Shuttlebay

The shuttlebay (variously called the flight deck, hangar deck, shuttlecraft bay, shuttlecraft deck, launch bay, or landing bay) was a facility on a starship where shuttlecraft were launched, received, stored, and maintained. The shuttlebay was externally accessed via the hangar doors and internally by the pressure doors.
By the time of the mid-24th century, the terminology of the hangar deck had changed to refer only to the hangars which were used for the maintenance of shuttlecraft. The location, and purpose, of the hangar deck on the was labeled in the ship's master situation display. This deck was located in the primary hull. () On board the in 2384, the hangar deck was listed with other areas of the ship on a bridge conn panel. ()
The use of shuttlebays during the 22nd century () and 23rd century (; ) involved depressurization of these shipboard facilities, during which time the space doors would be opened to permit ingress and egress of spacecraft. In some situations during the 23rd and 24th centuries, development of force-field technology allowed shuttlebay space doors to usually be kept closed, and when these were opened during shuttlebay operations, the physical doors were replaced with a force field where shuttlecraft or other space vehicles were about to board or were about to be launched. These force-fields could be penetrated by the shuttlecraft itself, while nonetheless preventing decompression through exposure to the vacuum of space of the shuttlebay. (; )
Most shuttlebays were equipped with a tractor beam emitter in order to facilitate the landing procedure. During the 22nd century, these facilities were referred to on Starfleet vessels as "launch bays" and used a grappler. (, et al.)
On at least starships, flight decks were overlooked by an observation deck. The location of the hangar deck for this class was depicted on a schematic stored in the library computer in 2364. (; )
 starships had seven shuttlebays. At the front of the ship, there was shuttlebay 1. Along the starboard, there were shuttlebays 2, 3, and 4. Along the port, there were shuttlebays 5, 6, and 7. ()
 starships had several shuttlebays. A main shuttlebay was located in the primary hull while shuttlebays 2 and 3 were located in the secondary hull. These bays were supported by several hangars located in the primary hull. (, )
Deep Space 9's landing pads provided a similar storing location for small starships such as runabouts, Ferengi shuttles, and Romulan shuttles. ()
 starships had a shuttlebay located at the rear of the secondary hull supported by at least one hangar, commonly referred to as shuttlebay 2. (, )
 starships had a shuttlebay located at the rear of the secondary hull. The location of the shuttlebay on Deck H was labeled on the master situation display. ()
 starships had two main shuttlebays, fore and aft. A third smaller shuttlebay was located on the port side. The location of the main shuttlebays in the were labeled in the ship's master systems display. ()
Aircraft carriers of the 20th century were the first Earth ships equipped with hangar decks. These decks were used for the storage of aircraft and their accessories. ()
File:USS Kelvin shuttlebay.jpg|The shuttle bay of a starship
File:USS Cerritos shuttlebay.png|Interior view of a shuttlebay
File:USS Discovery shuttlebay.jpg|Interior view of a shuttlebay
File:USS Enterprise (alternate reality), shuttlebay.jpg|Shuttlebay of the alternate reality's 
File:Constitution class hangar deck, remastered.jpg|The hangar deck aboard a starship
File:Enterprise shuttlebay, 2269.jpg|Constitution-class shuttlebay in 2269
File:Dramen patrol ship entering USS Enterprise shuttlebay.jpg|Exterior view of a Constitution-class shuttlebay
File:Constitution II class shuttlebay.jpg|The shuttlebay of a starship
File:Deep Space Station K-7 shuttlebay.jpg|A shuttlebay on Deep Space Station K-7
File:Galaxy class shuttlebay 2.jpg|A shuttlebay of a starship
File:Delta Flyer II in shuttlebay.jpg|Interior view of an shuttlebay
File:Class 2 shuttle exiting Voyager's shuttlebay.jpg|Exterior view of an Intrepid-class shuttlebay
File:USS Enterprise-E shuttlebay.jpg|The shuttlebay of a starship
File:Federation Headquarters shuttlebay.jpg|The shuttlebay of Federation Headquarters
== See also ==
* Docking bay
* Hangar
* Landing pad
* Launch bay
* Maintenance bay
de:Shuttlehangar
fr:Hangar à navettes
nl:Shuttledok
Category:Spacecraft sections