Cryogenic stasis, otherwise known as cryostasis or cryogenic suspension, is a form of sleep that appears very much like death.
Cryogenic stasis was used on Earth in the 1990s as means of preventing death from fatal illness (known as Cryonics) or prolonging life during interstellar travel on Earth's early interstellar spacecraft. The most notable of these sleeper ships were the DY-class family of vessels, which included the SS Botany Bay, used by Khan Noonien Singh and his followers to escape the end of the Eugenics Wars. (TOS: "Space Seed", TNG: "The Neutral Zone")
The use of Cryogenics stasis inside the solar system became less important as propulsion systems advanced. Although ships of the DY-200 subclass and DY-300 subclass continued to carry cryostasis systems, cryostasis almost completely unused by 2018. It was eventually completely abandoned in the 2060s following the invention of warp drive in 2063. (Star Trek: The Adventures of Argus: "Nuclear Time")
The legacy of cryogenic stasis[]
Survivors from the period of Earth's cryogenic stasis use continued to be discovered as late as 2374 when the DY-300-class BRS Argus was discovered in the Ganoris system. Other notable discoveries include the SS Botany Bay in 2267 and a Cryonics satellite in 2364.(Star Trek: The Adventures of Argus: "Messages From Home", "Nuclear Time", TOS: "Space Seed", TNG: "The Neutral Zone")
External link[]
- Cryogenic stasis article at Memory Alpha, the canon Star Trek wiki.