Changes: Sleeper ship

Revision as of 05:24, 26 December 2012

SS Botany Bay interior — Interior of a DY-100 class sleeper ship

A sleeper ship was a late 20th to early 21st century Earth space vessel in which the crew could be placed into suspended animation for all or part of the journey. At least some DY-100 class ships were sleeper ships. As Marla McGivers put it in 2267, sleeper ships were "necessary because of the time involved in space travel until about the year 2018. It took years just to travel from one planet to another." (TOS: "Space Seed")

Despite this, around 2210, Harry Kim's "uncle" Jack piloted a sleeper ship on a deep-space exploration trip to Beta Capricus. The rest of the crew went into stasis while Jack spent the six months piloting the ship himself alone. Upon arrival, the "star" was found not to exist and to be only an electromagnetic echo of a distant galaxy. Jack chose not to wake the rest of the crew before returning, after a further six-month journey back to Earth. When they awoke in Earth orbit they initially questioned why they had never left. (VOY: "11:59")

Background

The term "sleeper ship" was only ever explicitly applied to the SS Botany Bay, although it is possible that DY-500 class ships could also be called this. Other ships that utilized stasis chambers (a technology apparently broadly synonymous with "suspended animation" in VOY: "One"), such as the Klingon ship the IKS T'Ong in TNG: "The Emissary", were not referred to by that term. This term should not be confused with "generational ships," wherein the original crew lives out their lives with subsequent generations taking over after their deaths.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+[[File:SS Botany Bay interior.jpg|thumb|Interior of a [[DY-100 class]] sleeper ship]]
-A '''sleeper ship''' is a vessel designed for long-range transport of personnel using [[stasis]] technology. Typically a stage of technology used before the advent of [[warp drive]], as missions covering interstellar distances frequently lasted many decades, sleeper ships were used by many species. [[Human]]s used sleeper ship in the [[21st century|21st]] and early [[22nd century]] as colony vessels. The [[DY-100 class|DY-100]] and [[DY-500 class]]es were noted examples. The wide-scale use of such vessels was phased out with the advent of [[impulse drive|impulse]] and warp technologies, but some usage continued into later decades. ([[TOS]]: "[[Space Seed]]")
+A '''sleeper ship''' was a late [[20th century|20th]] to early [[21st century]] [[Earth]] [[space]] vessel in which the crew could be placed into [[suspended animation]] for all or part of the journey.  At least some [[DY-100 class]] ships were sleeper ships. As [[Marla McGivers]] put it in [[2267]], sleeper ships were "''necessary because of the time involved in space travel until about the year [[2018]]. It took years just to travel from one planet to another.''" ({{TOS|Space Seed}})
+Despite this, around [[2210]], [[Harry Kim]]'s "uncle" [[Jack (23rd century)|Jack]] piloted a sleeper ship on a deep-space exploration trip to [[Beta Capricus]]. The rest of the crew went into [[stasis]] while Jack spent the six months piloting the ship himself alone. Upon arrival, the "star" was found not to exist and to be only an [[electromagnetic]] echo of a distant galaxy. Jack chose not to wake the rest of the crew before returning, after a further six-month journey back to Earth. When they awoke in Earth orbit they initially questioned why they had never left. ({{VOY|11:59}})
+===Background===
+The term "sleeper ship" was only ever explicitly applied to the {{SS|Botany Bay}}, although it is possible that [[DY-500 class]] ships could also be called this.  Other ships that utilized [[stasis]] chambers (a technology apparently broadly synonymous with "suspended animation" in {{VOY|One}}), such as the [[Klingon]] ship the {{IKS|T'Ong}} in {{TNG|The Emissary}}, were not referred to by that term.  This term should not be confused with "generational ships," wherein the original crew lives out their lives with subsequent generations taking over after their deaths.
+===See also===
+*[[Cryogenic stasis]]
+*[[Cryonics satellite]]
+*[[Cryostasis]]
+*[[Stasis]]
-During the late-[[23rd century]], the [[Klingon Empire]] utilized sleeper ships for extended missions lasting many decades. The [[IKS T'Ong|''T'Ong'']], launched in [[2290]], was one of these such ships. ([[TNG]]: "[[The Emissary]]")
-==See also==
-*[[Cryogenic satellite]]
 [[de:Schläferschiff]]
+[[fr:Vaisseau dortoir]]
+[[ja:寝台船]]
+[[Category:Starship classifications]]