Long range shuttle
Discuss37this wiki
| Long range shuttle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Affiliation: | United Federation of Planets |
| Type: | Courier |
| Active: | 23rd century |
| Speed: | Warp-capable |
 | |
 | |
A long range shuttle was a type of shuttlecraft utilized as a courier during the late 23rd century. They carried a Federation registry.
These long range shuttles featured a detachable cabin, capable of acting as an independent craft from the stardrive section. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)
Contents |
History
Edit
In 2273, the long-range courier Surak transported Commander Spock from planet Vulcan to rendezvous with the USS Enterprise, which was en route to intercept V'Ger. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)
In that same year, another long range shuttle, the Laika, attempted to contact the communications array Epsilon IX. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)
A model of a long range shuttle was on display in the guest quarters aboard the USS Enterprise-D that the Brekkians Langor and Sobi stayed in late 2364. (TNG: "Symbiosis")
Wesley Crusher kept a similar model of the shuttle in his quarters aboard the Enterprise-D in 2365. (TNG: "The Dauphin")
A graphic display of a long range shuttle appeared on the USS Voyager's library computer screen that was viewed by One after Seven of Nine had activated the drone's linguistic database, and allowed him to assimilate information. (VOY: "Drone")
Throughout the rest of 2374, as well as in the year that followed, graphics of the long range shuttle appeared on the USS Defiant's library computer display. (DS9: "Favor the Bold", "Sacrifice of Angels", "What You Leave Behind")
The graphic was also seen among the data that Seven of Nine assimilated in early 2376. (VOY: "The Voyager Conspiracy")
Appendices Edit
Background information Edit
The long range shuttle was designed by Andrew Probert. [1] The studio model of the Surak was built at Magicam. (citation needed • edit) The model was filmed on one of Douglas Trumbull's stages at Future General Corporation. (The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, p. 206)
According to a Probert interview:
- "They were hopefully designed to be the new standard shuttle for the movie Enterprise-era. The Vulcan shuttle is actually a Starfleet shuttle, co-designed with Vulcan engineers. That's why it has subtle repetitions of that ceremonial 'gong' shape we saw in "Amok Time". Anyway, my thinking was those new ships would have the same warm gray tonalities that the Galileo-type shuttles had and they would be the new standard shuttle. They would be more squat and smaller because they had to fit within the decks of the starships, but yeah, those were hopeful replacements. That long-range shuttle, though, is actually my favorite design in the movie." [2]
While designing the long range shuttle, Probert did not envision the craft having any secondary entrances or exits. He later noted, "I would change that today." The circular door on the rear of the craft had to be of the same proportions as the docking collar of the Enterprise, since that fitting was intended to be a universal connection. [3]
Probert referred to only the upper part of the craft's two sections as being the shuttle, calling the lower section the "warp sled"; he conceived the latter as having warp capability, equipped with both warp and impulse engines. However, this distinction is not made on screen and both portions of the craft are only ever shown traveling at slower than warp speeds (though the shuttle's name implies that the craft was capable of regularly sustaining warp to traverse long distances). Probert did not imagine the cabin section as having the ability to travel at warp or even near-light velocities, with that compartment's only intended method of travel being reaction control thrusters, which Probert included on the section's corners. Despite the slowness of the upper module, Probert envisioned it – in accordance with his wishes that the long range shuttle become the new standard shuttlecraft for Star Trek – as being capable of traveling between space and the surfaces of planets. To this end, the Surak's landing pads were marked with reddish coloring meant to be from Vulcan soil. "But when you're rushed through production to do stuff, you overlook a few things, and the problem there would have been how do you get it off the planet with only RCS thrusters...." explained Probert. "It's conceivable that it would have its own primary power system in addition to the RCS system, but I hadn't been able to think that far, and it was simply a proposal." [4]
Probert planned for long range shuttles to be included in a matte painting of the cargo bay, though this plan went unrealized, as shuttles were entirely excluded from the final painting. [5]
The model of the long range shuttle was reported to have been on the set for the Starfleet Officer's Lounge in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, though it does not appear on screen in that film. (text commentary, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (Special Edition) DVD)
The okudagram depicting the shuttle in DS9 and VOY was a sketch by Doug Drexler that originally appeared in the Star Trek Encyclopedia.
