It was, however, vastly cheaper to deploy than a bona fide starship. It was only capable of Warp 5, making even a medium-range trip last a few weeks. This revolutionary vessel quickly became the workhorse for interstellar courier, patrol, and cargo/personnel delivery duties. However, the limited size and capacity of these ships prevented them from being used in any greater role.Īdvancements in magnetic constriction technology eventually led to true interstellar capability in small craft with the development of the Danube-class runabout in 2368. By the 24th century, shuttlecraft could sustain these speeds for up to two days, making short-range interplanetary journies possible. These shuttles were far from capable of interstellar travel, and their tiny warp drives could only sustain any appreciable warp factor for a few hours.
RUNABOUT STAR TREK INSTALL
During the mid 23rd century, M/A reactors were finally small enough to install on larger shuttlecraft. Shuttlecraft back in the 22nd century had no warp capability at all, due to the fact that the smallest M/AM reactors of the time were as large as the shuttles themselves. Many models are now capable of short interstellar journeys. Coupled with several more recent situations where a starship must effectively be in one place and also deliver someone or something to another led to a sudden resurgence in the use of shuttles. Many new ways to subvert and detect transporter use have developed during the late 2360’s and 2370’s. Nevertheless, starships have carried expansive facilities for these cheap, usually expendable craft. Shuttlecraft have always been a secondary means of getting people from ship to shore, in favor of the much quicker matter-energy transporter system.
Images by Robert Crosswell and Chris Edmonds Section 5.0: Auxiliary Vehicles 5.1: Overview Star Trek: Renaissance Technical Manual, Section 5
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