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. Humans used sleeper ships in the 21st and early 22nd century as colony vessels. The DY-100 and DY-500 classes were noted examples. The wide-scale use of such vessels was phased out with the advent of impulse and warp technologies, but some usage continued into later decades. (TOS: "Space Seed")
During the late-23rd century, the Klingon Empire utilized sleeper ships for extended missions lasting many decades. The T'Ong, launched in 2290, was one of these such ships. (TNG: "The Emissary")
See also
- Cryogenic satellite