Top view of a warp sled minus its shuttle.
A warp sled was a 23rd and 24th century device attached to shuttlecraft to permit them to travel at warp speeds.
Specifics[]
The nacelles of a MK-VIII-LRS long-range warp sled contained both dilithium-energized warp engines as well as subatomic unified energy impulse engines. The sled was detachable and not required for the shuttle to fly within an atmosphere or land. The sled was 49.7 meters long, 8.7 meters tall, and 26.7 meters wide. (TOS reference: The Motion Picture Blueprints)
The sled's micro-warp engines were developed by Shuvinaaljis Warp Technologies. The impulse engines were of conventional design. (Stardate Magazine vol. 1, Issue 2: "Making Your First Million")
This type of warp sled weighed 1,900 metric tons and could achieve a velocity of warp two. (FASA RPG module: Star Trek III Sourcebook Update)
Specialized equipment was used to attach a shuttle to a warp sled. Deck 6 of the R1 Invictus-class space station featured a shuttle maintenance and repair level outfitted with this equipment. (FASA RPG module: Regula-1 Orbital Station Deckplans)
By 2287, one model of warp sled could travel at warp three, but was limited to 30 minutes at that velocity, as it consumed fuel rapidly. (TOS novel: The Rift)
By 2376, at least one Galaxy-class saucer section had been outfitted with an experimental warp sled that could be deployed after a saucer separation. Although limited to just over warp one, it improved maneuverability during emergency combat situations. (NF novel: Being Human)
History[]
Designated type FMWA and first produced on reference stardate 2/1200, the miniature engine on Starfleet's warp sled was conceived by Shuvinaaljis scientist Paul Anders, who spent 13 months developing the idea. A similar engine by Leeding Engines Limited had the same operational specifications. (FASA RPG module: Ship Construction Manual)
In 2268, HFM Enterprises installed warp sleds on tourist spacecraft visiting a gas giant near Tttnicktttnor. While not technically illegal, at least one sled seeded the area with iron and nickel in order to attract Saganicus giganticus floaters in the atmosphere as part of the tour. Unfortunately juvenile floaters were drawn to one of the sleds, battering it and the tour ship. Nyota Uhura and Spock noticed the activity, and business owner Harry Mudd agreed to dismantle the sled in exchange for Spock's assistance crafting another tourist attraction. (TOS - Strange New Worlds VII short story: "A Sucker Born")
In 2273, Spock traveled from Vulcan to the Sol system aboard the long-range shuttle Surak, which was fitted with a warp sled, to rendezvous with the refit USS Enterprise in response to the V'Ger crisis. (TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: The Motion Picture)
In 2274, the Federation starship USS Enterprise sent a SW7-class shuttle with a warp sled to Mimit. The shuttle was shot down by Kzinti fighters, but crashed without fatalities. (TOS comic: "The Wristwatch Plantation")
In the year 2287, the USS Enterprise-A had two of these units. One was launched in an attempt to survive stresses of a temporal distortion, but the shuttle crashed, shearing off one of the warp sled nacelles. (TOS novel: The Rift)
In 2300, Spock traveled to the Starfleet penal colony on Jaros II aboard a warp sled-equipped civilian shuttle, leaving the sled in orbit while the shuttle descended to a landing field. (TOS novel: Cast No Shadow)
In the 2370s, a creative engineer attached a warp sled to a core driver vehicle normally used for terraforming, creating a tiny, nearly undetectable starship that traveled to Lazon II. (TNG novel: Triangle: Imzadi II)
In an alternate reality in 2376, the newly-discovered Botany Bay was rigged with a warp sled cobbled together using shuttlecraft warp nacelles to make her capable of traveling warp five. (ST - Myriad Universes - Infinity's Prism novella: Seeds of Dissent)
In 2376, Mark McHenry deployed a warp sled on the saucer section of the USS Excalibur-A in a battle against vessels directed by Artemis. By pivoting the saucer section at warp speed, weapons fire missed Excalibur and destroyed four enemy craft behind them. (NF novel: Being Human)
By 2382, Andy Billups, Shaxs and Sam Rutherford traveled aboard a SW7-class shuttle with a warp sled. (LD episode: "Veritas")
Appendices[]
Images[]
.jpg "Surak (Vulcan shuttle).jpg (11 KB)")
Connections[]
| warp drive technology | |
|---|---|
| types of warp engines | coleopteric warp drive • dicyclic warp engine • transwarp drive • warp sled • warp drive |
| warp components | warp core • matter injector • antimatter inducer • antimatter injector • intermix chamber • power transfer conduit • warp coil • bussard collector • coolant manifold • plasma manifold • phase discriminator • dilithium crystal • dilithium articulation frame |
Appearances[]
- TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: The Motion Picture
- TOS comic: "The Wristwatch Plantation"
- TOS novel: The Rift
- TNG novel: Triangle: Imzadi II
- NF novel: Being Human
- TOS - Strange New Worlds VII short story: "A Sucker Born"
- ST - Myriad Universes - Infinity's Prism novella: Seeds of Dissent
- TOS novel: Cast No Shadow
- LD episode: "Veritas"
References[]
- TOS reference: The Motion Picture Blueprints
- FASA RPG module: Star Trek III Sourcebook Update
- Stardate Magazine vol. 1, Issue 2: "Making Your First Million"
- FASA RPG module: Ship Construction Manual
- FASA RPG module: Star Fleet Intelligence Manual
- FASA RPG module: Regula-1 Orbital Station Deckplans
- Star Trek: The Magazine vol. 3, Issue 2: "Briefing: Federation Ships: Vulcan Shuttle"
- Fact Files Issue 53: "File 30, Card 2: The Vulcan Shuttle"
- The Official Starships Collection Issue 21 of Special Issues: "Surak (VS 5047 6119225984-5)"