Excelsior class starship

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The USS Excelsior (NCC-2000), an Excelsior class starship.

In the Star Trek fictional universe, the Excelsior class is a very common type of starship used by Starfleet from the 2280s through at least ninety years later. The pathfinder, the USS Excelsior (NX-2000), was used as a testbed for transwarp, a new and more efficient variety of warp travel. Although the transwarp project may have been a failure, the Excelsior class design was successful and was put into mass production, serving for decades in distinguished service alongside the Miranda class starship as the backbone of Starfleet. In the 2370s, the Excelsior class, through periodic refits, remains a relevant force in space, with such features as type-ten phaser emitters, quantum torpedoes, and a top speed of warp 9.5.

The basic configuration of an Excelsior class vessel is similar to that of the earlier Constitution class: at the forefront, a circular primary hull with a bridge at the center of the dorsal side, a sensor dome at the bottom of the ventral, and impulse engines at the aft end. The lifeboats, officers' quarters and sensor platforms are contained in the saucer. The saucer is attached to a backward-angled neck extending downward from the aft of the ventral side to a secondary hull, roughly tubular with a flat platform on the dorsal side; the hull has a navigational deflector at the forefront and a shuttlebay at the aft. Two warp nacelles are above the secondary hull, slightly above the altitude of the primary hull, supported by pylons that attach to a bulge on the top of the secondary hull, run to the sides, and go upward from an angle (slightly less than 90°) to the nacelles. A semi-circular cargo bay lies at the bottom of the secondary hull, designed for shuttlecraft and other cargo vessels.

A different version of the class has been seen in the Enterprise-B and Lakota, usually considered a refit, though apparently not intended to be applied to all Excelsior class vessels as standard versions are still seen eighty years after the refit's first appearance. The most notable external differences are two extensions running aftward out of the saucer, one port and one starboard of the impulse system, likely either shuttlebays or additional impulse engines, and two raised areas on the front of the engineering hull on either side of the deflector dish.

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The USS Centaur (NCC-42043), an Excelsior class variant.

In addition to the Excelsior class ships listed below, there exist several Excelsior class variants. The first is the USS Centaur (NCC-42043), named for the centaur, a hybrid creature. The Centaur variant is composed of an Excelsior saucer and an enlarged Miranda class torpedo pod attached to the bottom with its support pylons supporting two nacelles. It is unknown if further ships of this type exist. The second is similar, with the only notable difference in design being a third nacelle over the top of the saucer, supported by two backward-angled pylons, each running upward from one side of the saucer. Another variety seen is composed of a saucer over an Excelsior engineering hull with the shuttlebay moved to the forefront of the top of the hull where the neck standardly attaches, and the two hulls connected by a thin, forward-angled neck; two nacelles run alongside, connected to the ship by two sets of pylons, one set large and attaching to the underside of the saucer and the other thin and ribbed widthwise attaching to the engineering section. The only known ships of this type (which some fanon materials have labelled as a troop transport for Starfleet marines and given the designation "Shelley class", a reference to Frankenstein author Mary Shelley) are the USS Curry (NCC-45617) and the Raging Queen (NCC-42284), with no "USS". However, the Raging Queen is likely not intended to be considered canon, its name being a reference to a Saturday Night Live skit. Whether any of these variants are new classes or merely anomalous inventions slapped together to face the Dominion threat is unknown.

In real life, the Excelsior class was designed by Bill George at ILM for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and the Enterprise-B refit was designed by John Eaves for Star Trek: Generations.

Specifications

These specifications are from Star Trek Technical Manuals and other official but non-canon sources. Weapons counts have been determined by observing on-screen footage as well as examining pictures of official models. The canonicity of this method is in dispute.

Known Excelsior class vessels


Star Trek starship classes

Starfleet
List of Starfleet ship classes
Akira | Ambassador | Constellation | Constitution | Danube | Defiant | Excelsior | Galaxy | Intrepid
Miranda | Nebula | Nova | Oberth | Olympic | Prometheus | Sovereign | Steamrunner | Wells
NX class†

Klingon Empire
Klingon starships

Borg Collective
Borg starships

Romulan Star Empire
Romulan starships

The Jem'Hadar
Attack ship | Battlecruiser

Cardassian Union
Cardassian starships

Ferengi Alliance
D'Kora

Suliban Cabal
Suliban cell ship

Andorian Imperial Guard
Kumari

The Xindi
Reptilian ship | Insectoid ship

† – Pre-Federation

External links

See also: Excelsior class starship, Admiral Owen Paris, Akira class starship, Al-Batani, Altitude, Ambassador class starship, Andorian, Antimatter, Battle of Wolf 359