| SMALL CRAFT | |
| |
| Name: | Work bee |
| Affiliation: | Federation Starfleet |
| Type: | Utility craft |
| Flight crew: | 1 |
| Length: | 3.2 m |
A work bee is a single-pilot craft used at Federation Starfleet space stations and on some space ships, often on construction sites or dry docks. (TOSS)
Work bees at space stations[]
Work bees were used in spaceship construction at Spacedock and other space stations by the 2270s. They were used alongside workers in EV suits, performing tasks with a variety of plug-on tools, such as manipulator arms, or hauling cargo trains between ships and stations. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture, DS9 titles)
Work bees with the same form factor but generally coloured grey were in use in to the 24th century.
Work bees on starships[]
By 2265, ships like the USS Mumbai carried work bees (at least three). Lacking built-in docking ports for work bees, they resorted to working on them while docked to trolleys. When rescuing the USS Prospero, they deployed work bees with manipulator arms and cargo containers containing portable airlocks and docking tubes. (TOSS #26 "Bee Prep", #29 "Bottom-up", #34 "Open the Bay Doors")
The refit-Constitution-class USS Enterprise had work bees and specialized docking ports.
- Work bees generally are listed in starship class specifications but less often get explicitly mentioned in a story.
External links[]
- Work Bee article at Memory Alpha, the canon Star Trek wiki.
- Work Bee article at Memory Beta, the non-canon Star Trek wiki.