This depicts the lifeboat system that has been retrofitted into the Excelsior class starships in the 24th century. Starfleet didn't require lifeboats until then, because before that, the possibility of rescue by another starship was extremely remote. One of the reasons the Constitution was retired was because it was extremely difficult to fit lifeboats into its spaceframe. The Miranda, Constellation and Oberth classes had relatively large, easy to access shuttlebays, so they were stocked with the type of lifeboat seen on the Saratoga at Wolf 359. The Excelsior, however, does not have this luxury, but a solution had to be found since the spaceframes were still extremely useful. The outer hull of a starship has far too many integrated systems like SIF generators and deflector shield emitters to be punching new holes in it for lifeboats. So the accepted solution was to install lifeboats under panels that were retrofitted with explosive bolts and an ejection system (similar to the later Defiant class). Then the lifeboats would be free to launch.
C&C anyone?
B.J.
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
Well for a start the Excelsiors did have escape pods in the 23rd Century, at least the E-B did. It shows them on the MSD, presumably under blow off sections of the outer hull. Good graphic though.
Posted by Captain Boh (Member # 1282) on :
Always how I assumed it worked. Nice work.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
I don't buy that older ships wouldn't have some sort of escape vehicle, though. Alive > dead, and the first time a ship without any blows up just a few days before rescue arrives, or inside a star system with an even marginally inhabitable planet, or in a combat situation where everyone else is too busy trying not to be blown up themselves to retrieve survivors right away, whoever made that decision is going to be exceedingly unpopular.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
I'd keep that hull panel attached to the lifeboats for atmospheric re-entry. Plus it makes the ejection process far less complicated and less likely to cluster-fuck in an emergency.
Posted by TheWoozle (Member # 929) on :
Good point, those hull plates SHOULD be pretty tough and make good protection for the explosion of a nearby ship, or atmospheric entry. there's really no reason not to keep the hull plate attached.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
Protection from re-entry? I don't think ANY Trek vessel has really used a heat shield before. I'd figure that even escape pods would have basic forcefields and SIF capabilities to protect from jostling and bumping on the way down. Given that most Trek designs are as aerodynamic as a stick of celery, I'm guessing that the escape pods are intrinsically designed to surive little things like atmospheres.
Mark
Posted by Dat (Member # 302) on :
I would venture that instead of having a blow-away hatch, it would have a swing-open hatch like we've seen on Voyager or the Defiant. That way, the pods could be recovered and safely stored away in case the danger passes and the ship survives or whatever.
Plus, we have seen escape pods on the refit Enterprise plus mention of their existence on the NX-01. I would assume all would be deployed and recovered in very similar ways.
Posted by Fleet-Admiral Michael T. Colorge (Member # 144) on :
Lifeboats do exist since the NX Project... Automated Survival and Retrieval Vehicles's came into existance within the 2350's... at least that's what I'm thinking after reading the ST: TNG Tech Manual.
Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :
Just what is the difference between a lifeboat/escape pod and an ASRV, anyways?
Posted by Intruder1701 (Member # 880) on :
Im thinking a ASRV is a lifeboat retrival ship that picks up lifeboats.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
I thoght the ASRV's just followed Oberths and Steamrunners- about a week behind- awaiting the inevitable.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
Um, ASRVs *are* lifeboats, no? The terminology just changed. What may be confusing everyone is that the ASRVs in the TNGTM were first installed on the last Renaissance class starship. Thus, the pods on the Galaxy class are not a brand-new design. Subsequent ships (Voyager and Defiant among them) have been seen using a completely different ASRV than that seen in the TNGTM, and are noted as such in the DS9TM IIRC. The Sovereign class uses yet another escape pod design, which (like many things Eaves) makes little sense, being supposedly upside down...
Mark
Posted by Fleet-Admiral Michael T. Colorge (Member # 144) on :
That or perhaps the ASRV's are able to be reintegrated back in the ship after it is deployed. Unlike say the USS Saratoga's lifeboat/escape pod which is launched from the shuttlebay.
Posted by Fleet-Admiral Michael T. Colorge (Member # 144) on :
Sorry, double post.
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
I think the main distinguishing feature that set ASRV's apart is the supposed 'Gaggle Mode' where they can all link together to await rescue.
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
Sorry I haven't replied yet, been taking care of a sick wife...
Anyway, I had forgotten about the E-B MSD, but my graphic seems to fit with that fairly well.
Dat, can you tell me when they mentioned lifeboats on the NX-01?
The design of the lifeboat in my sketch is based mostly on the one shown in Mr. Scott's Guide, with a couple of elements from the Galaxy class one thrown in.
B.J.
Posted by Dat (Member # 302) on :
I wish I could recall the specific episode or the events of the episode, but I believe it to be either a second or third season episode.
Posted by Timo (Member # 245) on :
I rather think the distinguishing feature of the ASRVs is that they are called ASRVs. That is, all these things are collectively known as escape pods. Starfleet or the manufacturer just applies some yucky NASA-lingo on them in order to appear cool, and as a side effect, one can sometimes tell the different escape pod models apart by their acronyms, or guess the vintage of the designation.
I tend to agree that all Earth starships throughout history have had lifeboats, for reasons of tradition if not for anything else - pragmatic logic will have nothing to do with this. True, a lifepod on a NX class vessel should be classified as a torture device if its only function is to prolong the quite inevitable death of the crew in inhumanly cramped conditions. But that argument won't sway Starfleet from installing the devices anyway.
Timo Saloniemi
Posted by SoundEffect (Member # 926) on :
quote:Originally posted by Mark Nguyen: The Sovereign class uses yet another escape pod design, which (like many things Eaves) makes little sense, being supposedly upside down...
Ah, but only the lifeboats on the upper hull are upside down. The lucky crewmembers get to escape in the lower saucer boats...dizziness averted!
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
If the lifeboat has artificail gravity, there'd only me a moment of vertigo when gettin into it.
You'd think a ship as large as a Soverign would have used it's shuttles when evacuating the ship: the survivors would still need transportation (and possibly armed air support) on whatever planet they're stranded on.
Mabye the shutlebay was Borg-ified when we saw the evac in First Contact...
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
I'm pretty sure Picard said they couldn't get to a shuttle bay at some point during the movie. Also, the thing with using shuttles is that, in theory, the require preflight operations. They have engines that have to be dealt with correctly, etc. If you've got a minute before the big boom, you don't want to be dinking around. You want to jump into the pod, push a button, and be seeing the ship getting smaller a couple seconds later.
But, given time, you're right. Having some shuttles around would be handy.
Posted by MarianLH (Member # 1102) on :
I had gotten the impression the difference between ASRVs and older lifeboats was that the ASRV was a fully autonomous spacecraft. It could maneuver under its own power, navigate, even return to the parent ship. The older lifeboats were more of an enclosed ejection seat. They might have some reaction control thrusters, but it's still a one-way trip.
As for heat shields, it sure looked to me like the boats in First Contact had them.
You're artwork's really nice, B.J., but I'm not going to go along with the idea that 23rd century ships didn't have any kind of lifeboat.
Marian
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