The vessels entered official service the next year and were soon in use throughout the United Federation of Planets. The prototype USS Danube conducted flight tests at Mars in late 2367 that were so successful that Starfleet Command ordered the class into immediate production. The design was completed and construction of the prototype began in 2365. Designers eventually developed an extremely modular design named the Danube-class. The plan was to develop an auxiliary craft that was more capable than standard shuttlecraft, but at a much lower resource cost than corvette type starships.Īlthough aiming for a smaller starship, engineers at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards still took inspiration from the Aerie-class, a civilian design that had seen extensive use in both the private sector and Starfleet. As the cockpit had already been constructed and photographed for the pilot episode "Emissary", Martin and Sternbach designed their brand new runabout model to include the pre-existing windows and airlocks, the only two elements to remain from the original Executive Shuttle idea.In 2363, the Advanced Starship Design Bureau began a series of studies to develop a small, versatile craft that could fulfill a wide array of missions. Ultimately, however, the producers changed their minds about reusing the Executive Shuttle and requested a brand new model to be designed and constructed. As the runabout cockpit set would be required for filming long before the miniature of the ship itself would need to be ready, certain elements of the original Executive Shuttle were locked into place, including its forward windows and side airlock doors. Under the supervision of DS9 production designer Herman Zimmerman, illustrators Jim Martin and Rick Sternbach worked to refit the existing Executive Shuttle model while set designer Joseph Hodges designed the ship's cockpit. Having made only a single appearance in its original configuration up to that point (it eventually reappeared in Star Trek: Generations), the Executive Shuttle had recently been converted into the USS Jenolan for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Relics" and was considered a good candidate to be modified yet again. To stand in for the runabout, DS9's producers turned to the Executive Shuttle, designed by John Goodson and built by Industrial Light & Magic for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. even if they never really did much exploration themselves.Īs Star Trek was wont to do in those days, the initial intention was to use an existing studio model in order to save on the enormous costs already incurred in the creation of the new series. Runabouts might be unappreciated little workhorses in the larger Starfleet, but their ubiquity makes them the perfect subject matter for a listicle exploring their background, design, and their secrets. cramped adventures.ĭespite being somewhat diminished after the introduction of the Defiant, the Danube-class runabout continued operation throughout Deep Space Nine, appearing in an impressive 79 episodes (plus a couple episodes of TNG, Voyager, and Lower Decks) and remains an indelible image from that early-90s Star Trek boom. Still, it's not like Deep Space Nine was stuck entirely on the station, when our motely crew of Starfleet and Bajoran heroes needed to fly to Bajor or Cadassia or even into the Gamma Quadrant, they hopped aboard one of three Danube-class runabouts and had. One of the big complaints made by critical fans during those nascent years was the relatively static nature of Deep Space Nine, which (by design) eschewed boldly going to new adventures with having the wormhole bring those adventures to us.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |