It's Not The Size That Counts - The Shuttles and Runabouts of Star Trek

Magnebro

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Even the most badass ships need support craft. Sometimes it's a matter of convenience, such as allowing crew members to attend a conference or go on vacation. Sometimes it's tactically wise to send a smaller, less noticeable craft on a dangerous mission.

Sometimes, you just need a place to sing freely.

Today, we'll be covering some of Starfleet's "little ships" and the impact they've had on the Trek universe.

So let's start at the beginning - The Galileo. Trek legend tells that the transporter was invented for TOS because building a shuttle was simply too expensive. It was far cheaper to have the cast disappear in one place and reappear in another.

In fact, all your really need is some Alka-Seltzer and water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNC5iLNguRQ

When the episode 'The Galileo Seven' was written, it needed a real landing party. Still, once it came time to actually BUILD a shuttle, the same budget limitations came to play. As a result, the shuttle Matt Jefferies designed isn't what wound up being built.

"I worked up sketches for it. But AMT, who were going to build the model... felt it was beyond their capabilities, so it was designed by Gene Winfield, an automotive designer who had a custom body shop that primarily serviced the automotive industry through AMT. The Galileo as everybody knows it today was not my design. Overall I was a little disappointed, but I think within their capabilities it was a good solution. And it did work, obviously; people did accept it." -Jefferies

The Galileo, or "Class F" shuttle is specified to come in both warp and non-warp varieties: http://fsd.trekships.org/shuttlecraft/galileo.html

As for the "/7" on the side, Jefferies simply assumed this wasn't the first and only shuttle on board, and picked "7" basically at random.

This link provides details on the Galileo as well as some alternate shuttle designs Jefferies came up with: http://fsd.trekships.org/art/galileo.html

Next, the good old Type-6. The minivan of space. If you're a TNG fan, this is probably what you think of when you hear "shuttlecraft". When the first season was in development, there was a lot that the production team wasn't certain about (such as what to do with Troi's hair, or whether Tasha was even a character) but everyone knew they'd need a shuttle. Something multi-purpose that could be used for transport, combat, and general scifi goodness.

Unfortunately, the Federation Starship Database, where OP typically sources design notes, seems to be flat-out incorrect and has Type 7 design notes in the Type 6 page. As a result, about the only info I can provide is that it was heavily based on the Type 5 shuttle from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and designed by Richard James, Nilo Rodis, Herman Zimmerman, Andy Neskoromny, and of course Rick Sternbach.

After writing several of these, OP can now tell an Andrew Probert design at a glance - and this is certainly one. The lines and curves are a solid match for the Galaxy Class, and the nacelles have proper line-of-sight on the front and sides: https://imgur.com/gallery/L1Ken5D

The first appearance of a Type 7 is in the TNG episode "Coming of Age" where young Jake steals one after failing his Academy entrance exam, even though he clearly doesn't know how to operate it (maybe failing the test should have given you a hint there, Jake. Just sayin.)

In most cases where they show a Type 7 exterior, it's paired with a Type 6 interior. #iknowright

The Type 9 (also known as Type 12. They're the same thing. I swear they do this just to make my life difficult) was designed for one very specific reason, and it's a terrible reason.

The Voyager Season 2 episode "Threshold" (I can hear the groans already) required a "cool and sleek shuttle" to be modified for transwarp flight. This episode is notorious as not only the worst episode of Voyager, but arguably the worst episode in the Star Trek universe. Still, it gave us a pretty cool shuttle.

As usual, Rick Sternbach delivered a design that's both functional and cool.

This was the first major shuttle redesign since early TNG. Sternbach wanted to keep the same general layout (crew compartment, engine compartment, nacelles) but make it a whole new design to fit with Voyager's aesthetic.

"Hull curves could still be pushed and pulled to make the shuttle recognizably new and satisfy the 'cool' requirement. The 'recipe' then says to add pylons and nacelles and sprinkle generously with the usual details." - Sternbach

The ARGO (Type 17 shuttle) - designed by John Eaves. Its first appearance was in Star Trek: Nemesis, a film universally hailed as "Meh" in a scene often described as "What? Why?"

In addition to the Captain's Yacht, the Sovereign Class also comes with an ARGO shuttle, which includes its own 4-wheeled ATV-type ground vehicle. The shuttle can be controlled remotely by the vehicle's occupants.

The ARGO is 20 meters long and is specified as warp-capable, and technically HAS nacelles, though they're just small bumps in the back.

Keen viewers may have recognized the ARGO and buggy as used by Ensign Mariner in the first episode of Lower Decks (honestly that flew right past OP until researching this post).

The Aeroshuttle. If you're thinking "Wait... the what??" that's no surprise, as it was both on screen a LOT, and also never on screen AT ALL: https://imgur.com/gallery/FcZoMXW

Voyager had a "Captain's Yacht", and this was it. Go ahead, click the link above, you'll see it plain as day under the saucer section... except not.

The Voyager design included the Aeroshuttle, but it was never seen, used, or even spoken of in the show. While never officially addressed by production screw (as far as OP has found) the most common explanation is that Voyager was fitted with a "placeholder" Aeroshuttle before leaving for the Badlands, and never made it back to have the "real" one installed.

And now, the moneymaker. Arguably the coolest shuttle in Starfleet - The Delta Flyer. Once again Rick Sternbach delivers the goods.

"The [warp] reactor itself is a flat 'pancake' matter-antimatter chamber built into the floor. Emergency plasma flush vents were cut into the lower wings and a large drop down Borg style hatch in the back allowed for entry and for 'mission modules' like the laboratory to be swapped in and out. A small escape hatch was built into the roof, should the transporters and aft hatch fail, and 'speed brakes' were scribed into the aft flanks, which could hide all sorts of new devices." -Sternbach

Ultra-aerodynamic contours
Tetraburnium alloy hull
"Unimatrix" shielding
Borg-inspired weapons
Adjustable nacelles
Aquatic flight systems

And, presumably, a bit of Time Lord technology as well, seeing as how it's clearly bigger on the inside.

In-universe, the Delta Flyer was designed (primarily) by Tom Paris, with the stated intention of building a space-hotrod in the Voyager episode "Extreme Risk".

Finally, we'll finish off with a bit of Q&A that has come up in comments about shuttlecraft, shuttlepods, and runabouts.

#1 - What's the difference?
Size, speed, and range - generally. Runabouts are the largest, typically have the greatest range, and greatest speed. They're well suited to stations like DS9 where interplanetary travel is common. Shuttlecraft are typically warp-capable medium-range vessels (well suited to support large ships), and shuttlepods are short range and usually without warp (well suited to shipyards).

#2 - How can you tell which ones have warp?
A loose guideline is that runabouts and shuttlecraft are warp-capable, while pods are not. This isn't 100% accurate but works as a general rule.

#3 - How fast are they?
Again, it depends. The Danube Class runabout, often seen in DS9, had a top speed of Warp 5. The Type 6 shuttle so often seen in TNG has a max speed of Warp 2. The Delta Flyer (according to Starship Spotter) could do Warp 6.

The Galileo could fly. Sort of.