 "The Main Shuttlebay, on deck 3, is probably the second busiest area of
the ship next to the bridge. While in port, like we are now, the shuttle bay is a
constant beehive of activity with shuttles carrying passengers back and forth between the
ship and the support facility. Of course, the Transporters do much the same job, but
they can handle only so many people at a time. The shuttles often end up taking up
the slack.""One other important role of the shuttle bay is that in the event of an emergency, all three shuttle bays can be changed over and used as emergency triage facilities by the medical staff. Just one more way that the Apache maintains itself as a multi - mission craft capable of anything, anywhere. "I see your pilot is readying your shuttle for departure .... it's been good meeting you. Hope you enjoyed the tour, no matter how brief it was. Maybe some day you will be back here to serve. As the Vulcans say, Live Long, and Prosper." |
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 The New
Orleans Class USS Apache has three major facilities intended for the support of auxiliary
shuttlecraft operations from the ship. The Main Shuttlebay, located in the center and aft
sections of Deck 3 in the Primary Hull, includes launch support, recovery, and maintenance
facilities for shuttle operations. Two additional secondary shuttlebays are located in the
center and aft sections (both port and starboard) of Deck 12 in the dorsal area of the
Secondary Hull.Shuttlebay exterior space doors are triple-layered compressible extruded duranium. Inner doors are composed of lightweight neofoam sheeting in an expanded tritanium frame - work. During active shuttlebay operations, atmospheric integrity is maintained by means of an annular forcefield, which permits both doors to remain open for vehicular ingress and egress without depressurizing the bay. Shuttlebay Two also includes a dedicated maintenance bay for servicing sensor array pallets. Two shuttlepods are provided for extravehicular removal and replacement of these pallets. Additionally, two adjacent maintenance bays provide work facilities for preparation and servicing of mission - specific sensor instrumentation. Shuttlebay Three includes hardware for short-term conversion to Class H, K, or L environmental conditions, intended for use in emergency evacuation situations. Each shuttlebay has its own operations control booth, which is supervised by an on-duty Flight Deck Officer. Each Flight Deck Officer is responsible for operations within that particular shuttlebay, but must report to the main shuttlebay officer for launch and landing clearance. In turn, the main shuttlebay officer must seek clearance from the Operations Manager on the Main Bridge.
Maintenance facilities include replacement parts sufficient for twelve months of normal starship operations. These normally include two complete replacement spaceframes, which can be used for refurbishment of severely damaged ships. Note that replicator usage can allow fabrication of nearly any critical missing parts, but large-scale replication is not considered energy efficient except in emergency situations. However, in such situations, power usage is usually strictly limited, so it is unwise to depend upon the availability of replicated spare parts. This is another reason that the ship must maintain a significant stock of spare parts in inventory at all times. |
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Launch
maneuvers and landing approach piloting is managed by a number of precision short-range
tractor beam emitters located in each shuttlebay and on the ship's exterior, just outside
each set of space doors. These tractor beams are computer controlled under the direction
of the Flight Deck Officer, permitting the safe maneuvering of shuttle vehicles within the
bays and in the 350-meter approach zone.