Aeroshuttle

The Aeroshuttle (or AeroWing) was a large shuttle attached to the underside of the primary hull of the Intrepid-class starships.

A graphic of the Aeroshuttle also appeared in Daniels' Temporal Observatory while it was being viewed by Captain Archer and T'Pol in 2152. (ENT: "Future Tense")

In 2376, Dala and Zar, posing as Captain Kathryn Janeway and Chakotay, showed Varn a schematic of the USS Voyager (or "the mothership", as they called it) which identified the "AeroWing Dropship" on a master systems display-like diagram. (VOY: "Live Fast and Prosper")

Background

History and Specifications

The AeroWing name, as well as many of the above references were derived from the VOY writer's guidebook, Star Trek: Voyager Technical Guide Version 1.0.

According to this source, when detached, the Aeroshuttle was capable of atmospheric flight as well as interstellar travel at speeds up to warp 3. The Aeroshuttle cockpit is designed for a crew of four.

Rick Sternbach's Star Trek: The Magazine article, "Intrepid-Class Lineage" noted that "The Aeroshuttle was the only upgraded component to the Intrepid Class that remained in the development cycle long after the other major systems had been frozen and released for fabrication and assembly."

"Based on the existing Starfleet runabout platform, the Aeroshuttle was given a 450 percent increase in atmospheric flight and hover endurance over standard shuttlecraft. This was accomplished through the use of hybrid microfusion and EM driven airflow coil engines."

"Although the Aeroshuttle spaceframe and basic systems were completed by Stardate 46875.3, final outfitting of mission-specific hardware was delayed until simulations and flight testing with the USS Intrepid could be completed."