Specifications - Constitution III-Class Explorer

Summary

While the governments of the Khitomer Alliance were considered the victors of the Dominion War, no nation truly went unscathed. While many members of Starfleet Command wanted to focus on building larger, multifaceted craft to make up for Starfleet’s losses, Starfleet’s depletion from the Dominion War was more serious than any wanted to admit. This, coupled with the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Star Empire withdrawing from the Alliance to pursue their own agendas in the early 2380s, led the Starfleet Corps of Engineers to focus on producing smaller vessels to compensate for limited resources and a war-weary pool of trained personnel. But in spite of these logistical hurdles, the Federation Council still sought to have a symbol to remind the galaxy of the traditions that made the Federation great.

Thus, in 2392, a cabal of Starfleet Engineers based out of the San Francisco Fleet Yards was commissioned to design the next generation of exploratory craft. Headed by one Rear Admiral William Krause, himself a veteran of the Dominion War (and a person who considered himself well-versed in the tolerances of Federation Starships), the design team drew inspiration from the vessels of Starfleet’s past to build their future. A fully-functioning prototype, NX-91775, began construction in an inconspicuous corner of the San Francisco Fleet Yards in June of 2398. While this vessel would drew heavy visual cues from the Shangri-La-Class Cruisers of the 2280s, this new class of ship was effectively a brand-new build from the ground up, utilizing some of the latest technological innovations that budgetary constraints would allow for.

Elsewhere, the oldest-surviving vessel in human history, the USS Constitution, celebrated its 600th anniversary on October 21st, 2397, in its home port of Boston. The city’s mayor at the time, one Henry Laurence, received wind that the Starfleet Corps of engineers was developing the next generation of Exploratory vessels, and, knowing that the Constitution name was attached to some of the most storied vessels in Starfleet history, began a petition to have the first vessel of this class named in its honor. His proposal was surprisingly well-received by the Federation council, and per their orders, NX-91775 was formally given its name: USS Constitution.

Thus, the Constitution III-Class of explorers was born. A surprise heir to the legacy of the Constitution and Constitution II-Class vessels, the Constitution III-Class (or “Neo-Constitution” Class, as it was dotingly referred to by Krause’s design team) was intended to be a “return to form” for Starfleet, embodying the ideals of the Federation’s past. Fashioned as a rugged, yet lissome workhorse, the Constitution III was designed to conduct exploratory missions, but could also be repurposed to support various other fleet operations when needed. While the ship was planned to be highly versatile and fill a variety of roles in the fleet, the new Constitution would have some deficiencies when compared to the more specialized craft used by Starfleet, in that it lacks the advanced sensors or laboratories of dedicated science ships, as well as the firepower of combat ships.

Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, the Constitution III-Class follows the more traditional lines of its namesake, featuring a saucer-shaped primary hull and a cylindrical engineering section that feeds twin warp nacelles similar to those of the earlier Sagan-Class Command Cruiser (these are also completely new builds, contrary to popular belief that the nacelles were borrowed from cancelled Sagans). The most striking feature of the Constitution III-Class is its enhanced—albeit overpowered— Impulse Engines, which have been designed to cater to a close support envelope at sublight speeds. This modification allows the Constitution III to have Defiant-like maneuverability in and around densely-populated solar systems, as well as providing members of the class with the highest sublight power-to-geometry ratio in Starfleet history. Sporting a new dilithium chamber capable of keeping the crystals stable at high warp speeds for longer periods of time, the Constitution III is also one of the fastest vessels in Starfleet and can maintain a stable velocity of Warp 9.99.

An enhanced electro-plasma distribution network allows ships of the Constitution III-Class to run equipment with high energy demands, like industrial replicators, with little loss on overall efficiency, making them ideal for mercy missions or rapid evacuations. The Constitution III features three shuttlebays, and is well suited for cargo and transportation missions due to its massive cargo holds, which frequently leads the vessel to being assigned to resupply planets, space stations, and even other starships. In order to accommodate this practical versatility, crew accommodations on the Constitution III are more modest than on comparable vessels of previous generations, with some crew cabins consisting of a single compartment. Outfitted with metaphasic shielding, the Constitution III's primary weapons are Narrow-Angle Phaser Beam Arrays, which sacrifice some of their fire arc in exchange for a stronger punch.

NX-91775 made its formal debut at the 2402 Utopia Areospace Exhibition, in a ceremony preceded over by Rear Admiral Krause and Mayor Laurence. Following a successful shakedown, a further five vessels were ordered for 2403, with each deriving their name from a historic vessel in Starfleet’s history; these include the USS Titan (NCC-80102-A), USS Intrepid (NCC-90272), USS Lexington (NCC-91750), USS Ranger (NCC-2500-D), and USS Yorktown (NCC-91781). A further nine vessels are set to be ordered, bringing the total number up to 15 by 2405.

General

Class		Constitution III
Role		Explorer
Duration		50 Years
Time Between Refits		10 Years
Time Between Resupply		10 Years

Dimensions

Length		560 Meters
Width		257 Meters
Height		95 Meters
Decks		28

Personnel

Officers		210
Enlisted Crew		715
Civilians		400
Emergency Capacity		5,000

Speed

Cruise Speed		Warp 8
Maximum Speed		Warp 9
Emergency Speed		Warp 9.999 (Maximum of 24 hours)

Weapons & Defensive Systems

Shields		o Auto-modulating Shields o Metaphasic Shielding
Weapon Systems		o Type XII Phaser Strips: 12 o Type VII Dual Turrets: 8 o Mk 115 Dual-Function Torpedo Launchers: 3
Armament		o Quantum Torpedoes: 10 o Photon Torpedoes: 250 o Stark Industries Jericho Torpedoes: 10

Auxiliary Craft

Shuttlebays		3
Shuttles		o Type XV Shuttle: 8 o Type XIV Shuttle: 8 o Type X Shuttle: 4 o DOT Repair Drones: 32
Runabouts		o Volga-Class Runabout: 1 o Argo-Class Runabout: 1 o Mark I Renault Twingo: 1 (We're not entirely sure what it's doing here, either) o Additional vehicles can be replicated, but this method is only recommended for emergency situations.