Guide:Class D3 (pod)
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| |
| Class D3 | |
|---|---|
| Class Overview | |
| Category | work pod |
| Operational | 2164-2237 |
| Constructed | 2,000+ |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 2.1 m (manipulators stowed) |
| Beam | 2.2 m |
| Height | 2.3 m |
| Mass | 0.84 tons |
| Performance | |
| Cruise Speed | sublight (thrusters) |
| Max Speed | sublight (thrusters) |
| Endurance | 2 days |
| Complement | |
| Crew | 1
|
| Canonicity | |
| Design | Game-canon |
| Name | Game-canon |
| History | Game-canon
|
At the very lowest end of the scale for maintenance spacecraft, the Class D pod was in essence a
heavy, rigid spacesuit, albeit endowed with more manipulators and tooling than just the two
cybernetically boosted arms of the operator. Between the 2230s and the 2270s, the most popular
type in Starfleet use was the D6 model, a design fitting into the standard launching chutes of
starships, even if leaving the vision dome and a ring of dexterous manipulators to protrude outside
the starship hull. The central cylinder would lie horizontally in the chute, with the lowermost cluster
of propulsion units swinging out of the way to allow the operator to crawl in.
The basic D61-10 variant featured ten tentacle-type manipulators, each with an adjoining miniature
airlock that would store end tools and (after proper heating and decontamination) allow the operator
direct access to delicate items brought in by the manipulator arm. There was no separate anchoring
arm, beam or gravitic grapple, stationkeeping being left to the thruster system and any spare
manipulator tentacles.
As a typical cruiser or frigate design featured four chutes next to the shuttle hangar area, two were
typically occupied by a Class D repair pod; one would contain a special sensors pod (itself typically
a variant of model D6, found both in crewed and uncrewed variants) and one would be left free for
deploying the wide range of payloads stocked aboard. Chute launch gave extremely rapid reaction
capability for time-critical repair and containment work – an operator could dive into the pod
without prior preparation, hitting a starter button while entering and performing a clean ejection just
four seconds from the securing of hatch seals. Chute venting systems could give optional initial
delta-vee, but “swim-out” launching was far more typical.
Two-day endurance assumed standard life support conditions (i.e. no onboard fires or toxic
releases) and moderate use of maneuvering propellant, a crucial resource when gravitic propulsion
was lacking. In theory, a hibernation mode was available, with onboard medication to keep the
occupant alive for up to eight days without food or water and a minimum of breathing air. Standard
beacons were provided to assist recovery of an incapacitated pod. There are some survival stories of
ingenious use of personal items for gaining the attention of another vessel, made possible by the
access airlocks. At times, the D6 even saw combat use of sorts, with the user’s hand phaser drawn
by a manipulator limb!
Use of chute-launched pods dwindled in the 2270s, and standardized launch chutes were eliminated from most starship designs introduced after 2275; various scientific airlocks, garbage chutes and the like naturally persisted. The D6 still got a range of less well known successors for use aboard older ships, but none of these models remained in use for more than a decade, and none survived past the turn of the century.
Gallery
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Notes
- Game-canon, replaces the Guide D6, and moved earlier.
- 4x manipulator arms