Odyssey Class
The Odyssey-class heavy explorer is the largest starship in Starfleet service, serving as a frontline explorer and flagship with an emphasis on diplomatic and command capabilities. The ultimate expression of the Utopia Planitia school of starship design exemplified by the Galaxy-class explorer of the 2360s, the Odyssey has design features and aesthetics that harken back to a more hopeful era in Federation history. In service, she has complemented leaner, more efficient explorers, like the Ross and the Obena, by providing advanced long-range communications and command functions, engineering and technical support, and medical facilities once only found on starbases.
Exploration and Science
As explorers, Odyssey-class starships are capable of independent exploratory missions of indefinite duration. In practice, however, they are typically not sent into deep space on their own. Rather, they serve as a logistics hub and flagship for a formation of other, smaller starships to increase their range with their own massive fuel and supply reserves. They also embark a fleet of small craft on their own for dozens of simultaneous away missions, including their Aquarius-class escort which can easily handle transporting away teams on independent scientific missions or serve as a temporary planetary camp for intensive studies. The primary and secondary hulls of the Odyssey can operate fully independently, allowing the ship to embark on multiple primary missions at the same time. For example, the secondary hull could be used to investigate an interstellar phenomenon while the saucer section conducts an in-depth survey of a nearby star system, all while the support ship is engaged in an archaeological dig, a capability not present with any other single starship.
Like the Galaxy, they have extensive onboard science departments with the full range of general, specialist, and mission-configurable labs, as well as substantial onboard space for science teams to conduct missions fully independent of the ship's primary mission. Odyssey-class ships have labs in every imaginable specialty and the scientists to crew them, as one of their core tasks is providing specialist expertise to other vessels that are too small or too specialized to embark their own. For example, it is rare for a starship to have an entire xeno-ornithology section onboard, but this and other extremely specialized departments are common on Odyssey-class ships.
Odyssey-class ships have four large probe bays which launch vertically from the bow. These launchers are capable of handling the very largest of Starfleet's probe inventory, including equipment that once had to be launched from shuttle bays. They also have the capability to manufacture probes onboard.
Starfleet is reluctant to assign Odyssey-class starships to general exploratory duties for the same reasons that make them excellent at that task: their large size and large crew counts. The disastrous first contact between the Galaxy-class USS Odyssey and the Dominion during her final mission is a well-remembered lesson. For truly independent exploration, Constitution III and Obena-class ships are preferred, particularly those where unexpected first contacts with potentially hostile powers are possible.
Diplomacy
Because of their size, Odyssey-class starships are excellent diplomatic platforms. They can easily accommodate hundreds of visitors in guest quarters or host thousands of people as a sort of orbital conference center. They are well-suited to multi-party talks and hosting academic summits. Given their crew size, they almost always embark a dedicated diplomatic and protocol staff, something usually only seen on dedicated diplomatic couriers or starbases. They are generally only sent on the most important diplomatic missions, and Obena-class starships are often preferred for fist contact missions because of their less-intimidating nature.
Combined with her advanced communications system, Odyssey is capable of hosting negotiations in her holodecks with some guests connecting remotely, and all of her diplomatic spaces and quarters are fully reconfigurable using holographic technology. This equipment also keeps these ships in constant contact with Starfleet Command, allowing them to serve as an authoritative voice during negotiations. Odyssey-class ships are often themselves flagships, and the embarked flag officer is often the lead during diplomatic talks.
Engineering
Odyssey-class starships are incredibly complex vessels, given that, like the Galaxy before them, they are comprised of two separate, independent vehicles, each with their own life support, propulsion, defense, and crew support systems. The primary hull, dubbed the "chevron" joins to the secondary hull, with a set of magnetic latches. There are also pass-throughs the impulse engines, which are connected when the ship is integrated to allow the normally-hidden chevron engines to provide the main impulse engines with more power. The primary hull has its own warp core, which feeds a set of warp coils arranged in a horse-shoe pattern around the ship's separation plane on the underside of the chevron. It also contains four gimbaled warp governors that strengthen and enhance the ship's warp field, allowing it to travel at high speeds more efficiently. These governors are powered by the saucer warp core, meaning that the ship is at its most efficient when both hulls' power systems are in operation.
The ship's entire propulsion system can be controlled from either main engineering, featuring the intermix chamber for the ship's primary warp drive, or from the engineering complex in the saucer section, at the discretion of the ship's chief engineering officer. Advanced automation makes many tasks simpler, such as routine maintenance, but the ship's highly complex structure and internal arrangements means that the overall engineering crew required for normal operations is still very large. Other advanced systems include multiphasic radiator plates--which help disperse exotic particles created by sustained high-speed travel, and q-phase variance compensators which mitigate the effects of temporal and spatial distortions created by the unusually-powerful warp engines.
To fulfill their role as essentially mobile starbases, Odyssey-class ships are equipped with industrial replication facilities and onboard workshops to create any component to repair themselves and the ships they travel with. These facilities can also be used to build entire colonies or refugee facilities in service of their humanitarian mission. Coupled with large cargo holds, they can serve as the logistical centerpiece to entire fleets. The ship also has two heavy-duty forward and aft dual tractor beam emitters for manipulating large objects, and these are often useful in building large space stations.
Tactical
Building off of lessons learned in the design of the Sovereign-class exploratory cruiser, Odyssey-class starships are well-armed and powerfully defended. Unlike the Sovereign, however, they are not intended primarily for tactical functions. Their weapons are distributed to provide even coverage on all angles, with more emphasis on powerful shields over forward alpha-strike capabilities. Few threat vessels could expect to successfully defeat her in a one-on-one confrontation - those able to endure sustained fire from her weapons systems are highly unlikely to breach her shields before she is able to disengage at a sprint speed difficult for them to match.
Odyssey’s first line of defense is her impressive shield coverage, with regenerative shield generators of comparable size and redundancy to a small starbase. With two warp cores, she is able to keep her shields up longer and under more fire than most other starship classes. There is an ongoing refit program to add metaphasic shields to this class, as well.
The torpedo launchers aboard Odyssey are enhanced from those found aboard Galaxy, each capable of firing salvos of fifteen (rather than ten) photon or quantum torpedoes at a time. There are two forward and two aft launchers, providing three times the torpedo launch capabilities of the Galaxy and a similar capability to that of the Sovereign but with substantially fewer launchers, and thus lower maintenance demands. Given the right raw materials (namely antimatter), Odyssey-class ships are capable of manufacturing new torpedoes for their own arsenals and that of their support vessels.
Phaser coverage is comprehensive, with eighteen Type-XII phaser arrays (including two arrays only usable in separated flight mode) covering all firing arcs. In addition, there are two dorsal and one ventral phaser cannon turrets, which have internal rotary components to provide fast, responsive targeting to craft too close to target with the main phaser arrays. The primary hull has two heavy pulse phaser cannons, which are primarily used in separated flight mode to compensate for the primary hull's lack of torpedo launchers.
Whether in peacetime or in wartime, Odyssey’s mission parameters call for extensive communications facilities. With powerful active subspace arrays capable of cutting through nearly any other interference through sheer power, Odyssey is suited both to leading fleets and to coordinating exploration efforts from the front. On long-range missions, she serves, if not as the literal flagship for an expedition with an admiral embarked, as the coordination center through which communications traffic is filtered and distributed to vessels with more traditional communications arrays. These systems are also used to coordinate her extensive complement of embarked craft which are used to supplement her exploratory efforts.
Auxiliary Craft Facilities
Odyssey-class starships have the greatest small craft capabilities of any starship currently in service, thanks to a massive three-deck hanger in the primary hull and a second hanger in the secondary hull nearly equal in size to the primary facility found aboard Galaxy and Nebula-class starships. A typical Odyssey-class starship embarks a dozen runabouts and scouts, and three times that many shuttles. These craft are used to conduct away missions, ranging from weeks-long scouting trips away from the mothership to humanitarian evacuations. The primary hanger is split into three distinct bays, with two smaller doors flanking a larger middle door. The side bays also have upper and lower launch and retrieval pads, splitting them further in two for the first 30 meters of the bay. This allows for simultaneous launch and recovery operations to proceed on five different vectors from the main hanger. The secondary hull hanger is not split, which preserves the capability to house larger craft and bulky cargo.
To enhance her point-defense capabilities, Odyssey can also support a wing of twelve starfighters. Amidships in the secondary hull there are eight quick launch bays for small craft. These small bays can support a single fighter, shuttle, or maintenance craft for quick vertical launch, usually in combat situations. These bays are connected to the forward hanger via a maglev tunnel. Outside of combat it is possible for them to retrieve the craft they launch, but usually launched craft return through the forward shuttle bay.
The Odyssey supplements her already-impressive small craft capabilities by being the first design to embark a full-sized escort starship. Carried in a stern docking cradle, the Aquarius-class escort is similar in philosophy to the Defiant-class escort, but with greater space for cargo and away team support functions in place of some of her armaments. This vessel can be controlled directly from the Odyssey in multi-vector flight configuration or embark its own crew for fire support. It is also frequently used for independent missions, though she's not intended to be away from her mothership for more than three or four weeks at a time. In addition, Odyssey-class starships embark an integrated captain's yacht behind the primary planetary sensor dome in the secondary hull. These ships can be configured with a diplomatic launch, any captain's yacht class, a Waverider, or an Aeroshuttle, but altering this bay is a process that would take a starbase several weeks to accomplish, so once the selection is made, a ship tends to keep their integrated craft the same.
Shipboard Life
Odyssey is significantly larger than even other explorers and her crew enjoys a very high standard of accommodation. There are private sleeping accommodations for all crewmembers, though all personnel ranked ensign or lower share suites with varying numbers of bedrooms connected to common areas and sanitary facilities. Lieutenants and above have their own quarters. All crew members are allowed to combine their living quarters into one larger unit, should they so request. There are four extra-large suites spanning two decks that are reserved for the commanding officer, executive officer, and VIPs, which contain multiple bedrooms, an entertaining area, and a private study, all in the interest of giving senior officers on this very prestigious, stressful assignment adequate facilities to rest and recharge. All quarters aboard Odyssey are capable of being configured to meet any environmental need for a class M, L, K, O, or P, environment, with other configurations being possible with an additional life support module. Null-gravity and high-gravity configurations are also available.
Communal recreation spaces are plentiful on the Odyssey. There are several full-sized holodecks and smaller holosuites, all with the highest levels of holographic fidelity available. Recreation decks are available in both the primary and secondary hull with a wide variety of games and other entertainments. Fitness facilities are also comprehensive, with recreational and conditioning spaces appropriate for all species serving aboard the ship. An expansive arboretum deck is found in the saucer, along with two public pools. While configurations vary from ship to ship, there are many lounges spread throughout the ship. Some Odyssey-class ships have promenades on the edge of the chevron section, as well as an atrium area with restaurants staffed by holograms. These facilities are designed to be used by the crews of other ships as well, and give the feeling of being back at a starbase.
Medical facilities are extensive, rivaling starbase hospitals. Identical sickbay complexes in the two hulls offer ward space for several dozen intensive care patients, private rooms, and specialist facilities. All of the guest quarters can be used as additional private patient rooms, if necessary, and the holodecks are also useable as medical facilities. They support other ships with medical specialists such as cyberneticists, reproductive healthcare practitioners, and other specialist less commonly found on starships.
The minimum staffing level for an Odyssey-class ship is 1,600 crewmembers. Many Odyssey-class ships operate with significantly larger crews, especially with additional science and engineering personnel, and the most common arrangement is for a permanent crew of 2,500 supported with additional visiting specialists as necessary. If needed, an Odyssey-class ship could embark a permanent crew of up to 5,000, but this would test the limits of even this ship's size and would reduce her humanitarian capabilities. The large crew sizes aboard ships like this mean that there's often less a sense of family for the crew as a whole, and more attachment to one's departmental colleagues. Vessels of this class often have many high-ranking officers.
Gallery
Class History
Project Odyssey
Nearly as soon as the first Galaxy-class explorers left Utopia Planitia, the Advanced Starship Design Bureau began thinking about their eventual successor. The Utopia Planitia School of astronautical architecture had lobbied for decades for ever-larger vessels. The Ambassador had been a revolution in both hull and engine design, moving a substantially larger mass than the Excelsior at substantially greater speeds. The Galaxy took that further, being both larger and faster than the Ambassador while carrying the first thousand-person crew in Starfleet history and being among the first designs specifically designed to allow Starfleet officers to bring their families with them on long voyages, with a level of comfort never before seen on a starship.
The Galaxy successor project, originally dubbed Project Nova, faced dramatic cuts in 2365 with the destruction of one of the Galaxy prototypes, the USS Yamato with all hands. First contact with the Borg and the subsequent battle of Wolf 359 later that decade led Starfleet to question the wisdom of building ever-larger starships that would put so many eggs in one basket. Project Nova and the related Project Intrepid programs led to lean, smart starship classes designed to counter this problem by handling exploratory tasks with minimal crews. Wolf 359 also spawned Project Sovereign, which was initially billed as a Galaxy successor program but resulted in a more compact, much more heavily armed vessel to suit the times.
By 2371, three of the original six Galaxy-class explorers had been lost in combat, putting the concept further into question. During the Dominion War, all talk of another large explorer class was put on hold as the Corps of Engineers focused on activating as many Galaxy and Sovereign spaceframes as possible. When the war ended, however, there was renewed interest in creating a vessel that might finally be able to realize the vision at the core of Project Galaxy. Named for one of the lost Galaxy-class ships, Project Odyssey began at Utopia Planitia in earnest even as Starfleet began to pick up the pieces in 2375. There was significant push-back to this project, however, as many admirals believed that the future was not in building even larger ships than the Galaxy but in optimizing its design to allow a smaller crew to explore further. Thus, Starfleet Command authorized a design team at the Beta Antares Fleet Yards to commence a competing project, Project Obena.
The team at Utopia Planitia began by identifying the underlying causes behind the destruction of Yamato, Odyssey, and Enterprise. It was ruled that the was no underlying design flaw that was responsible for the loss of Yamato, due to Iconian influence. Odyssey's loss was due to the vulnerable interconnecting dorsal section being insufficiently armored and shielded, as well as the ship being vulnerable to small attackers at close range. Enterprise was lost for similar reasons, but it was found that without having found her shield frequencies, the Klingon bird of prey would not have been able to destroy her. During their analysis, the team identified these priorities for Project Odyssey:
- Odyssey must be at least as well-armed as Sovereign, with a particular emphasis on decreasing vulnerability to smaller, more maneuverable threat vessels.
- Odyssey must retain the saucer-separation ability developed for Galaxy, with the primary hull capable of returning to a starbase with an independent warp drive system.
As the design process matured, a hull shape emerged that blended features from the Galaxy and Sovereign, and these lessons were incorporated to the Ross-class explorers, a project intended to finish out the remaining Galaxy production orders with tactical and automation enhancements to solve some of the issues with the original class. This also provided the Project Odyssey team with a chance to test some of their ideas. In 2379, the design matured to the point where Starfleet was comfortable placing an order for three vessels, while also placing an order for Obena-class vessels.
Construction History
Odyssey, Verity, and a third unnamed vessel began construction in 2379 at Utopia Planitia. Production proceeded more quickly on these vessels than the Galaxy because of lessons learned in the construction of large ships during the Dominion War, but their launch was not expected until around 2385. Fate would deal Project Odyssey a curve-ball, though, when Starfleet joined the Romulan Evacuation Mission in 2381. All of Utopia Planitia's resources were shifted towards building evacuation vessels. Odyssey and Verity were completed sufficiently to allow them to be space-worthy, so Starfleet ordered them to be filled with habitation modules to move refugees. Admiral Picard raised his flag in Verity and led the evacuation mission starting in that same year. The third ship was substantially less complete, and it was transferred to the Beta Antares Fleet Yards--ironic given that this yard was also building her Obena-class competitors.
When Utopia Planitia was destroyed in 2385, the evacuation mission was cancelled. The third Odyssey-class ship was nearing completion and the decision was made to fit her out with her original specifications. Odyssey and Verity also returned to dock for the same treatment. The third vessel, now the seventh Federation starship to bear the name Enterprise, launched in 2386.
A New Lease on Life
With Starfleet rapidly pivoting towards an isolationist stance in response to the attack, and with the Century now also in service, the future of this class was in doubt. The three prototypes faced intense scrutiny throughout the end of 2380s, and were found to be highly effective in service. In a twist of fortune, it was actually the Beta Antares team that lobbied for the renewed production of the Odyssey alongside their own design, as the two designs complemented each other well--the Odyssey could support an entire fleet and bring on large visiting science teams for extended missions, while the Obena could be built in larger numbers and support similar exploratory missions with a smaller crew.
The design was further refined to incorporate aspects of the Prometheus-class heavy escorts also developed at Beta Antares, notably the ability for the entire ship and the embarked escort to be controlled in multi-vector flight mode by just one of the bridges. A further nine Odyssey-class ships were ordered at yards around the Federation to bring their numbers up to an even dozen. As is often the case, however, few Odyssey or Obena-class ships did much exploring beyond the Federation's borders in the 2390s, due to Starfleet's continued prioritization of border security, but the two classes operating in concert were able to survey large portions of Federation space that had never before been explored. The Odysseys also found themselves frequently used for diplomatic and humanitarian functions more than in purely exploratory roles.
With the nature of the attack on Utopia Planitia finally understood in 2399, Odyssey-class ships began embarking on longer missions away from Federation space. In early 2401, several ships of this class were upgraded to include key components of the controversial Fleet Formation Mode, a natural extension of their multi-vector flight mode.
The Odyssey Class In -Play
- Odyssey-class starships are very large, both in terms of their physical bulk and the size of their crews. While her Sovereign and Obena-class cousins were developed as more-capable successors to the Galaxy-class by slimming down and increasing efficiency, the Odyssey-class was designed with the opposite thinking in mind: comprehensive facilities and large crews to make humanitarian and diplomatic operations easier.
- Because of the crew’s large size, there will always be a larger number of very senior officers aboard these ships. During James T. Kirk’s final years in command of the Enterprise-A, the ship’s command staff included two other officers holding the substantive rank of captain as first officer and chief engineering officer, and this is a scenario that’s very likely for a ship of this size. Modern aircraft carriers are another model for command structures that include multiple officers with this very senior rank, and so it’s an opportunity to imagine what the dynamics of a crew might be that is over twice the size of the crew we saw on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
- Odyssey-class ships are an exceptionally-prestigious assignment at any billet, but especially for captains. Because commodores and admirals rarely exercise direct control over a starship, their flagships often have a flag captain who is nominally in command of the vessel itself, but who themselves are relatively junior. Ships not assigned as flagships would be assigned to very senior captains or fleet captains for extended long-range exploratory or diplomatic missions.
- An Odyssey-class ship could be the basis for a game with a lot of departments not normally found aboard smaller ships, such as JAG, an embarked civilian diplomatic delegation, a Starfleet Corps of Engineers team, etc. Its size presents numerous opportunities for playing with norms we've seen on the shows. The Odyssey is as revolutionary (in terms of its size and facilities) as the Galaxy was before it, so characters will be impressed to be aboard one
- Sovereign-class ships are a superior choice for deep space tactical missions, as well as any scenario where the ship is expected to engage in extended periods of combat independently. The Odyssey-class’s support ship and powerful shields make it a challenge for all but the most determined aggressors, but she wasn’t designed to lead offensive actions of her own.
- Constitution III-class ships are superior choices for extreme long-range solo missions. While the Odyssey-class is perfectly capable of long missions, her facilities are geared to coordinating and supporting other starships, and so her capabilities would be wasted on independent missions.