Warp Pods?

[Myasishchev]

I don't know if that's an argument against building small, warp-capable weapons systems. The United States has built thousands of big, reuseable aircraft (e.g., B-52s, B-1s, B-2s, etc.--to carry the tens of thousands of small, one-way aircraft (ALCMs, Tomahawks, etc.) we've built.

 

[RobertScorpio]

I don't know if that's an argument against building small, warp-capable weapons systems. The United States has built thousands of big, reuseable aircraft (e.g., B-52s, B-1s, B-2s, etc.--to carry the tens of thousands of small, one-way aircraft (ALCMs, Tomahawks, etc.) we've built.

And that opens a whole slew of worms...FTL predators? Why even worry about ships?

Rob

 

[Myasishchev]

I don't know if that's an argument against building small, warp-capable weapons systems. The United States has built thousands of big, reuseable aircraft (e.g., B-52s, B-1s, B-2s, etc.--to carry the tens of thousands of small, one-way aircraft (ALCMs, Tomahawks, etc.) we've built.

And that opens a whole slew of worms...FTL predators? Why even worry about ships?

Rob

Ships might still be needed to provide a survivable second-strike capability, but if you have miniaturized warp drives, and miniaturized cloaking devices, and miniaturized photon warheads, and you don't mind genocide... why aren't you building more interstellar missiles?

 

[Deks]

I don't see the reason as to why the escape pods would not be warp capable, albeit in a limited form so that they could reach a relatively safe place.

Shuttles for example have the ability to attain mid to high warp velocities and they aren't that much larger compared to the pods.

I could see the pods as not just having warp sustainer technology, but also achieving warp 2 or above warp 1.

 

[Unicron]

True, but the shuttles - even the smaller shuttlepods with limited warp capability - could be seen as much more general purpose than an emergency craft would be. But I'll definitely have to look up what the TNG and DS9 TMs say about these ideas, cause this is an interesting topic.

 

[Deks]

Shuttles are indeed constructed for a more general purpose ... however, that just leaves more room for the escape pods to incorporate more into their 'specific purpose' aspect for example.
A dedicated Warp drive unit similar to the one on a shuttle that is still slower for a bit longer journeys.

 

[StarryEyed]

The big thing you lose when you scale down is range. The Trek Universe is a place with a veritable shit-load of M-class planets so maybe a range of ten light-years would be enough. But it can't be cheap to build hundreds of escape pods with any warp capability at all. Wouldn't it be cheaper/more practical to build them with enough power and replicators to sustain the occupant(s) indefinitely?

 

[Saturn0660]

I don't see the reason as to why the escape pods would not be warp capable, albeit in a limited form so that they could reach a relatively safe place.

Shuttles for example have the ability to attain mid to high warp velocities and they aren't that much larger compared to the pods.

I could see the pods as not just having warp sustainer technology, but also achieving warp 2 or above warp 1.

Maybe, but think about how long it would take to get ANYWHERE at warp 1 or 2

 

[Timo]

The big thing you lose when you scale down is range.

It might also be that you lose speed. After all, when it comes to warp speeds, Trek seems to operate much like the physics of seagoing vessels: bigger ships automatically go faster. (That neglects the concept of planing boats, but then again, so does Trek.)

It wouldn't matter much if a FTL lifepod were slower than the slowest shuttle, of course. Lightspeed plus is still better than lightspeed minus, let alone low, sub-relativistic speed.

But it might still be that low warp isn't work the hassle; if it takes a year to get to the nearest star on the average, it's just the same if you omit the warp engine and putter along at a speed that gives you a thousand years of travel time. You'll be dead or at least stark raving mad at the end of the trip anyway.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[nx1701g]

Nice try...but it falls short. I don't think its ever been established that escape pods can be used at warp-speed. Wouldn't make much sense, I think. I think a ship had to come out of warp, and then fire the escape-pods, or that has always been my understanding.

Rob

We saw in the Augment Arc Soong launching himself in an escape pod from the Klingon Bird of Prey (it was at warp). His pod almost immediately went to impulse after launch.

 

[Deks]

I don't see the reason as to why the escape pods would not be warp capable, albeit in a limited form so that they could reach a relatively safe place.

Shuttles for example have the ability to attain mid to high warp velocities and they aren't that much larger compared to the pods.

I could see the pods as not just having warp sustainer technology, but also achieving warp 2 or above warp 1.

Maybe, but think about how long it would take to get ANYWHERE at warp 1 or 2

That's still far better than to be stuck at sublight speeds.
At least, even under warp 2, or above Warp 1, you could still traverse relatively large distances and get in contact with someone.

 

[Deks]

Nice try...but it falls short. I don't think its ever been established that escape pods can be used at warp-speed. Wouldn't make much sense, I think. I think a ship had to come out of warp, and then fire the escape-pods, or that has always been my understanding.

Rob

We saw in the Augment Arc Soong launching himself in an escape pod from the Klingon Bird of Prey (it was at warp). His pod almost immediately went to impulse after launch.

Tucker also got himself and that royal princess launched in an escape pod while the ship that abducted them was still at warp. The pod dropped to sublight speeds.

However, let's keep something else in mind ... those are mid 22nd century examples.
SF's technology in the late 24th century is far more advanced in contrast.

There was a non-canon example though of an escape pod reaching warp velocities.
It was in one of the Voyager novels ... the 'Fire ship' if I'm not mistaken.
Janeway was forced to launch an escape pod and it was explained the pod was able to sustain a limited warp speed for an amount of time before reaching a solar system that was populated.

It's a non-canon example I agree ... still, novels have a tendency of using Trek's technology in a more sensible manner, and falls in contrast with what the technology can do.