Steadfast-A Small Craft Assignment
Shuttlecraft Operations
The Steadfast-A is equipped with auxiliary shuttlecraft to support mission objectives.
Standard complement of shuttlecraft includes ten standard personnel shuttles, then cargo shuttles, and five special-purpose craft. Additional special-purpose shuttles can be provided to a starship as necessary. The Steadfast-A also carries twelve two-person shuttlepods for extravehicluar and short-range use.
Operating rules require that at least eleven shuttle vehicles be maintained at operational status at all times. Cruise Mode operating rules require one standard shuttlecraft and one shuttlepod to be at urgent stand-by at all times, available for launch at five minutes' notice. Four additional shuttlecraft are always available on immediate stand-by (thirty minutes to launch), and an additional six vehicles are maintained for launch with twelve hours' notice. Red Alert Mode operating rules require two additional shuttles to be brought to urgent stand-by, and all nine remaining operational vehicles to be maintained at immediate stand-by.
Shuttlebays
The Galaxy class USS Steadfast-A has three major facilities intended for the support of auxiliary shuttlecraft operations from the ship.
The Main Shuttlebay, located in the center and aft sections of Deck 4 in the Primary Hull, includes launch support, recovery, and maintenance facilities for shuttle operations.
Two additional secondary shuttlebays are located in the center and aft sections (both port and starboard) of Deck 13 in the dorsal area of the Secondary Hull.
Shuttlebay exterior space doors are triple-layered compressible extruded duranium. Inner doors are composed of lightweight neofoam sheeting in an expanded tritanium framework. During active shuttlebay operations, atmospheric integrity is maintained by means of an annular forcefield, which permits both doors to remain open for vehicluar ingress and egress without depressurizing the bay.
Shuttlebay Two also includes a dedicated maintenance bay for servicing sensor array pallets. Two shuttlepods are provided for extravehicular removal and replacement of these pallets. Additionally, two adjacent maintenance bays provide work facilities for preparation and servicing of mission-specific sensor instrumentation.
Shuttlebay Three includes hardware for short-term conversion to Class H, K, or L environmental conditions, intended for use in emergency evacuation situations.
Each shuttlebay has its own operations control booth, which is supervised by an on-duty Flight Deck Officer. Each Flight Deck Officer is responsible for operations within that particular shuttlebay, but must report to the main shuttlebay officer for launch and landing clearance. In turn, the main shuttlebay officer must seek clearance from the Operations Manager on teh Main Bridge.
Launch maneuvers and landing approach piloting is managed by a number of precision short-range tractor beam emitters located in each shuttlebay and on the ship's exterior, just outside each set of space doors. These tractor beams are computer controlled under the direction of the Flight Deck Officer, permitting the safe maneuvering of shuttle vehicles within the bays and in the 350-meter approach zone.
Maintenance facilities include replacement parts sufficient for twelve months of normal starship operations. These normally include two complete replacement spaceframes, which can be used for refurbishment of severely damaged ships.
Note that replicator usage can allow fabrication of nearly any critical missing parts, but large-scale replication is not considered energy-efficient except in emergency situations. However, in such situations, power usage is usually strictly limited, so it is unwise to depend upon the availability of replicated spare parts. This is another reason that the ship must maintain a significant stock of spare parts in inventory at all times.
Shuttlecraft
The seven shuttle vehicles most often carried in the USS Steadfast-A inventory are represented in the views and specifications below. Single major uprated variants are included. As combinations of interchangeable components, such as cargo pallets, engines, and unique mission housings, will affect vehicle dimensions and performance figures, only base values are given.
Shuttlepod Type 15
Production Base: Starbase 134 Integration Facility, Rigel VI Type: Light short-range sublight shuttle Accomodation: Two; pilot and systems manager Power Plant: Two 500 millicochrane impulse driver engines, eight DeFl 657 hot gas RCS thrusters. Three sarium krellide storage cells. Dimensions: Length, 3.6 m; beam, 2.4 m; height, 1.6 m. Mass: 0.86 metric tonnes. Performance: Maximum delta-v, 12,800 m/sec. Armament: Two Type IV phaser emitters.
Shuttlepod Type 15A
Production Base: Starbase 134 Integration Facility, Rigel VI Type: Light short-range sublight shuttle Accomodation: Two; pilot and systems manager Power Plant: Two 500 millicochrane impulse driver engines, eight DeFl 657 hot gas RCS thrusters. Three sarium krellide storage cells. Dimensions: Length, 3.6 m; beam, 2.4 m; height, 1.6 m. Mass: 0.97 metric tonnes. Performance: Maximum delta-v, 13,200 m/sec. Armament: Two Type IV phaser emitters.
Shuttlepod Type 16
Production Base: Starbase 134 Integration Facility, Rigel VI Type: Medium short-range sublight shuttle Accomodation: Two; pilot and systems manager Power Plant: Two 750 millicochrane impulse driver engines, eight DeFl 635 hot gas RCS thrusters. Four sarium krellide storage cells. Dimensions: Length, 4.8 m; beam, 2.4 m; height, 1.6 m. Mass: 1.25 metric tonnes. Performance: Maximum delta-v, 12,250 m/sec. Armament: Two Type IV phaser emitters.
Personnel Shuttle Type 6
Production Base: ASDB Integration Facility, Utopia Planitia, Mars Type: Light short-range warp shuttle Accomodation: Two flight crew. Passenger configurations: six (STD); two (diplomatic). Power Plant: Two 1,250 millicochrane warp engines, twelve DeFl 3234 microfusion RCS thrusters (STD); two 2,100 millicochrane warp engines (UPRTD). Dimensions: Length, 6.0 m; beam, 4.4 m; height, 2.7 m. Mass: 3.38 metric tonnes. Performance: Warp 1.2 for 48 hours (STD); Warp 2 for 36 hours (UPRTD). Armament: None (STD); Two Type IV phaser emitters (special operations).
Personnel Shuttle Type 7
Production Base: ASDB Integration Facility, Utopia Planitia, Mars Type: Medium short-range warp shuttle Accomodation: Two flight crew. Passenger configurations: six (STD); two (diplomatic). Power Plant: Two 1,250 millicochrane warp engines, twelve DeFl 3234 microfusion RCS thrusters (STD); two 2,100 millicochrane warp engines (UPRTD). Dimensions: Length, 8.5 m; beam, 3.6 m; height, 2.7 m. Mass: 3.96 metric tonnes. Performance: Warp 1.75 for 48 hours (STD); Warp 2 for 36 hours (UPRTD). Armament: None (STD); Two Type V phaser emitters (special operations).
Cargo Shuttle Type 9A
Production Base: Starfleet Plant #24, Utopia Planitia, Mars Type: Heavy long-range warp shuttle Accomodation: Two flight crew, one cargo specialist. Power Plant: Two 2,150 millicochrane warp engines, twelve DeFl 2142 microfusion RCS thrusters (STD); two 2,175 millicochrane warp engines (UPRTD). Dimensions: Length, 10.5 m; beam, 4.2 m; height, 3.6 m. Mass: 4.5 metric tonnes (empty). Maximum payload, 6.6 metric tonnes (STD); 8.9 metric tonnes (UPRTD). Performance: Warp 2 for 36 hours (STD); Warp 2.2 for 32 hours (UPRTD). Armament: None (STD); Two Type V phaser emitters (special operations).
Sphinx Workpod Type M1 (base Module/Sled Attachments)
Production Base: Starfleet Plant #2, Utopia Planitia, Mars Type: Light industrial manipulator (Sphinx M1A), medium industrial manipulator (Sphinx M2A), and medium tug (Sphinx MT3D). Accomodation: Pilot (M1A, M2A); pilot and cargo specialist (MT3D). Power Plant: Two 4,600 Newton-second I(sp) microfusion primary thrusters, sixteen DeBe 3453 hot gas RCS thrusters. Four alfinium krellide power storage cells. Dimensions: Length, 6.2 m; beam, 2.6 m; height, 2.5 m. Mass: 1.2 metric tonnes. Performance: Maximum delta-v, 2,000 m/sec. Maximum manipulator mass, 2.3 metric tonnes. Maximum sled mass, 4.5 metric tonnes. Armament: None.