This spacecraft design was created primarily by Herman Zimmerman, Rick Sternbach and Jim Martin in the 1990s for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and later used throughout the franchise such as in books, comics, and games.

[citation needed] In order to help the new show establish its own identity separate from The Next Generation, the decision was made to have something larger and more capable than the shuttlecraft seen in previous series of Star Trek.

[4] From the third season of DS9 onwards, much of the exploration aspect of the series was facilitated by the starship USS Defiant, which took over much of the runabouts' previous role in allowing characters to move off the station.

[1] According to Sternbach, initial designs for the Danube class were based on the 'Spacedock Ferry' that appeared in the film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

[10] Another major overhaul occurred between seasons four and five, with the transporter bay moved aft behind a large door (which was usually kept open), and a free-standing console added in its place.

[12] This roll-bar, described as containing sensor equipment, was added to the model to help viewers distinguish between Ganges and the runabout USS Yangtzee Kiang during a chase sequence.

[13] Season six episode "One Little Ship" had a runabout carrying Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell), Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig), and Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney) shrunk down to tiny size, then having to rescue the rest of the cast when Defiant is captured by the Dominion.

Previously, Star Trek had exclusively used physical models, which at the time were composited by Adam Howard and Steve Scott at Digital Magic.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season six episode "Change of Heart" later depicted a runabout traversing an asteroid field, then landing on a planet.

[8] The show's art department joked that any runabout travel should be done on the USS Rio Grande, referring to its distinction as the only Danube-class ship to survive the entire seven-season run of DS9, and therefore the safest one.

[42] They felt they were a big upgrade over smaller shuttlecraft of the period, and while they land the occasionally lucky shot against larger starships, they were no match for them in general.