Yellowstone class

The Yellowstone class runabout was an upgraded design of the Danube-class runabout designed in the late-24th Century. The Yellowstone class runabouts are named after well known Earth parks. The Yellowstone-class was equipped with tetryon plasma warp nacelles and designed for a variety of mission profiles. The prototype vessel of this class was the USS Yellowstone (NX-74751), which was designed by the Starfleet Engineering Corps and constructed in 2371. Originally the Yellowstone class had a key design flaw, a dilithium fracture problem. Several weeks were spent on resolving the problem, which was "cured" with new plasma flow equations.

Interior configuration
As a upgraded version of the Danube class runabout the interior of the Yellowstone class was visually identical to that of the danube class after the class refit, although a nuber of its systems were upgraded. (i.e. the computer system was equipped with bio-neural circutry)

Ideally, a runabout was piloted by two crewmembers, although one pilot would suffice. The pilots' consoles faced forward upon two large portholes. The cockpit had stations for up to four crewmembers. The two large portholes were equipped with retractable blast shutters. Small square viewscreens mounted within the forward corners of the cabin were used for video communication and ship status displays.

The rear of the craft could be configured as a large crew cabin complete with sleeping and dining areas for extended travel. This area could also be used as a cargo bay.

In the center of the craft, between the two wing pylons, a series of replacable modules could be connected. These modules could be swapped to suit mission requirements. Examples of available modules included science laboratories and photon or quantum torpedo bays.

The runabout was equipped with at least one manual escape hatch, located near the front side of the vehicle. A small Jefferies tube was also present, immediately underneath the warp core that ran along the spine of the vessel.

Technology
The innovative feature that made the Yellowstone class runabout possible was its compact, high-performance warp propulsion system with its tetryon warp plasma. The Yellowstone Class Runabouts were designed to have a cruising speed of warp 7, and a maximum speed of Warp 9.

The Yellowstone class runabouts were also equipped with an aft tractor beam emitter. This emitter could be used to tow moderately-sized starships and was used at times for towing at warp velocities.

Like the Danube class the Yellowstone class runabout's modular platform allowed easy configuration for a multitude of missions. Two such modules were the mission module and sensor pod. The runabout could carry four different sizes of mission modules.

For defense, the runabout was armed with type VIII phasers and micro-torpedoes. In addition, a specialized mission module could allow the runabout to carry full-sized photon or quantum torpedoes. The microtorpedo launcher assembly was accessible via a hatch on the floor of the forward cabin.

Ships Comissioned
USS Yellowstone (NX-74751) USS Banff (NCC-74752) From Memory Alpha