Starship Specifications/Background

MISSION OBJECTIVES FOR NOVA CLASS PROJECT

    According to the Star Trek Technical Manual, Starfleet has long been charged with a broad spectrum of responsibilities to the citizens of the Federation and to the life forms of the galaxy at large.  As the volume of explored space continues to grow, and with the Federation itself, so do Starfleet's duties.
    These duties range from relatively mundane domestic and civil missions to patrolling a sector for security to cultural contact and diplomacy, to defense, to our primary mission of exploration and research.  Many of these responsibilities are carried out best with specialized ships. The Nova Class Starship is one of those ships.  Her designed objectives include Federation defense and offense, to be at the head of the fight during attack runs or lead ships during an attack on the Federation.
    The Nova class starship represents Starfleet's most advanced and most sophisticated design in multimission ship systems design.
    Pursuant to Starfleet Exploration Directive 1811.3, the following objectives have been established for the Nova Class Development Project:

• Provide a mobile platform for a wide range of ongoing scientific, cultural, and tactical research projects.
• Replace Prometheus, Defiant, Galaxy and Intrepid class vessels as primary instruments of Starfleet's exploration, intelligence and tactical programs.
• Provide autonomous capability for full execution of Federation policy options in outlying areas.
• Incorporate recent advancements in both warp and sidewarp power plant technology and improved science instrumentation.

PROPULSION/POWER

• Sustainable cruise velocity of Warp Factor 9.99985 in normal warp space and a sidewarp factor (SWF) of 35.99327 in slip space. Ability to maintain speeds of up to Warp Factor 9.999995 (SWF 39.83) for up to twelve hours.
• An antimatter machine capable of creating 108.95 kilotons of antimatter per hour at maximum stretch for primary power, and a ninth-phase trilithium controlled matter/antimatter reaction for secondary power. Sustainable field output to exceed 19,850 cochranes, peak transitional surge to exceed 12,847% of nominal output (8 ns phase).
• Warp driver coils to meet or exceed 95% at speeds of up to Warp 9.0. Minimum efficiency of 89% to be maintained through Warp 9.95. Life cycle of all primary coil elements to meet or exceed 18,000,000 cochrane-hours before neutron purge refurbishment. Secondary coil elements to meet or exceed 25,000,000 cochrane-hours between neutron purge refurbishment.
• Warp field geometry to incorporate modified 68-degree Z-axis compression characteristics on forward warp section for increased efficiency.
• Secondary (impulse) propulsion system to provide sublight velocities of up to and including 0.95 lightspeed (c). Engine systems of choice to include but are not limited to at least seven SPS-9145 fusion drive motors. All units to be equipped with subspace and slip space accelerator coils and driver accelerators, field output not less than 377 millicochranes at 1.02x10⁷K. Reactor modules to be 100% replaceable.

    When the classified Prometheus class starship was created, much of its technology was briefly in Romulan hands.  Because of this, Starfleet Command has redefined and upgraded the technologies, and so the Nova-class starship was built.

• Ability to operate independent of starbase refurbishment for unlimited periods. Because of the independent power plant on board the Nova class vessels, fueling is limited only to deuterium fuel for the impulse engines.  Independent exploration mode capability of unlimited time at standard velocities for docked configuration.  Ability to execute deep-space exploration missions including charting and mapping, first cultural contact scenarios, and full biologic and ecologic studies.
• Space allocation for mission-specific facilities: Habitable area to include 10,000,000m² for mission-adaptable facilities including living quarters for mission-specific attached personnel.
• Ability to support a wide range of mission-related ongoing research and other projects.
• Full spectrum EM, optical, subspace and slip space flux, gravimetric particle, quark population analysis and phased scanning. Multimode neutrino interferometry instrumentation. Wide-band life sciences analysis capability. Five-meter diameter gamma ray telescope. Upgradable experiment and sensor array design. Ability to support both on-board and probe-mounted science instrumentation.
• Support facilities for auxiliary spacecraft and instrumented probes needed for short-range operations to include at least two independent launch, resupply, and repair bays.

• Environmental systems to conform to Starfleet Regulatory Agency (SFRA)-standard 102.19 for Class M compatible oxygen-breathing personnel. All life-critical systems to be quadly redundant. LIfe support modules to be replaceable at any time to permit deckwide or vehicle wide adaptation to Class H, K, or L environmental conditions.
• Ability to support up to 30,000 non-crew personnel for mission-related operations, or 35,000 under rescue conditions where the cargo bays are converted for sheltering.
• Facilities to support Class M environmental range in all individual living quarters, provisions for 10% to support Class H, K, and L environmental conditions. Additional 5% of living quarters are to be Class N and N(2) ready.
• All habitable volumes to be protected to SFRA-standard 374.3r(a) levels for EM and nuclear radiation.  Subspace flux differential to be maintained within 0.0001 microcochranes.

• Defensive shielding to exceed 9.3 x 109 gigawatts (GW) primary energy dissipation rate. All tactical shielding to have full redundancy, with auxiliary system able to provide 75% of primary rating, and tertiary system able to provide 50% of primary rating.
• Tactical systems to include full array of Type XX phaser bank elements on the primary, stardrive, and sub-stardrive (lower) sections capable of 6.3TW single emitter output. Eight photon torpedo launchers on primary section, twelve photon torpedo launchers on stardrive section, and three photon torpedo launchers on sub-stardrive section.  Four quantum torpedo launchers on primary section, Six quantum torpedo launchers on stardrive section, and one quantum torpedo launcher on the sub-stardrive section.
• Ability to separate into three autonomous spacecraft comprising a battle section, a mini-battle section, and a saucer section, all capable of warp flight and optimized for combat as well as defensive operations.
• Full independent sublight operational capability for command section in Separated Flight Mode.

    The space frame design life of approximately one hundred thirty years, assuming approximately five major shipwide system swap outs and upgrades at average intervals of twenty-six years. Such upgrades help insure the continuing usefulness of the ship even through significant advances in technology are anticipated in that time.  Minor refurbishment and upgrade to occur at approximately one- to five-year intervals, depending or specific mission requirements and hardware availability.