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Excelsior class
| Starship Class Data | |
| |
| Name | Excelsior Class |
| Type | Heavy Cruiser |
| Role | Explorer (Original Role), Diplomatic Carrier (Current) |
| Produced | 2285-2399 |
| Affiliation | Starfleet |
| TechStatus | Star Trek Canon |
| Contributor | {{{contributor}}} |
The Excelsior Class is probably the most successful class of starship to ever be produced by Starfleet. Having first been produced in the 2280s, newly recommissioned Excelsior Class vessels were still being brought into service as late as 2399, meaning they will be a staple of the fleet for many years to come.
| Table of contents |
History
During the mid 23rd century the Constitution class heavy cruiser was the staple of Starfleet's frontline vessels. However, with advances in technology both within the Federation and within the other powers of known space it was clear that a more advanced starship design would be required to lead Starfleet into the 24th century.
The Excelsior class program was born to create a replacement for the Constitution class as the frontline explorer and deterrant vessel of Starfleet. The original concept was to outfit this new class with a more advanced FTL propulsion system as well as being larger, more powerful and more resilient.
In 2285 the USS Excelsior (NX-2000), the prototype vessel for the class was ready to launch and to put the new transwarp technology it housed to the test. However, on its first trial the ship failed to even reach warp speeds and subsequent trials proved the technology had too many problems associated with it to be truly effective.
Still in need of a new frontline class and pleased with the function of other systems on board the Excelsior, Starfleet Command decided to have the ship outfitted with a standard warp drive and to put it into service under the new registry of NCC-2000.
During the early 24th century the Excelsior class was still being built in great numbers, the design of the ship made it very easy to swap out components and to upgrade the ships already in service meaning that the Excelsior could easily compete with new designs whilst being far more cost effective.
Although building of the class was reduced in the mid 24th century new security concerns in the 2360s meant it went back into production again with highly uprated offensive and defensive systems. The testbed of these uprated modifications, the USS Lakota gave its name to this new generation of Excelsior class ships, being referred to as the Lakota Refit.
Again the modified Excelsior class ships were extremely successful, proving of great value to the Federation during the Dominion war. They were also a very cost effective solution to rebuilding the number of ships in the fleet following the losses that Starfleet suffered at the hands of the Dominion.
The final Excelsior class (Lakota Refit) starship was produced in 2399 at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards but the class will still be a visible part of Starfleet for many years to come, with no current plans to take the class out of service in the foreseeable future.
Today the remaining Excelsior class vessels, of which there are many, serve three primary functions. The few surviving original vessels serve as Diplomatic Carriers while the standard refit class still serves as a science and exploration vessel. The Lokota refit on the other hand is still capable of keeping pace with many challenges and serves as a patrol cruiser along the more peaceful borders.
Technical Summary
The following technical information is the standard baseline for the Excelsior class including any fleet wide upgrades that have occured since it first was developed. Many starships will have slightly different configurations due to non-standard upgrades, refits or specific mission profiles.
| Spaceframe | |
| Length | 467m |
| Beam | 185m |
| Draft | 100m |
| Decks | 18 |
| Mass | 2,350,000 metric tons |
| Crew capacity (Standard) | 450 |
| Crew capacity (Maximum) | 800 |
| Propulsion Systems | |
| FTL System | Matter/Antimatter Warp Drive |
| FTL Standard Cruise | Warp 7 |
| FTL Maximum Cruise | Warp 9.4 (12 hours) |
| FTL Emergency Maximum | Warp 9.6 (30 minutes) |
| Impulse System | Dual impulse engines on main saucer |
| Standard Impulse Velocity (Full Impulse) | 0.25c |
| Maximum Impulse Velocity | 0.5c |
| Emergency Maximum Impulse Velocity | 0.75c (<1 minute) |
| Defensive Systems | |
| Phasers | 14 Type-VIII Phaser Emitters |
| Projectile Weapons |
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| Deflector Shields | Standard Deflector Emitters |
| Cloaking Device | None |
| Other Defensive Systems | None |
| Computer Systems | |
| Computer Cores | 2 |
| Core Type | Standard Isolinear Processing Core |
| Operating System | LCARS |
| Underlying Technology | Isolinear circuitry |
| Medical & Science Systems | |
| Sickbay | Multiple areas and wards, 30+ capacity |
| Sensors | 20 standard sensor pallets incorporating long range and short range sensors |
| Science Facilities |
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| Other Systems | |
| Auxiliary Vehicles |
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| Recreation Systems |
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Detailed Technical Information
Spaceframe
Propulsion Systems
Defensive Systems
Computer Systems
Medical & Science Systems
Other Systems
Deck Layout
The following deck layout is the standard baseline for the Excelsior class including any changes caused by fleet wide upgrades since it was first deployed. Many individual starships will have slightly different configurations due to non-standard upgrades, refits or specific mission profiles.
| Deck Layout | |
| Deck 1 |
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| Deck 2 |
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| Deck 3 |
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| Deck 4 |
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| Deck 5 | |
| Deck 6 | |
| Deck 7 | |
| Deck 8 | |
| Deck 9 | |
| Deck 10 | |
| Deck 11 | |
| Deck 12 | |
| Deck 13 | |
| Deck 14 | |
| Deck 15 | |
| Deck 16 | |
| Deck 17 | |
| Deck 18 | |
See Also
Class Variants
This article is incomplete, it either requires further information, correct formatting or both.