Janet's Star Trek Voyager Site

ESCAPE PODS (a.k.a. LIFEBOATS)
ABOARD USS ENTERPRISE NCC-1701 REFIT 2270
AND USS ENTERPRISE NCC-1701-D 2363

This is a minor supporting article designed to supplement
SHIP USS VOYAGER: Detailed Exterior Tour: Escape Pods and Escape Pod Hatches.

Scans by Janet
Canon image and text sources:
Star Trek: Mr Scott's Guide to the Enterprise by Shane Johnson, publisher Pocket Books, ISBN 0-671-70498-2
STTNG Technical - see SOURCES for details/purchase info

USS ENTERPRISE NCC-1701 REFIT 2270

Lifeboat elevation:
R Deck houses, among other things, the vessel's lifeboat facilities. These one-man craft, which escape through blow-away panels in the side of the secondary hull, are provided for those persons who are unable to reach the primary hull before emergency separation takes place. Lifeboat operators in this event, once clear of the engineering section, are beamed aboard the saucer. If necessary, lifeboats may be taken aboard at the H Deck docking facility.

Lifeboat propulsion is provided by a series of particle-beam RCS units. Also, when it is necessary to get very far away from the secondary hull very quickly (as in the cases of self-destruct or engine overload), a forced ejection system in the side of the ship propels the lifeboat outward at a high rate of speed.

Lifeboat section:

Lifeboat instructions:
  1. Depress "open" switch on lifeboat exterior. Hatch will roll downward and lock into position.
     
  2. Slide feet-first into lifeboat seat. Wait for green light to indicate that onboard computer has verified your presence. Say "personnel aboard" to close outer hatch. Blue light will indicate that hatch is locked and sealed.
     
  3. Select "vocal" or "manual" control of lifeboat by depressing the appropriate switch on the operator's seat's right armrest.
     
  4. If "vocal" say "Code One" to initiate ejection sequence. Five-seccnd computer countdown will follow, after which forceful 4-G ejection will take place. Lifeboat will clear secondary hull's detonation radius after thirty seconds.
     
  5. Say "Code Two" to initiate soft-departure sequence. Lifeboat will slide gently clear of the ship's hull, then to be controlled by the onboard RCS system. RCS meneuvers are controlled by using the joysticks on either side of the operator's seat.
     
  6. Manual emergency ejection is initiated by pulling downward on the striped handle above the right armrest of the operator's seat.
     
  7. Manual soft-departure is controlled using the joystick handles on each armrest.
     
  8. Onboard air, food, and water supplies will last one person eight days. Power and propulsion systems will last for the same period of time with normal use.
     
  9. A survival suit is stowed against the right-side bulkhead for use when the operator must leave the lifeboat while still within zero-atmosphere. Rotate turn-lock handle counter-clockwise to open coverplate of suit locker.
     
  10. To leave lifeboat, say "Disembark" and pull inward on safety handle beside hatchway. Green light will come on and hatch will open.

USS ENTERPRISE NCC-1701-D 2363

 

The nature of its missions in the galaxy requires that the Enterprise carry a set of small spacecraft for dedicated escape and rescue operations. Located throughout both the Primary and Secondary Hulls, these ejectable lifeboats are designed to meet the short-term survival needs of the starship crew in the event of a catastrophic emergency.

 

As set down in the original Starfleet specifications, the standardized ASRV, or autonomous survival and recovery vehicle, is capable of the following operations:

 

The first group of ASRVs were delivered in 2337 in time to be fitted to the last Renaissance class starship, the USS Hokkaido, and with minimal hardware and software changes were chosen as the lifeboats for the Galaxy-class. Automated facilities on Earth, Mars, Rigel IV, and Starbase 326 produce 85% of the ASRVS, with satellite facilities on Velikan V and Rangifer II acting as industry second-sources for the remaining 15%.

 

The ASRV measures 3 x 3 x 3 m and its shape is characterized as a truncated cube. The total mass is 1.35 metric tonnes. Its internal spaceframe is a standard beam and stringer arrangement, constructed from gamma-welded tritanium and frumium monocarbonite. The frame is skinned with single-crystal microfilleted tritanium, with umbilical passthroughs, conformal emitters, and sensors doped with hafnium cobarate for passive thermal control during atmosphere entry.

 

Spacecraft propulsion is achieved through three distinct systems:
- ejection initiator
- main impulse engine
- reaction control system
The ejection initiator is a single-pulse, buffered microfusion device that propels the lifeboat through the launch channel. Power is tapped from the fusion reaction to start the lifeboat's inertial damping field and spin up the gravity generator. Like its larger cousin aboard the Enterprise, the IDF protects the crew against acceleration forces. The main impulse engine, a low-power microfusion system for all primary spacecraft maneuvering, is rated at a maximum 950 kg thrust and is fed from a 75 kg deuterium fuel supply. The reaction control system performs all precise attitude and translation motions required for combined operations with other lifeboats and maneuvering during planetary landing.

 

Life support on the ASRV is maintained by its automatic environmental system, providing complete atmospheric composition, pressure, humidity, and temperature control. Stored food and water supplies as well as a waste management system are included. Lightweight environment suits are stowed with portable survival packs for planetside operation. The normal lifeboat crew capacity is four, with provisions for as many as six if necessary.

 

One important feature of the ASRV design, the in-line twin hatches, allows it to dock with other lifeboats to form larger clusters. This capability, nicknamed "gaggle mode" by experienced pilots, dramatically increases in-space survival rates by affording access to wounded crew members by medical personnel, combining consumables supplies, and adding propulsion options. Gaggle mode must be terminated prior to atmosphere entry, as the structural loads cannot be handled by the combined craft.

 

Out of four hundred erectable lifeboats installed within the Galaxy class, eighty are specialized ASRVs with two additional docking ports to increase the packing density and structural integrity of the gaggle. Computer simulations indicate that at least 25% of any total number of ejected ASRVs are likely to be the four-port version.

 

Crucial to the successful recovery of the ASRVs are the subspace communications systems and automatic distress beacons.
 

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