9432]

I like that you added Stage 9 to your video. The people at stage 9 were just fans who wanted to share the experience of walking the Enterprise-D for free. Then CBS came along and told them take stage 9 down from the internet which they have done. I have my copy of stage 9 before it was taken down; stored and backed up so I have it for a long time to come.

[@mikevasquez1103]

I would have liked the idea of a story centered around a mercantile fleet of specially modified after market runabouts.

[@Locutus]

Not quite what you were wanting, but the Marquis ships were ex Starfleet fighters.

[@gabelogan5877]

Voyager had one shuttlebay? I thought it had two-a CGI at the tail end of the ship and a second practical set located somewhere else. Where the hell did they store all the extra ships and equipment because the shuttlebay looked like it barely fit the Delta Flyer

[@Corbomite_Meatballs]

In Cargo Bay 2...it had infinite storage capacity. The Voyager crew were space hoarders.

[@pills-]

Behold the unsolved mysteries of Star Trek

[@d.b.4671]

As I understand it, the shuttlebay isn't where the craft are stored, just where they're launched and received. There's a separate hangar compartment behind the bay that isn't seen as often. (Apparently one of the producers said Shuttlebay 2 was just the name for the hangar, which doesn't really make much sense, but whatever.)

[@gabelogan5877]

D. B. I think this is just confirmation that the producers never had a plan for the show which is why the ship was always in pristine condition after an attack and Voyager had an inexhaustible supply of shuttles to destroy. That’s why I love Year of Hell (which really should have last the entire season) and Equinox. Those episodes were far more realistic about the challenges Voyagers should have faced.

[@gabelogan5877]

D. B. Also thank you for answering the question. Memory Alpha was no help.

[@The_Lucent_Archangel]

It's a bit of a semantics thing, but I always figured if the Akira with its hangar deck could accommodate shuttles along with Peregrines, that larger ships like the Galaxy could do so also. It would have been cool to see a group of fighters slip out of a Galaxy's main bay at some point during the Dominion War, but then that would have been reused a dozen times like many of the other battle scenes or flybys.

[@toddmichaeljaniszewski]

I loved the TOS movie era Long Range Shuttle with the Warp Sled. I know it only appeared in ST:TMP but I had the original model kit when the film came out so it has a special place in my heart. I wish the "warp sled" idea had been used again.

[@NeonVisual]

They gave Captain Scott a shuttlecraft without a bathroom. Go anywhere in the galaxy you want, just make sure there are public conveniences en route. Like OAP coach trips.

[@casbot71]

Imagine if Starfleet took the basic shuttle design of a somewhat streamlined box like shape with nacelles stuck straight underneath it, usually attached to the hull or on very short pylons, and scaled it up to _full sized starships._ The saucer and secondary hull with nacelles on long pylons paradigm waste *_a lot_* of space and require a lot of structural strengthening. In effect it would be a far more efficient and robust design, basically a boxy Defiant with the nacelles on the bottom corners instead of the sides. How much extra space would be available for the same "footprint"?

[@thatrealba]

Originally, the nacelles needed to be far away from the rest of the ship due to the way space was warped for ftl travel. Over the years we have seen the nacelles come close and closer to the manned parts of the ships as technology advanced to mitigate the danger to the crew.

[@scoutg001]

@@thatrealba Also, the ships have very robust structural integrity fields, and the federation's were more advanced than most other factions, meaning the radiation emitted from the warp nacelles was kept far away with little to no affect to the function, or operation of the ship aside from the vertical footprint

[@richardkohlhof]

So funny, at first glance, I thought the mini warp core was the TARDIS, thought it funny, then looked closer! Lol Thank you for your shows, they keep me reeled in!

[@VegetaLF7]

I never realized there was a difference between a shuttlepod and shuttlecraft, I always thought of the terms as interchangeable

[@ryanhodson856]

I just got into playing Star Trek online about a month ago. Came across some of your videos while researching some thing about the game and have to say you put together some really high end content. Thoroughly enjoy them...keep up the good work.

[@erictaylor5462]

Unrelated question. In Nemesis when Picard rams the enemy ship with Enterprise the ships pull apart and we see that much of the forward section of the ship is gone. Clearly anyone in this section of the ship would have been killed. So, if the bar aboard Enterprise was in the same place as it was in the D model, did Picard kill Guinan?

[@thatrealba]

Guinan wasn't afraid of Q, so I doubt a fender bender in space would do her in.

[@jedigecko06]

Yeah. It only makes sense to ram if Picard is sure all crew have moved to duty stations/shelters further inside the ship. Also, we know families/civilians are no longer aboard starships. Does this mean Guinan wouldn't have transferred to the E?

[@TattooedHoodlum]

One can only hope

[@pills-]

She was probably the reason the E survived that ram :D Don't mess with Guinan's bar...

[@benjaminnicholson3136]

@Stripey Arse :)

[@jacksonheathen2092]

Yet on Voyager, they often referred to "shuttle bay 2". I can only assume they had a secondary maintenance bay deeper inside.

[@deadknight1402]

It's always nice to have just a video exploring a general tech topic. Great info.

[@1TakoyakiStore]

This was a very intriguing episode! Really enjoyed it. Of course now I want to see a video on escape pods and Captains yacht's haha.

[@NonSequitur404]

Great Vid as always. I love the runabout, like that it's a fully spec'd mini starship and it's small size makes it conceivable for a single person to own in the trek universe. Would be great if you did a video dedicated to it one of these days :)

[@TheFreakedoutduck]

I've only seen a handful of Star Trek show episodes and The Kelvin Timeline trilogy movies. Star Trek is not really my thing, but for some reason I love your videos exploring the seires.

[@samiamrg7]

Same here. Almost my only experience with the franchise is the Armada games, the First Contact movie, and the first Kelvin movie.

[@thatrealba]

Yikes. Knowing Trek by anything Kelvin is similar to knowing Star Wars by the Disney movies or knowing Transformers by the abysmal live action movies. Trek is so much more and better than the Kelvin flaming diaper dumpster fire. Still, cool that you watch this channel. He makes good content.

[@jedigecko06]

I hope you'll be covering escape pods. What facilities do they have, and do we know their range? We know they can make it to ground. Can they make it back into space?

[@IIISentorIII]

With enough escape pods from destroyed ships, they could link together in space and form a Starfleet Cube, surprise the enemy and win the battle!

[@thomas.parnell7365]

@@IIISentorIII hmm bit like suliban vessels

[@jimbojones9665]

I was shaking my fist at the sky until you acknowledged that runabouts are actually small starships.

[@Jeremyhughes86]

the saucer section is the main hull, other than saucer section it's called the "primary hull" because it houses almost all living quarters, work stations and labs spaces on a Starfleet vessel. with the reminder being referred to as the engineering section, or Stardrive section... because it was dedicated to the engineering staff, and Stardrive functions, where the mission is carried out in the saucer. especially in the TNG era and beyond.

[@randybentley2633]

I wonder if the crew quarters of the Chief Engineer have the option to be in the stardrive section or do they have to be in the primary hull?

[@Jeremyhughes86]

@@randybentley2633 senior officers usually have the larger quarters and don't share with other personal, so that would suggest that saucer. there are quarters in the engineering hull, but they are on the smaller end. though ten to fifteen percent of the overall crew might have quarters there it isn't much more and couldn't be very large living spaces because it's all devoted to traversing interstellar space at FTL speeds. matter storage, antimatter storage, the navigational deflector assembly which takes up lots of space and isn't just a big blue glowing dish. the warp core and all of main engineering which surrounds it. all of the things I listed each take up multiple decks, by themselves. so you don't have space for many people to live, and the only labs there are devoted to engineering itself. so I certainly don't imagine they would justify giving a senior staff member space there, even with the module designs Starfleet uses.

[@Visuwyg]

What an incredibly detailed video! ...don't take this the wrong way, but this type of video is amazing to fall asleep to :) Oh, I just finished the entirety of STO:SS, what an incredible series! My favorite Star Trek series in decades!

[@briang9581]

I realize the intro was mostly played for laughs, but you needn't have worried. I find this topic, to borrow a phrase, fascinating. Not only is there a plethora of variation among these shuttles, but in some regards, you barely even scratched the surface. There are also Captain's yachts, civilian crafts, and non-Starfleet shuttles. That still does not cover shuttles from other universes or timelines. I have little doubt that these have been previously covered in other CI videos or are not very far away. I look at it in the same way Tom Paris probably would. The feeling of freedom and of being in control must be amplified in a shuttle when compared to a starship. Maybe Spaceballs had it right all along. Give me an RV in space... and perhaps Daphne Zuniga too!

[@robertbrown1141]

Star Trek Online may be one of the best things to happen to channels that talk about/show starships.

[@BrickZero]

Each one of these has a real world counterpart. Workerbee = bobcat g series, small 2-4 person crafts = golf cart, third types could be compared to the series of U-Haul brand moving vehicles. And the last ones would be equivalent to military light APC style vehicles.

[@SidDTheSimschannel]

You, forgot the most famous transport shuttle from the STO o series that used electricity from earth and the starbase to fly and was more like trams. You also got the Vulcan Transport pod, a Vulcan sublight pod for shorter transport the pod itself is used, but for longer transport the pod can be connected to a long range warp attachment and send to the designated location and once dropped out of warp the pod would eject and the long rand warp would wait for another pod before engaging warp again. This was pretty common in the Movies.

[@montecorbit8280]

I'd love to see video on the shuttlecraft of the various types, and even various types of runabouts....

[@nicholasmorsovillo2752]

It's funny that the shuttlebay of the Intrepid Class was at the back of the Secondary hull and from the looks of it was the same position as the shuttlebay of the Constitution Class and the Constitution Refit Class and the Sovereign Class that had both a main shuttlebay behind the main bridge and a second shuttlebay at the back of the secondary hull.

[@roderikjansen3981]

I love your narrating soothing voice man! It kind of reminds me watching a David Attenborough documentary.

[@IIISentorIII]

Fun fact: During the dominion war 99.9% of all the Utility Craft "Workerbees" fighter pilots where lost.

[@AaronTheHumanist]

Great video. Its interesting about the work bees, that today in 21st century tech we are developing drones that probably reduce the need for manned craft to repair hulls. Likely a bank of crew members each remotely operating an external repair vehicle. Transporting components one by one to the EVA repair device and then fit, weld or whatever into place by virtual headset.

[@JordonBeal]

I want Rick to narrate and intersperse his humor throughout my entire life.

[@ETHRON1]

Information i have always pondered on... fascinating.

[@jonny5777]

That was so cool (you can tell how cool I am with that statement!) found a new subscriber right here

[@AzraelThanatos]

A lot of the Federation ships, at least during the Dominion War, would have also had a small fighter complement in their hangars that could be used as short term escorts. They also had boarding craft of different types...both for salvage/rescue and combat purposes. Some ships would have had drone craft stored onboard for use, I remember a few references to "drone bays" in a few books, probably referencing an eventual Federation version of the drones that the Romulans used, probably also including things that were, essentially, just larger probes that could be run autonomously and recovered.

[@Saanichian]

This was really cool to see. Thank you.

[@mtenterprise4347]

I waited for this so long!

[@scienceMicroguy77]

I remember seeing a video a long time ago that had a cad drawing person get hold of the specs for a Galaxy class and it can hold over 200 shuttles in its shuttle Bay.

[@thatrealba]

Thanks Rick! I learned several things from the video.

[@MatthewHendrickson]

What I wish we saw in the Dominion War was modified Galaxy class Saucers that would have rapid launch capabilities with numerous runabouts in the saucer. Runabouts could essentially be used as gunboats for defense of the Galaxy wings during the war, and make Starfleet better at protecting its larger command ships.

[@SnowmanTF2]

I have those blueprints of the galaxy class, the main shuttle bay was not just one deck, much of three decks supported it's operations. With two basically where most of it was; with where they were stored/loaded on first floor, then the flight control space looking down from the second deck, and underneath all that there was a hanger section for maintenance accessed by lifts. It was a bit odd they still had tons of living quarters on those decks, especially as the Enterprise has a comical amount of living quarters relative to stated crew size, though I guess that would allow people working in that area to not have to walk far or need to take a turbolift.

[@guyjordan8201]

Nice article… Would have been nice to see the Galaxy Class Captains Yacht, the TAS submarine shuttle, and Delta Flyer covered.

[@jeroenromarius7150]

The Runabout is a starship on it's own. The smallest though. That's why they have their own registry number and name. Too bad this is almost always overlooked and they're being referred to as shuttles.

[@andrewgilbertson5672]

"And even ones used to deploy ground vehicles." Oh, you just had to acknowledge its existence, didn't you. Funny the prevalence of those ground vehicles when Harry Kim didn't know what a non-hover-car was... (Grrrr, my nemesis... Nemesis!)

[@limiv5272]

At some point they would definitely need a ground vehicle. It's an efficient and simple way to travel across land, which they sometimes need to do when they don't have access to a transporter. Star Trek makes it look like everyone walks everywhere, but that's not practical unless you have a transporter every 1-2 km over the entire planet

[@andrewgilbertson5672]

@@limiv5272 Oh, I think they have vehicles. But they have the technology (and canon, established multiple times in TOS and TNG) to make hover-vehicles as safe, reliable, and common as wheeled vehicles are now. It's the wheeled, contemporary-style vehicles that I find objectionable; we see multiple times that shuttles and smaller hover-vehicles are frequent, practical, common transportations; wheeled vehicles are supposed to be (and were, pre-Nemesis) as extinct and obsolete as a horse-drawn carriage is today. Sure, a few people may have them as novelties... but they aren't standard equipment on a U.S. Navy ship. :-)

[@limiv5272]

@@andrewgilbertson5672 That's a good point. However, we the viewers usually see officers going about their day as opposed to civilians. In fact I'm not sure I've seen antigravs being used outside of DS9, so unless there was another appearance I don't remember, who's to say whether those devices work under natural gavity in an open environment. I always wondered why ST hospital beds didn't seem to be outfitted with antigrav devices to make it easy to transport patients

[@limiv5272]

Oh wait I wasn't thinking about the JJ movies. There was that chase over flying vehicles. I hated those movies and prefer to pretend they didn't happen

[@thamirivonjaahri6378]

I would say runabouts were equivalent of a small corvette...ships on their own right, yet still capable of docking inside of the larger vessels. Quite versatile combination of small independent craft and shuttle in one. TBH they had at least as many amenities as Delta flyers and you possibly could fly hundreds if not thousands of LYs in these uninterrupted...

[@crgkevin6542]

Honestly, the Delta Flyer is really like a class of Runabout. A bit smaller than the beefy Danube class, but it offers comparable capabilities, as well as a few improvements in capability.

[@MrPingn]

Love me a runabout. Especially the versatility of them. You can switch out sections of the cabins for mission specific ones. Would love to seem more of the Arrow and Gryphon designs.

[@shanavalkyria3438]

A cool thing for a shuttle bay, shield probes/drones, automated probes that could reinforce or take a few hits for a weakened, failed shield.

[@stephengonzalez2997]

Very informative! You do need a variation of support craft for sure.

[@DonJuanVII1]

What about the Delta Flyer? Granted two were made by Voyager's crew. And were only specialized for the Delta Quadrant. And did Starfleet ever adopt the design after Voyager returned to the Alpha Quadrant?

[@IAmTheAce5]

Reminds me of Crimson Skies and how I tried so hard to figure out what mechanisms could handle aircraft inside the hangars where airplanes can drop out of airships, and come back via skyhood i.e. threading the needle. Of course, Star Trek doesn't need mechanisms beyond anti-grav and turntables.

[@cjdiz06]

Great topic! Would love to see more info :)

[@fatbeard8072]

Excellent video as always and very informative. Any info on the famous Galileo shuttle from TOS?

[@TravisSelassieSimbawafedha]

When you do your videos on shuttle pods and shuttle craft make sure to look at the Shuttle drone, a great story surrounds the model for it.

[@saphirefoxirl]

I really liked that video. Are you going to do one going through all the different shuttle types in more detail?

[@nlinecomputers]

You forgot something. The travel pod. We see them in ST:TMP and TWOK. Starbases definitely had them in order to ferry people and things around the shipyards when transporters were not available. Also could be used as a observation or inspection craft.

[@Calzaki]

Now the real challenge... Explain how an intrepid class starship can maintain a constant supply of shuttles while being low on supplies and having a crew with the habit to destroy them on every mission. Or how their shuttle bay can fit all those shuttles plus one they built themselves and a hitchhikers shuttle too

[@jimmyryan5880]

i love this sort of thing

[@MaverickBlue42]

You have to think tho, with 1000+ crew on a Galaxy class, you're going to need all those shuttles to manage crew leave, transfers, conferences, specialist upgrading, etc. You could conceivably easily have 10% of your crew in some sort of transitional state to/from or just generally away from the ship, and you can't just ferry them about in the mothership all the time. Not to mention the Galaxy class is truly massive with a maximum capacity of 15,000 people during evacuations if Memory Alpha is to believed. It's no wonder you almost never see anyone in the corridors if it isn't a shift change. And if you're Voyager, you need an industrial replicator churning out a steady supply of replacement shuttles....like that's the real reason everybody had to ration, they were printing out all those shuttles....

[@charliepotatoes001]

I have always found hints and dialog in episodes that mention Private Yachts. How ever there is little to no technical data on such vessels that exist out side of Starfleet but still can be obtained by private citizens of the Federation.

[@narohato1749]

I would have loved if this video was just a one second clip of the black weatherman from family guy yelling 'SHUTTLES'

[@bioskyline]

for big ship like a galaxy, only haveing a few permantly assigend shuttles with a massive bay does kindof make sense, in that extra shuttles and cargo could be stored for colony world restocks, or disaster relief, using the much faster ship and a carrier/ferry. and no doubt while at starbases, there would be a lot of shuttle traffic in and out just doing general ship re-supplies/ moving personnel

[@anthonyappleyard5688]

With apologies for being skittish, but comparing with real-world bus/coach/truck garages, what may be expected in a shuttlebay, apart from shuttles, may include: Cupboards and lockups for tools and fuel and spare parts. Welding sets. Oxy-gas torches. A pervading smell of oil and exhaust. A staff member's motorcycle (or in space, backpack jetpack) in an odd corner. Clutter and oddments. Cobwebs. The garage cat's latest litter of kittens.

[@John.S92]

Small ships, cargo and some wookies doing all the hard work.

[@joshuagabriel660]

The opening is gold

[@BrianD0313]

Should do a topic on Voyager's Shuttlebay which teleports any entrants into a ridiculously massive bay that can spawn an infinite amount of shuttles :P

[@NineWorldsFromDrew]

I’m surprised you didn’t give the top cruising speeds of any of the craft. I’d have liked to know at least the top speed of the Runabout.

[@ThomasPlatt1975]

Warp 5, learned that watching DS9

[@bheppes]

Loved the vid!!!

[@KingofCabal]

Most common use of shuttle craft: Crew members get into shuttle. 5 minutes later. OMG the warp core is collapsing (or some such thing) we have to crash land on this planet that just randomly appeared out of nowhere!

[@bobbobbinson1841]

Certifiably ingame: "no no no wait, come back!" Me: I never left sir.... I never left.............................

[@vasp99]

Never in any Trek series have I ever seen anyone suggest using power from the mini warp drives in the shuttle craft when main power is low or absent . Maybe Star Fleet should hire me .

[@uploadstuff1762]

As far back as when I was a kid, my biggest question for shuttle bays, has always been such. Why all the empty space? Those were rather large shuttle bays for just one shuttle. Several more could have occupied that compartment, and some additional shuttles even could have been tethered to the ceiling. Each space could have hell about half a squadron of fighters. Huge tactical advantage. Yes I get it! Exploration and peace blah blah blah. Despite all of that starship seem to continuously get in a lot of trouble where they have to bust out their weapons. I feel like that's a sort of "elephant in the room", whenever I hear Starfleet officers wax poetic about their mission and doctrine.

[@MajorMagna]

Just a note, there seems to be a difference between shuttlecraft "type" and "class", for example the "Class 2 Shuttlecraft" is supposedly a "Type 9". I believe the "Class" applies to all shuttles of similar size and capability, so the Type 6 and 8 are probably "Class 3" while the Type 7 and 9 are "Class 4". "Class 1" shuttles are probably non-warp-capable craft such as Shuttlepods.

[@captainrgd1565]

I've always wondered where they store so many shuttles, especially Voyager! Next time I do a rewatch I should really count how many did they have before the Delta Flyer showed up!

[@BNuts]

They replicate shuttles (and torpedoes) as necessary.

[@Amar7605]

I love your videos, Rick! Could you do a video on what a Federation toilet would look like? I'm serious because with all the different species the Federation has, how do they go the toilet in the 24th century?

[@galnetdor]

I can only remember seeing a federation toilet once. In the less than stellar Star Trek movie 5, The Final Frontier. When Kirk and company were locked up in the brig, he pushes Button and a commode pops out of the wall. Kirk uses it as it's secondary purpose, an improvised seat.

[@CO77INS]

Great video, it can be use a Star Trek class room 😁

[@arthurfields9575]

Starfleet may say it’s not a military organization but we know it kind of is one. Starfleet should design a type of starship class that is basically an Aircraft Carrier in space which can hold a 100 or even more shuttles as well as attack craft and space bombers/torpedo craft.

[@Mikanojo]

i have always wondered why the Galaxy class never carried fighters? They do exist. i could understand them not being carried on diplomatic and exploration missions, but once the Dominion war began, goodness what a difference having a few fighters might have made!

[@brothersgt.grauwolff6716]

there are fighter craft but unfortunately there now locked away by copyright laws not due to expire until sometime in 2250 😩