franchise-star-trek-tng-technical-manual1

14.0 AUXILIARY SPACECRAFT SYSTEMS14.0 AUXILIARY SPACECRAFT SYSTEMS14.1 SHUTTLECRAFT OPERATIONS 14.2 SHUTTLEBAYSThe USS Enterprise is equipped with auxiliary shuttlecraftto support mission objectives.Standard complement of shuttlecraft includes ten standardpersonnel shuttles, ten cargo shuttles, and five specialpurposecraft. Additional special-purpose shuttles can beprovided to a starship as necessary. The Enterprise alsocarries twelve two-person shuttlepods for extravehicular andshort-range use.Operating rules require that at least eleven shuttle vehiclesbe maintained at operational status at all times. CruiseMode operating rules require one standard shuttlecraft andone shuttlepod to be at urgent standby at all times, availablefor launch at five minutes' notice. Four additional shuttlecraftare always available on immediate standby (thirty minutes tolaunch), and an additional six vehicles are maintained forlaunch with twelve hours' notice. Red Alert Mode operatingrules require two additional shuttles to be brought to urgentstandby, and all nine remaining operational vehicles to bemaintained at immediate standby.We did not have a shuttlecraft for much of our first season.The reason is that the expense of building all of the standingEnterprise sets was so high that the studio wanted to defer theexpense of the shuttle until the second season. What thestudio didn't count on is that writer Sandy Fries wanted toshow some parts of the ship that hadn't been shown yet. Upondiscovering that we had not yet seen a shuttlecraft, Sandy wasquick to write it into his first season script "Coming of Age."Ironically, this was somewhat similar to the situation thatexisted during the early days of the original Star Trek serieswhen they, too, could not yet afford a shuttlecraft mockup.(This also explains why our heroes did not send a shuttle downto the planet to rescue Sulu and company in the original series'early first season episode "The Enemy Within.")The Galaxy class USS Enterprise has three major facilitiesintended for the support of auxiliary shuttlecraft operationsfrom the ship.The Main Shuttlebay, located in the center and aft sectionsof Deck 4 in the Primary Hull, includes launch support,recovery, and maintenance facilities for shuttle operations.Two additional secondary shuttlebays are located in thecenter and aft sections (both port and starboard) of Deck 13in the dorsal area of the Secondary Hull.Shuttlebay exterior space doors are triple-layered compressibleextruded duranium. Inner doors are composed oflightweight neofoam sheeting in an expanded tritanium framework.During active shuttlebay operations, atmospheric integrityis maintained by means of an annular forcefield, whichpermits both doors to remain open for vehicular ingress andegress without depressurizing the bay.Shuttlebay Two also includes a dedicated maintenancebay for servicing sensor array pallets. Two shuttlepods areprovided for extravehicular removal and replacement of thesepallets. Additionally, two adjacent maintenance bays providework facilities for preparation and servicing of mission-specificsensor instrumentation.Shuttlebay Three includes hardware for short-term conversionto Class H, K, or L environmental conditions, intendedfor use in emergency evacuation situations.Each shuttlebay has its own operations control booth,which is supervised by an on-duty Flight Deck Officer. EachFlight Deck Officer is responsible for operations within thatparticular shuttlebay, but must report to the main shuttlebayofficer for launch and landing clearance. In turn, the mainshuttlebay officer must seek clearance from the OperationsManager on the Main Bridge.Launch maneuvers and landing approach piloting ismanaged by a number of precision short-range tractor beam