The Galileo (NCC-1701⁄7) was a Federation Class F shuttlecraft that was in service to Starfleet in the mid-23rd century, attached to the USS Enterprise. Galileo was the successor to a shuttle of the same name and hull number. (TOS: "The Immunity Syndrome")
History[]
In 2267, it was used to transport the critically-ill Nancy Hedford from Epsilon Canaris III. The shuttle was inexplicably pulled off course by the Companion and forced down on a planetoid in the Gamma Canaris region. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy discovered Zefram Cochrane alive and well, and Hedford remained behind when the Galileo left, as she merged with the Companion. No record of this encounter was made at the request of Cochrane. (TOS: "Metamorphosis")
The Galileo brought Ambassador Sarek and his wife Amanda from the surface of Vulcan to the Enterprise prior to the historic Babel Conference in 2268. (TOS: "Journey to Babel")
This Galileo was nearly lost following an encounter with a space amoeba creature on stardate 4307. Spock, motivated by the loss of the USS Intrepid, piloted the Galileo into the creature with the intention of destroying it. The explosion threw both ship and shuttle clear. Spock later returned to the Enterprise. (TOS: "The Immunity Syndrome")
The Gallows []
The Galileo was later piloted by Ensign Garrovick and crash landed on Planet 0042692, the homeworld of a pre-warp civilization. The shuttle became wrecked in a large cavern on the planet, where it began leaking warp plasma. Garrovick survived the wreck and salvaged what technology he could from the Galileo. The cavern, which was rich in dilithium crystals, experienced a chain reaction that created toxic runoff that brought a sickness to the natives. The injured Garrovick eventually joined the natives, an imitative people, who were warned by Garrovick, or "En Son", of "a great evil" that had followed him there, adding, "do not enter the woods where it lurks or your land will be cursed by The Gallows!'" Many did not heed En Son's warning and perished. (PRO: "All the World's a Stage")
In 2383, Hologram Janeway showed the young crew of the USS Protostar an image of the Galileo while explaining the history of the Federation and Starfleet to them. (PRO: "Starstruck")
In 2384, the last of the natives to encounter "The Gallows", Huur'A, described what she saw as having "two glowing eyes, roaring smoke, breathing fire and death." In an attempt to discover the cause of the sickness brought on by "The Gallows", the crew of the Protostar sought it out on their own and discovered it to be the lost Galileo, and the cause of the localized subspace distortion field which was a side effect of the shuttle's broken warp engine. Jankom Pog, who had recently been studying up on 23rd century Starfleet ships, boarded the shuttle and repaired the duotronic comm relay, in order to break through the interference and contacted the Protostar. When the surrounding cavern began to fall in, Rok-Tahk and Gwyn sought cover with Pog aboard the Galileo, until it fell into a crevasse. As it fell, the trio were beamed from the shuttle on the Protostar's bridge, moments before the shuttle landed atop the toxic runoff it had created and sank, completely disappearing. (PRO: "All the World's a Stage")
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Appendices[]
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Background information[]
The Galileo was named after Galileo Galilei. (Star Trek Encyclopedia, 2nd ed., p. 165)
Stock shots from "The Galileo Seven" were used to represent a shuttle stolen from a starbase in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield", even though the Galileo's markings were clearly visible. The model was recreated as a CGI for the remastered print of "Journey to Babel" in 2007. It shows the shuttle on approach, landing, and being prepped for launch.
External link[]
- Galileo (NCC-1701/07) (II) at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works