Class 2 shuttle

Forward view

Aft view

The class-2 shuttle, also referred to as a type-9 shuttlecraft, was an auxiliary space vessel utilized by Starfleet for use as an embarked craft from starships.

This class was widely used during the 2360s by Starfleet Academy, and were often the cause of "class-2 claustrophobia" for the cadets who served aboard them, as they were, according to B'Elanna Torres, "fast, maneuverable, but not built for comfort." Tom Paris added that "they used to shoehorn half a dozen cadets into one of these things for weeks at a time," adding, "you did not want to be around when they opened up that airlock." (VOY: "Drone")

A standard class-2 shuttle has a top speed of warp 4. (VOY: "Resolutions") However, in 2372, the crew of USS Voyager discovered a new form of dilithium that could remain stable at a much higher warp frequency, and modified the Class 2 shuttle to achieve high-warp engine performance, reaching significantly past warp 9. (VOY: "Threshold")

A class 2 shuttle's hull is made from a tritanium alloy. (VOY: "Threshold") As with other Starfleet shuttles of the era, these shuttles were equipped with phasers, and can be retrofitted with photon torpedoes. (VOY: "Dark Frontier", "Bride of Chaotica!", et al.)

According to Tom Paris, the decision to construct the Delta Flyer was based on the fact that "class-2 shuttles just don't cut it in the Delta Quadrant." Further explaining that "we've needed something bigger and better since we got here." (VOY: "Drone", "Extreme Risk")

List of class-2 shuttles

• Cochrane
• Dawkins

Appendices

Appearances

• VOY:
  • "Threshold"
  • "Innocence"
  • "Basics, Part II"
  • "The Swarm"
  • "Future's End, Part II"
  • "Unity"
  • "Real Life"
  • "Worst Case Scenario"
  • "The Raven"
  • "Hunters"
  • "Drone"
  • "Dark Frontier"
  • "Tsunkatse"
  • "Fury"
  • "Prophecy"
  • "Natural Law"
  • "Renaissance Man"

Background

While consistently referred to as a "class-2 shuttle", a reference was also made in "Resolutions" that suggested that this class was known as a "type-9 shuttle." The accuracy of this suggestion remains in dispute, seeing as the type-9 referenced was never shown in said episode. To compound confusion even further, designer Rick Sternbach designated the shuttle "type-12".

Studio Model

The design of the shuttle originated from the desire of the art department to introduce a "cool and sleek shuttle", but the opportunity only presented itself when VOY: "Threshold" entered pre-production. (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 5, page 85) Sternbach was charged with designing the new shuttle early summer 1995. "We knew that "cool and sleek" was going to mean long, low and streamlined, but we also had to insure that our actors could stand up inside, so the minimum ceiiling height was kept at almost six feet. If we were required to make the speedboat as sleek as, say a Lotus or Ferrari automobile, they'd have to crouch inelegantly to enter their seats.", Sternbach remembers in the same magazine. Working closely with interior set designers Richard James and John Chichester in order to match interior with exterior, he was able to come up early with a design that approximated the final look of the shuttle, which was very soon dubbed by the art department staff as the "Speedboat Shuttle," a name also adopted by fans. The design was a break from the established look for Star Fleet shuttles, which until then were variations of the classic box shaped design. Further detailing and refining meant that Sternbach was only able to produce blueprints in November 1995 for forwarding to Tony Meininger's Brazil-Fabrication & Design where the physical studio model was built. Since Star Trek: Voyager was in the middle of the process of transition to CGI, it proved to be the last physical model built for the show.

As per 2009, the studio model, having escaped the 40 Years of Star Trek: The Collection and It's A Wrap! sale and auction -auctions, is still in the possession of Paramount Pictures and has been on tour as late as 2008, relabeled the Harris (NCC-74665/05). It is not known if the model appeared under this name in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager.

For appearances in later seasons, a CGI model was built at Foundation Imaging where Rob Bonchune was among the artists who worked on the graphics for this model.

External links

• Designing the Type-12 Shuttlecraft at Federation Starship Datalink