1

In various episodes (such as Voy: State of Flux) 'transporter sites' appear to be used for transporting people to and from planets.

Is there any particular explanation for this? From other series, and other episodes of the same series, it appears as if site-to-site transport had been perfected by that point and was no longer a formal requirement.


Based on the linked question/answers, seems that the most likely relevant explanation is one of time efficiency?

Within the context of the specific episode, the (large) away team was not in immediate danger. Emergency transporting each individual would have led to a slower total transport time (since locking on each signal and performing the transport would be slower), probably be more energy-expensive, and also riskier (since all calculations for the designated transport site would have had time to be optimized in advance).

[Still seems rather a convenient plot device for the episode, but maybe not as terrible as it seemed on first pass]

8
  • 1
    State of Flux is a Voyager episode.
    – Valorum
    Commented Oct 30, 2016 at 15:03
  • “From other series, and other episodes of this series, it appears as if site to site transport had been perfected by that point” — which episodes in particular indicate this? Commented Oct 30, 2016 at 15:29
  • Also, huh? What does site-to-site transport have to do with why they have to go to a designated planet to transport up to the ship?
    – Valorum
    Commented Oct 30, 2016 at 16:12
  • Maybe you mean "Why they keep using transporter platforms/ dedicated room, when they could go from/to anywhere ?". At least that's how I understood the question. (A quick answer could be "Poor O'Brien has got to do something" Commented Oct 30, 2016 at 18:17
  • It's not the room that I'm wondering about - it's the designated site on the planet surface. Everyone from the away mission is expected to return to a designated site, even though there's no interference or other technical difficulty expected with the transports Commented Oct 31, 2016 at 20:52

0