Origins: The first Constellation-class ship seen, the Stargazer, was originally planned to be a Constitution-class ship, allowing the visual effects staff of Star Trek: The Next Generation to make use of the existing movie USS Enterprise-A model. Actually, the producers did not make the decision to build a new, full-scale filming, or studio model, of the Stargazer until after the episode was filmed with both Wil Wheaton and LeVar Burton calling it a Constitution. In fact, the only reason the ships class was named Constellation was that of how similar it sounded to Consitution, allowing for an easy dub-over for Wil and LeVar during post-production.
Design: What makes this ship so popular is also what makes it so unique, it was the first Starfleet vessel to be seen with four warp nacelles. Two would be connected sideways by a slim beam which then formed a 'T' with another beam running upwards from the hull. This was mirrored on the flipside as well. Another notable feature is the thickness of the saucer section. All along the sides of the saucer section about a dozen hanger bays can be seen with one main hanger bay at the front of the ship, almost a half of the ship's interior was dedicated to hanger space. This was the fundamental design idea behind the Constellation, the ship was often delegated to repair duties as it had a massive compliment of worker bees and other shuttlecraft. is class also mounted two impulse engine units in a vertical orientation between the nacelles in line with the saucer?
Not altering the top sublight speed of the class, these redundant units--when used in concert with each other--gave the ship a huge advantage in acceleration and maneuverability. The Constellations also mounted twin Constitution-style photon decks at the T-joints of each nacelle assembly, above and below the level of the saucer. This gave the Constellation class four forward photon tubes, each capable of firing a two torpedo spread for a very respectable total salvo of eight torpedoes. The underside of the Constellation class saucer featured many fairings that marred her otherwise clean lines. These pallets contained special sensor equipment that befitted her role as a deep-space explorer, most of which could be exchanged for mission specific equipment at a starbase, and could be accessed from the deck above.
Type: Cruiser
Service period: 2280s-25th century
Decks: 15
Crew: 535, with an unknown evac limit.
Warp: 9
Sublight: 4 sublight engines connected to the sides of the saucer at the rear of the ship.
Development History: The Constellation-class starship was named in memory of the original USS Constellation, which was commanded by Commodore Matthew Decker and lost in battle against a Preserver created doomsday machine in 2267. The first ship of this class, the USS Constellation NX-1974, was commissioned under experimental status in the year 2275. The Constellation was soon followed by the USS Sempach and the USS Speedwell, with construction beginning soon thereafter on the USS Stargazer and the USS Hathaway. These ships were among the mainstay of Starfleet's exploratory and defence efforts through the early part of the 24th century, some commanded by the same captain for up to twenty years or more.
By the 2330s, construction of new Constellation-class vessels was limited to two-a-year as new starship designs, such as the Ambassador-class, came into service. These "old-style" vessels were on the verge of being phased out of front-line service in the 2360s, regarded as being "overworked and underpowered". Many had already been entirely decommissioned and rendered "warp inactive", which included removing all antimatter but did not include removing the warp core. Those that were still in service in the 2360s and 2370s were engaged in support roles within the Fleet, such as transport duties and search and rescue missions. (TNG episodes: "Elementary, Dear Data", "Peak Performance"; DS9 episodes: "The Abandoned", "Waltz")
My Thoughts: I Think the Constellation-class is a very unique and interesting ship. I spent about 3 days researching the vessel and I never actually found an explanation as to why there are four warp nacelles, you might think that it made the ship faster, well no, that's the Warp Cores job. The Warp Nacelles create a bubble around the ship which allows it to go into warp... maybe it creates a stronger warp field... who knows, its still a fantastic ship.
One key aspect that I like is its diversity, it is designed to be a long-range, self-sufficient cruiser that can last years without ever docking at a Starbase, this gives it a real federation feel to it as it sticks to the ideals of exploration and discovery. I also think that this ship is popular because Captain Picard's first command was a Constellation class, the Stargazer. The whole episode it's in during TNG is a great way to show off one of the main characters backstories.
Length: 310 meters
Width/beam: 175 meters
Height: 86 meters
6 dual emitter phaser banks: Phaser array is a devastating weapon comprised of an arrangement of phaser emitters located in strategic areas of a starship, space station, or other vessels. In the 23rd century, phaser arrays had smaller numbers of emitters and were commonly referred to as phaser banks. By the 24th century, Starfleet began to fit its vessels and facilities with phaser arrays that contained much larger numbers of emitters. The arrays aboard a Galaxy-class starship could channel vast energy in a short time frame, capable of cutting through a mile of solid granite in seconds.
4 Photon Torpedo Launchers: The photon torpedo used shaped charges of antimatter that, when they came in contact with conventional matter or hard energy barriers, released massive amounts of gamma-ray photons, hence the weapon's name. They were developed in part due to the requirement for a weapon, which unlike phasers, could be used at faster than light speeds which made the Photon torpedo very unique, useful and deadly. The Akira had the unique trait of having a 360 degrees arc of torpedo fire while still having a predominantly forward facing array. This ship could unleash a massive barrage of torpedo fire from the front. The weapon rack alone carried 13 torpedo launchers (Including 2 quantum) while the body housed the other 6. And had a devastating 375 torpedoes, meaning it has a higher ammunition count than the dedicated torpedo ship the Steamrunner class.
Deflector Shields: Most starships are fitted with deflector shields, often projected from a deflector dish, to protect them from particle impacts which, particularly at high velocities, could cause huge amounts of damage. While basic deflectors and deflector beams could provide minimal protection from weapons fire and basic mishaps, the majority of advanced starships were also fitted with more powerful shielding which could be activated in tactical situations. However, these shields were sufficiently powerful that they also blocked out transporter beams. Shields could be configured in two forms; ellipsoid form shielding, common in Federation starships in the 24th century, which projected a shield bubble around a starship; or contour-conforming shielding which was projected much closer to the ship's hull, providing more specifically localized protection. Some shielding systems also allowed shielding over specific areas of a ship to be activated or deactivated to provide protection for a specific area only and presumably reduce power consumption not protecting the entire hull.
Auxiliary craft:
- 2 Federation shuttlecraft: Used for any number of missions but rarely combat, most likely runabouts, during wartime they would be used as bombers once torpedo rollbars had been installed.
- Worker Bees: A Workbee is a type of small utility craft which is used throughout the Federation. The name, sometimes split into two words, Work Bee, is derived from the craft's small size and the distinctive yellow colour which most 'bees were painted. They are also referred to as cargo management units.
- 40 fighters: most likely the famed Peregrin-class of the Dominion war. Fighters would be used as small attack craft that would harass larger targets or engage in dogfights with other fighters.
- 5 shuttlepods: Shuttlepods are small auxiliary craft that is attached to starships and starbases. They are often smaller than shuttlecraft and originally were mainly used for short-range travel with no warp drive. By the 24th century, however, advances in warp technology permitted some warp capability in craft as small as a shuttlepod.
Bridge:
Hathaway-type (Original): The Hathaway-type bridge had an unusual arrangement, with the front of the bridge relatively wide open and the primary stations cramped in the rear of the bridge. The helm and navigation stations were located on the extreme port and starboard sides of the ship with the captain's chair near the centre of the bridge. This gave the captain an unobstructed view of the viewscreen located at the front of the bridge. Next to the captain's chair, set less than a meter back and off to the right, was the first officer's chair with a console. Directly behind the command chairs was the tactical station, with the engineering station to the far rear (on the port side) and science station to the far rear (starboard side). In front of the engineering, station was an entryway to the bridge entryway.
Refit-type: In the front was the viewscreen, with side-by-side helm and navigator consoles, a feature that noticeably contrasts that of the Hathaway-type. The captain's chair was directly aft of the aforementioned stations; no accommodations were present for the first officer in this type. At the rear of the bridge, a tactical station was found on the far left with monitors along the back wall behind the captain's chair, with a second primary station located on the opposite side of the bridge. The primary stations were attached to the rear wall of the bridge; support railing partially enclosed that section from the front of the bridge. On either side of the rear wall monitors and between either primary station were two turbolifts. Along the port wall, directly to the left of the captain's chair and between the tactical station and the viewscreen, was the entryway to the captain's ready room.
USS Tubman, NCC-1757
Commision: 2368-???
Interesting facts: In 2366, the Tubman was assigned to visit Mariposa, to follow up on the actions taken there by the crew of the USS Enterprise a year earlier. However, the leaders of the newly formed United Ficus Colony did not welcome these visitors. By 2368, the Tubman-B was reassigned as a training vessel.
USS Constellation, NX-1971 and later NCC-1974
Commision: 2284-2374
Interesting facts: Prototype and namesake for the class.
USS Andromeda, NCC-2505
Commision: 2289-2307
Interesting facts: The USS Andromeda was found adrift 11 years after it went missing, no evidence of an attack was found and the entire crew was missing.
USS Ceres, NCC-2513
Commision: 2320s-2355
Interesting facts: In 2355, the Ceres was the closest vessel to the Maxia Zeta star system when a distress signal was sent about by the survivors of the USS Stargazer. After recovering them and offering medical treatment to the worst injured, the Ceres transported them to Starbase 32.
USS Antares, NCC-2514
Commision: 2300s-2333
Interesting facts: In 2333, the Antares was under the command of Captain Avul Vayishra. The Antares was sent to help the USS Stargazer with the USS Grissom and the USS Reliant in chasing down the interstellar criminal known as "the White Wolf". A few months later, the Antares was the next stop of Admiral Arlen McAteer's tour of the vessels under his command after visiting the Stargazer.
USS Pisces, NCC-2515
Commision: 2373-2378
Interesting facts: In 2358, the Pisces began a seven-year exploration mission. Linguist Bart Faulwell enlisted in Starfleet specifically so that he could be on this mission. During this period, the Pisces encountered several new species in first contact situations including one that was on its way to joining the Federation as of 2375.
USS Hathaway, NCC-2593
Commision: 2285-2368
Interesting facts: By the 2360s decade, the Hathaway had been decommissioned. In 2365, the Hathaway was briefly reactivated and towed into an orbit of Braslota IV in the Braslota system for a Starfleet battle simulation, in which Commander William T. Riker commanded the obsolete Hathaway against the state-of-the-art Galaxy-class USS Enterprise-D. Although the Hathaway ran on minimum power, had only a few shards of dilithium, and no antimatter fuel, Riker's away team managed to reactivate the ship and place it insufficient condition for simulated combat in only 48 hours.
USS Stargazer, NCC-2893
Commision: 2280s-2364
Interesting facts: During their first mission, they encountered activity on the Romulan Neutral Zone when a group of Romulan starships began attacking an unidentified Vulcan ship. Whilst investigating the incident, a planet was destroyed through unknown means, crippling the Stargazer and leaving Captain Ruhalter critically wounded. The next high ranking officer, Jean-Luc Picard, took command of the ship during the encounter. Ruhalter died of his injuries, and when the ship returned to Starbase 61, Picard was given the command, a position he would hold for the next 22 years. In 2355 the Stargazer was in the Maxia Zeta star system. Also in the star system was the Ferengi scout Seventy-Fifth Rule, commanded by Flax, son of DaiMon Bok. Upon encountering the Stargazer, Flax launched an unprovoked attack on the Stargazer. During the course of the battle, the Stargazer was severely damaged. Captain Picard ordered his helm to obtain a bearing on the attacking vessel, and upon receiving that bearing ordered his ship to jump into high warp for several seconds.
He then ordered the ship to come to a full stop near the unknown ship. As a result, the Stargazer briefly appeared to be in two places at once - and the Seventy-Fifth Rule fired where the Stargazer had been. The Stargazer fired phasers and six photon torpedoes at the ship, which exploded. Afterwards, Captain Picard decided to abandon the Stargazer, which was on fire and losing power. The survivors of the battle drifted in shuttlecraft for weeks before being picked up. Upon his return to the Federation, Captain Picard was court-martialed for the loss of the Stargazer but was ultimately acquitted. The desperate maneuver Picard used at the battle would come to be known as the Picard Maneuver.
This concludes the first instalment of the 23rd highlights, but what's to come next?
Roster: Constellation, Miranda, Exelsior or Constitution.
What are your thoughts on the Constellation? Leave your opinion in the comments.
Until next time,
Live Long and Prosper!
WRITTEN BY KaiserKirk
EDITED BY Three of Seven - rena.hobden@ufplanets.com