One of the most useful and long lasting designs in Starfleet history, the Work bee was first fielded in the late 2260's in order to replace several previous craft of similar type. The major feature of the Work bee is the highly modular nature of the design. The initial requirement called for virtually every system on board to be designed as a modular unit which could be disconnected, removed and replaced with great ease. This made the initial Work bee design somewhat more complex and difficult to produce, but Starfleet was betting that it would prove its worth in the long run - and so it has proved. The Work bee is simplicity itself to maintain; minor parts can be swapped out literally in seconds, while even major systems such as the micro-fusion power core can be replaced in under ten minutes, and even the hull itself can be broken up into four sections. This has given these bees one of the highest serviceability ratings in Starfleet history, with an average availability of 99.97%.

The upgrade program for the Work bees has been generally limited to gradual improvements rather than large leaps. Over their hundred year history virtually every part of the bees have been replaced many times over. The original design had a Duotronic flight computer, an electro-optical passive scanner, and a hull constructed of carbon fiber plated with foamed aluminum alloys - a very old material which nevertheless met the strength and and density requirements. Today the bees exist in many variations according to how modern their equipment fit is; a typical Work bee of the 2370's will have a small isolinear flight computer, a short range navigational laser radar, and a shell comprised of Monotanium laminated with carbon tetride. The life support systems have been replaced several times as older systems reach the end of their operational life, or as newer safety standards come into force. Some have compared this rolling refit program to the proverbial thirty year old ax which has had four new heads and six new handles.

The Work bee can carry out a multitude of tasks; there are two manipulator waldoes which can be tipped with a wide variety of tools for all kinds of construction and maintenance work on StarShips and space stations. At the rear of the hull are standardized grapple points which can be used to attach various configurations of cargo containers, or alternately can be fitted with a tractor beam unit which can be used to tow small craft such as shuttles - a task the Work bee would normally undertake only in emergencies. Some thought was given to designing drop tanks with extra fuel and life support supplies to extend the range of the bee several times, but although this was perfectly feasible there was never any real need for such an improvement and it was abandoned before serious development work was authorized.

Some thought has been given lately to replacing the Work bee with a totally new design. However, with the start of the Dominion war Starfleet is engaged on shipbuilding on a massive scale. It is the measure of this remarkable little craft that, faced with such a huge demand for space-based construction work, Starfleet canceled all development of a replacement and boosted production of the standard Work bee instead. Given this level of confidence, the Work bee may well be in service another century.

Commissioned 2268 - present

Unit Run 13,185 in service. 7,251 lost during the Dominion war.

Classification : General purpose construction craft / light cargo hauler

Structure:
Length: 4.11 m
Beam: 1.9 m
Height: 1.92 m
Decks: 1

Mass 1,680 kg.

Warp Systems:

None: RCS Thrusters only

Tactical Systems:

Armament: None
Defense Systems: Light Monotanium single hull.
Low level Structural Integrity Field.

Crew: 1

Diplomatic Capability: None

Expected Hull Life: 25 years

Refit Cycle Minor: 1 year
Standard: 5 years
Major: None