Intrepid type escape pod The " Intrepid " - type escape pod was a type of escape pod used aboard and starships in the late 24th century . In the event of a ship - wide catastrophe , the pods could be launched as a last resort to save the crew . Once deployed , the pods were vulnerable to attack or becoming engulfed in the destruction of the parent ship . As in other types of Starfleet escape craft , the pods were equipped with thruster s , providing some chance of fleeing the field of combat . However , without warp drive , survivors were reliant on larger ships for ultimate rescue . " Intrepid " - class . Aboard " Intrepid " - class starships , the pods were stowed beneath individual hatches , which were raised in order for the pods to be launched . The pods could then return and be stowed again , if necessary . In 2373 , Kazon aboard the used the ship ' s escape pods to flee , after a failed takeover of the vessel . ( ) In 2377 , an escape pod was used by a modified hologram of Lieutenant Reginald Barclay while attempting to capture Seven of Nine for a group of Ferengi who were conspiring to steal her nanoprobe s . ( ) Later that year , escape pods were used as weapons . While trying to fend off a attack , The Doctor as the ECH ejected three escape pods which actually contained photon torpedo es . When the Quarren ships tractored them in , they were detonated , and the Quarren ships were disabled . ( ) " In an alternate timeline , the crew of " Voyager " disbanded in escape pods , hoping to evade the Krenim Imperium in the smaller craft . The timeline ceased to exist with the destruction of the Krenim timeship . " ( ) " Defiant " - class . In 2374 , following a disastrous attack on a Jem ' Hadar battleship , the crew of the used these pods to escape the ship . ( ) A year later , escape pods were used to flee a second " Defiant " - class starship , the prototype , upon its destruction at the hands of the Breen . ( ) Aboard " Defiant " - class starships , the pods were launched from specialized bays beneath retractable sections of hull plating . These sections were spaced about the ship , providing access for as many crew members as possible . Appendices . Background information . In the development of , the usage of multiple " Intrepid " type escape pods was originally to have been a single shuttle , as envisioned by the series ' writing staff . The idea of instead using some kind of escape pod then arose . " " The " Voyager " lifepod CGI model already existed , so it became fairly convenient , " " recalled Visual Effects Supervisor David Stipes . Although the notion was at first only to use one of this type of escape pod , the decision to show a group of them was soon arrived at . " " Dan Curry came up with the idea of the having the lifepods shot at [ . . . ] Dan went and talked with [ ' Valiant ' writer ] Ron Moore , the producer / writer , and everyone thought it [ the whole plan ] was a great idea , " " explained Stipes . ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 30 , No . 9 / 10 , p . 57 ) According to the " " , the USS " Defiant " carried twenty - six of these pods , which were six - person craft capable of sustaining survivors for up to eight months . Eight - person versions were also said to exist , although it is unclear whether these were supposed to have been seen on - screen . Both types were equipped with impulse microthrusters and emergency subspace comm systems . In the " " , the USS " Voyager " is said to have thirty - six escape pods , each capable of comfortably housing a maximum of six people . There appears to be at least one phaser strip on the outer hull of the pod . Apocrypha . In the DS9 - based computer game " " , escape pods of this type were used aboard the . They were also seen used aboard another " Miranda " - class vessel , USS " Leonov " , in the " " calendar . Neither of these sources is considered canon .