Bravo Fleet
Difference between pages "Mellstoxx system" and "User:Teylasramar/Sandbox/Constitution class"

Difference between pages "Mellstoxx system" and "User:Teylasramar/Sandbox/Constitution class"

From Bravo Fleet
(Difference between pages)
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{{Region
{{icons|bfc}}
{{Specification
| image = [[Image:Constitution.png]]
| displayName = '''''Constitution'' Class'''
| name = Constitution
| affiliation = [[United Federation of Planets]]
| operator = [[Starfleet]]
| status = Retired
| role = Heavy Cruiser
| type =
| precedingClass =
| succeedingClass = Constitution II
| dateEntered = 2244
| productionEnd = 2268
| retired = *2271 (for refit)
*2288 (last original configuration retired)
| expectedDuration = 100 Years
| expectedRefit = 10 Years
| timeResupply = 5 Years
| crewComplement = *450 (standard)
*200 (5-year missions)
| emergencyCap = 2,000
| civilians =
| populationCap =
| flightCrew =
| passengers =
| length =
| width =
| diameter =
| height =
| decks = 22
| propulsionSystem = M/AM Warp Drive
| cruiseSpeed = Warp 6
| maxSpeed = Warp 8
| emergencySpeed = Warp 9
| energyWeapons = 6x Type-VI Phaser Emitters
| torpLaunchers = *2 forward
*1 aft
| torpPayload = 150 Photon Torpedoes
| shields = Graviton Shielding System
| dockingfacilities =
| shuttleBays = 1 aft landing bay
| shuttles = 4 Class F shuttles
| runabouts =
| fighters =
| aux =
| msd =
}}The '''''Constitution''-class''' heavy cruiser is a legendary starship design often considered to be the exemplar of both [[Starfleet|Starfleet’s]] mission and its design ethos. First built in the 2240s, they remained Starfleet’s premiere heavy cruiser until the 2270s, having been refit and overhauled numerous times over those three decades until the changes became so substantial that the class was succeeded by its Enterprise sub-class, known officially as the [[Constitution II|''Constitution II''-class]].


| name = Mellstoxx System
| image =
| major powers = [[United Federation of Planets]], [[Starfleet]]
| minor powers = Betazed (colonial presence)
| important places = [[Starbase Bravo]]
}}The '''Mellstoxx System''' is in [[Federation]] territory in the , approximately 40 light-years from Sol in the direction of [[Klingon Empire|Klingon]] and [[Romulan Factions|Romulan]] space. Originally home to a Betazoid colony on the third planet, since the mid-23rd century it has been home to [[Starbase Bravo]] and a launching point for [[Starfleet]] operations protecting the spinward borders. Since then it has grown as a hub of regional activity, and has been described as the ‘last stop in civilisation’ before the frontier.
==History==
==History==
===Pre-Colonial===
===Genesis===
The star of Mellstoxx was identified by many Federation members before the UFP’s founding; Earth designated it ‘HD 149026.’ Limited warp speeds, tensions with the Klingon Empire, and a focus on expansion via diplomacy in the Federation’s early decades meant it took until the late 22nd century until it was properly surveyed. While this identified the third planet as a prime candidate for colonisation, only in the early 23rd century was a settlement proposal made by Betazed. This proposal was accepted, with permission granted for the colonial project to rename the star to Mellstoxx.
By the 2220s, the [[United Federation of Planets]] Starfleet had established its mission and its philosophy as being distinct both from the [[ma:Earth Starfleet|United Earth Starfleet]] and the stellar services of the Tellarites, Vulcans, and Andorians, but its shipbuilding practices continued to be largely fragmented. Vulcans built science ships, Andorians built warships, Tellarites built trade vessels, and Humans built a little bit of everything. In some ways this was advantageous—national shipyards could excel in what they were good at—but the Federation had yet to truly synergize the strengths of its member worlds into a cohesive technological platform. Named for the idea of the governing documents of a union serving to strengthen its people, Project Constitution was ordered in 2230 as a way of unifying the technological abilities of the Federation’s members into a single vessel that would embody Starfleet’s core missions of exploration, diplomacy, defense, and mercy for missions far beyond explored space.
===23rd Century===
Mellstoxx III was settled with a primarily Betazoid population, and the founding colonists’ culture has persisted ever since. Many were younger offspring of noble families seeking their own prospects, granting the colony a certain gentility in design and community. Agricultural development became a colonial priority, keeping the population fairly dispersed and the infrastructure largely rural. By the late-23rd century, Mellstoxx III was an acknowledged breadbasket of the region, commanding significant political and economic influence as it fed nearby colonies and facilities. The prison colony on [[ma:Tellun|Tellun]], for example, was founded specifically because of its proximity to Mellstoxx and its food shipments.
 
Imperial advances during the [[ma:Federation-Klingon War (2256-57)|Federation-Klingon War]] of the 2250s did not quite reach Mellstoxx, the [[Klingon Defense Force|KDF’s]] advance stymied by the Paulson Nebula. A small outpost was established at the periphery of the system to act as an early warning system and to support basic resupply of ships en route to or returning from the front. When the outpost’s convenience continued even after the treaty, as tensions simmered on the Klingon border and the [[Old Romulan Star Empire|Romulan Star Empire]] began to re-enter the galactic stage, plans were made for a more permanent facility. The [[Spacedock Class]] designated Starbase 4 was constructed in orbit of Mellstoxx III in the latter half of the 23rd century, and would support Starfleet and civilian activity in the region for over a hundred years.
===24th Century==
Starbase 4 kept the Mellstoxx system safe and protected even through the political upheaval of the early 24th century, and contributed to the region’s increased security. It was in this era, as borders settled and more distant colonies were established, that Mellstoxx became considered one of the more peripheral ‘safe’ systems. It was not a region at any particular risk from pirates or military incursions, and so the civilian population grew as people used Mellstoxx as the last stop before a frontier where there were worlds to settle, mysteries to explore, enemies to guard against, or riches to uncover.
 
It was for this reason that Mellstoxx III was chosen as the home for a [[Starfleet Academy—Mellstoxx III|new satellite campus]] for [[Starfleet Academy]] in 2356. When the [[Fourth Fleet]] took its modern form a decade later, its headquarters were established on Starbase 4, and the academy campus became the main training centre for its officers.
 
Mellstoxx was the target of a failed attack by the KDF in the [[ma:Federation-Klingon War (2372-73)|Federation-Klingon War]] of the 2370s. Cloaked forces moved past the initial defence lines and then into the Paulson Nebula to evade detection, but the nebula’s impact on their sensors meant the KDF task group failed to anticipate Starfleet reinforcements headed for Starbase 4. The reinforcements arrived in time to rout the strike force, and Mellstoxx remained secure throughout the rest of the conflict and the ensuing Dominion War.
 
It was due to the Mellstoxx colony that Betazed opposed Federation support for and evacuation of Romulans when news of the [[ma:Romulan_sun#The_Romulan_supernova|supernova]] became public; the colonists had no interest in becoming a home for refugees, and pressured their homeworld to support them. Local leaders organised small protests against the small evacuation flotilla initially assembled, and celebrated what they deemed a victory for their self-determination when Federation support was withdrawn following the [[ma:Attack on Mars|Attack on Mars]].
 
The ensuing collapse of the Romulan Star Empire and the rising instability of the Klingon Empire made the Federation’s spinward borders more unstable. Eager to keep regions such as Mellstoxx secure, plans were moved up to replace the ageing Spacedock-class Starbase 4, and construction began of a brand-new [[Guardian Class]]. Construction finished in early 2399, coinciding with the establishment of the Fourth Fleet’s new mandate to restore Starfleet involvement beyond Federation territory. This, and the continued prosperity of the Mellstoxx III colony, promises to guarantee the system’s regional importance for the coming decades.
==Notable Locations==
*Mellstoxx I: An epistellar jovian orbiting in a tight, tidally locked orbit of only 82 days. The planet has a hot, extreme, and exotic atmosphere due to its short periods and tidal locking.
 
*Mellstoxx II: A H-class planet and an arid desert world, much of the surface is too inhospitable for animal or even plant life. Some life has sprung up near the poles, though it has not particularly thrived and there are no permanent settlements by colonists.
 
*Mellstoxx III: An M-class planet, home to a colony settled by Betazed in the 23rd century. A rich agricultural world, and home to a satellite campus of Starfleet Academy.


*Mellstoxx IV: A class-L planet, rocky and barren and survivable by humanoid life only for a short period of time, especially without equipment. Ultimately deemed unsuitable for terraforming itself, Mellstoxx IV’s many moons became a target for such transformative processes.
Starfleet Engineering created the Advanced Starship Design Bureau to design the Constitution, with its headquarters and production facility located in the heart of the Federation at [[ma:San Francisco Fleet Yards|San Francisco Fleet Yards]]. The design process was slow and methodical, taking nearly fifteen years before the first two vessels left the yards. The brief was not just to create a starship that incorporated aspects of various member worlds’ achievements but to go beyond them to create a vessel that innovated in every area. This would be the largest, most elaborate, and most capable starship yet fielded by Starfleet, taking on a crew of 500 humanoids for voyages of five years with minimal outside support.


*Mellstoxx V: The largest planet in the system and a resource-rich J-class gas giant, whose atmosphere and many moons have become a hub of mining industry.
''Constitution'' herself, NX-1700, and the yet-unnamed NCC-1701 were laid down at San Francisco Fleet Yards in 2234, the former under the supervision of Admiral Matt Jefferies and the latter under then-Captain [[ma:Robert April|Robert April]]. The construction project was a truly multi-species affair, with each systems team purposefully composed of officers from across Starfleet’s own yards and the shipyards of member races. This initially led to conflict, but the management styles of Jefferies and April allowed every member of each team to find their own way of contributing to the project as a whole—this also served as a blueprint for operational procedures and command techniques for managing large multi-species crews, as this was something that Starfleet still lacked significant experience in.


*Mellstoxx VI: The second-largest planet in the system. A J-class gas giant with a complex ring system whose largest moon, Stinsfor, houses the main off-world training facility for Academy pilots.
Thanks to the success of the construction process, the order was increased to six vessels in 2238, and ''Constellation'', ''Republic'', and ''Intrepid'' were laid down that same year.


*Mellstoxx VII: An I-class ice giant.
As the design evolved, many areas of the ''Constitution''-class spaceframe were built to be modular and easily reconfigurable to allow the design to be upgradeable, something that proved to be prescient as the class would have many minor upgrades and two major redesigns over its service life. The saucer section in particular was designed to be able to handle anywhere from two-hundred to five-hundred crew, with space for labs, recreational facilities, and sickbays alterable to suit different mission parameters and crew sizes. This was made possible by locating the majority of the ship’s larger equipment—the deflector dish, warp core, cargo holds, hanger, etc.—in the secondary hull, so that the primary hull was reserved for crew support and mission-specific equipment. The initial two vessels were configured to support a crew of 450, with a generalist lab arrangement and volume reserved for diagnostic computers to evaluate them during their shakedowns.
===Starbase Bravo ([[Starbase Bravo|see article]])===
Starbase Bravo is a Guardian-class Federation space station, one of the largest ever constructed. Beyond providing protection for Mellstoxx and supportive infrastructure for local Starfleet operations, it acts as a regional hub for commerce, diplomacy, and colonial affairs. With the territories beyond Mellstoxx an increasingly dangerous frontier, Bravo is considered the last stop in civilisation before the borderlands.
===Mellstoxx III===
The first and largest colony of the system. Settled by Betazoid colonists in the early 23rd century, Mellstoxx III is an affluent agricultural world providing food and supplies for many worlds and facilities of the neighbouring regions. Rather than a parochial rural dwelling, it is a home of efficient industry developed in concert with the world’s natural beauty.


Settlements grow along agricultural hubs, with most outside of the main spaceport dwellings remaining home to mere thousands. Most colonists dwell in either comfortable, modern abodes adjacent to their farmlands, sustainably built from local materials. Others, particularly community leaders and those who have some claim, however distant, to the noble houses of Betazed, build large, traditional Betazoid manors. Some are constructed from local stone, a blend of commitment to Mellstoxx and a harkening back to their home; others have imported material from the homeworld as a demonstration of their commitment to tradition. Such impressive homes are usually hubs for community activities, their owners influential figures.
The prototype, ''Constitution'', was launched in 2244 and undertook an extensive six-month shakedown cruise in the core of the Federation while NCC-1701 continued under construction. A year later, the second prototype was unveiled as the first Federation starship to bear the name ''Enterprise'', named after the Earth Starfleet vessel widely considered to be the primary instrument leading to the founding of the Federation. Her launch was followed quickly by Constellation, which was completed more quickly thanks to lessons learned along the way of building the first two.


While the majority of the residents of Mellstoxx are Betazoids, and the Betazoid culture remains dominant, colonists from all over the Federation have made their homes in the settlements. They tend to live within the more centralised and modern towns in the spaceport regions, keeping them cosmopolitan hubs comparable to any Federation world. Non-Betazoids only tend to live in the more parochial regions if they are particularly prepared to engage in Betazoid custom and politics.
===Early Service===
''Constitution'', ''Constellation'', and ''Enterprise'' were sent on their first five-year missions in 2245, with Captain [[ma:Garth|Garth of Izar]] commanding ''Constitution'', Captain Robert April commanding ''Enterprise'', and Captain [[ma:Matt Decker|Matt Decker]] commanding ''Constellation'', under the careful watch of Admiral Jefferies. The initial three ships were very successful in their first two years of service, and even as ''Republic'' and ''Intrepid'' were still nearing completion, Starfleet increased the order to twelve total ''Constitution''-class starships. A number of other classes using the same technological base, such as the ''Bellerophon'', ''Radiant'', and ''Archer'' classes were also ordered around this time.


Mellstoxx III is also home to the [[Fourth Fleet Training Command]], its facilities and Academy campus constructed in a temperate region of the northern hemisphere, close to one of the secondary spaceports of the planet. The region has seen considerable growth and development over the last fifty year.
The concept of a Five-Year Mission was prototyped aboard the original ''Constitution''-class vessels as a new way of managing the command and staffing of starships. It was not uncommon for short-range vessels to have a captain for a few months at a time or even for a single mission and regular contact with starbases allowed for frequent crew rotations. As the ''Constitution'' was intended to be much more independent, a structure was developed that commissioned each captain to a five-year stint aboard their vessel, with a command crew that was intended to be more or less stable. This required new regulations for managing crew advancement in the field, as well as new strategies for making a starship a comfortable and fulfilling place to spend five years of one’s life.


While the people of Mellstoxx III are largely happy for the presence of Starfleet, which keeps them safe and brings considerable attention and prestige to their world, the colonists retain something of an independent streak. Many of them are from families who struck out to find their own fortune centuries ago, and are determined for their interests to not be subsumed by Starfleet. This has been seen in some grudging disapproval of perceived favour given to settlements nearby and supportive of the Academy campus. Worst was the opposition on Mellstoxx to receiving any Romulan refugees in the 2380s, which caused strain between locals and Starfleet, and resulted in pressure placed on Betazed to oppose the evacuation efforts.
===Mid Career===
===Other Settlements==
In 2250, ''Constitution'', ''Constellation'', and ''Enterprise'' all completed their first five-year missions to widespread acclaim. While Garth of Izar and Decker remained at their posts, Robert April was promoted to flag rank and, as the newly-minted Director of Deep Space Operations, became the supervisor of the entire Constitution fleet.
No other settlements in the system come even close to rivalling Mellstoxx III. Some moons of the system have been settled with pressure domes, but none have more than several thousand inhabitants on the whole moon.


The moons of Mellstoxx IV underwent terraforming processes in the early 24th century, with hopes they could become homes to further colonies. In practice, this resulted in a smattering of moons with inhabitable biomes but largely rugged landscapes. While the alpine moon of Tranter enjoys some success as a tourist attraction and holiday getaway, others range from truly unwelcoming to simply too difficult to offer more than a niche interest. Their greatest purpose has become as training grounds for the Academy campus, able to provide a variety of environments in survival classes.
A decade into their service, the ''Constitution'' class received their first major overhaul in 2255, with widespread systems upgrades and a shrinking of the crew by two hundred to optimize them for longer deep space missions. This allowed for larger and more spacious quarters, as well as less strain on the life support systems. The members of this class were absent from the [[ma:Federation-Klingon_War_(2256-57)|Federation-Klingon War of 2256-57]], as Starfleet wanted to keep them in reserve. As the class was a large investment of both resources and crew, Starfleet rush-ordered a leaner variant that would replicate the engine and tactical systems of the ''Constitution'' but with a much smaller crew: and a much shorter construction period the ''Sombra''. Few of these vessels were built, given the short duration of the war, and they were all refit as Constitution-class ships with full exploratory systems by 2260.  


In the late-23rd century, precious minerals and gases were identified in the atmosphere and moons of the gas giant Mellstoxx V. The planet’s orbital infrastructure has become the second-greatest industrial complex in the system, after Mellstoxx III’s agriculture itself, with a variety of mining bases and facilities built in orbit or on the moons themselves.
Following the war, Starfleet prioritized the construction of classes that were derived from the ''Constitution'', including the new ''Miranda'', ''Hermes'', and ''Saladin''-class vessels that were directly built from Constitution-type components. This building program included a handful of ''Constitution'' orders which made up losses in the years following, bringing the total ''Constitution''-class fleet up to 12 by 2265.


There are no major civilian settlements in the moons of Mellstoxx VI, but its largest moon, Stinsfor, is home to the main flight training facility for the Academy. Mellstoxx VII’s complex ring system, and the atmosphere of the moons and the planet itself, offer a variety of conditions to train new pilots.
Most ships of the ''Constitution'' class retained their 250-person crew into the 2260s, when the next major overhaul returned the core twelve vessels to a 450-person crew. The hull was also encased in a thin layer of metalo-ceramic armor, which gave them their now-classic, stark exterior. While serving still primarily as explorers, this refit also incorporated fewer but heavier phaser banks as a response to simmering tensions on the Klingon border.


Mellstoxx II, a desert world, has no permanent settlements, with the Betazoid colonists showing no interest in its rugged climate. Scientific expeditions and Academy survival courses sometimes set down for a period.
===Later Life===
==Neighbouring Regions==
Though these vessels proved to be highly successful in service, ''Defiant'', ''Constellation'', ''Intrepid'', and ''Excalibur'' were all either destroyed outright or lost with all hands during the period between 2265 and 2270. While each of these circumstances was extraordinary and no underlying flaw was found in the class itself, Starfleet ordered an extensive overhaul, starting with the refit of the ''Enterprise'', a project which eventually became the ''Constitution II''-class heavy cruiser.
Mellstoxx is positioned at the edge of what is considered the ‘stable’ regions of the Federation; a notably safe and secure system, it stands at the threshold of the more rugged borderlands.


Notable nearby systems or regions include:
Throughout the 2270s, the majority of the ''Constitution''-class vessels were upgraded into ''Constitution II''-class vessels, with the exception of the USS ''New Jersey'', which was not launched until 2268 and thus was considered too new to upgrade. ''New Jersey'' was decommissioned after 20 years of service in 2288, having stubbornly resisted a refit, and was placed in the Starfleet Museum, where she remains as of 2401: the last remaining example of an original configuration ''Constitution''-class starship.
*Tellun: Once a prison colony where until the mid-23rd century, prisoners were employed as miners. In the modern day, Tellun is a rehabilitation facility, offering sophisticated training in useful, modern skills as miners to prisoners to help them live a better life.


*Paulson Nebula: Between Mellstoxx and the Klingon border, the Paulson Nebula is a light years-wide phenomenon, home to multiple stars, colonies, and industrial and research facilities. The density of the nebula varies across regions, but for large stretches its composition presents challenges for ship navigation, communication systems, and sensor technology.
==Vessels Commissioned==
*USS ''Constitution'' (Refit as Constitution II, Retired)
*USS ''Enterprise'' (Refit as Constitution II, Destroyed)
*USS ''Constellation'' (Destroyed)
*USS ''Cayuga'' (Destroyed)
*USS ''Defiant'' (Lost)
*USS ''Intrepid'' (Destroyed)
*USS ''Excalibur'' (Destroyed)
*USS ''Exeter'' (Refit as Constitution II, Active as training ship)
*USS ''Lexington'' (Refit as Constitution II, Retired)
*USS ''Potemkin'' (Refit as Constitution II, Retired)
*USS ''Republic'' (Refit as Constitution II, Active as training ship)
*USS ''Hood'' (Refit as Constitution II, Retired)
*USS ''Valiant'' (Refit as Constitution II, Retired)
*USS ''Yorktown'' (Refit as Constitution II, Retired)
*USS ''Sombra'' (S) (Refit as Constitution II, Retired)
*USS ''Peregrine'' (S) (Refit as Constitution II, Retired)

Revision as of 00:27, 9 February 2024

This article is official Bravo Fleet canon.









File:Constitution.png
Constitution Class
Information
Affiliation

United Federation of Planets

Status

Retired

Role

Heavy Cruiser

Lineage
Succeeding Class Constitution II-class
Service
Operator

Starfleet

Entered Service

2244

Production Ended

2268

Retired
  • 2271 (for refit)
  • 2288 (last original configuration retired)
Endurance
Expected Design Life

100 Years

Expected Refit Cycle

10 Years

Expected Resupply Cycle

5 Years

Crew Capacity
Standard Complement
  • 450 (standard)
  • 200 (5-year missions)
Emergency Capacity

2,000

Dimensions
Decks

22

Propulsion
Propulsion Systems

M/AM Warp Drive

Cruise Speed

Warp 6

Maximum Speed

Warp 8

Emergency Speed

Warp 9

Armaments
Energy Weapons

6x Type-VI Phaser Emitters

Torpedo Launchers
  • 2 forward
  • 1 aft
Torpedo Payload

150 Photon Torpedoes

Shields

Graviton Shielding System

Small Craft
Shuttlebays

1 aft landing bay

Shuttles

4 Class F shuttles

Template:Specification

The Constitution-class heavy cruiser is a legendary starship design often considered to be the exemplar of both Starfleet’s mission and its design ethos. First built in the 2240s, they remained Starfleet’s premiere heavy cruiser until the 2270s, having been refit and overhauled numerous times over those three decades until the changes became so substantial that the class was succeeded by its Enterprise sub-class, known officially as the Constitution II-class.

History

Genesis

By the 2220s, the United Federation of Planets Starfleet had established its mission and its philosophy as being distinct both from the United Earth Starfleet and the stellar services of the Tellarites, Vulcans, and Andorians, but its shipbuilding practices continued to be largely fragmented. Vulcans built science ships, Andorians built warships, Tellarites built trade vessels, and Humans built a little bit of everything. In some ways this was advantageous—national shipyards could excel in what they were good at—but the Federation had yet to truly synergize the strengths of its member worlds into a cohesive technological platform. Named for the idea of the governing documents of a union serving to strengthen its people, Project Constitution was ordered in 2230 as a way of unifying the technological abilities of the Federation’s members into a single vessel that would embody Starfleet’s core missions of exploration, diplomacy, defense, and mercy for missions far beyond explored space.

Starfleet Engineering created the Advanced Starship Design Bureau to design the Constitution, with its headquarters and production facility located in the heart of the Federation at San Francisco Fleet Yards. The design process was slow and methodical, taking nearly fifteen years before the first two vessels left the yards. The brief was not just to create a starship that incorporated aspects of various member worlds’ achievements but to go beyond them to create a vessel that innovated in every area. This would be the largest, most elaborate, and most capable starship yet fielded by Starfleet, taking on a crew of 500 humanoids for voyages of five years with minimal outside support.

Constitution herself, NX-1700, and the yet-unnamed NCC-1701 were laid down at San Francisco Fleet Yards in 2234, the former under the supervision of Admiral Matt Jefferies and the latter under then-Captain Robert April. The construction project was a truly multi-species affair, with each systems team purposefully composed of officers from across Starfleet’s own yards and the shipyards of member races. This initially led to conflict, but the management styles of Jefferies and April allowed every member of each team to find their own way of contributing to the project as a whole—this also served as a blueprint for operational procedures and command techniques for managing large multi-species crews, as this was something that Starfleet still lacked significant experience in.

Thanks to the success of the construction process, the order was increased to six vessels in 2238, and Constellation, Republic, and Intrepid were laid down that same year.

As the design evolved, many areas of the Constitution-class spaceframe were built to be modular and easily reconfigurable to allow the design to be upgradeable, something that proved to be prescient as the class would have many minor upgrades and two major redesigns over its service life. The saucer section in particular was designed to be able to handle anywhere from two-hundred to five-hundred crew, with space for labs, recreational facilities, and sickbays alterable to suit different mission parameters and crew sizes. This was made possible by locating the majority of the ship’s larger equipment—the deflector dish, warp core, cargo holds, hanger, etc.—in the secondary hull, so that the primary hull was reserved for crew support and mission-specific equipment. The initial two vessels were configured to support a crew of 450, with a generalist lab arrangement and volume reserved for diagnostic computers to evaluate them during their shakedowns.

The prototype, Constitution, was launched in 2244 and undertook an extensive six-month shakedown cruise in the core of the Federation while NCC-1701 continued under construction. A year later, the second prototype was unveiled as the first Federation starship to bear the name Enterprise, named after the Earth Starfleet vessel widely considered to be the primary instrument leading to the founding of the Federation. Her launch was followed quickly by Constellation, which was completed more quickly thanks to lessons learned along the way of building the first two.

Early Service

Constitution, Constellation, and Enterprise were sent on their first five-year missions in 2245, with Captain Garth of Izar commanding Constitution, Captain Robert April commanding Enterprise, and Captain Matt Decker commanding Constellation, under the careful watch of Admiral Jefferies. The initial three ships were very successful in their first two years of service, and even as Republic and Intrepid were still nearing completion, Starfleet increased the order to twelve total Constitution-class starships. A number of other classes using the same technological base, such as the Bellerophon, Radiant, and Archer classes were also ordered around this time.

The concept of a Five-Year Mission was prototyped aboard the original Constitution-class vessels as a new way of managing the command and staffing of starships. It was not uncommon for short-range vessels to have a captain for a few months at a time or even for a single mission and regular contact with starbases allowed for frequent crew rotations. As the Constitution was intended to be much more independent, a structure was developed that commissioned each captain to a five-year stint aboard their vessel, with a command crew that was intended to be more or less stable. This required new regulations for managing crew advancement in the field, as well as new strategies for making a starship a comfortable and fulfilling place to spend five years of one’s life.

Mid Career

In 2250, Constitution, Constellation, and Enterprise all completed their first five-year missions to widespread acclaim. While Garth of Izar and Decker remained at their posts, Robert April was promoted to flag rank and, as the newly-minted Director of Deep Space Operations, became the supervisor of the entire Constitution fleet.

A decade into their service, the Constitution class received their first major overhaul in 2255, with widespread systems upgrades and a shrinking of the crew by two hundred to optimize them for longer deep space missions. This allowed for larger and more spacious quarters, as well as less strain on the life support systems. The members of this class were absent from the Federation-Klingon War of 2256-57, as Starfleet wanted to keep them in reserve. As the class was a large investment of both resources and crew, Starfleet rush-ordered a leaner variant that would replicate the engine and tactical systems of the Constitution but with a much smaller crew: and a much shorter construction period the Sombra. Few of these vessels were built, given the short duration of the war, and they were all refit as Constitution-class ships with full exploratory systems by 2260.

Following the war, Starfleet prioritized the construction of classes that were derived from the Constitution, including the new Miranda, Hermes, and Saladin-class vessels that were directly built from Constitution-type components. This building program included a handful of Constitution orders which made up losses in the years following, bringing the total Constitution-class fleet up to 12 by 2265.

Most ships of the Constitution class retained their 250-person crew into the 2260s, when the next major overhaul returned the core twelve vessels to a 450-person crew. The hull was also encased in a thin layer of metalo-ceramic armor, which gave them their now-classic, stark exterior. While serving still primarily as explorers, this refit also incorporated fewer but heavier phaser banks as a response to simmering tensions on the Klingon border.

Later Life

Though these vessels proved to be highly successful in service, Defiant, Constellation, Intrepid, and Excalibur were all either destroyed outright or lost with all hands during the period between 2265 and 2270. While each of these circumstances was extraordinary and no underlying flaw was found in the class itself, Starfleet ordered an extensive overhaul, starting with the refit of the Enterprise, a project which eventually became the Constitution II-class heavy cruiser.

Throughout the 2270s, the majority of the Constitution-class vessels were upgraded into Constitution II-class vessels, with the exception of the USS New Jersey, which was not launched until 2268 and thus was considered too new to upgrade. New Jersey was decommissioned after 20 years of service in 2288, having stubbornly resisted a refit, and was placed in the Starfleet Museum, where she remains as of 2401: the last remaining example of an original configuration Constitution-class starship.

Vessels Commissioned

  • USS Constitution (Refit as Constitution II, Retired)
  • USS Enterprise (Refit as Constitution II, Destroyed)
  • USS Constellation (Destroyed)
  • USS Cayuga (Destroyed)
  • USS Defiant (Lost)
  • USS Intrepid (Destroyed)
  • USS Excalibur (Destroyed)
  • USS Exeter (Refit as Constitution II, Active as training ship)
  • USS Lexington (Refit as Constitution II, Retired)
  • USS Potemkin (Refit as Constitution II, Retired)
  • USS Republic (Refit as Constitution II, Active as training ship)
  • USS Hood (Refit as Constitution II, Retired)
  • USS Valiant (Refit as Constitution II, Retired)
  • USS Yorktown (Refit as Constitution II, Retired)
  • USS Sombra (S) (Refit as Constitution II, Retired)
  • USS Peregrine (S) (Refit as Constitution II, Retired)
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