Galaxy class starship

Infobox Fictional Spacecraft
name = "Galaxy" class


caption = The Galaxy class starship Enterprise
first = "Encounter at Farpoint"
last = "Endgame"
status = Active
affiliation = Starfleet
launched = 2357
decommissioned =
class =
registry =
maxspeed = Warp 9.6
Warp 9.95 (After 2371)
fighters =
auxcraft = Shuttlecraft
RunaboutFact|date=May 2008
armaments = Phasers
Photon torpedoes
defense = Deflector shields
propulsion = Warp, Impulse
power =
length = 641 meters
width = 463 meters
height = 195 meters
primeref =

The "Galaxy" class is a fictional class of starship in the science fiction franchise Star Trek. The most notable "Galaxy"-class starship is the USS "Enterprise"-D, the primary setting of "".

Design

The "Galaxy"-class model was designed by Andrew Probert for "Star Trek: The Next Generation". Interiors were designed by Probert and Herman Zimmerman during the first season. Richard D. James designed and rebuilt the sets for the remaining six years, while Zimmerman returned for "Star Trek Generations". Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry stated that only six "Galaxy"-class starships had been constructed,cite book|title=The Star Trek Encyclopedia|last=Okuda|first=Mike|coauthors=Denise, Okuda with Mirek, Debbie|publisher=Pocket Books|id=ISBN 0-671-53609-5|year=1999] however, in the Episodes Sacrifice of Angels and Favor the Bold no less than five are seen as part of a single "Fleet" and by this point in the series the Galaxy Class USS Enterprise-D, USS Yamato, and USS Odyssey had been destroyed. It is likely that only six were initially constructed with additional ships built in response to the Dominion War and to replace examples lost in action and older ships as they became obsolete.

With in the series it is stated that design and construction of the "Galaxy"-class began in the 2340s, with the first ships being commissioned in the 2360s.cite book|author=Okuda, Michael and Sternbach, Rick|year=1991|title=|publisher=Pocket Books|id=ISBN 0-671-70427-3] According to dialog in the "Next Generation" episodes "11001001"cite episode| episodelink=11001001 (TNG episode)| title=11001001| series=] and "Booby Trap"cite episode| episodelink=Booby Trap (TNG episode)| title=Booby Trap| series=] , designers of the USS "Enterprise"-D included Orfil Quinteros and Leah Brahms.

The ship's design features a saucer section connected via a vertical pylon to the stardrive section. Affixed to the rear of the stardrive section are two pylons, and atop each is a warp nacelle.

Technical details and capabilities

aucer separation

The "Galaxy"-class "Enterprise" is capable of saucer separation and subsequent re-docking, used sometimes for leaving the civilian population behind when the stardrive section goes into combat, as seen in the "The Next Generation" episodes "Encounter at Farpoint",cite episode| episodelink=Encounter at Farpoint (TNG episode)| title=Encounter at Farpoint| series=] and "The Arsenal of Freedom",cite episode| episodelink=The Arsenal of Freedom (TNG episode)| title=The Arsenal of Freedom| series=] for the additional combat advantage of having two separate vessels instead of one, as seen in "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", [cite episode|title=The Best of Both Worlds, Part II|episodelink=The Best of Both Worlds (TNG episode)|series=,] or as a lifeboat as seen in the film "Star Trek Generations"."Star Trek Generations", (1994)] The "Enterprise" is the only "Galaxy"-class starship seen in any of the television series to perform saucer separation.

Command

The main bridge of the "Galaxy"-class "Enterprise" is located on deck 1. Three distinct "Galaxy"-class bridge variants have been seen: the "Enterprise" bridge in "The Next Generation" (which undergoes a redesign in the first two seasons), the "Enterprise" bridge in "Star Trek Generations", and the USS "Odyssey" bridge in the "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" episode "The Jem'Hadar".cite episode| episodelink=The Jem'Hadar (DS9 episode)| title=The Jem'Hadar| series=] The "Galaxy"-class "Enterprise" also has a secondary battle bridge on deck eight of the secondary hull for use when the ship has undergone a saucer separation. It is first seen in the "TNG" episode "Encounter at Farpoint" and again in "The Arsenal of Freedom", with an updated version appearing in "The Best of Both Worlds".

Science and research

The "Galaxy"-class "Enterprise" supports an array of scientific disciplines, with laboratories and departments devoted to stellar cartography, exobiology, cetology, astrophysics, cybernetics, archaeology, cultural anthropology, botany, hydroponics, and planetary geosciences.

Tactical

The "Galaxy"-class "Enterprise" is armed with twelve Type X phaser arrays and three photon torpedo launchers, each capable of firing ten individual torpedoes at a time. One phaser array is mounted on the "cobra head" of the secondary hull while a photon torpedo launcher is mounted on the ventral aft of the saucer; both are inoperative while the saucer and stardrive sections are docked. The ship also has a high capacity shield grid and, according to dialog in the "Next Generation" episode "Conundrum"cite episode| episodelink=Conundrum (TNG episode)| title=Conundrum| series=] , at least 275 photon torpedoes.

Transportation

The "Galaxy"-class "Enterprise" has at least six transporter rooms and twenty transporter systems. The ship has one large main shuttlebay in the saucer section, supported by two smaller bays in the stardrive section. The ship carries a variety of shuttlecraft and a captain's yacht.

Medical and life support systems

The "Galaxy"-class "Enterprise" includes a sickbay and a number of labs and other medical facilities. The shuttlebays, cargo bays, and other areas of the ship can be converted into triage wards; such conversion of a cargo bay appears in the "TNG" episode "Ethics"cite episode| episodelink=Ethics (TNG episode)| title=Ethics| series=] . Other areas, such as Ten-Forward, can serve as emergency shelters. Such use of Ten-Forward occurs in the "Next Generation" episode "Disaster".cite episode| episodelink=Disaster (TNG episode)| title=Disaster| series=]

Crew support

Various "Next Generation" episodes show that the "Galaxy"-class "Enterprise" has amenities such as holodecks, an arboretum, a school,cite episode| episodelink=The Offspring (TNG episode)| title=The Offspring| series=] a gymnasium,cite episode| episodelink=We'll Always Have Paris (TNG episode)| title=We'll Always Have Paris| series=] amphitheaters,cite episode| episodelink=Sarek (TNG episode)| title=Sarek| series=] and a bar.cite episode| episodelink=The Child (TNG episode)| title=The Child| series=] According to "Encounter at Farpoint", several "Enterprise" crewmembers' civilian family members (including children) are aboard despite the fact that the Enterprise routinely faces situations that could easily end with the complete destruction of the ship with all hands. Some civilians work aboard the ship, such as the bartender Ben in "Lower Decks"cite episode| episodelink=Lower Decks| title=Lower Decks| series=] and botanist Keiko O'Brien in "Rascals" [cite episode|title=Rascals|episodelink=Rascals (TNG episode)|series=] and other episodes.

Known "Galaxy"-class starships

The non-canon "Star Trek Encyclopedia" identifies each of the following vessels as "Galaxy"-class ships.

In addition to these vessels, several unnamed or unidentifiable "Galaxy"-class ships appear in "DS9"'s "A Time to Stand" and "Sacrifice of Angels" and in "Voyager"'s "Endgame".
† In "Where Silence Has Lease", William Riker reads the phantom "Yamato"'s registry number as "NCC-1305-E", but this conflicts with the shooting model's registry in both that episode and "Contagion". According to "The Star Trek Encyclopedia", "NCC-71807" is the correct registry. According to technical illustrator and modeler Rick Sternbach, the ship's name is not a deliberate reference to the Japanese anime series "Space Battleship Yamato" (or "Star Blazers" in North America); Sternbach [http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.arts.startrek.info/browse_thread/thread/ce9ede4e73c2f080/1569ad2829cae743? stated at AnimeCon 1991] that the writers (who had never heard of the anime) independently coined the ship's name without his input.

References

External links