ST Frontier Fleet PBeM - Vessels

Basic Information
Starship Registry (4 results)
Type	Light Explorer/Scout Vessel
Commissioned	2370 - present
Dimensions	Length: 343 m Beam: 133 m Height: 66 m Decks: 15
Mass	700,000 Tons
Crew	150
Armament	- 13x Type VIII Phaser arrays - 5x standard photon/quantum torpedo tubes, 38 torpedoes
Defence Systems	- Shield system - Standard Duranium/Tritanium single hull - Standard level Structural Integrity Field
Warp Speeds	Normal Cruise: Warp 8 Maximum Cruise: Warp 9.975 Maximum Rated: Warp 9.985 for 1 hour
Refit Cycle	Minor: 1 year Standard: 5 years Major: 20 years

History/Background

Over the years, Starfleet's shipbuilding policy has changed from building mission-specific ships to larger, more capable designs, which could carry out more and a larger variety of missions. These missions could often even be carried out simultaneously. This, however, decreased the number of vessels which could be built, because of the massive required recourses needed for a single ship. For example, the Excelsior class ships, a class which was only built for a specific kind of mission, was easier to build and therefore more than a hundred were built. Of the Ambassador class, a more versatile, but also a more costly ship, only twenty-six were built. Finally, of the most advanced Starship at the time, the Galaxy class, only six were initially built. Later though, due to the threat of the Dominion War, more Galaxy classes have been taken into production. Although the Galaxy class was a very versatile ship, its lack of numbers due to its difficult production process, made it less flexible. A Galaxy class couldn't just be sent on an exploratory mission when a war was raging, and if a Galaxy was out on the frontier, exploring new worlds, Starfleet would have trouble finding another Galaxy class to do the job that they needed it to do, due to the fact that there were only six. With the destruction of the USS Odyssey in 2370, Starfleet now only had three more Galaxy classes. Now 50% of the Galaxy classes were destroyed, which proved that having a ship that can do everything wasn't necessarily the best ship to have. A part of the goal for the new Intrepid class was to correct this situation. Intrepid class Starships were to increase the overall flexibility of the fleet. Issued in 2358, the design requirement for the Intrepid class called for a vessel of around 360 metres. It would have a volume of only 15% of the Galaxy class, which meant that there would be far less space to put technological gadgets and equipment in, which was part of what made the Galaxy class successful. The Intrepid class would therefore be much less advanced than the Galaxy class. Due to new advances in technology, however, the overall capabilities of the Intrepid class wouldn't be much lower than those of a Galaxy class. It's not true that the Intrepid class would be as strong as the Galaxy, which would still be stronger, but it is true that the advances in technology made it possible to make the Intrepid class one of the most advanced classes in the fleet. Amongst these technological breakthroughs were the new and more advanced computer, which used bio-neural gel packs instead of the older isolinear chips, and a new generation of sensor equipment. These two combined allowed the Intrepid class to have almost 30% of the analyzing and scanning capabilities of the Galaxy class. Another feature which the Intrepid class possessed and the Galaxy didn't was the top cruising speed of Warp 9.975, which was about three times the top cruising speed of the Galaxy class. This, combined with the improved sensors, made the Intrepid class an excellent ship of exploration. The size of the Intrepid class would still be a problem. It wouldn't be well suited for diplomatic missions, since hosting peace talks or other diplomatic functions requires supporting large numbers of extra personnel, not to mention diplomatic attaches, ambassadors who need luxurious quarters and the possibility of transporting whole armies of diplomats from one planet to the other. The Intrepid class just has no room for these diplomatic functions. She is just too small for that. Therefore, her diplomatic capabilities are limited to relatively small meetings, where Federation ambassadors, or mostly diplomats of a lower rank, meet a single party to negotiate with. For more important negotiations, a much larger ship is used. Her size is also a limiting factor in space combat. The size of the ship prevents the Intrepid class from storing a lot of torpedoes, or high-power phaser banks. With her type VIII phaser banks, limited number of torpedoes and single-fire torpedo launchers, she falls into the league of ships of the size of the Klingon Bird of Prey. Ships of those sizes could be defeated by the Intrepid class in a one-to-one combat. Although not very well armed, her speed and maneuverability make up for this weakness in firepower. With her speed and agility, combined with her advanced sensor systems, the Intrepid class is the perfect class of ship for long range reconnaissance missions, ahead of fleet operations. Using her speed to outrun opponents and her long-range sensors to collect critical information about enemy installations, the Intrepid class is invaluable in large tactical operations. In large battles involving whole fleets, the Intrepid class would act as a support ship to the larger Federation ships with more firepower, drawing fire away from those ships and acting as diversions. Their speed and maneuverability often gets the Intrepid class ships in the middle of the enemy fleet, luring the enemy into breaking formation and following the Intrepid class Starships. The Intrepid class program went relatively smoothly in the early and also in the mid stages. In 2370, however, it was discovered that warp drive damages subspace. The energy emissions warp drive emits was proven harmful to the structure of subspace itself, after which a warp five "speed limit" was implemented for all Federation Starships. Naturally, Starfleet wanted to go faster than warp five, so they pushed the engineers in the Intrepid program to find a solution to this problem. This led to a delay in the program, but it proved worth while, when scientists and engineers announced the implementing of a modified warp field, of which the Intrepid class would be the test bed. The trick was to use a warp field with a much elongated Z-axis, combined with complex warp field modulation and the utilization of new materials during the manufacture of warp coils. This has led to the use of the more elliptical saucers, now common on most Federation Starships. The use of an elliptical saucer was necessary to create a stable warp field, and still stick with the modifications to the field. This turned out to be a successful procedure, and the speed limit was abolished for ships with the new field modulation. There was only one problem with the new warp field configuration: it turned out that the new configuration led to a 15% reduction in warp speed, bringing the maximum cruise speed of the Intrepid class back from 9.99 to 9.975, and the maximum rated speed from warp 9.992 to warp 9.985. Although this was a substantial difference, it was better than to fly at a mere warp five, so the new warp field configuration was implemented in the Intrepid class, and also in other ship designs. The Intrepid program suffered a serious setback when the USS Voyager, the second Starship of its class, disappeared on her first mission, which was a mission to the Badlands. Building was suspended on the class, and the design itself was tested and reviewed, leaving no stone unturned. Finally, after a year of scrutiny and reviewing, the conclusion was reached that the design of the Intrepid class was not to blame for the disappearance of the USS Voyager. The program received the green light again and production started shortly thereafter. It was subsequently discovered that Voyager was in fact displaced to the other side of the Galaxy by an alien technology. After struggling to return home for nearly seven years, Voyager finally made it back to Earth via a Borg transwarp conduit. A feature unique to the Intrepid class among Federation Starships of this size is the ability to land on a planetary surface. This had been proven necessary after several incidents in which the normal operations of transporters and shuttle craft have been disrupted due to exotic environmental conditions. Evacuations and other surface related operations became dangerous situations, where a ship that would have the ability to land would have saved the day. Lives were lost in these situations, which prompted Starfleet to incorporate the landing feature into the Intrepid class design. Another interesting feature the Intrepid class has to offer is the special auxiliary craft it carries and which is incorporated into the lower part of the saucer section. It is used in situations where normal shuttle craft would be inadequate, or when the ship itself is on another mission and, for instance, a nearby nebula has to be explored. This aerodynamic shuttle, called the AeroWing or Aeroshuttle, is capable of both atmospheric and interstellar flight and can reach speed of up to warp three. It can carry various combinations of crew and cargo, but its normal crew compliment is four crewmembers. With its length of 27 metres, the Aeroshuttle is more like a Runabout than an ordinary shuttle. Although the USS Voyager is the most famous Intrepid class Starship, there is another important Intrepid class that is worth mentioning. Her name is the USS Odyssey, the successor of the Galaxy class ship that was destroyed in a battle with the Dominion. The Odyssey-A disappeared in an alternate reality, losing most of her crew. After being rescued by the USS Calhoun, Captain Fox D. Main, the former First Officer of the Calhoun, was assigned to the Odyssey as her CO. Under the command of Captain Main, the Odyssey faced many dangers, but got out of each one of them relatively unharmed.

Notes
Sources: - Daystrom Institute Technical Library, copyright Graham Kennedy - Ex Astris Scientia - Star Trek: Frontier Fleet