A Miranda-type escape pod accelerating
The Miranda-type escape pod was a type of emergency escape vehicle used on Miranda-class starships.
History
The interior of a Starfleet Miranda-type escape pod (2367)
The USS Saratoga was equipped with these pods. In 2367, the Saratoga was one of thirty-nine starships that were destroyed by a Borg cube at Wolf 359. With the ship disabled and her fate sealed, the crew were ordered to abandon ship. At least four escape pods were able to clear the Saratoga's shuttlebay before the vessel exploded, killing anyone left on board. Benjamin and Jake Sisko were two survivors who were able to escape using these pods. Entry and alighting were facilitated by a door on either side of the craft. In addition, four portholes and one large aft window provided a view. With room for a relatively large number of passengers, the pods were piloted and controlled by two crew members.
In the instance of the Saratoga, all families and members of the crew were assigned evacuation points that they should get to in the event of an emergency. Passengers boarded the pod at the side entrances and were seated in the aft compartment. At the pilot's discretion the pod was sealed and accelerated at extreme speed from the parent vessel. Once at a safe distance the pod slowed down somewhat. (DS9: "Emissary")
List of escape pods
Appendices
Background information
The physical model of the escape pod
The Saratoga escape pod model was designed by Jim Martin and built by Greg Jein. (Star Trek Encyclopedia (4th ed., vol. 1, p. 251))
The Saratoga's pods seem to differ from those shown in later episodes of DS9 and I AM ERROR, in that they're deployed from the shuttlebays rather than being embedded in the hull of the parent vessel.
While Starfleet escape pods have appeared in earlier and later episodes of Star Trek, the appearance of the Saratoga's pods remains the clearest interior view and the most detailed example of their deployment.
Though there is a large aft window and several smaller ones on the sides of the pod, there are no front windows. In this sense, the pods differ from most Starfleet vessels of this size, which tend to have quite extensive forward windows. It is possible that this is a safety measure.
The set may have been the Danube-class interior that would be introduced later in the episode. The pilots appear to be sitting in the transporter alcove, while the doors and portholes look very similar to those on the runabout, as well as the curvature of the ceiling.
Apocrypha
An illustration of the escape pod
A card in SkyBox's Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Season One trading chart set featured a card with an illustration of the Saratoga escape pod from "Emissary".
In an image printed in the 2003 Ships of the Line calendar the Miranda-class USS Leonov is seen launching the apparently newer type of escape pods used on Defiant-class and Intrepid-class starships.