Enterprise Class
From FEInfobase
| Enterprise-Class | |
| |
| Class Information | |
| Expected Hull Life |
100 years |
| Resupply Time |
10 years |
| Refit |
20 years |
| Category |
Heavy Enhanced Deterrence Explorer |
| Affiliation |
Starfleet |
| Dimensions | |
| Length |
688.4 meters |
| Width |
271 meters |
| Height: |
142 meters |
| Decks |
36 |
| Engines | |
| Warp reactor |
M/ARA ( Using a Trelinium Powered Core ) |
| Warp nacelles |
2 |
| Cruising speed | Warp 7.80 |
| Maximum speed |
Warp 9.980 |
| Emergency speed |
|
| Impulse generators |
2 |
| Defensive Systems | |
| Phasers | |
| Torpedo launchers |
|
| Photons |
500 |
| Quantum |
400 |
| Shields |
Multi Layered Shielding System (MLSS) |
| Hull |
|
| Tractor beams |
Type-XII ( Range 3.25 km ) |
| Personnel | |
| Officers |
310 |
| Enlisted |
730 |
| FMI/Sabre |
2 |
| Passengers |
295 |
| Auxiliary Craft | |
| Shuttle Bays |
3 |
| Shuttles | |
| Runabouts |
|
| Additional Information | |
| Systems |
|
| Built |
2 |
| [Source] | |
The Enterprise class was the first class of starship built with the most recent technological advances by the United Federation of Planets during the late 24th and early 25th centuries.
The Enterprise Development Project would be capable of virtually any mission and to become notable vessels of exploration, representing the Federation in matters of diplomacy, as well as defending it in situations of combat. It was one of the newest defensive technologies intended for use against the Borg threat since the developments of other "Anti-Borg starship projects.
The Enterprise class pushed the envelope as far as possible when it came to computer power, shields, armament, and systems capabilities. The first of the Enterprise class was the USS Enterprise-F commissioned in 2400. The second ship’s development started in 2403 to be called the USS Columbia, launched in early 2406.
History Development
The Enterprise class was due to enter service as the first of a new generation of multi-capable mission starships designed to help the Federation in its rebuilding and defence phase during the Borg War.
The initial design was drawn up after Starfleet saw the success of the Sovereign class ship. Sovereign Class ships had become noted for their impressive abilities since its prototype launch in the early 2370s. The production of Sovereign class starships was in high gear come 2380 and this class of ship was becoming replacement for many older classes of ships in the Federation space lanes.
Starfleet saw the class as the newest design which could help prepare the Federation for any more possible future conflicts or wars. In some respects they were right as when the Borg War started many Sovereign class vessels participated heavily in the large fleet assaults.
Starfleet realised the success of their engagements against the Borg was no longer down to the fact their fleet had been bred for years to fight the Collective but also how varied the Federation Fleet had become since it received strength from the fleets of the Klingon, Romulan, Cardassian, Dominion and other empires fighting the Borg. As these powers soon joined the Federation, Starfleet wanted to take advantage of this and incorporate all available technologies in to one ship.
The Enterprise class was designated as a heavy enhanced deterrence explorer starship. The ship was planned by the Starfleet Advanced Starship Design Bureau and received support most notable from the Romulan Star Empire and the Dominion during its development.
The ASDB wanted to make the Enterprise the most reliable, and durable starship it had conceived to date. It looked at three of its most popular and successful creations in starship design from the 24th century; the Intrepid, Sovereign and Luna class projects. These classes had received their popularity due to ships from each class, the Federation’s flagship the USS Enterprise-E (Sovereign class), the USS Voyager (Intrepid class) and USS Titan (Luna Class).
Voyager had made Starfleet re-examine the potential the Intrepid class had after it successfully travelled on a solo seven year journey on a bid to return home from the Delta Quadrant. The crew had learnt to adapt the ship to survive the harshness of not being near a Federation facility to receive repairs, supplies or refits. On the other hand the USS Enterprise-E had proven to Starfleet that larger, more combat oriented starships still had the ability to successfully accomplish non-tactical missions as well.
While the USS Titan was from the Luna Class which had received the nickname of being the "24th Century Constitution Class". The Titan had proven how successful the original aims of the Luna Class Project had been in designing a vessel for long-term multipurpose missions into uncharted space as it survived numerous missions outside of Federation claimed territory.
The Enterprise class was outfitted with the latest warp propulsion technology. It was the test bed for the "Warp Nine Plus Engine" created by a team at the Starfleet Research & Development Centre in Tokyo, Japan, Earth. This new engine was created to sustain warp nine (and higher speeds) for longer duration of time. The new engine created a narrowly-focused directed warp field that when initiated manipulates the fabric of subspace by creating an efficient asymmetrically field around the craft which causes the space within it to accelerate faster then any other warp drive. The warp drive had a high matter/antimatter flow through its reaction chamber.
The reaction had to be at a higher rate to sustain maximum warp speeds for longer, the reaction used the synthetic substance of Trelinium Crystals to be the catalyst for the more powerful matter/antimatter reaction. The warp coils of this new engine had to be designed to stay connected with the rest of the ship to prevent separation at high speeds. The Enterprise class’ nacelle housing had to be adjusted as simulations showed its raised nacelles above the saucer section couldn’t cope with the new speeds and duration. An improved balance was gained when technicians and designers placed the nacelles below the saucer section. The ship for an unusual reason (which only a few theorists could understand why) had the ability to sustain the speed adjustments. The ship could now sustain warp 9.99 for twenty hours.
Another new technology that the class would be outfitted with was the first ever Federation Cloaking Device. It was created by the Starfleet Corps of Engineers working closely with Romulan scientists. This collaboration helped both sides in creating another defence against the Borg. The combination of the latest cloaking research from the Star Empire as well as Starfleet’s attempt to improve Multi-Adaptive Shielding brought the existence of a cloaking device able to avoid all types of sensors the cloak's resonance frequency was constantly adjusting itself. The power was consumption was great and so the cloak had its own independent power source of a rechargeable fusion generator. The Enterprise class was the first ship fitted with such a device.
Vorta facilitators were ordered by their Dominion leaders to assist the Corps of Engineers to help in improving their Federation allies’ technology. One of the technologies that were enhanced on was transporter technology. Federation transporters had a maximum range of about 40,000 kilometres, with Dominion upgrades they were improved to over 80,000 kilometres. The Dominion also showed the Federation their ability to transport over light years and pass through most energy shields. This technology was also incorporated in to the Enterprise class however as this was only used on Dominion Starbases and their larger Dreadnought type ships when used a ship wide power drain of twenty six percent is experienced on the ship’s EPS grid. The use of the more powerful transporter technology is to be used only during an emergency or in a critical situation (e.g.: rescuing personnel or starship defence).
With the return of the USS Voyager in late 2377, Starfleet had the chance to review extensive amount of data the ship retrieved on new races they encountered. The main race the ship made contact with was the Borg. With liberating several drones, the Voyager crew were able to learn extensively on Borg technology. They used this knowledge to their advantage and created a new Astrometrics Mapping Suite using Borg Sensors. These enhancements were soon received throughout the entire fleet by 2380. However by 2390 further research was carried on the sensors capability and the sensors were once again upgraded. These new sensors were created and placed on reserve for the Enterprise class. Federation sub light propulsion technologies were also improved most notable impulse engines. Enterprise was designed to out fly and manoeuvre any ship, so with improved structural integrity fields Enterprise was outfitted with impulse thruster modules taken off from the project undertaken by the Voyager crew in 2375 when they built the Delta Flyer runabout which incorporated impulse thruster modules.
Through most of 2380 to 2390 Starfleet Tactical improved all offensive and defensive technologies with help from the new Federation members. Only by late 2395 did most of the fleet receive these systems, Enterprise class however was designed to be the test bed for all of these systems working in unison on one ship. Improvements were made to the Multi Layered Shielding System (normally referred to as MLSS). The Breen provided data in making type fifteen phaser banks better at cutting through enemy shielding based on their energy dampening technology. Improvements were made to torpedo launcher systems, allowing turret based launchers to rapidly fire at least eight rounds of quantum torpedoes per second. Further Dominion assistances with using the principals from their phased poloran based weapons allowed enhancements to transphasic and the construction of mark two hellfire torpedoes.
A late design idea was to fit the Enterprise Class with a weapons pod, Starfleet realised the first ship of the class was destined to be the fleets flagship and they would expect it to be the target of many attacks in defence of the Federation. The weapons pod increased the ships offensive weapons suit without forcing designers to remove other vital systems. The Enterprise Class also had one special element to its arsenal, the Counter-Defence System. The Counter-Defence System would help the ship in fighting large numbers of ships. It would give the ship a chance to retreat from a battle site; the vessel would ventilate theta radiation (the waste product of matter/antimatter) leaving a cloud of the toxic gas in the ship's wake. This was then followed by the launch of a modified spatial torpedo which would ignite the gas and encompass the attackers.
The Enterprise class also boasts state-of-the-art propulsion, cutting-edge scientific and tactical equipment, as well as being a test bed for experimental science tech not yet available on other classes. It is surely one of the most powerful Federation starships to date and in service.
Summary of Development
| 2395 | Design work begins after Borg War calms down. New M/ARA design is standardized for the Enterprise Class. Spaceframe design is approved and full specifications are forwarded to San Francisco for designations. USS Enterprise - F production begins with a projected 4 year turnover for the prototype ship. Torpedo turret design from Sovereign class is improved and installed. Saucer section nears 30% chassis completion. |
| 2396 | The Stardrive section nears chassis completion. Primary and secondary chassis's now at 100% completion. Computers are delivered for fitting work. |
| 2397 | Work continues on habitat and outer hull sections for USS Enterprise. Mid year computer cores are activated and ship functions begin to be transferred from station control to ship control. Type-XII phaser arrays installed. Weapons pod is finally attached to stardrive section. Construction for Enterprise is increased in fears of a possible invasion in to the Sol System. |
| 2398 | Computer system now operating at 75%. Warp core begins primary testing. New Ablative Armour designed is integrated to Enterprise Class. Antimatter regulation control is found to be outside acceptable levels. Primary magnetic containment malfunction found to be a problem. Stardrive section near completion with final attachment of navigational deflector array. Bridge module attached to Primary hull. Computer system fully self aware and umbilical from the station are cut as the ship become self sufficient. Enterprise fails from being launched during the Battle of Sol. During the Battle of Sol Admiral Tom Paris on board the USS Archer tractors Enterprise towards Mercury station. While docked at Mercury Station a full squadron of Dominion fighters are assigned to protect Enterprise. |
| 2399 | USS Archer tractors USS Enterprise back to San Francisco shipyards. Warp Core passes Review Three and is tested to 98% peak. Impulse systems pass Review Three and being autonomous low level power control. Secondary Back up Generators are shut down and become Auxiliary system control. Warp stress coating and final exterior markings and paint are applied to hull. |
| 2400 | USS Enterprise is launched from San Francisco shipyards. USS Enterprise is assigned as second starship to leave sol and begins deep space assessments and re-exploration based missions. On the January 1st 2400 the USS Enterprise - F is officially commissioned by Starfleet during a brief ceremony. Bridge plaque is put in pride of place and Captain Eden Enigma takes command of the Enterprise. |
| 2401 | USS Enterprise returns to Sol after one year of successful re-exploration. Starfleet re-assigns Captain Enigma to take command of Starfleet Temporal Investigations. Starfleet Commander In Chief Fleet Admiral Jean Luc Picard orders for Enterprise to receive upgrades that were not installed before its launch in 2400. New systems installed Type XV Phasers, a Trelinium Powered Warp Core, Impulse Thrusters and the improved Ablative Armour Type Two Generators. Enterprise is assigned to assist with the first Starfleet station based outside of the Sol system, Deep Space One located in the Briar Patch in Sector 441. Enterprise's impulse manifolds are modified to resist the 'Patch Effect', allowing the ship to exceed one third impulse in the Briar Patch. All new auxiliary craft compliment is attached to the ship. Lieutenant Commander Michael Johnson is temporally assigned as commanding officer. Lieutenant Commander Johnson is ordered by Admiral Tom Paris to take Enterprise to Deep Space One and transfer command to Captain Zack Marshall-Bennet. |
| 2402 | Official Two Year Shakedown cruise is complete and reviews begin on Enterprise class. Starfleet Corps of Engineering, Advanced Starship Design Bureau and Starfleet Tactical are handed the project to assess the potential of a second Enterprise class starship. A partial review is finished and Admiral Judith Marshall-Bennet; a keen supporter of the Enterprise class Development Project orders for a second ship to be developed over a four year project. The next Enterprise class starship is to be named USS Columbia NCC 2011-E. |
| 2403 | Starfleet Command gives command of the Columbia’s Development Project to Captain Rachel Hernandez, a descendent of Erika Hernandez the captain of the second Earth NX class starship named Columbia. Hernandez assembles her project group to begin possible improvements to the Enterprise class and develop the class further. The Columbia’s construction would not start until 2405. |
| 2405 | In late 2405, the Columbia's construction is finished and she begins a shakedown cruise around Sol. Under emergency conditions she is posted to Alpha Centauri to support stabilisation efforts in the system. |
| 2406 | The Columbia is officially commissioned, and is posted to Deep Space Five. Here she will represent Starfleet strength on the frontier, and be in a position to provide rapid response support to the Second Fleet. |
Additional Information:
Currently there are 2 in service
- USS Enterprise NCC 1701 - F
- Assigned to Starfleet Re-Exploration Initiative
- USS Columbia NCC 2011 - E
- Assigned to the Second Fleet