PROPOSED CENTAUR-CLASS STARSHIP SPECIFICATIONS

[Colton North]

Greetings everyone,

First of all, thanks to those of you who sent congratulatory messages to me via IRC and whatnot, Its very much appreciated. I'd also like to personally thank my predecessor for his continued advice and guidance with regard to my role as R&D Director.

With that said, now it's time to get down to business. As part of my application for the role, I was asked to put together not one, but two sets of starship specifications, the Centaur-class and the Cheyenne-class with the intention that they will be added to the fleet. With that in mind, I present the specifications that I created for the Centaur-class (The Cheyenne-class will follow in a separate thread to avoid confusion). Now we've come to the open review portion of the proposal process (http://randd.pegasusfleet.net/?page=procedures), please feel free to discuss the various points included, what you think works, what doesn't, any improvements that you believe would be beneficial.

Please note that the deck-listings are already being reviewed and revised, based on recommendations by my predecessor. The revisions will be posted upon completion.

PROPOSED CENTAUR-CLASS STARSHIP SPECIFICATIONS

Category: Destroyer

SERVICE CYCLE
Expected Duration: 80 years
Time Between Resupply: 1 year
Time Between Refit: 5 years

PERSONNEL
Officers: 30
Enlisted Crew: 100
Marines: 24
Maximum (Evacuation) Capacity: 320

SPEED
Cruising Velocity: Warp 5
Maximum Velocity: Warp 8.5
Emergency Velocity: Warp 9 for 12 hours

DIMENSIONS
Length: 210 meters
Beam: 125 meters
Height: 51 meters
Decks: 10

AUXILIARY CRAFT
Shuttlebays: 1

Fighters
4 x Razor Interceptors

Shuttles
1 x Type 11 Shuttlecraft
1 x Type 6 Shuttlecraft
2 x Type 15 Shuttlepod

ARMAMENT
Defensive Systems: Structural Integrity Field
Phasers: 9 x Type VIII dual-mount Phaser Banks

Shielding Systems
Auto-Modulating Shielding System
Metaphasic Shielding System
Standard Shielding System

Torpedoes
Burst-Fire Torpedo Launcher: 4
Quantum Torpedoes: 90
Photon Torpedoes: 240
Tri-Cobalt Device: 3

DESCRIPTION
Designed in the early 2320s as a complement to the existing Excelsior-class and the forthcoming Ambassador-class Starships, the Centaur-class resembles the NX class ships that were the mainstay of Earth's Starfleet before the foundation of the Federation. Like the mythical hybridised creature that the design was named for, the Centaur-class utilised some of the better design elements from two distinct classes of Starship, the Excelsior and the Miranda, in addition to utilising new design elements that would eventually see their way to newer Starship designs for decades to come.

The original design brief was for a medium-sized ship capable which utilised the latest innovations in Federation technology that could mainly serve Starfleet in a defensive capacity but could also take on less taxing assignments, freeing up the larger, mission specific ship classes. Another request was this new class of ship would require a small crew, have fewer resources and have a shorter build time than such classes as the Excelsior, Constellation and the Ambassador. The design team borrowed from the Miranda-class concept for their design, but based the ship off of a mixture of both Miranda and Excelsior-class components.

The ship was given a forward Shuttlebay, which also helped shield the bridge from enemy fire in case of shield failure. This unique placement also allowed for rapid deployment of attack or rescue craft towards the ship's destination or target. Having only the one Shuttlebay would normally mean a small complement of support craft, but the large capacity of the bay allows it to carry a larger complement when necessary. This design element eventually led to the thru-deck shuttlebay design found on the Akira-class design.

The ship's design is centred on a downsized version of the Excelsior-class saucer, so the internal arrangement is similar in the crew areas. The ship's dual-mount Phaser bank emplacements are arranged with 4 on the dorsal saucer, 5 on the ventral saucer, totalling in 18 individual phasers. The torpedo pod which was originally designed for the Miranda-class utilises 2 forward-firing torpedo launchers and 2 aft-firing launchers.

The Centaur has surprising manoeuvrability for its size and era, surpassing the Miranda-class and rivalling the newer Intrepid-class in combat situations. This has given the ship a high survival rate in massed-fleet combats, though it doesn't fare quite as well in one-on-one engagements. In this role it is an excellent fleet-support ship, being able to defend larger ships against attacks from smaller enemies and draw the fire of large cruisers.

The Centaur has proven itself effective at border patrol and anti-pirate activities, and more recently in the Cardassian and Dominion wars as a fast attack ship. It has also proven itself effective in convoy harassment and raids, being able to use its manoeuvrability and speed to perform hit and run attacks and take minimal damage itself.

The many design features utilised in the Centaur paved the way for the Steamrunner and Akira-classes, with many Engineers firmly believing that the Akira-class designs wouldn't exist if not for the Centaur. Along with its battle capabilities, the Centaur has proven a solid platform for scientific operations of varying natures. Several Centaur-class ships have been involved in planetary surveys and archaeological expeditions. Their easily accessible cargo areas also provide an excellent capability for transporting tools, supplies and equipment.

[Varela]

Commented

[Terris]

Still needs Deck Listings. Other than that looks good.

[Varela]

Please note that the deck-listings are already being reviewed and revised, based on recommendations by my predecessor. The revisions will be posted upon completion.

[Colton North]

Come on people, I tried keeping my messages short and to the point, the least you can do is read them!!!

[Blackcat]

To be honest, I think you went way overboard on the marines, nearly double of what I would consider proper. As you have it, almost 1/4 of the people on the ships would be marines, which for the role of a destroyer is well above what is needed. I'd suggest a drop to 24 marines.

Todd

[Colton North]

To be honest, I think you went way overboard on the marines, nearly double of what I would consider proper. As you have it, almost 1/4 of the people on the ships would be marines, which for the role of a destroyer is well above what is needed. I'd suggest a drop to 24 marines.

Todd

Okay, 24 Marines it is... and here I thought it was just my deck-listings you were going to gripe over.

[Colton North]

As promised, here's the revised deck listing for the Centaur.

DECK LISTING

Deck 01: Main Bridge, Captain's Ready Room, Docking Port

Deck 02: Briefing Room, Subspace Antennae, Shuttlebay Observation Deck, Transporter Rooms 1 & 2, Junior Officer's Quarters, Crew Quarters, Impulse Engine Assembly

Deck 03: Shuttlebay (Main Floor), Shuttlecraft Launch and Retrieval Systems, Transporter Rooms 3 & 4, Crew Quarters, Guest Quarters, Primary SIF/IDF Generators, Deuterium Storage Pods (Upper)

Deck 04: Shuttlebay Storage, Shuttlecraft Maintenance Bay, Shuttlecraft Workshops, Matter Injector, Deuterium Storage Pods (Lower), Engineering Labs and Workshops, Primary Computer Core (Upper Section), Secondary Computer Core (Upper Section), Dorsal Phaser Emplacements, Phaser Firing Control, Sickbay, Medical Labs, Morgue, Senior Officer's Quarters, Captain's Quarters, VIP Quarters

Deck 05: Engineering Labs and Workshops, Primary Computer Core (Mid-Upper Section), Secondary Computer Core (Mid Section), Senior Officer's Quarters, Junior Officer's Quarters, Crew Quarters, Security Offices, Brig, Main Armory, Marine Barracks, Marine Training Facilities, Phaser Range

Deck 06: Engineering Labs and Workshops, Stellar Cartography/Astrometics Lab, Science Laboratories, Deflector Control, Concealed Deflector Array (Upper), Primary Computer Core (Mid-Lower Section), Secondary Computer Core (Lower Section), Secondary SIF/IDF Generators, Secondary Stores, Environmental Control, Crew Mess, Crew Quarters

Deck 07: Main Engineering, Engineering Labs and Workshops, RCS Thruster Assemblies (P/S), Shield Generators, Concealed Deflector Array (Lower), Long Range Sensors, Lateral Sensors, Ventral Phaser Emplacements, Holodecks 1 & 2, General Recreational Areas, Crew Lounge, Gymnasium, Primary Computer Core (Lower Section), Docking Ports (P/S), Crew Quarters

Deck 08: Primary Hull: Cargo Bays, Cargo Transporter, Sensor Dome Assembly
Secondary Hull: Torpedo Firing Control, Primary SIF/IDF Generators, Waste Reclamation Systems, Primary Stores, Engineering Labs & Workshops, Antimatter Storage Pods, Antimatter Pod Ejection Systems, Antimatter Fill Ports, Cargo Bays

Deck 09: Upper Forward Torpedo Launcher Assembly (P/S), Aft Upper Torpedo Launcher Assembly (P/S), Torpedo Storage, Torpedo and Probe Workshop, Support Systems, Torpedo Auxiliary Control, Tactical Sensors, Main Tractor Beam Emitters (Fore & Aft)

Deck 10: Lower Forward Torpedo Launcher Assembly (P/S), Aft Lower Torpedo Launcher Assembly (P/S), Torpedo Storage

[Terris]

looking good

[Blackcat]

Move Waste Management on Deck 6 to a Waste Reclamation entry on Deck 8
Add to Deck 8 an Antimatter Fill Port entry, Primary Stores entry
Add to Deck 6 a Secondary Stores entry.