Post by Admiral Vanessa A Yates on Apr 16, 2009 16:23:54 GMT -5
U.S.S. AURORA NCC-72414
The Nova class was designed as a modern replacement for the long serving Oberth class science vessel. The requirement called for a ship capable of making relatively short duration missions; Starfleet intended to use these ships in the large unexplored areas between Federation controlled space, missions which would typically be staged out of Starbases and last for a few months up to a year at most.
The design of the Nova class vessel was based on the Defiant pathfinder ship.5 This ship was of the right size and employed the latest warp field/hull geometry and propulsion technology. Starfleet replaced the warp core with a far less powerful version, reducing the top speed to Warp 8.2 Running the same nacelle design at much lower power greatly extended the operating life of the warp coils, reducing the ships refit schedule and making it easier to operate. The heavy weaponry was also removed, creating extra space for sensor arrays and scientific labs.
Originally, the Nova designation was intended to be assigned to the replacement for the Galaxy class Explorers.5 However, the Galaxy class went into high level production as a battleship in the run up to the Dominion war.6 After the war, many of these ships continued in service as fully fleshed out Explorers, while others were retired. It quickly became clear that Starfleet would have a ready supply of large space frames on hand for far longer than originally envisaged. Additionally, the entry into service of the Sovereign class introduced a new level of high technology to the fleet. Both factors reduced the need for a galaxy replacement significantly, and so the Nova development project was quietly dropped. With the name now available again, Starfleet chose to assign it to the new science ship.
One of the first group of Nova class vessels - the USS Equinox - vanished shortly after launching. It was thought to have been lost, but was later discovered by Voyager to have been dragged to the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker. The Equinox fared rather worse than Voyager in its attempts to get home; with its lower speed the Equinox faced a journey of over a hundred and eighty years in a vessel designed to operate for no more than twelve months between refits. Unfortunately, the crew discovered that the bodies of a trans-dimensional alien species could be processed to produce a powerful form of fuel, greatly increasing the ships top speed. Captain Ransom began capturing and murdering the aliens, in direct violation of both the Prime Directive and Starfleet ethics. The aliens fought back, killing many of the Equinox crew.
When Voyager encountered the Equinox they quickly realised what Ransom had done. Captain Janeway attempted to imprison the crew but they escaped, leaving Voyager under attack by the aliens. The ship survived the attack, and was able to pursue and capture most of the remaining Equinox crew. The aliens attacked the ship again, killing the remaining crew and destroying the ship.2
Construction of the Nova class was suspended shortly before the Dominion war in favour of more combat capable vessels. Now that the war is over, construction is likely to be resumed within the next year or so.
In 2377, most Novas began to be uprated. The newer class M warp core produced more power to extend thier range, and given them the ability to perform multiple year missions. With the return of Voyager in 2378. Ablative armor was added to strengthen the hull. Addition holo emitters, and the sddition of Holo suites were added to the design, By 2380, the Nova class was reclassified as a Deep space explorer. Ideally a science vessel, it now was armed with photon, and Quantum torpedoes, And has a maximum spped of warp 9.75.
Affiliation : Federation
Type : Science Vessel
Unit Run :
NCC 723811 USS Equinox - Destroyed
NCC 73515 USS Nova - Active
NCC 76277 USS Expedition - Destroyed
NCC-73520 USS Eclipse
NCC-72414 USS Aurora
plus 126 others built in total. 2 have been lost in all.
Commissioned : 2369 - 2370, 2377-, class remains in service
Dimensions : Length : 165 m
Beam : 62 m
Height : 34 m
Decks : 8
Mass : 127,000 metric tons
Crew : 782
Armament : 11 x Type VIII phaser arrays, total output 6,000 TeraWatts
2 x Photon/Quantum torpedo tube with 75 rounds of each
Defence Systems : Standard shield system, total capacity 688,500 TeraJoules
Heavy Duranium/Tritanium Double hull plus 20 cm Ablative armour.12
High level Structural Integrity Field
Warp Speeds
(TNG scale) : Normal Cruise : 6
Maximum Cruise : 9.75 for 6 hours
Strength Indices :
(Galaxy class = 1,000) Beam Firepower : 120
Torpedo Firepower : 2,150
Weapon Range and Accuracy : 605
Shield Strength : 750
Hull Armour : 3400
Speed : 850
Combat Manoeuvrability : 9,200
Overall Strength Index : 900
Diplomatic Capability : 1
Expected Hull Life : 120
Refit Cycle : Minor : 1 year
Standard : 2 years
Major : 6 years
