The
Excelsior-class was a type of battleship and explorer that
was first built in the 2280s and went on to be used by Starfleet
throughout the late 23rd and the 24th centuries.
The
prototype of this class was the USS Excelsior (NX-2000)
was initially fitted with an experimental transwarp drive and
was
proclaimed as "the Great Experiment".
History
The "great
experiment" of transwarp drive was meant to revolutionize
faster-than-light transport by capturing the warp
envelope in a transporter field and beaming it ahead of the ship and
increasing the speed in which the it could travel.
However, the
Excelsior's first test of the transwarp drive to
apprehend the stolen USS Enterprise in 2285, was thwarted
when
the drive was sabotaged by Montgomery Scott.
Despite the
ignoble start, tests continued to be ran on the Excelsior
but the transwarp drive continued to prove unreliable
and was declared a failure. However, the Excelsior's space-frame
proved to be very stable and reliable and it was decided
to
replace the transwarp engines with standard warp drive and
continued with production of further starships. A further
Mark I
Excelsior-class starship, the USS Proxima was
built and she underwent shakedown trials in 2288. Two Mark II
Excelsior-class vessels, the USS Columbia and USS
Galacta were also launched in the same year for shakedown
trials.
Several
years later, a new variant of the Excelsior-class design
entered service with added modifications to the basic hull
design.
The first ship to be constructed to these specifications
was the USS Enterprise-B which was launched in 2293.
Although some
Excelsior-class vessels were built to these
specifications, many new vessels used the original design.
The
production run of the Excelsior-class ran well into the
24th century which highlighted the adaptability and soundness of
the basic design. However by the early 2330s, construction on
new Excelsior-class vessels was down to just two a year,
as new starship classes such as the Ambassador-class came
into service. Although the Excelsior's were often
relegated to
secondary duties by the 2360s, large numbers
remained in service.
During the
2370s, the Excelsior's served in the bulk of engagements
against the Borg and the Dominion, although there was
a high
attrition rate in combat missions. Due to this, many
Excelsior's were refitted with more advanced weaponry, such
as
quantum torpedoes, to enable them to stay in a fire-fight
longer.
Armaments
The initial
Mark I design of the Excelsior-class included 16 phaser
banks (8 FH-11's, 8 FH-5's) and 4 photon torpedo launchers.
The
two varied phaser types was to make sure that all weapons arcs
were covered by both long-range and short-range
weapons.
However, the evaluation teams decided to replace the 8 FH-5
banks and replaced them with two further FH-11
banks, which
meant that the Excelsior's only had ten phaser banks, but
the field of fire overlapped more effectively.
The
improvement in torpedo launchers technology allowed two further
launchers to be incorporated into the Mark II design
and
remained in place through further models. By the 2370s, the
Excelsior design had been outfitted with improved
phaser
emplacements, quantum torpedoes and other tactical improvements
which brought it into line with later starship
designs and
proved necessary during the conflicts with the Borg and the
Dominion.
Defences
The
deflector shields of the Excelsior-class were an improved
version of the quasi-transducer that was in use in the late 23rd
century,
and was found to deliver more deflective power.
Saucer Separation
By the
mid-24th century, Starfleet began to allow civilians to travel
aboard Federation starships and allow an officer to have their
families with them as they travelled. While the newest starship
designs such as the Galaxy-class and Nebula-class
were built
to accommodate civilians, the older Excelsior-class
ships weren't designed to carry them.
However,
minor refits allowed for some accommodation of families. The
presence of civilians also made their safety a top priority,
as
the larger Galaxy-class vessels were equipped with a
facility to separate the saucer section and allow civilians to
escape from
a field of battle. With this procedure in mind,
several Excelsior-class vessels, such as the USS
Yorktown and USS Hood were equipped
with the same
ability to separate the saucer.