Flare Sci-Fi Forums: A picture and a question...

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Posted by Baloo (Member # 5) on :

I decided to design the "first" non-aerodynamic shuttle used by starfleet. The question is, when do you suppose they finally came up with the shuttles that don't rely on aerodynamic lift?

Here's the pic:

Another question: does anyone have performance specs on the TOS shuttles?

--Baloo

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Posted by Baloo (Member # 5) on :

Here's a larger version of the above shuttle:

--Baloo

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Well, regarding your question... I doubt that the shuttles "rely" upon atmospheric lift. They don't even have wings. The shape is probably either just to help the shuttles "cut through" the air better, or it might just be an aesthetic thing. SF probably could build shuttles like the one you show; they probably just decided they didn't want to.

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Jackson: "Basically, he was the original Satan."
O'Neill: "Well, isn't that special?"
-Stargate SG-1: "Serpent's Song"

Posted by Baloo (Member # 5) on :

That was not my question. My question, restated, is this: At what point did Starfleet/UESPA's (depending on when things changed) technology advance to where they began using shuttlecraft as opposed to launch/reentry vehicles? I have to assume that the systems we use for putting vessels into orbit and landing them again will be used for some time to come, and that, in the Trek universe, this was also the case.

After discussing it with Frank G, I believe that shuttlecraft were introduced around the time of the Romulan war, or shortly thereafter. I imagine that the TOS "breadbox" is an improvement over some previous design.

Now to the other question: Just what sort of performance do you suppose the TOS shuttlecraft had? I suspect they had some warp capability, or why the nacelles? I suspect that the real-world reason the shuttlecraft had nacelles was so the audience could tell immediately that they belonged to the Enterprise, but since they're there...?

As far as how useful a warp-driven shuttle would be, and how much endurance it would have, I suspect that even if a shuttle had very little warp capability (even as low as 1.0) it would still be very useful for travelling around a solar system.

Thoughts? Conjecture? Canon (or non-canon) observations? Bueller?

Posted by Black Knight (Member # 134) on :

It looks really cool.

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"I am a hyena. A hyena is an animal who laughs when there is nothing funy to laugh at. This is the sound a hyena makes. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha."--W.E.B. Griffen, Semper Fi

Posted by Warped1701 (Member # 40) on :

They do look quite nice, Baloo. The shuttles seem to follow the standard KISS concept.

By the way, the link in your .sig is busted.

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Posted by Bernd (Member # 6) on :

I recently discussed the early shuttle issue with Masao. I think there might have been both aerodynamic hybrid aircraft and dedicated spacecraft at the time of the Romulan War. Maybe a considerable improvement of impulse drive made the wings redundant some time later, and there was only one type of shuttles, optimized for space use but also capable of atmospheric flight.

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"A few more calculations"