Orbital Shuttle

The Federation orbital shuttle was a type of shuttlecraft utilized in and around Earth and the Earth Spacedock. Many of these lost power when the Whale Probe bombarded Earth with humpback whale signals in the late 23rd century. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) Shuttles of this design remained in service on Earth and in orbital facilities even past the mid-24th century. (TNG: "11001001", "Conspiracy")

The orbital shuttle was fielded in the 2270's in order to enhance Starfleets ability to move people and equipment both between orbital facilities and from planetary surfaces to orbit. The requirement stresses simplicity and low cost of both construction and operation, necessary in all such craft if they are to be effective competition to transporter systems. The designers chose single hulled construction to simplify manufacture and keep the mass down to a minimum. No shields or weapons where included, nor was any provision made for future installation of such systems. The computer core was a simple duotronic system, and the sensor suite was limited to a simple navigtion/terrain scanning laser radar backed up by an inertial navigation system.

Although not popular due to the limited capabilities, the Orbital shuttle was procured in substantial numbers and served its purpose adequately for many decades. The type began retiring from 2332, and although the last was due to go in 2362 some two hundred have been retained in service due to delays in fielding a replacement.