Specs
| Universe : |
Prime Timeline |
| Affiliation : |
Federation |
| Class Name : |
Danube Class |
| Type : |
Multirole interstellar craft1 |
| Unit Run : |
USS Gander - Destroyed2
NCC 724523 USS Rio Grande4 - Active
NCC 724535 USS Yangtzee Kiang4 - Destroyed6
NCC 724545 USS Ganges4 - Destroyed7
NCC 726175 USS Mekong8 - Destroyed9
NCC 729055 USS Orinoco10 - Destroyed11
| NCC 729365 USS Rubicon12 - Active
NCC 73024 USS Shenandoah13 - Destroyed14
NCC 731965 USS Volga15 - Active
NCC 746025 USS Yukon16 - Destroyed17
NX 72003 USS Danube18 - Active
|
plus 1,854 others built in total. 665 have been lost in all. |
| Commissioned : |
23651 - present |
| Dimensions : |
Length : 23.1 m19
Beam : 14 m20
Height : 6 m21
Decks : 122 |
| Mass : |
158.718 metric tons |
| Crew : |
122, 40 evacuation limit |
| Armament : |
623 x Type IV phaser arrays24, total output 750 TeraWatts
2 x Micro photon torpedo tube24 with 24 rounds |
| Defence Systems : |
Standard shield system, total capacity 56,700 TeraJoules
Light Duranium/Tritanium Single hull.
Low level Structural Integrity Field |
Warp Speeds
(TNG scale) : |
Normal Cruise : 4
Maximum Cruise : 5
Maximum Rated : 5.2 for 12 hours.
|
Strength Indices :
(Galaxy class = 1,000) |
Beam Firepower : 15
Torpedo Firepower : 20
Weapon Range and Accuracy : 30
Shield Strength : 21
Hull Armour : 3.13
Speed : 127
Combat Manoeuvrability : 16,300 |
| Overall Strength Index : |
51 |
| Diplomatic Capability : |
2 |
| Expected Hull Life : |
60 |
| Refit Cycle : |
Minor : 0 year
Standard : 0 years
Major : 10 years |
Notes
The Starfleet Runabout is a development of the warp capable shuttle craft which have been in use since the earliest days of the Federation. The first requirement for the Runabout, issued in 2342, called for a vessel based on the Type 9A cargo shuttle but capable of short and medium range interstellar operations carrying out limited spatial and planetary surveys. The fuselage was lengthened from 10.5 to 14.8 metres, allowing a much larger antimatter fuel cell to be installed to increase the vessels endurance from 36 hours to fifteen days at Warp 2.2. The two person emergency transporter was replaced by a one person fully functional model, and the rear of the cargo bay was fitted with four bunks. The remaining cargo space was used to expand the front cabin and install extra electronics systems.
The Type 10 Runabout proved reasonably successful in service, though the small cabin size limited its operations somewhat. Starfleet has gradually enlarged and improved the Runabout concept over the next twenty years or so, culminating in the Danube class Runabout first requested in 2363. This vehicle was designed to accomplish four main missions; the ability to perform rapid response scientific expedition transportation, the ability to act as an orbital or landed temporary operations base for science missions, the ability to transport intact experiment and cargo modules, and the ability to perform tactical missions such as intelligence gathering, covert insertion/extraction of personnel, and disruption of threat activities where feasible.18
The Danube features a front cabin for the crew of pilot, co-pilot/navigator and two mission specialists. A two person transporter is at the rear of the cabin25, with swappable mission modules aft of this. The modular nature of the Danube allows it to be configured for missions such as personnel transport, cargo transport, scientific research, tactical, medical, etc. Above the main spaces is the warp core, which is fed by an antimatter fuel pod at the aft and its matter equivalent at the fore end. The power transfer conduits run down the bulky nacelle roots, which also contain the impulse drive reactors and various other equipment.
The impulse engines comprise two sets of four fusion reactors, plus space-time drive coils and vectored exhaust directors. The system also includes interstellar or atmospheric intake vents and condenser-separators for fuel distillation. Control and fuel feed connections are essentially identical to any comparable impulse system. When maintenance is required, the entire assembly can be removed as a single unit.
The vehicles twin computer core is located under the cockpit subfloor and measures 2.3 x 2.1 x 1.3 metres. It is a standard isolinear unit, with a total of 186 isolinear banks and 53 command pre-processors and data analysis units. Subnodes distributed throughout the vehicle report to the main computer18 via a standard ODN system.
The Danube's tactical systems are surprisingly comprehensive for a vehicle of its size. The torpedo launchers fire 14 cm torpedoes which can carry a variety of different loads, including photon or quantum warheads, chemical explosives, gases or biological agents. If required the Danube can also carry four full size torpedoes, while the six phaser arrays located on the cockpit, nacelles and rear compartment provide another weapon option. As on a starship, the shield system is fed by a portion of the warp power output.18
References
Comments
The Danube class began life in my mind as basically a big shuttlecraft, but over time these ships seem to have grown and grown! Realizing that there was a big compartment in the back and a detachable module in the middle was the first change in my perception; when Runabouts turned out to have photon torpedo tubes I began to think they must be fifty or sixty metres long just to fit that in, but I think there must be some sort of photon mini-torp for runabouts. Then in "For the Uniform" we see Sisko on board his Runabout in a jefferies tube!
Using the nice big scale diagrams in the new Encyclopedia I got a length of under 30 metres; I guess a lot of the stuff in a Runabout must be *very* compact!
In case you didn't know, Sisko names DS9's Runabouts as they arrive at the station. He traditionally picks the names of great rivers for his Runabouts.
December 4th Update :
After prodding from various people, most recently Tommy Tennebo, I have updated the Runabout page to include various details from the DS9 Tech Manual. I still strongly believe that this book can't be fully trusted, and naturally such a source is not canon, hence most of the entry has now gone to green for backstage info. I've kept the phasers as Type IV's rather than the Type VI's that some sources list, simply because the latter seem too high for a ship this size. The speeds I have also kept, and I've extended the life span up to sixty years.
Lengthwise, I found a nit myself for once - the specs page had 27 metres, the size comparison had 23.1. Guess I forgot to update the specs page when I did the size comparison, so that's now fixed.
