The underside of the Copernicus.
The Copernicus (NCC-1701-D/03) was a Type-7 shuttlecraft assigned to the USS Enterrpise-D in 2364.
In that year, Jake Kurland distressed over failing to qualify for the Starfleet Academy selection process opted for stealing a shuttle and plotting a course for Beltane IX where he could sign on as a crew member for a freighter. As the shuttlecraft flew over Relva VII, Mr. Kurland's inexperience in flying a shuttle caused him to accidently power down the dilithium core. Fearing a death from re-entry burn in the planet's atmosphere, the young man was aided by Captain Jean-Luc Picard into saving the shuttle by piloting it into a shallow re-entry trajectory. In this trajectory, the Copernicus re-bounded off Relva VII's atmosphere. The Enterprise later recovered the shuttle. (TNG: "Coming of Age")
- The name and registry are from the Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion (stating the ship was originally named Copernicus III by Andrew Probert) and are confirmed on the studio model. In the episode, the registry is seen very briefly on the Enterprise's main viewer as Copernicus leaves the main shuttlebay.
- This is the first appearance of the studio model. There are differences between this model and later appearances of the Type-7 shuttle. The most visible differences are the lack of a recessed area in the aft section as seen in the Enterprise shuttlecraft 13 full build model and the greater detail seen in the shuttle's dorsal surface (ex. D'Alison).
- Prior to this appearance, the Type-7 shuttle had appearances in LCARS displays ("The Naked Now", "The Last Outpost", "Datalore"). A variation of this type had been seen in a matte painting of the interior of Starbase 74 ("11001001").