aerowing, Aerowing, aeroshuttle, aero shuttle, aero wing, Aeroshuttle

     

CONTENTS
THIS PAGE: Introduction Table of Specifications Mission Profile Docked Location and Access Deployment Main Features Design Background	APPENDIX Preamble Design History Defensive Testing Engine Modifications Tactical Software Planetary Flight Vessel Longevity Aeroshuttle Status Report

INTRODUCTION The bottom of the Primary Hull or saucer holds a single aerodynamic shuttle capable of atmospheric travel as well as interplanetary flight at speeds up to Warp 3. The AeroWing can carry various combinations of crew and cargo; the usual flight complement numbers four crewmembers. (The previous sentences are verbatim from the Star Trek Voyager Technical Guide V1.0 intended as guidelines for writers, which has the subtitle "Yes, but which button do I push to fire the phasers?".) The AeroWing was later re-designated the AeroShuttle. This small warp-capable vessel is the ship-like outline under the primary hull.

Source: STM

Its Federation starship hull number is AS-503, and it is patterned after the Starfleet runabout. Unlike the runabouts, the AeroShuttles do not have unique vessel class status and do not receive commissioning names. The prototype runabout Yellowstone in [#22 Non Sequitur], if it had proven a success, would have given its name to a starship class. Names of the runabouts in [DS9], for example, are those of rivers e.g. Rubicon. ([TNG]'s Patrick Stewart, who plays the Captain Picard mentioned by Janeway in [#59 Scorpion, Part Two] informally and unofficially named his captain's yacht "Calypso".) Voyager's AeroShuttle has a pair of aerodynamic wings and vertical lift engines. It is designed to function like the captain's yacht on the Galaxy-class^NOTE 1 starships such as USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D^NOTE 1 (launched 2363) and the later Sovereign-class^NOTE 1 starships such as USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E^NOTE 1 (launched after USS Voyager became lost in the Delta Quadrant), and the AeroShuttle is therefore also as the captain's yacht. However, the Intrepid-class AeroShuttle has a number of major differences, discussed below. TOSTFF states that the AeroShuttle "is rarely deployed during the vessel's time in the Delta Quadrant from 2371 to 2377", but any deployment is never seen on the tv screen. Indeed, the AeroShuttle is never even mentioned on tv, least of all as having been used.^NOTE 2

In the same area as the AeroShuttle are curved rows of sensor pallets, Deck 9 windows and parts of the defensive shield grid.

click to see full-size Source: STMech

The picture on the left shows the underside of the saucer section, clearly showing the shape of the keel of the AeroShuttle (captain's yacht) flush with the hull. The drawing of the AeroShuttle in the 3D cutaway drawing produced by ST:M (and thus by TOSTFF) (here, with my illustrated labels), extract below under 'Docked Location And Access') is not the same as that in detailed drawings published by ST:M nearly 2 years later (and which appear later in this subsection). The former looks more like the Type-8 personnel shuttlecraft than the latter which is based on the runabout (which is correct). To get round that, I suggest that Starfleet permitted ST:M to produce a simplified drawing or even just a stylised ideogram in the earlier item and, in addition, the appearance and specification of AeroShuttles differs widely. Here are drawings of the Galaxy-class and Sovereign-class captain's yachts.

The full-size versions of the pictures below are from here (link also given at the bottom of the page), which is a page that provides more information about the Intrepid-class AeroShuttle, and includes pictures showing, for instance, the AeroShuttle's exterior.

MISSION PROFILE

DOCKED LOCATION AND ACCESS

In its normal docked configuration, the AeroShuttle's flat underside forms part of the outer hull of Voyager's superstructure, and is thus protected by the same structural integrity field and defensive shield systems as the rest of the ship's mainframe. Once the AeroShuttle is deployed, however, Voyager's structural integrity field and shields compensate for the removal of this hull component so that the protection of the ship is not compromised. Access to the AeroShuttle, as well as its retaining and launch mechanisms, are reached through Deck 9, the lowest deck on the forward section of the primary hull (i.e. the upper hull or saucer section). Deck 9 also contains Voyager's main shuttlebay at the rear of this deck level. The location of these two auxiliary craft facilities on the same deck level is no coincidence, as it enables the transfer and shared utilisation of equipment and materials between the facilities to be carried out at optimum efficiency.

DEPLOYMENT

The location of the AeroShuttle when in its docked position aboard USS Voyager means that its deployment and subsequent recovery is quite different from that of Voyager's other shuttlecraft including the Delta Flyer (the latter is designed, constructed and first launched in early 2375, [#97 Extreme Risk]).

Ordinary shuttlecraft can be safely launched in a horizontal orientation from the shuttlebay at the rear of the ship, but the promixity of the AeroShuttle to the main deflector dish and several surface-mounted sensor palettes requires the vessel to move vertically downward once the docking latches retaining the vessel have been retracted, before it is able to move away from Voyager.

Under launch conditions, a number of red coloured emergency indicator bars light up around the interior of the AeroShuttle's bay to warn of the impending depressurasation of the area, and these are also likely to be activated when the AeroShuttle returns to the ship. To visually aid the approach of the AeroShuttle back to its shaped recess, there are two large white illuminated banks built into the ceiling of Deck 9 that also act as the primary lighting when the ship is docked. On the release of the docking clamps securing the AeroShuttle into place, the ship distances itself proptly from the exposed bay and begins forward motion under its own twin impulse engines. This is important because the relative motion of Voyager could result in a collision with the rear of the AeroShuttle unless it immediately distances itself.

MAIN FEATURES The AeroShuttle shares many systems with the Danube-class runabout, including thruster assemblies, the impulse drive, cockpit configuration, and weapons systems. While the runabout is a faster deep-space vessel, the streamlined hull with exaggerated aerodynamic styling and large reinforced wings of the AeroShuttle make it significantly more efficient in high-speed atmospheric maneuvering and operations.

DESIGN BACKGROUND

^NOTE 1 THE STARSHIPS CALLED ENTERPRISE AND THEIR RESPECTIVE STARSHIP CLASSES.
        Here are drawings of the Galaxy-class and Sovereign-class captain's yachts.

^{NOTE 2} TOSTFF's statement that the AeroShuttle "is rarely deployed during the vessel's time in the Delta Quadrant from 2371 to 2377" (my italics) indicates that the AeroShuttle was used at least once during the period covered by the series even though the AeroShuttle was never mentioned, let alone seen, on the tv screen. TOSTFF's statement was made in 2002