Type 10 Shuttle

Universe :	Prime Timeline
Affiliation :	Federation
Class Name :	Type 10 Shuttle
Type :	Shuttlecraft
Unit Run :	Chaffee [1] - Destroyed One test vehicle built; lost during the Dominion war. Decision on series production expected soon.
Commissioned :	2370 - present
Dimensions :	Length : 9.64 m [2] Beam : 5.82 m [3] Height : 3.35 m [3] Decks : 1
Mass :	19.37 [3] metric tons
Crew :	1 [3]
Armament :	2 x Type IV phaser arrays [3], total output 150 TeraWatts 2 x Micro [3] photon torpedo tube with 60 rounds
Defence Systems :	Standard [3] shield system, total capacity 27,000 TeraJoules Light Duranium / Tritanium Single hull. Low level Structural Integrity Field
Warp Speeds (TNG scale) :	Normal Cruise : 4 Maximum Cruise : 4.5 Maximum Rated : 5 for 3 hours.
Strength Indices : (Galaxy class = 1,000)	Beam Firepower : 3 Torpedo Firepower : 20 Weapon Range and Accuracy : 15 Shield Strength : 10 Hull Armour : 3.13 Speed : 112 Combat Manoeuvrability : 19,270
Overall Strength Index :	44
Diplomatic Capability :	2
Expected Hull Life :	50
Refit Cycle :	Minor : 1 year Standard : 1 years Major : 15 years

Notes

Once the concept of the field replicatable shuttle was successfully introduced with the Type 9, Starfleet quickly turned its attention to the next obvious step - that of shuttles and other small craft which would be not only manufactured by individual Starships, but would also be designed by the crews of those ships with no outside assistance. After some consideration Starfleet noted that this development was indeed desirable; it would confer considerable further flexibility to the shuttlecraft fleet while virtually eliminating the need for Starbases and shipyards to engage in shuttlecraft design and construction, freeing further resources for the building of larger vessels. However, Starfleet did recognise that some problems existed; total freedom in shuttlecraft designs would almost certainly lead to an erosion of basic safety standards in at least a few cases, while maintaining an accurate fleetwide picture of the capabilities of the shuttlecraft fleet would become virtually impossible if that composition of that fleet was changing on a daily basis. This would certainly have some implications for the planning and assignments of missions which involve significant operation of shuttlecraft.

Starfleet therefore established a 'halfway' policy. Starship crews would be allowed to submit designs to Starfleet and elements of different designs which looked promising would be combined into the next model shuttlecraft. Starfleet hoped that this would promote greater innovation in future shuttle designs while still allowing central control of the designs. Many Starfleet personnel have argued that this system remains too restrictive and that far more could be accomplished if engineering teams within the field where allowed 'off the leash', but thus far Starfleet has remained firm.

The Type 10 was one of the first shuttles produced under this new scheme. It involves many new innovations; some of the design elements have come from the crew of the USS Defiant, most notably the nacelle and warp core design which is based around that of the Defiant herself and was suggested by the engineering team from Deep Space Nine under Chief Miles o'Brien. Starfleet accepted this concept and after some computer simulation and testing of virtual models, several Type 10 shuttles where produced for field trials. One of these was issued to the Defiant herself; Starfleet reasoned that the role of the crew in designing the shuttle combined with the role of the Defiant herself as a testbed and evaluation vessel made her an ideal choice.

The Type 10 has a larger warp coil assembly than most shuttles, which accounts for the very high speeds this design can achieve. The RCS system is identical to that of the Type 6 shuttle. The crew of the USS Intrepid suggested that the design should incorporate bio-neural gel packs, but Starfleet decided that this level of sophistication was not yet warranted. The Intrepid crew responded with a computer deisgn heavily based on that of the Danube class Runabout, but which was also very easy to upgrade to incorporate gel packs. A delighted Starfleet accepted this proposal instantly - it was just the kind of innovation they had hoped would come out of the new design scheme.

So far the Type 10 has proved exemplary in service with the USS Defiant, and Starfleet is shortly expected to authorize its ships to produce these handy little craft as and when needed. If this does come to pass, the Type 10 will surely become a common sight over the next few years.

Colour key

References

#	Series	Season	Source	Comment
1	DS9	6	The Sound of Her Voice
2			Star Trek Deep Space Nine Technical Manual	Stated on page 137
3			Star Trek Deep Space Nine Technical Manual	Stated on page 137

Comments

The idea that starships could design their own shuttles is one that seems to me to follow logically from the idea that they can replicate standardized designs. I have written this up as if it was a new idea, but in fact it could explain some of the things we have seen even as far back as TOS. If ships do indeed both design and build thier own shuttles, this could explain why the Enterprise had no shuttles on board to rescue Sulu in "The Enemy Within" - the Enterprise may have just finished taking all its shuttles apart prior to building something else, or may have just finished producing a big batch of craft which could not operate within an atmosphere - or maybe they simply hadn't bothered making any shuttles yet after setting out on thier mission.

There are possible drawbacks to this idea - for one, we don't know that replicators had been invented during TOS. I tend to think not, and so I've concentrated this little replicating-shuttles idea around the DS9 / Voyager series.

Otherwise, most of the information here concerning the specifics of the type 10's design is from the DS9 technical manual. I've coded all information from that source as green for now, until I can find some sort of official quote on its canonicity.

Page views : 69,806

Last updated : 2 Jan 2009

Series :	DS9 Season 6
Episode :	The Sound of Her Voice

Book :	Star Trek Deep Space Nine Technical Manual
Comment :	Stated on page 137