Workbee

Work Bee
A Work Bee at Utopia Planitia in 2371.
Affiliation:	Federation Starfleet
Length:	2.7 meters
Width/Beam:	1.2 meters
Height:	1.3 meters
Flight crew:	1 pilot
Service dates:	c. 2270s-2370s

A Work Bee is a small utility craft in use by the Federation since the mid 23rd century. The name is derived from the work bee's small size and distinctive yellow color.

Service history

Work Bees were first used in the mid 23rd century, assigned to Starfleet shipyards in orbit of Earth. They assisted in the refitting of the original USS Enterprise at San Francisco Fleet Yards (Star Trek: The Motion Picture) as well as the launch of the USS Enterprise-B. (Star Trek Generations)

Work Bees continued to be used into the 24th century and were numerous at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards (VOY: "Relativity") and Deep Space 9. The Work Bees at DS9 were generally gray in color. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 4 credits)

Silhouettes of Work Bees could be found on the master systems displays of the USS Enterprise-E and the USS Equinox.

By 2379, new silver craft resembling Work Bees were in use at the drydock where the Enterprise-E was repaired following the Battle of the Bassen Rift. (Star Trek Nemesis)

Technical data

A Work Bee with attached cargo containers.

The Work Bee is a single-occupant vehicle with seating for the pilot only. Generally, the pilot must be spacesuited, especially if the pilot is planning extravehicular activity. The front of the Work Bee features several large windows. The craft also has a large headlight at its extreme forward end for illuminating a work area.

As the Work Bee is primarily a maintenance craft, it can be equipped with a variety of tools, including a set of dual remote manipulator arms called the Grabber Sled. The Work Bee can also serve as a tug for cargo modules with the Cargo-Train Attachment.

The Work Bee can operate both in the vacuum of space and within the atmospheric and gravitational conditions of a starship cargo bay or planetary surface. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)

Background information

File:Probert matte rendering.jpg

Concept art of Enterprise shuttlebay (note Work Bees and ports in upper right corner)

A work bee outside Deep Space 9

The Work Bee was designed by Andrew Probert for Star Trek: The Motion Picture. An unused design for the Enterprise cargo/shuttlebay showed several docking ports where Work Bees could attach to the ship, which were described in Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise. The Work Bee was never identified by name in dialogue, but the moniker was adopted by many publications, official and unofficial, including the Star Trek: The Motion Picture Blueprints co-created by Probert and David A. Kimble.

The craft was also seen in footage recycled in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and during the Enterprise-B launch in Star Trek Generations. The Work Bee was brought to the 24th century when it was included in a montage of different scenes during the main titles of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine beginning with the fourth season. These scenes were also used for external shots of the station in various episodes. A computer-generated model was also created, and seen at Utopia Planitia during the flashbacks to Voyager's launch during VOY: "Relativity".

Probert designed a followup craft to the Work Bee, dubbed the Sphinx Workpod, during the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Although it was never built as a miniature or explicitly seen, it may have been included in the matte painting of Starbase 74 in TNG: "11001001". The new workpod was also featured in the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual and Star Trek: Starship Creator.

In Star Trek: The Experience's Borg Invasion 4D, Sphinx-type Work Bees can clearly be seen repairing Copernicus Station after its brief encounter with a Borg cube. It remains the most visible and intricate use of this design.

Other similar craft to the Work Bee include the Arkaria shuttle seen in TNG: "Starship Mine" and the aforementioned Star Trek Nemesis vehicles.