Shuttlecraft (Star Trek)

A shuttlecraft, in the Star Trek fictional universe, is a smaller type of ship, usually capable of atmospheric transport, detachable from a larger starship's shuttlebay. Its role on starships is analogous to the use of naval helicopters on modern warships of the present day, as shuttlecraft often possess their own weapons and intelligence capabilities, and undertake a variety of missions. Additionally, many starships have shuttle bays regardless of their ship class, just as most naval ships have a helicopter landing pad and hangar.

Larger classes of shuttlecraft usually have their own weapons, defenses, and communication systems, as well as emergency transporters in case of a crash. As of "", advanced shuttles are capable of speeds of up to Warp 4.

The USS "Enterprise" traditionally names its shuttlecraft after renowned explorers and scientists. The three original named shuttlecraft were "Galileo" and "Columbus", which appeared during the original series, and "Copernicus", which appeared in the ' episode "The Slaver Weapon". "Galileo" and "Copernicus", at least remained traditional names for USS "Enterprise" shuttlecraft among the many incarnations of that starship. During ', several episodes depicted missions for the shuttlecraft. It was shown performing planetary exploration and search and rescue in "The Galileo Seven", and carried out a survey mission in "The Immunity Syndrome".

Many other shuttlecraft (or shuttlepod) names were introduced during "" such as "Magellan". Also, as homages to more contemporary scientists, names such as "El-Baz", "Curie", "Onizuka", "Goddard", "Feynman", "Cousteau" and "Hawking" were introduced.

SC-4

SC-4 is the designation of a 25th century Federation Starfleet shuttlecraft appearing in the episode "" episode "Endgame".

Shuttlecraft SC-4 belongs to Admiral Kathryn Janeway and sports advanced weaponry and defensive systems, some of which are stolen from the Klingons.

Transphasic torpedoes

SC-4 carries a complement of transphasic torpedoes capable of destroying a Borg cube with one direct hit. These torpedoes are successfully adapted for use by the USS "Voyager".

Stealth generator

The stealth device is incompatible with "Voyager"'s systems; Admiral Janeway uses the SC-4's stealth device to hide "on the door step" of the Borg Queen's Unimatrix 01 when the Queen attempts to trick Janeway.

Ablative hull armor

The SC-4 is fitted with ablative hull armor generators later adapted for use by "Voyager". While deployed, neither SC-4 nor "Voyager" can fire phasers, although they can fire torpedoes.

SC-4's ablative hull armor is capable of withstanding a direct attack from the disruptors of a Klingon "Negh'Var" class battleship. When used by "Voyager", the ship withstands an attack by three Borg cubes with minimal damage to the ablative armor.

Romulan shuttle

Romulan shuttles are known to be in use in the 2370s and are similar in size to a Federation "Danube"-class runabout.

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