Intrepid type escape pod

The Intrepid-type escape pod was a type of escape pod used aboard and  starships in the late 24th century. In the event of a ship-wide catastrophe, the pods could be launched as a last resort to save the crew. Once deployed, the pods were vulnerable to attack or becoming engulfed in the destruction of the parent ship. As in other types of Starfleet escape craft, the pods were equipped with thrusters, providing some chance of fleeing the field of combat. However, without warp drive, survivors were reliant on larger ships for ultimate rescue.

Intrepid-class
Aboard Intrepid-class starships, the pods were stowed beneath individual hatches, which were raised in order for the pods to be launched. The pods could then return and be stowed again, if necessary.

In 2373, Kazon aboard the USS Voyager used the ship's escape pods to flee, after a failed takeover of the vessel. 

In 2377, an escape pod was used by a modified hologram of Lieutenant Reginald Barclay, while attempting to capture Seven of Nine for a group of Ferengi who were conspiring to steal her nanoprobes. 

Later that year, escape pods were used as weapons. While trying to fend off a Quarren attack, The Doctor as the ECH ejected three escape pods which actually contained photon torpedoes. When the Quarren ships tractored them in, they were detonated, and the Quarren ships were disabled. 

In an alternate timeline, the crew of Voyager'' disbanded in escape pods, hoping to evade the Krenim Imperium in the smaller craft. The timeline ceased to exist with the destruction of the Krenim timeship.''

Defiant-class
In 2374, following a disastrous attack on a Jem'Hadar battleship, the crew of the USS Valiant (NCC-74210) used these pods to escape the ship. A year later, escape pods were used to flee a second Defiant-class starship, the prototype USS Defiant (2370), upon its destruction at the hands of the Breen. 

Aboard Defiant-class starships, the pods were launched from specialized bays beneath retractable sections of hull plating. These sections were spaced about the ship, providing access for as many crew members as possible.

Background information
According to the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual, the USS Defiant carried twenty-six of these pods, which were six-person craft capable of sustaining survivors for up to eight months. Eight-person versions were also said to exist, although it is unclear whether these were supposed to have been seen on-screen. Both types were equipped with impulse microthrusters and emergency subspace comm systems.

In the Star Trek: Voyager Technical Manual, the USS Voyager is said to have thirty-six escape pods, each capable of comfortably housing a maximum of six people. 

There appears to be at least one phaser strip on the outer hull of the pod.

Apocrypha
In the DS9-based computer game The Fallen, escape pods of this type were used aboard the USS Ulysses. They were also seen used aboard another Miranda-class vessel, USS Leonov, in the Ships of the Line calendar. Neither of these sources is considered canon.