The USS Rio Grande (NCC-72452), a Danube class runabout.

In the Star Trek fictional universe, the Danube class is a group of small starships used by Starfleet as runabouts — vessels, small but larger than shuttlecraft, used for long-range movement of personnel and supplies. Runabouts assigned to Deep Space Nine are named for rivers on Earth. The Danube class runabout features a modular design; with the assembly of the spine, pylons, and nacelles removed, mission-specific modules can be added or changed. Known modules include various research laboratories, sensor stations, power generators, emergency habitats, more living quarters, modules containing four micro-torpedo launchers, and other weapons modules.

In real life, the Danube class runabout was designed by Rick Sternbach and Jim Martin for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in 1992.

Known Danube class runabouts

• USS Danube (NCC-72003, ex-NX-72003)
  • Named for the Danube River, the runabout Danube was constucted in 2368 at Utopia Planetia shipyard and was pathfinder of its class. Fate unknown.
• USS Gander (Registry unknown)
  • Named for the Gander River , the runabout Gander was destroyed by the Jem'Hadar over Goralis in 2375.
• USS Ganges (NCC-72454)
  • Named for the Ganges River, the runabout Ganges was assigned to Deep Space Nine. The Ganges was destroyed in 2370 by a T'Lani vessel.
• USS Mekong (NCC-72617)
  • Named for the Mekong River, the runabout Mekong was destroyed in 2371.
• USS Orinoco (NCC-72905)
  • Named for the Orinoco River, the runabout Orinoco was destroyed in 2372 by a Cardassian separatist group named "The True Way."
• USS Rio Grande (NCC-72452)
  • Named for the Rio Grande, the runabout Rio Grande was assigned to Deep Space Nine circa stardate 46379.1 in 2369.
• USS Rubicon (NCC-72936)
  • Named for the Rubicon, the runabout Rubicon was used to investigate a rare subspace compression anomaly circa stardate 51474.2. The Rubicon was destroyed in the Romulan and Cardassian attack on the Dominion.
• USS Shenandoah (NCC-73024)
  • Named for the Shenandoah River, the runabout Shenandoah was assigned to Deep Space Nine. On stardate 51825, Ensign Nog and Jake Sisko used the Shenandoah to deliver an official diplomatic message to Grand Nagus Zek. The Shenandoah was nearly destroyed by Jem'Hadar attack ships but was saved by the Defiant class USS Valiant in 2374. Fate uncertain.
• USS Volga (NCC-73196)
  • Named for the Volga, the runabout Volga was used in a 2372 botanical survey of the planet Torad IV .
• USS Yangtzee Kiang (NCC-72453)
  • Destroyed in a crash on a penal colony moon in the Gamma Quadrant.
• USS Yukon (NCC-74602)
  • Named for the Yukon River, the runabout Yukon was destroyed by the USS Defiant when a Dominion agent stole the runabout to destroy the Bajor system's sun.
• (Name unknown) (NCC-73918)
  • This unnamed runabout was used to obtain a Breen energy dampening weapon.
• (Name and NCC unknown)
  • This runabout transported Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Commander Data, Counselor Deanna Troi, and Commander Geordi LaForge from a convention to the USS Enterprise circa stardate 46944.2. The vessel was briefly frozen in a temporal distortion, in 2369. It was destroyed in an attempt to save the Enterprise and a Romulan Warbird from the time distortion.

External links

• "Danube class" at Memory Alpha
• "Danube class" at LCARScom.Net
• "Danube class" at the Neutral Zone Starship Database