Canon Facts Backstage Info  Speculation

Notes : Although supply and support vessels have never had the glamour of the big Explorers, their role is at least as important to the day-to-day functioning of an organization like Starfleet as any other class. The Vulcan Warp Sled is a classic example of this; these handy little ships where in Starfleet service for over a century, in numbers which at their peak rivalled any other single class in service. Although they received little fanfare during their time, the warp sleds importance to starfleet can hardly be overstated.

The Warp Sled was one of the first shuttlecraft-sized vessels with a true interstellar capability. Although several previous shuttles did have warp capability, these where generally confined to specific routes between neighbouring systems - they tended to be either too slow or two short ranged for general use. The Warp Sled was capable of holding Warp 6 for up to two months on internal fuel alone, and was unique among shuttle craft in that it could conduct in-flight refuelling from standard tanker craft. This allowed it to operate almost indefinitely - on one occasion a warp sled made a flight lasting one hundred and fifty six days.

Another major advantage of the warp sled over previous designs was its flexibility; the sled itself consisted of a pair of warp nacelles, matter/antimatter reactor assembly and fuel supply mounted onto a large docking platform. A wide variety of pods was developed for attachment to this platform - the most common was a twelve person shuttle pod which was intended for relatively short duration flights. A six person unit with small bunk spaces was also available, as well as a single occupant VIP unit. Other variants included a cargo pod, a sensor pod which allowed the sled to be used as a long range remote controlled sensor probe, a medical evac unit with space for four patients and an attendant and a search and rescue pod designed to locate and retrieve ships lifeboats.

Although originally designed for a life span of only sixty years, the warp sled has proved to be capable of continuing far beyond this. The last warp sled was retired from Starfleet service in 2358, but many are still to be found in service with other agencies and with civilian operators both within the Federation and with several allied governments. It seems that these handy little craft will continue to serve even into the next century.