Star Trek: 10 Secrets Of The Danube-class Runabout

Another little tidbit from the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual provides information about DS9's runabout pads, interchangeably referred to as landing pads throughout the series and sometimes denoted with letters (runabout pad C) and other times numbers (landing pad 7).

According to the manual, DS9's complement of runabouts were housed in six maintenance and launch bays located in the station's habitat ring. Surrounding living quarters were converted into engineering support facilities or shielded from "accidental detonations or other energy releases" and sound.

Though stock footage of a runabout lifting off from a hydraulic elevator was frequently recycled over the course of Deep Space Nine's seven seasons, the interior of a runabout launch bay was shown only once in the episode "In the Pale Moonlight". For that episode, scenic artist Doug Drexler designed a Romulan shuttle and the hangar which were featured in a single, but impressive shot. Both the model and the hangar were constructed by Tony Meininger at Brazil-Fabrication & Design, complete with working hydraulic lift, extending airlock, and background runabout waiting in storage.