The Canon Answer:
Not directly addressed, but the fact that they built the Delta Flyer proves once and for all that Voyager had the resources and capability to build a shuttle-sized, warp-capable spacecraft.
The Company Line (courtesy Psiphi.org):
[[9/12/97]] Rick Sternbach (Senior Illustrator/Techincal Consultant):
Jeri Taylor once joked that the Maquis are all below decks building new
shuttles as they're needed; we figure that shuttles can't be all that difficult
to manufacture, especially if you're carrying around spare shuttle warp
coils stacked like tires at a gas station. That's the only hard part, since
the
forging and layering of the coils is a nasty long process. The hull materials
and avionics are pretty easy, so you can replicate new parts, assuming
that you stop off for raw asteroidal frags and rare ores, etc. once in
a while.
[[9/29/97]] Brannon Braga:
Braga here. I just have to chime in and address this shuttlecraft issue.
As writers, we do not destroy shuttles out of cruel humor toward the fans.
Rather, it is our rationale that the Voyager crew can simply build more
of them. Or repair them. Etc. Shuttles are just a collection of steel and
conduits and technology, like any other part of the ship. They can build
them at will. No big deal.
Thanks for listening.
[[11/20/97]] Lolita Fatjo, quoted from Sasha German's "Farpoint" convention
report:
We replicate them. Yeah, that's the answer.
She
said they have simply lost track of the shuttles but are now keeping better
count
It was one of those things where we made a mistake.
[[7/3/98]] Bryan Fuller:
Shuttles are like doritos. Keep eating them and we'll make more.
The Lowdown:
The first issue that has to be addressed is whether Voyager had been doing away with shuttles all that frequently, or if it's just an exaggerated impression we got from the show. The Shuttlecraft Status page on the Coffee Nebula is one of a handful of sites that have kept track of Voyager's shuttle usage. Thirteen shuttles lost in the first five years of Voyager is pretty frequent, but at an average of roughly one casualty every ten episodes, it doesn't put it beyond the realm of the possibility that Voyager found the resources to build new ones.
How could they build new ones? Well, just because we didn't see them ever stopping by a totally friendly outpost that generously supplies them with some of the items they need doesn't mean that they never did so--uneventful incidents like that can remained off-camera. They also must have had a stock of spare parts available (that's how the Delta Flyer was put together), and the capability (though not always the resources) to replicate new parts. For resources, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that Voyager had some ore mining capabilities to get raw material that can be used in the replication process. And they probably salvaged as much as they could from shuttles that were damaged beyond repair. Regardless of where they come from, the parts are then assembled in some cargo bay or shuttle bay (like the Delta Flyer was), and presto! New shuttle. I figure Joe Carey (the chief engineer runner-up we saw so little of until he got offed in the seventh season) must have headed up the shuttle construction crew.
According to the Shuttlecraft Status Page, which quotes an item in the (non-canon) Voyager Entertainment Utility software, Voyager can hold at least five shuttlecraft in the shuttlebay simultaneously. If that's the maximum, we now have to include the Delta Flyer (and Neelix's ship) in that count.
RELATED TOPICS:
Disposable Crewmembers