Excelsior class
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| Excelsior Class | |
|---|---|
| Category | Exploratroy Cruiser |
| Expected Duration | 70 Years |
| Time Between Resupply | 3 Years |
| Time Between Refit | 5 Years |
| Personnel | |
| Officers | 115 |
| Enlisted Crew | 450 |
| Marines | 96 |
| Passengers | 110 |
| Speed | |
| Cruising Velocity | Warp 6.3 |
| Maximum Velocity | Warp 8.9 |
| Emergency Velocity | Warp 9.4 (12 Hours) |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 467 Metres |
| Width | 185 Metres |
| Height | 100 Metres |
| Decks | 24 |
Description
One of the great successes of Starfleet, the Excelsior was, first and foremost, a failure. Transwarp had been the dream of Federation scientists since even before Cochrane's first warp flight, a theoretical possibility but, for all intents and purposes, a practical improbability. That was, until the Excelsior.
Built in the late 2200s, the Excelsior NX 2000 was a break from the norm in more than just one way. Under standard operating procedures, Starfleet should have invested time and effort into testing the transwarp technology through means other than the ship it would eventually be deployed on. Remote drones and soon to be retired starships would have been ideal for experimental operations and, for a time, were used extensively. However, when push came to shove, Starfleet was feeling adventurous... and desperate.
Relations with the Klingons, while nowhere near as inhospitable as during the 2260s, could not have been referred to as "friendly" by any stretch of the imagination. Indeed, each side clashed with the other almost weekly, albeit it primarily words rather than action. Past experience, however, had proven to the Federation the Klingon Empire's willingness to do away with words altogether in favour of combat. The fear that the Empire could soon entrust its fate to the sword prompted an immediate response.
The Excelsior was the result. At first intended as a new heavy cruiser, a superior replacement for the long-serving Constitution class, it was designed with equal longevity, capability and sturdiness in mind. The transwarp factor was not an original design intention for the engineering teams but was swiftly included in the early plans. Starfleet was told that transwarp could work; simulations proved the theory. Unfortunately, up until then the theory could not be tested practically, as no current starship had the power generation capacity or design characteristics - sleekness, size and strength - to satisfy the presumed minimum requirements of the new technology. In the argument between reasoned safety and fearful urgency, the latter won out. Transwarp technology became the Excelsior's main propulsion system.
As history has shown, this technology failed, at least in the hands of the Federation. While the Excelsior, as a starship, surpassed all requirements placed on it - weaponry, survivability, scientific capability, range and so on - it could not break the transwarp barrier. Engineers ran its warp core beyond full power, realigned the warp coils, adjusted the plasma injectors, increased reactant flows, but all to no avail. Indeed, irrespective of the fact that the Excelsior could sustain power output levels far in excess of the Constitution, its transwarp engines could not even break the warp barrier. It was just not possible. The reasons for this were only beginning to be glimpsed in the late 24th century.
In its role as the "Great Experiment", the Excelsior was an unmitigated failure. In its role as the premier starship of the late 2200s, it was unmatched. No Starfleet vessel could approach it on any level, pound for pound it cost as much in resources to build as the Constitution - thanks to the modular engineering techniques newly revamped to deal with larger vessels - and, on the frontlines, it was a more than competent strong fist and caring hand. The Excelsior has had such a profound and lasting impact on Starfleet that the class currently remains in service in huge numbers, outdistancing any other heavy cruiser types built by Starfleet at the time.
Even in the late 24th century the Excelsior remains one of Starfleet's largest starships, a trend that is only now being reversed with the introduction of relative gargantuan creations like the Excalibur, the Galaxy, the Ambassador and even the Nebula. Starfleet has historically availed of its size by equipping it with advanced technologies, ranging from sensors to weapons.
Due to increased tensions in the early to mid 2370s, Starfleet began refitting its Excelsior fleet with modern tactical systems. Its phasers were increased in power, as were its shields, while its torpedo armament expanded to include the latest advancement in projectile technology, the quantum torpedo.
The Excelsior carries a wide variety of craft. As an exploratory cruiser, a type of vessel designed to be independent, flexible, tough and exploration-oriented, it must be equipped with enough support craft to allow the ship's crew to perform their duties. As such, it carries multiple shuttles, runabouts, a transport and - a consequence of the recent unsettled times - fighters.
A state of the art capital ship with impressive size, speed and tactical characteristics, the Excelsior class is well suited for a number of mission roles. Specialising in emergency response and long range exploration, the Excelsior also distinguishes itself through superior firepower and the ability to project force into neighbouring sectors. It served as the mainline fleet vessel for Starfleet after the retirement of the Constitution class and before the wide scale use of modern starships such as the Ambassador class. It frequently operates as a command and control vessel, dictating fleet actions. A number of scientific laboratories and the ability to launch long range probes also make the class viable for exploration and scientific missions.
Original Excelsior class ships have a mission profile of up to four years, with major refits and/or overhauls on a 22 year basis. These exceptional endurance numbers allowed the Excelsior to become the backbone of Starfleet in both the 23rd and 24th centuries.
Some of the famous Excelsior class Starships in service are:
- USS Valley Forge: Fought at Chin'toka system
- USS London: Commanded by Thelek Uvar, which prevented a civil war on a new Federation member planet
- USS Potemkin: Discovered the Newton III rogue planet and led the first extensive expedition into interphasic space.
Auxiliary Craft
Shuttlebays: 3
Fighters
Runabouts
Shuttles
- Type 11 Shuttle: 1
- Type 6 Shuttle: 4
- Type 9 Shuttle: 2
Transports
Armament
Defensive Systems
Phasers
Shielding Systems
Torpedoes
- Burst-Fire Torpedo Launcher: 4
- Quantum Torpedoes: 152
- Photon Torpedoes: 304
- Polaron Torpedoes: 24
- Tri-Cobalt Devices: 12
Deck Listing
| Deck | Items |
|---|---|
| Deck 1 | Bridge, Captain's Ready Room, Briefing Room |
| Deck 2 | Junior and Senior Officer's Quarters, VIP/Guest Quarters, Holosuite 1, VIP Dining Room, Main Communications Array |
| Deck 3 | Officers' Quarters, Officers' Mess, Holosuites 2 & 3, Upper Impulse Assembly, Main Shield Generators |
| Deck 4 | NCO Quarters, Enlisted Crew Mess, Galley, Lower Impulse Assembly, Fusion Reactors 1-4, Impulse Engines, Transporter Room 1 |
| Deck 5 | Main Phaser and Fire Control, Auxiliary Control Room and Support, Engineering Support, Deuterium Storage, Fusion Reactors 5-8, Impulse Engines |
| Deck 6 | Primary Life Support Systems, Primary Computer Core Control, Holodecks 1 and 2, Deuterium Feed Conduits, Deuterium Injectors |
| Deck 7 | Cargo Bays 1 & 2, Cargo Transporters 1 & 2, Sickbay, Chief Medical Officer's Office, Primary Science Labs, Counsellor's Office, Main Computer Cores P/S (Level 1), Deuterium Feed Conduits |
| Deck 8 | Main Computer Cores P/S (Level 2), Junior Officers and Crew Quarters, Main Lounge, Secondary Science Labs, Deuterium Feed Conduits, Lateral Sensors |
| Deck 9 | Main Sensor Array, Interconnecting Dorsal/Intermix Shaft/Turbolifts, Armoury, Holding Cells, Chief Tactical Officer's Office, Deuterium Feed Conduits, Secondary Sensor Array |
| Deck 10 | Brig, Transporter Room 2, Interconnecting Dorsal/Intermix Shaft/Turbolifts, Deuterium Storage |
| Deck 11 | Secondary Shuttlebay (Upper), Auxiliary Craft Maintenance 1, Cargo Bays 3-6, Cargo Transporter 3, Upper Engineering Support Area, Machine Shop, Deuterium Storage, Nacelle Power Transfer Assembly |
| Decks 12 | Secondary Shuttlebay (Lower), Main Engineering, M/ARA Reaction Assembly, Transporter Room 3, Cargo Transporter 4, Nacelle Power Transfer Assembly, Nacelle Personnel Conduit |
| Deck 13 | Living Quarters, Primary Systems Support Compartment, Secondary Computer Core (Level 1), Emergency Batteries, Enlisted Quarters, Secondary Communications Array |
| Deck 14 | Forward Torpedo Launchers, Torpedo Magazines, Cargo Bays 7-9, Cargo Transporter 5, Aft Tractor Emitter, Secondary Computer Core (Level 2), Reserve Deuterium Storage |
| Deck 15 | Auxiliary Deflector Control, Aft Phaser and Torpedo Weapon Control, Aft Torpedo Launcher, Torpedo Magazine, Antimatter Injectors, Secondary Computer Core (Level 3), Gravimetric Polaron Generators |
| Decks 16 | Maintenance Bay 1, Emergency Transporter Rooms 1 & 2, Enlisted Quarters |
| Deck 17 | Main Shuttlebay (Upper), Stellar Cartography, Enlisted Quarters, Recreation Deck/Zero-G Gymnasium, Crew Lounge |
| Deck 18 | Main Shuttlebay (Middle), Deflector Control, Main Navigational deflector, Primary and Emergency Deflector Dish Graviton Polarity Generators, Subspace Field Distortion Generators |
| Decks 19 | Main Shuttlebay (Lower), Shuttle Maintenance 2, Shuttle Storage, Cargo Transporter 6, Living Quarters |
| Deck 20 | Maintenance Bay 2, Living Quarters, Tertiary Multi-purpose Laboratories, Emergency Transporter Rooms 3 & 4 |
| Deck 21 | Emergency Fusion Power Generators 1 & 2, Environmental System Controls, Living Quarters |
| Decks 22 | Emergency Fusion Power Generators 3 & 4, Emergency Batteries, Waste Reclamation, Secondary Shield Generators |
| Decks 23 | Antimatter Storage Tanks, Antimatter Fill Port, Emergency Gravimetric Polaron Generators |
| Decks 24 | Antimatter Generator, Tractor beam Generator, Main Tractor Beam Assembly |
| Starfleet Starship Classes (Active) | |
| Research Bases | Argus class - Lowell class |
| Starbases | Nor class - Regula class - Stardock class |
| Cruisers | Ambassador class - Galaxy class - Nebula class - Prometheus class - Sovereign class |
| Light Cruisers | Akira class - Cheyenne class - Excelsior class - Intrepid class - Luna class - Normandy class - Norway class |
| Research Vessels | Nova class - Olympic class - Oberth class |
| Escorts | Centaur class - Defiant class - Miranda class - New Orleans class - Sabre class - Steamrunner class |