The Luna class is a top-of-the-line starship with high combat strength. The design consists of a an ovaloid saucer directly attached to an engineering, with two nacelles that align to the bottom of that engineering hull. A sensor or weapons pod sits atop the saucer hull. Article: The Fleet in PIC: "The Star Gazer" and "Farewell"
Known ships
USS Amalthea NCC-80108
USS Ariel NCC-80114
USS Callisto NCC-80109
USS Charon NCC-80111
USS Europa NCC-80104
USS Galatea NCC-80112
USS Ganymede NCC-80107
USS Himalia NCC-80116
USS Iapetus NCC-80115
USS Io NCC-80105
USS Luna NCC-80101
USS Oberon NCC-80103
USS Rhea NCC-80110
USS Titan NCC-80102
USS Tourangeau NCC-80113
USS Triton NCC-80106
Annotations
Ships of the Luna class appear in PIC: "The Star Gazer" and "Farewell". As many as 36(!) Luna-class ships are part of the doomed fleet in PIC: "Vox" and "The Last Generation".
The Luna was designed by Sean Tourangeau. It was the winning entry in a competition to design Riker's ship (as mentioned in "Star Trek Nemesis") for the novel series Star Trek: Titan. Although often otherwise stated, the design was non-canon until its appearance on Lower Decks.
The name "Luna class" is official since LOW: "An Embarrassment of Dooplers". All ships are named for moons in the Sol system.
Class specifications
Length: 453.3m
Mediterranean
General description
There are no known facts about the Mediterranean class except that it was already in service in 2349.
Known ships
USS Lalo NCC-43837 USS Wyoming NCC-43730
Annotations
No ship of this class ever appeared on screen. While the individual ships were referred to on displays or in dialogue, the class name Mediterranean is from the Star Trek Encyclopedia.
Class specifications
Freighter
Merced
General description
We know very little about the Merced class. It must have been introduced in the first decades of the 24th century, according to registry of USS Trieste, and it is not capable of intercepting a Galaxy-class ship. Article: The DS9TM Kitbashes
Known ships
USS Trieste NCC-37124
Annotations
No ship of this class was ever visible. The class name and individual ship name come from a TNG Okudagram labeled "Starfleet Operations". Actually, there are two versions of this display, of which one lists the Trieste NCC-37124 as a member of the "Yosemite class". According to the Star Trek Encyclopedia II, the one with "Merced class" is correct though.
A model of the USS Trieste was built for use on DS9, a kitbash consisting of a Miranda-class saucer and Galaxy-class nacelles. The registry was shortened to NCC-3724. This model probably didn't make it to the screen.
The Miranda class is apparently a parallel development to the reconstructed Constitution class. The warp nacelles are attached to the saucer bottom, which is extended at the rear end to hold additional sensor arrays on the top and two shuttlebays. The original version has a photon torpedo tube mounted on a "rollbar", whereas the rollbar was removed from the Miranda II, a transport variant. The Miranda III has no rollbar, but additional sensor pods at the port and starboard sides of the saucer. Miranda-class starships are still in use during the Dominion War. Some older ships have been reassigned to act as transport vessels. Article: Miranda Class Variations Miranda Gallery
Known ships
USS Brattain NCC-21166 USS Lantree NCC-1837 (Miranda II) USS Majestic NCC-31060 USS Nautilus NCC-31910 USS Reliant NCC-1864 USS Saratoga NCC-1887 USS Saratoga NCC-31911 (Miranda III) USS ShirKahr NCC-31905 USS Sitak NCC-32591 USS Tian An Men NCC-21382 USS Trial NCC-1948
Annotations
The original Miranda (USS Reliant) was designed by Mike Minor and Joe Jennings for "Star Trek II" and built at ILM. It appeared in many episodes of TNG and DS9, set almost 100 years later.
The two modified versions seem to be far less common, since the only known ships of these subclasses are the Lantree in TNG: "Unnatural Selection" (Miranda II) and the second Saratoga in DS9: "Emissary" (Miranda III), respectively. Demoted to a transport ship, the Lantree apparently does not need the weapons in the rollbar any more. The actual reason is that Gary Hutzel didn't get the lighting of the rollbar to work when he prepared the model for shooting, and decided that the ship would still look good without it, thereby "inventing" the sub-class. The Saratoga can be seen firing phasers from the sensor dome (like the TOS Constitution). Maybe we should discount this as an VFX error.
The more recent Mirandas in Dominion War have nacelles visually identical to the ones of the USS Reliant and all other standard Mirandas before, but they are lighted like on newer Starfleet ships, with red Bussard collectors and blue warp field grilles. This could point to a refit of the ship and might explain why these old ships are still in service. It is not evident, however, if the 24th century Miranda is really faster. All we can say is that the ships are cannon fodder, considering how fast most vessels of this class are obliterated in DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels" and once again in the stock footage shown in DS9: "What You Leave Behind". The area of the aft torpedo tubes in the pod are lighted on some of the Dominion War Mirandas like the impulse engines below in the main hull. If we don't want to discount this as an error, these Mirandas constitute yet another variant.
Though frequently otherwise stated in the Star Trek Encyclopedias, the Brattain has a rollbar, as can be clearly seen in TNG: "Night Terrors". The ship is named for Walter Brattain, the co-inventor of the transistor. The model, however, was mislabeled as "Brittain".
Which one was first, the Miranda or rather the Constitution refit? There are several possibilities.
The Miranda class is often called "Avenger class" in fandom. As long as any canon evidence is missing, I go with the name stated in the Star Trek Encyclopedia. Other class names listed there were not on screen either, but are commonly accepted.
The USS Trial appeared in DS9: "The Way of the Warrior" as a part of the task force led by the Venture. Model photo (AMT/Ertl kit) courtesy of Larry Nemecek. Note that "RELIANT" was simply rearranged to "TRIAL" and "1864" to "1948".
The registry NCC-1864 of the Reliant (without the name) can be seen as soon as on the wall chart in TOS: "Court Martial".
The actual registry of the Saratoga from "Star Trek IV" is NCC-1887 and can be clearly seen in the Drex TV episode 4, unlike everything ever stated before.
According to the deployment status display in TNG: "The Measure of a Man" there is a Saratoga with the registry NCC-31640 (or similar). This is overruled by the hull number NCC-31911 visible on Sisko's ship in DS9: "Emissary", unless we make up another complicated history of ships being renamed.
A ship of the class in the same configuration as the destroyed USS Saratoga NCC-31911 is on display at the Fleet Museum, as seen in PIC: "The Bounty". This is explained in the museum file as follows: "This exhibit features the USS Saratoga NCC-1887 which was salvaged and restored to replicate the USS Saratoga NCC-31911 which was destroyed at the Battle of Wolf 359. The exhibit features restored sections of both eras of Miranda class ships."
Class specifications
Miranda II: Transport Length: 243m Crew complement: 200 (Reliant), 34 (Brattain)
USS Bellerophon NCC-62048 USS Bonchune NCC-70915 USS Endeavour NCC-71805 USS Farragut NCC-60597 USS Hera NCC-62006 USS Honshu NCC-60205 USS Leeds NCC-70352 USS Lexington NCC-61832 USS Melbourne (Prototype II, reg. unclear) USS Merrimack NCC-61827 USS Monitor NCC-61826 USS Phoenix NCC-65420 (Phoenix variant) USS Prometheus NCC-71201 USS Proxima NCC-61952 USS Sutherland NCC-72015 USS T'Kumbra USS Ulysses NCC-66808
Annotations
The Nebula prototypes were designed and built by Ed Miarecki. His basic design was developed into a fully-fledged ship by Rick Sternbach and Mike Okuda, which first appeared as the USS Phoenix in TNG: "The Wounded".
There are at least four variants of the fully-fledged Nebula design. Only the Phoenix could be seen with the different (and less detailed) sensor pod than on later Nebula-class ships. The Sutherland of TNG: "Redemption" was the first ship with the triangular pod, followed by a slightly different variant, the USS Farragut from "Star Trek Generations".
There is at least one CG version by Digital Muse as in VOY: "Message in a Bottle" and "Endgame" (Bonchune variant). A Nebula CGI seen in DS9: "The Changing Face of Evil" seems to have a very strange cone-shaped saucer. I think it is just an inaccurate rendering, not still another variant. Read everything about the variants here.
Older drawings of the Nebula class from the Encyclopedias show the saucer of the standard Nebula with the same diameter as that of the Galaxy, while the top half is flattened (and therefore has fewer decks). The saucer of the Nebula studio model, however, seems to have exactly the same height, only all the windows on the decks 6-9 are removed compared to the Galaxy model. The CGI featured in VOY: "Message in a Bottle" even includes all the missing windows.
The Nebula prototype II appeared as "USS Melbourne NCC-62043" in TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds II", but its name and registry were not readable. The very same name and registry were visible on the Excelsior in DS9: "Emissary", however. Prototype I appeared in TNG: "Future Imperfect", and it was modified to with a pod to become No. III in Maxwell's ready room in TNG: "The Wounded", in Keiko's classroom in DS9: "The Nagus" and in Sisko's ready room in DS9: "'Til Death Do Us Part". The depictions of model I and III may not be quite correct, as we only have screen caps as references. Read everything about the Nebula study models and about the naming conflict.
In TNG: "Interface" Geordi says the USS Hera has a crew complement of more than 300, although there should be considerably more on a ship of this size. Maybe it was running with a minimum complement at the time. The same may apply to the Prometheus in DS9: "Second Sight" where there seemed to be neither a captain nor a first officer.
The NCC-6xxxx registries of some Nebula-class ships suggest that the class has been introduced some years prior to the Galaxy class if the ships are sequentially numbered.
"Bellerophon" is the correct spelling of the ancient Greek hero, although the ship is sometimes listed as "Bellerephon". The ship seen in DS9: "Emissary" might have been incorrectly labeled, but it was not readable, and the later Intrepid-class ship was definitely "Bellerophon".
The non-canon Ships of the Line calendar shows a Nebula-class vessel USS Bonchune NCC-70915 (after Rob Bonchune of Foundation Imaging). The same CGI may have appeared in VOY: "Message in a Bottle", and at least its number was finally legible in VOY: "Endgame".
One ship of the class, the USS Lexington, can be seen at the Fleet Museum in PIC: "The Bounty". Instead of NCC-61832 as in all editions of the Star Trek Encyclopedia, this ship has the registry NCC-30405, which is way off but is apparently what appeared on the (illegible) status chart in TNG: "The Measure of a Man".
USS Kyushu NCC-65491 USS Renegade NCC-63102 USS Rutledge NCC-57295 USS Thomas Paine NCC-65530
Annotations
The destroyed USS Kyushu in the Wolf 359 graveyard (built by Ed Miarecki) was the only New Orleans-class ship ever shown. The model used for this scene consisted of the slightly modified saucer, engineering hull and warp nacelles of the far larger Galaxy class, and therefore was not suited to be clearly displayed. I have described my reconstruction of the New Orleans class on a separate page.
The ship was built by Greg Jein for TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds II". The official diagram from the Star Trek Fact Files is not very precise. It reproduces the overall structure, but lets it look like an awful kitbash job. Actually, the model was scratch-built by Greg Jein but it uses three way too large nacelles. We have tried to correct at least the most blatant errors.
Reviewing the Wolf 359 graveyard scene, the Niagara is the rather prominent vertical ship when the Enterprise is shown entering the debris field.
The registry of the Princeton is NCC-59804, as can be seen on the model itself. The Star Trek Fact Files and the Star Trek Encyclopedia II (individual entry) give NCC-58904. The registry NCC-33821 for the Wellington comes from the deployment status chart in TNG: "The Measure of a Man", as opposed to the NCC-28473 as listed in the Encyclopedia.
Few facts are available on the Norway class. The main hull resembles a flat-iron, the secondary hull consists of two wing-shaped warp pylons with a gap in between. Instead of phaser strips this class has a phaser cannon installed in the bow. Gallery: First Contact Ships
Known ships
USS Budapest NCC-64923 USS Canopus NCC-64834 USS Tannu Tuva NCC-64924
Annotations
Contrary to all rumors the Norway class appeared exclusively in "First Contact" (except for a few indirect appearances on displays). There was only a rather poorly detailed CGI by ILM of the ship, not a real studio model. At some point, the mesh of the Norway was purportedly irretrievably lost, and we never saw it again. Ironically, the DS9TM lists the ship as part of the task force to retake Deep Space 9, though.
The unusual phaser cannon of the Norway is reminiscent of the cannon the alternate Enterprise-D possessed in "All Good Things". For the reconstruction in the Official Starships Collection, the ship was given standard phaser strips that were not on the original CG model.
The length of 355m is based on the ILM size chart, with the assumption that all other Starfleet vessels were scaled down by 0.88 relative to the Sovereign.
USS Equinox NCC-72381 USS Erebus NCC-72435 USS Mandel NCC-72210 USS Rhode Island NCC-72701 (variant)
Annotations
According to the TNG Technical Manual the Galaxy class was supposed to be replaced by a new capital ship type called "Nova class". The producers of Star Trek Voyager, however, decided to give this name to a small type of science vessel in VOY: "Equinox" instead.
The design of the Nova class is derived from the Defiant pathfinder design, whose top view is depicted in the DS9 Technical Manual.
The future Nova variant could be seen in VOY: "Endgame", the obvious modifications being that the deflector gap in the saucer was largely filled, there was a new bridge or bridge dome, and the fins on the nacelles had been tone down. I assume that, although the future has been altered, the variant actually exists. At least the USS Rhode Island, with its registry from the early 2370s, must already have been built, with or without the modifications.
The direct comparison of Voyager and Equinox MSDs in VOY: "Equinox" shows the latter at only 150m, less than half the length of the Intrepid-class ship. Fitting the eight decks into the Nova class, with about the same deck heights as on Voyager (3.5m to 4m), would require a length of at least 180m. Considering that the Equinox used largely the same internal sets as Voyager. Rick Sternbach gives the design length as 221m, although this would make the decks very tall. The Rhode Island in VOY: "Endgame" is way off scale, as it seems to be at least half as long as the Klingon Negh'Var variants. Either the VFX people had no idea of the Klingon vessel, or they unwisely decided to let the Rhode Island, fighting against two of them, appear more powerful.
20 ships of this class appeared in the ill-fated fleet in PIC: "Vox" and "The Last Generation".
USS Biko NCC-50331 USS Bonestell NCC-31600 USS Cochrane NCC-59318 USS Copernicus NCC-640 USS Grissom NCC-638 USS Oberth NCC-602 USS Pegasus NCC-53847 USS Raman NCC-29487 USS Tsiolkovsky NCC-53911 USS Yosemite NCC-19002
Annotations
The USS Grissom was built at ILM for "Star Trek III". It is unlikely that the Oberth class is a much older design than the Excelsior class (see starship class inconsistencies), although the registries suggest so. In any case, the Oberth class has been very successful, since production continued for at least 80 years. I don't think that we should predate the whole class by several more decades.
Curiously, only three of the various ships of the class we could see in live action Trek were not destroyed: the Biko, Copernicus and Cochrane. It is a miracle the design lasted as long as it did!
The USS Grissom most likely has weapons in "Star Trek III". Kirk, who is probably aware of the ship's class, wonders whether the Captain Esteban of the Grissom will fire at the renegade Enterprise. The simple explanation why the ship is destroyed so quickly nonetheless may be that there is no time to raise the shields, and that the Klingons target the impulse engines and thereby hit the warp plasma conduits.
There is one Oberth-class ship at Wolf 359, and the class is present at the Sector 001 battle in "First Contact" too. These vessels may have been equipped with state-of-the-art weapons in the meantime. But the USS Bonestell, as seen in DS9: "Emissary", may have entered the battle area accidentally. Although this was never the writer's intention, it may have been the transport ship that was to rendezvous another ship at Wolf 359, as mentioned in VOY: "Infinite Regress". In this episode, Seven is possessed by the personalities of several assimilated individuals, among them a mother who was to meet her son, a Starfleet member, at Wolf 359.
The Star Trek Encyclopedia lists the Biko as Olympic class, but TNG: "A Fistful of Datas" clearly shows an Oberth-class vessel.
The registry of the Raman is given as NCC-59983 in the Encyclopedia, but NCC-29487 is clearly perceptible on a display in TNG: "Interface".
The registry NCC-640 of the Copernicus can be identified in "Star Trek IV". The model was not relabeled for its next appearance in TNG: "The Naked Now", so the Tsiolkovsky has the hull registry "NCC-640" (barely legible) too, although the dedication plaque reads NCC-53911. For TNG-R the hull registry was accordingly fixed to NCC-53911, but only in some shots.
Class specifications
Research vessel Length: approx. 150m Crew complement: 80
USS Enterprise NCC-1701-F USS Hikaru Sulu NCC-92420
Annotations
The most prominent ship of the class is clearly the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-F. The ship is scheduled for decommission for some unknown reason (although the class is fairly new) as shown on a display in PIC: "The Next Generation". We can see see the Enterprise lead the fleet under the command of Admiral Shelby in PIC: "Vox". As many as 13 ships of the class appear in "Vox" and in "The Last Generation".
The class was originally designed for Star Trek Online, including the particular ship USS Enterprise-F. For Star Trek Picard, the design was slightly modified, which is most noticeable in the curvature of the nacelles. The game version also features multi-vector attack mode and includes an auxiliary craft (Aquarius class) that may not be part of the PIC design.
Length of the Odyssey class according to the official Picard season 3 scale chart. Disregarding outliers from the Abramsverse, this is the by far longest canon Starfleet ship class (whereas Galaxy/Ross and Nebula/Sutherland are the same order of size in terms of internal volume).
The Olympic-class USS Pasteur was built by Bill George as a homage to the earliest sketches of the original Enterprise by Matt Jefferies. It is a free-style interpretation of this original design and retains just the spherical main hull, while the Daedalus closely follows Jefferies's concept. The side view here at EAS is taken from the Star Trek Fact Files and is much closer to the studio model than the one from the Encyclopedia II.
The widespread idea that the Olympic class may be derived from the Daedalus class is only bad fan speculation. In engineering, very different design considerations may easily lead to the same shape if it is a simple shape. The two ships have absolutely nothing in common except for the spherical main hull (just as all Enterprises have saucer-shaped main hulls). I could well imagine that a variant or sister design of the Olympic comes with a traditional saucer, which would ultimately invalidate the idea of a Daedalus-Olympic lineage.
The Olympic class was only shown in the parallel reality in TNG: "All Good Things". However, the USS Nobel is evidence that the class exists in the "real" universe as well. Since the registry of the Pasteur is not higher than "present" registries, it can be supposed that the individual ship is legit too.
Mike Okuda initially christened the ship design "Hope class", as the dedication plaque of the Pasteur shows. The model was labor of love for Bill George, and he named his ship Olympic class. When it was used for the episode, it needed to become the USS Pasteur, and Mike Okuda changed the class name to Olympic out of respect for Bill George. Since the Star Trek Encyclopedia II the design is consistently listed as "Olympic class". The number NCC-58925 on the model does not comply with the NCC-58928 on the plaque either. It is evident that the clearly readable hull number supersedes the one on the obscure plaque.
The ship class finally shows up in the "real" 24th century in LOW: "Cupid's Errant Arrow".
USS Voyager NCC-74656-B USS Drexler NCC-97626 USS Eaves NCC-97621
Annotations
The USS Voyager NCC-74656-B of this class can be seen on a display in PIC: "The Next Generation". 36(!) ships of the class appear in the doomed fleet in PIC: "Vox" and "The Last Generation".
This class was designed for Star Trek Online. In-game, it is a further development of the Intrepid class. It too has pivoted warp nacelles, which are down when at rest or at sublight speed and horizontal at warp.
Length of the ship according to the official Picard season 3 scale chart.
Since this is already the Voyager-B, the Voyager-A (whose existence was teased in PRO: "Supernova II") must already have been decommissioned.
The small Federation fighter, as seen in various DS9 episodes (most prominently in "Sacrifice of Angels"), is listed here and not under the shuttle category because it seems to be capable of independent operation. We have no evidence that the fighters are deployed from carrier ships. The doors on the Akira, the most prominent candidate, seem to be too small for that purpose.
In visual effects shots the fighter seems to be 30m long, maybe more. But the cockpit exterior may have been designed with the Type-15 shuttlepod in mind. Actually, the shuttlepod set was used for the interior of the ship in DS9: "The Maquis". 25m is a compromise that wouldn't enlarge the cockpit too much, while giving us a big enough ship.
The name "Peregrine" is not certain, but was mentioned for a Maquis fighter type. It is more likely this one than Chakotay's raider.
Although frequently otherwise stated, Chakotay's raider (VOY: "The Caretaker") is not a variant of the above presumed Peregrine class. Chakotay's ship has a completely different structure and is much larger, with a crew of at least 40. It is not known if this design is also employed by Starfleet.
One of the most embarrassing flaws of the Star Trek Encyclopedia II can be found on the very first page where a Peregrine-class ship is depicted, but labeled as "Academy trainer craft". The error evidently occurred as soon as the image was created, since the ship carries the Federation and Academy emblems. Unfortunately the depiction with the wrong label found its way into VOY: "Drone" where we can see the Federation fighter along with several other (correctly labeled) ship diagrams. I have removed the wrong logos in the above image.
Nothing is known about this starship class, whose construction seems to date back to the late 23rd century or earlier. Article: Wolf 359 - Other Ships
Known ships
B-24-CLN
Annotations
This is the first of two study models designed by Ralph McQuarrie in 1977. Although they were so far attributed to the planned TV series Star Trek Phase II, McQuarrie technically built them for a movie to be called "Planet of the Titans". Study model I briefly appeared on screen in TNG: "Unification I" and was probably visible in TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds II" too. The model is labeled "B-24-CLN", which could be a registry denoting an experimental or decommissioned vessel, or even one that does not belong to Starfleet at all.
Nothing is known about this starship class, whose construction seems to date back to the late 23rd century or earlier. Article: Wolf 359 - Other Ships
Known ships
No name or registry given
Annotations
This is the second of two study models designed by Ralph McQuarrie in 1977. Although they were so far attributed to the planned TV series Star Trek Phase II, McQuarrie technically built them for a movie to be called "Planet of the Titans". Study model II briefly appeared in "Star Trek III" in the spacedock and may have been on screen in TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds II" too.
The Prometheus is the prototype of a multi-vector assault vessel, designed for deep-space tactical assignments. In combat, the ship splits into three parts, namely the top and bottom halves of the engineering hull with two warp nacelles each, and the primary hull which is also equipped with two small extendable warp engines. The single parts are heavily armed; furthermore the ship features regenerative shielding and ablative hull armor. Gallery: Various Starfleet Ships
Known ships
USS Prometheus NX-59650 ↪ USS Prometheus NX-74913
Annotations
NX-59650 is seen on the hull in VOY: "Message in a Bottle", whereas the MSD and the dedication plaque are labeled as NX-74913. While the latter registry suits the ship much better, it could never be identified on screen. We might think it would be superseded by the clearly visible hull registry, but there are theories that would allow both numbers to be authentic.
The Prometheus has something akin to a landing gear, very similar to Voyager's, visible in the ship's MSD. It is a matter of interpretation how close a look we are allowed to have at the MSD.
USS Azetbur NCC-90232
USS Clark NCC-90206
USS Cobb NCC-90219
USS Enkidu NCC-90205
USS ibn Al-Haytham NCC-91965
USS Ni'Var NCC-90237
USS Reliant NCC-90200
USS Sarahd NCC-90227
USS Shallash NCC-90235
USS Shras NCC-90211
USS T'Jan NCC-90213
USS Thy'lek Shran NCC-90225
USS Tiro NCC-90216
USS Uhura NCC-90214
Annotations
Ships of this class appeared in PIC: "The Star Gazer" and "Farewell". The USS Azetbur, USS Thy'lek Shran, USS Shras, USS Shallash, USS T'Jan and USS Sarahd could be seen in PIC: "The Next Generation". As many as 24 of them were part of the doomed fleet in PIC: "Vox" and "The Last Generation".
The class was designed by Cryptic Studios' Senior Concept Artist Hector Ortiz and modeled by Thomas Marrone for Star Trek Online.
The Reliant may be in the same tradition as the Miranda class, but is clearly (at least in canon Trek) an all-new ship, not an update or a "retro design".
Class specifications
Length: 251.0m
Renaissance
General description
The Renaissance is a starship class developed in the first decades of the 24th century. It is both considerably smaller and less advanced than a Galaxy-class ship. Except for the USS Hokkaido built in 2337, the last of the series, Renaissance-class vessels have no ASRVs.
Known ships
USS Aries NCC-45167 USS Hokkaido USS Hornet NCC-45231 USS Maryland NCC-45109
Annotations
No ship of this class was ever seen.
The Hokkaido and the installation of the ASRV lifeboats are mentioned in the TNGTM. This doesn't necessarily mean that no previous ship ever had lifeboats. On the contrary, there are references to lifeboats on the Constitution class (refit) in "Star Trek I" and "Star Trek II". The ASRV (autonomous survival and recovery vehicle) may be a novel, substantially upgraded type of lifeboats.
The class name is mentioned on an Okudagram named "Starfleet Operations" that appeared in several TNG episodes.
Class specifications
Last commissioned in 2337
Rigel
General description
The Rigel class is a mid-24th century design on which no further information is available.
Known ships
USS Akagi NCC-62158 USS Tolstoy NCC-62095
Annotations
According to our first-hand information, the Rigel-class Tolstoy was not visible at all in TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds II" and only made up for the dialogue, since the producers thought the name "USS Chekov" from the script might sound too cute. The class name Rigel is from the Star Trek Encyclopedia. Any depiction of the Rigel found on other websites is pure conjecture.
USS Archer NCC-76725
USS Forrest NCC-75077
USS Hanson NCC-76725
USS Ross NCC-76710
USS Vanguard NCC-75148
USS Yi Sun-Sin NCC-76545
Annotations
Ships of this class appeared in PIC: "The Star Gazer" and "Farewell". 10 could be identified in the fleet formation in PIC: "Vox" and "The Last Generation".
The Ross class was originally designed and modeled by Thomas Marrone for Star Trek Online, in collaboration with the players of StreamPunks' Star Trek Adventures tabletop role-playing game, Clear Skies.
The design looks similar to the Galaxy class. Yet, the hull has only roughly the same shape and size. Many proportions are different on a closer investigation, precluding the possibility that the Ross could be a mere variant.
It is an oddity that the USS Vanguard has a lower registry than the class ship.
The Saber class is a small, but well armed starship type. Its warp nacelle tips are attached to the unconventional irregularly shaped primary hull. The secondary hull is comparatively voluminous and holds the navigational deflector. Gallery: First Contact Ships
Known ships
USS Argo NCC-61357 USS Pearson NCC-61956 USS Yeager NCC-61947
Annotations
The Saber class was first seen in "First Contact". For some time it was not clear whether "Sabre" or "Saber" is the correct spelling. Although I like "Sabre" better, in reverence of the classic F-86 jet fighter, I adopted "Saber" as in an issue of Star Trek: The Magazine.
One ship of the class (USS Argo) can be seen on display at the Fleet Museum in PIC: "The Bounty".
The image in the Star Trek Encyclopedia II (see above) shows the registry NCC-81947 for the USS Yeager. However, the CG design clearly has a NCC-61947 (both are a clear homage to Chuck Yeager who broke the sound barrier in 1947). In this case it is hard to explain why there is a quite modern ship design with another USS Yeager and a higher registry. Maybe the USS Yeager NCC-61947 was destroyed in the Borg battle of 2373, and the name "Yeager" was reused for the new ship seen at DS9 soon after.
While much of the data in the starship section of the DS9TM is already wrong enough, the Saber is listed with exactly the same dimensions as the Norway. The specs in question at least roughly fit the larger Norway, while a length of 365m is way off for the Saber. The length of 223m is based on the ILM size chart, with the assumption that all other Starfleet vessels were scaled down by 0.88 relative to the Sovereign.
USS Ashland NCC-82835 USS Chawla NCC-82807 USS Explorer NCC-82821 USS Stargazer NCC-82893
Annotations
The Stargazer, commanded by Captain Rios, appeared in PIC: "The Star Gazer" and "Farewell", as the then only ship of its class. But as many 14 ships appeared in the doomed fleet in PIC: "Vox" and "The Last Generation".
This class was designed by Dave Blass, Doug Drexler and John Eaves. It has four nacelles to allow a better distinction from the other ships of the fleet and also to insinuate a lineage that includes Picard's old Stargazer of the Constellation class. In the ready room, we can see a model of that ship as well as of the still older Stargazer of the Radiant class, also with four nacelles.
According to Seven in PIC: "The Star Gazer", "the Stargazer is the first of a new class of ship", which contradicts naval naming tradition. Perhaps she meant to say that it is the first ship of the class that was enhanced with Borg technology. Either that, or it is not actually the Sagan class, but the Stargazer class.
Ship dimensions according to the PIC season 2 size chart.
Also designated as "mission scout", this vessel type was prominently featured in "Star Trek: Insurrection", where it was piloted by Data. The CGI apparently has no name printed on the hull. I took the side view in the upper left from the Star Trek Fact Files. Albeit its lines are less elegant, this rendition is more accurate than the one previously published in Star Trek: The Magazine .The latter is probably based on a pre-production sketch, rather than on the final model.
The scout ship is called "Venture class" in the popular game Star Trek Armada by Activision, but like all games and novels this is non-canon. All official publications ignore the name "Venture class".
Class specifications
Scout Length: 24m
Sequoia
General description
Nothing is known about this ship class, however, it appears to be a design of the mid-24th century.
Known ships
USS Yellowstone NCC-70073
Annotations
No ship of the class ever appeared on screen. The class name was brought up in the Star Trek Encyclopedia II. The USS Yellowstone was mentioned in DS9: "Melora".
The runabout prototype designation as USS Yellowstone in the parallel reality (VOY: "Non Sequitur") is in conflict with the Sequoia-class ship of the same name, unless Runabouts are named independently of larger starships. This is improbable considering the NCC registry system common to both types.
The Shangri-La is a 23rd century design at the same technology level and using many of the same components as the Constitution refit.
Known ships
USS Titan NCC-1777
Annotations
The Shangri-La was designed by Bill Krause. He provided a golden model of the ship for the lounge of the USS Titan NCC-80102-A, acting as a former ship of that name.
This is the original design that the Constitution III class is based on. There is no reasonable explanation why these two look so much alike, despite being vastly different in size and being over 100 years apart.
The class name as well as the registry were technically never mentioned but they should comply with the designer's original intent.
The characteristic feature of this design is that the two nacelles intersect the saucer hull.
Known ships
No name given
Annotations
Two of these ships are visible in SHO: "Children of Mars", set in the year 2384.
Of course, this is the design that appeared as Magee class in Star Trek Discovery. SHO: "Children of Mars" was produced by the same staff as Discovery, which (in addition to being cost-saving) explains the crossover. In order to preserve the status of Picard as unrebooted Star Trek, it is inevitable to disregard the link to Discovery. The assumption that the ship type is relatively new in the late 24th century also removes the two dilemmas to explain why Starfleet would upgrade or even newly build ships whose construction is 150 years old, and why those ships looked too advanced for the pre-TOS era in the first place.
This is a relatively small ship type. The design consists of a saucer hull and two underslung nacelles.
Known ships
No name given
Annotations
Two of these ships are visible in SHO: "Children of Mars", set in the year 2384.
Of course, this is the design that appeared as tug in Star Trek Discovery. It is possible that these were supposed to be the tugs of the Wallenberg class before the actual model was available. In order to preserve the status of Picard as unrebooted Star Trek, it is inevitable to disregard the crossover with Discovery. The assumption that the ship type is relatively new in the late 24th century also removes the dilemma to explain why Starfleet would upgrade or even newly build ships whose construction is 150 years old.
The Sovereign class is the longest known ship type of the fleet. In spite of this, its internal volume is less than that of the Galaxy or of the Ambassador class. In 2373, the Sovereign-class Enterprise-E is said to be the most advanced ship of Starfleet. Its weapons include quantum torpedoes, which are fired from a module at the bottom of the saucer hull and various other locations. The Sovereign class has a warp-capable captain's yacht too. Article: Sovereign Class Variations Article: The Fleet in PIC: "The Star Gazer" and "Farewell" Sovereign Gallery
Known ships
USS Ark Royal NCC-75922
USS Arsinoe NCC-75307
USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E
USS Gilgamesh NCC-74669
USS Glasgow NCC-75117
USS Hrothgar NCC-74975
USS Hutchinson NCC-74957
USS Igraine NCC-74980
USS Inaieu NCC-75018
USS Jaresh-Inyo NCC-75020
USS Okuda NCC-74107
USS Musashi NCC-74660
USS Pachacuti NCC-74181
USS Valkyrie NCC-74877
USS Venture NCC-75306
USS Warspite NCC-74922
Annotations
The starship was designed for "Star Trek: First Contact" by John Eaves and Herman Zimmerman with support from Rick Sternbach. The stretched appearance is a strong contrast to almost all other classes and is obviously intended to make the Enterprise-E look "fast".
Pre-production drawings of the Sovereign class show a saucer separation. In separated mode, the quantum torpedo tube/captain's yacht is still connected to the engineering hull. This configuration is also reproduced in the parts of the AMT/Ertl model kit. It is unlikely, however, that the ship is actually separable.
The combination of the quantum torpedo launcher with the captain's yacht is a major design flaw. The torpedoes almost scratch the yacht's windshield. Accelerating the torpedoes in the preferred horizontal direction is impossible, and it is extremely complicated to get them to the launcher, passing the docking area of the yacht.
The ship was slightly redesigned for its appearance in "Star Trek Nemesis". A new CGI model (the third one) was built. Aside from additional torpedo emitters and phaser strips, a small adjustment was made to the upper shuttlebay area, where the side walls next to the impulse engines were extended, smoothing the transition from the saucer to the engineering hull. Also, the nacelles were moved slightly forward (3.5%) and upward (1.3%). All these changes were only cosmetic and arguably unnecessary on the model as well as on the real ship. While it would be no problem to replace smaller hull segments on the full-scale Enterprise, I don't think the nacelle assembly would be entirely taken apart for a minor redesign and I tend to ignore this modification on the model (which would also make the ship around 12m shorter if we took them for granted).
Considering that the Reman intruders were detected on "deck 29" in "Nemesis", it has been speculated that the engineering hull was extended too. But the shape is still the same, so a potential deck relocation must have been internal. The (pre-Nemesis) MSD, on the other hand, shows 24 decks in an arrangement that would not allow to split them or turn Jefferies tube levels into full decks. The error seems to become even worse if we consider that Riker and the Viceroy go down a Jefferies tube, and then the Viceroy falls down several more decks. But actually, while the order of events creates the impression that this happened on deck 29, we can see a door label "0940" behind the Viceroy, implying that they had already gone all the way up to deck 9.
No Sovereign-class vessel except for the Enterprise-E could be seen until as late as 2022 when several ships of the class appeared in PIC: "The Star Gazer" and "Farewell". As silly as it is, the producers did not want to "waste" the then new ship design in DS9 or Voyager, but exclusively reserve it for the big screen. Finally, as many as 38(!) Sovereign-class ships were part of the doomed fleet in PIC: "Vox" and "The Last Generation".
The registry of the USS Sovereign may be NCC-75000, as more or less approved of by Mike Okuda. On the other hand, the games Star Trek Bridge Commander and Star Trek Legacy both use NCC-73811 as the Sovereign's registry.
The Soyuz class resembles the Miranda class. The main difference is that the Soyuz's hull is extended astern, and additional sensor pods are attached to the top and bottom of the extension and to the port and starboard edge of the ship. Unlike the Miranda class the Soyuz class has been decommissioned at the end of the 23rd century. Article: Miranda Class Variations Miranda/Soyuz Gallery
Known ships
USS Bozeman NCC-1941
Annotations
Greg Jein modified the Miranda model for TNG: "Cause and Effect". It is not clear why the seemingly more advanced design of the Soyuz was abandoned a long time before the Miranda (see Starship Class Inconsistencies).
The USS Chekov was built by Ed Miarecki and could be seen only faintly in the Wolf 359 graveyard scene. Michael Okuda describes the ship as a scaled-down Galaxy saucer with engineering hull and two marker nacelles. The underslung pod seems to be taken from the Galaxy class.
Since the name Chekov (without the usual "h" as in Chekhov) is uncommon, we can suppose that Pavel has gained much appreciation in Starfleet. The registry of the Chekov is actually NCC-57302.
The Steamrunner class is an unconventional design with warp nacelles partially embedded in a highly irregularly shaped saucer section. The navigational deflector is located in a separate housing between the aft ends of the nacelles. The Steamrunner is obviously heavily armed. Gallery: First Contact Ships
Known ships
USS Appalacia NCC-52136 USS Cavor NCC-52133 USS Hiroshima USS Menehune NCC-52142
Annotations
The Steamrunner class first appeared in "First Contact" and only exists as a (comparably poorly detailed) CGI. We may infer from the registry of the Appalacia that it is not among the most recent starship classes, although its design looks quite modern and has several design features in common with the Sovereign class, e.g. the hull plating and the escape pods. The class name is information from behind the scenes.
The length of the ship is based on the assumption that the lifeboats are the same type as on the Sovereign, and indirectly on the ILM size chart.
On the size chart, the Hiroshima has the number NCC-52136, but this one was eventually placed one the Appalacia CGI model.
Class specifications
Length: approx. 356m
Surak
General description
Nothing is known about this ship class, which is apparently an older design.
Known ships
USS Zapata NCC-33184
Annotations
No ship of this class was ever visible. The class name Surak is from the Star Trek Encyclopedia. It is not at odds with the Vulcan Surak class.
USS Almagest NCC-91870
USS Chandrasekhar NCC-91816
USS ibn Al-Haytham NCC-91965
USS Huygens NCC-91814
USS Hypatia NCC-91825
USS Solkar NCC-91863
USS Sutherland NCC-91800
Annotations
Ships of this class appeared in PIC: "The Star Gazer" and "Farewell". The USS Chandrasekhar and USS Hypatia were visible in PIC: "The Next Generation".
The Sutherland class was designed and modeled by Thomas Marrone for Star Trek Online. Like the Nebula, it is equippable with a mission pod.
The Sutherland, however, is not a variation of the Nebula class (at least not in canon Trek) because the dimensions and proportions are too different.
Sydney-class starships are relatively large personnel transport vessels. They employ similar bridge modules and the same warp nacelles as the Constitution and Miranda classes. These ships were introduced at the end of the 23rd century and are still in active service by 2373. Gallery: Various Starfleet Ships
Known ships
USS Jenolan NCC-2010 USS Nash
Annotations
This class is often mistakenly classified as runabout, but it is definitely much larger than e.g. a Danube class. The studio model was originally used for an orbital shuttle, but substantially modified with Constitution and Miranda components in a fashion to look like a "real" starship with several decks. There is no way it could be in any way related to a runabout.
"USS Jenolan" is the correct spelling (after the Jenolan Caves in New South Wales), although the older Encyclopedias call it "Jenolen" and the model was labeled "Jenolin".
The USS Nash is the ship that could be frequently spotted at Deep Space 9 since the fifth season. In the VFX shots the ship was turned upside down, probably to indicate it might be of another, perhaps smaller type. Nevertheless, there is no reason to believe this is actually the case. The silly registry NCC-2010-5 of the Nash should be ignored.
The main purpose of this support craft seems to be to tow other vessels.
Known ships
No name or registry given
Annotations
This tin can opener (sorry, tug) appeared in only one episode, DS9: "A Time to Stand". The schematic reveals that the "model" has almost no starship-specific details and is composed of whatever was at hand, including Intrepid-class warp pylons, Romulan warp nacelles, and clamps from a computer mainboard. It was built by Judy Elkins and aptly nicknamed "USS Ertl".
This is a massive modular transport that was being built in large numbers at Utopia Planitia to evacuate Romulans when the shipyards was destroyed in 2384. Wallenberg-class ships are tugs that can be supplemented with a number of cargo or habitat containers.
Known ships
USS Nightingale
Annotations
The Wallenberg class can be seen in large numbers as footage in PIC: "Remembrace" and for real in the flashback in PIC: "Maps and Legends". We can recognize the word "TUG" on the upper aft hull.
The class name can be inferred from a statement of the former Romulan senator in PIC: "Absolute Candor". Michael Chabon confirmed that the ships seen on screen are indeed the mentioned Wallenberg class. Raoul Wallenberg is famous for saving thousands of Jews from the Nazis in Hungary and disappeared mysteriously during the following Soviet occupation.
Class specifications
Tug Length: 298.7m (w/o cargo pods)
Wambundu
General description
The Wambundu class is an older starship design, probably medium sized. The ships have considerably different assignments.
Known ships
USS Drake NCC-20381 USS Fleming NCC-20316
Annotations
No ship of this class was ever visible. The class name Wambundu is from the Star Trek Encyclopedia; only the two individual ships were mentioned on screen.
It can be conjectured that a number of Wambundu-class ships, which do not meet the requirements of a light cruiser any more, have been reassigned as medical transports such as the USS Fleming. Clearly the statement of the fake Captain Paul Rice in TNG: "Arsenal of Freedom" that the Drake was only capable of Warp 2 is nonsense, just as Riker's answer that his ship was the "USS Lollipop".
The Woden is an old-style ore freighter converted to automation.
Known ships
USS Woden NCC-325 (TOS-R)
Annotations
In TOS: "The Ultimate Computer", the ore freighter Woden that gets destroyed by M-5 looks like Khan's ancient DY-100 class because the same model was used. The Woden has to be a more recent ship, however. The DY-100 did not have warp or only impulse drive, and it is highly unlikely that the design might be of any use by 2268, least of all in interstellar space. Most likely all ships of this class, save for the Botany Bay, did not even survive the Eugenics Wars and the Third World War anyway.
In TOS-R the unfitting vessel was replaced with the cargo drone from TAS. The TAS design had previously been adapted to serve as the USS Antares in TOS-R: "Charlie X", but there with a new crew section that was omitted for the Woden. The registry is NCC-325, indicating that the Woden is a Starfleet freighter and numbered in the same fashion as a "real" manned ship. This is consistent with Spock's statement that the Woden is "listed in Starfleet Registry as an old-style ore freighter converted to automation".
The Yeager was visible in stock footage of ships in no less than 24 DS9 episodes. It is a kitbashed design, which incorporates components of the Intrepid and Maquis raider in an impossible combination. Even the weapons and other protrusions of the Maquis model were retained. The "official" image in the DS9 Technical Manual reproduces the look of the model basically correctly, except that the nacelles should be tilted, as they are glued directly to the "wings" of the Maquis raider.
Until recently we believed that Yeager was the class designation, and not the name of the individual ship. This would have allowed to reconcile this Yeager with the USS Yeager NCC-61947 of the Saber class that could be seen in "First Contact". Now the situation is different, as we are left with two Yeagers with very close registries. Even if the Yeager in DS9 had been named in honor of the ship that may have been destroyed by the Borg, this would still raise the question why the new ship has such a low registry (while other newly commissioned ships of the time are around NCC-75000).
Class specifications
Length: 346m
Yorkshire
General description
Nothing is known about the Yorkshire class, except that the USS Denver serves as a transport ship.
Known ships
USS Denver NCC-54927
Annotations
No ship of this class was ever visible. The class name Yorkshire is from the Star Trek Encyclopedia.
Class specifications
Transport Crew complement: 27 Passenger capacity: 500
Zodiac
General description
No information is available on this ship type. According to the only known registry number, it is a design from the mid-24th century.
Known ships
USS Yorktown NCC-61137
Annotations
No ship of this class was ever visible. The class name Zodiac is from the Star Trek Encyclopedia.
It is not clear whether this starship class really exists, since the Yorktown comes from Q's projected future in TNG: "All Good Things". Anyway, we may presuppose that Q's future would not fabricate facts that can be refuted already in the present, such as a ship with a registry from the 2350s or 2360s. Furthermore, a USS Yorktown was talked about in TNG: "Frame of Mind", which may easily be the Zodiac-class ship of this name.