I can't help but wonder... Even though runabouts were more of a DS9 thing, there was the one TNG episode that a runabout was in, and according to this episode's memory-alpha.wikia page, the unnamed runabout's registry number was NCC-72452 (the registry number couldn't be clearly seen in the actual episode), which happens to be the Rio Grande's registry number on DS9. But here's the thing: toward the end of this episode, the runabout was destroyed. I would've liked if the runabout used by Picard, Data, Troi, and Geordi wasn't destroyed and it was the Rio Grande, considering that on DS9, the Rio Grande was DS9's longest-lasting runabout (in "What You Leave Behind..." Sisko was seen flying it to Bajor). Anyway, i would've liked if runabouts were in more TNG episodes, maybe just a few more because i still like the Type 6, 15, and 7 shuttlecrafts too. Just something i've been thinking about lately.
Aren't runabouts just beefed up shuttles invented so they could go through the wormhole without a full on ship?
Shuttlecraft are the "light helos" of the Starfleet support craft inventory, fine for 'ship-to-shore' trips of a few hours at most (Sikorsky S-70), runabouts are an "adaptable strategic/tactical airlifter" (cf the C-17 or an undersized C-130) capable of long-range operations.
I mean from a storytelling standpoint, isn't the reason they introduced runabouts into the show so they could have things that size of shuttles but well armed enough not to be helpless?
Maybe they just wanted to differentiate themselves from Star Trek: The Next Generation in some way? It also helped that the runabouts were larger than the shuttles and could hold more people, since Star Trek: Deep Space Nine launched without the Defiant or a similar vessel, and shuttles can only get so many regulars to the Gamma Quadrant at once.
Timescape is also the only Trek episode where we saw the interior aft section of the runabout. It's possible that maybe the runabout only appeared here so that TNG could cover the cost of building that set with an eye towards reusing it on DS9 (which obviously never happened). Or maybe it made more sense to use a runabout because it was easier/more interesting/better for the story to be able to shoot four actors on that set than on the tiny regular shuttlecraft one.
All runabouts have warp drive, and (IIRC) 24th-century shuttlecraft do as well. In TOS, we don't really know if shuttles yet have warp drive. Although the one in "The Menagerie" that's chasing the Enterprise is obviously travelling at warp, otherwise it could never have caught up. @Kinggodzillak - IIRC, the interior of the runabout as seen in 'Timescape' isn't standard on all runabouts. The middle section is a hot-swappable replaceable module - some runabouts have an interior like that, others have extended lab facilities, others have something completely different. The middle section in a runabout can be pretty much anything.
Was it established in the episode that the runabout was an Enterprise auxiliary craft? I always liked the idea that the ship had a couple runabouts on board in the main shuttle bay and were used for long range cataloging missions, what with the sensor pod on top as seen in Timescape.
Given the size of the main shuttle bay, based on the Enterprise D deck plans, there potentially could have been dozens of runabouts stored on-board.
Does the D have a captain's yacht? You'd think that sucker might've been of some use in a case like this, especially when the captain is bringing folks somewhere
Mojochi, of course the D-Enterprise has a captain's yacht... according to all the blueprints of it, anyway.
The only action the runabout aft compartment saw in DS9 was redressed as the the anti-technology bitch's ship in season two.
Runabouts are mini-starships (hence the individual registry numbers) so their use on stations and large explorer-type ships makes a lot of sense. As for the "Timescape" runabout having the same registry as the Rio Grande I wouldn't look too hard at that, there's never much consistency with them anyway (just look at the shuttle Tom Paris uses to get to Voyager in "Caretaker").
The rego I'd equate with the plywood used on the walls - never seen, never existed. Perhaps the runabout was going to join the E-D auxiliary fleet, and Picard would add the pennant paint just like Sisko supposedly named his runabouts. Or then that one was starbase property and would be returned, perhaps on autopilot. The aft compartment furniture was recycled for the Defiant, supposedly. But that part of the craft wasn't supposed to be modular, only the middle bit was. Then again, the doorways in the fwd and aft sets would make it maximally difficult to "really" have a module in between... Timo Saloniemi
In DS9’s pilot it is mentioned that the Enterprise offloaded runabouts for DS9, so considering that there were three seen on DS9, we could assume that a Galaxy shuttle bay could hold at least three.
Shame that the rear section of the Runabout appeared only in 'Timescape', it didn't show up anywhere else, right?
Agree. It should have been used as the Runabout aft section after "Timescape", but sadly was not used on DS9 as the Runabout aft section. http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/inconsistencies/runabout_interior.htm