Category: Explorer

Expected Duration: 20 years
Time Between Resupply: 2 years
Time Between Refit: 4 years

Personnel
Officers: 100
Enlisted Crew: 550
Marines: 100
Passengers: 100

Speed
Cruising Velocity: Warp 7 Maximum Velocity: Warp 8.8
Emergency Velocity: Warp 9.1 (for 12 hours)

Dimensions
Length: 400 metres
Width: 175 metres
Height: 90 metres
Decks: 20

In the late 2260s to early 2270s, the Constitution-class starships underwent a major refit program. The actual refitting took eighteen months of work and essentially a new vessel was built onto the bones of the old, replacing virtually every major system. Thus the Constitution-class continued in service for a further twenty years.

Essential upgrades were made to the Constitution-class' warp systems; the old cylindrical nacelles were replaced with new angular ones, and also the warp nacelle struts were new, as they were connected to the engineering hull much closer to the neck than before. The engineerroughly retained its original shape — while the original hull was essentially a conical cylinder, the refit was much more rounded. As for the interior of the hull, the most obvious upgrades were the enlargement of the shuttle deck and landing bay, as well as the addition of a horizontal matter-antimatter intermix chamber and a vertical intermix chamber.

New also was the installment of the double photon torpedo launcher with its rectangular housing in the neck of the vessel. Furthermore, the saucer sectionwas considerably extended (almost 20 meters), while the rest of the surface remained about the same. Major changes were made to the interior of the Constitution class starship; however, many new systems were added and existing ones upgraded. Summarizing, only the internal structure of the saucer and very little of the engineering hull and neck may have survived the 2271-upgrade.

Centaur Class Starship

Category: Destroyer

Expected Duration: 80 years
Time Between Resupply: 1 years
Time Between Refit: 4 years

Personnel
Officers: 40
Enlisted Crew: 200
Marines: 24
Maximum (Evacuation) Capacity: 320

Speed
Cruising Velocity: Warp 6
Maximum Velocity: Warp 7.5
Emergency Velocity: Warp 8.6 (for 12 hours)

Dimensions
Length: 382 metres
Width: 231 metres
Height: 74 metres
Decks: 16

Designed in the early 2280s as a complement to the existing Excelsior class, the Centaur class resembles the NX class ships that were the mainstay of Earth's Starfleet before the foundation of the Federation. The Centaur class is to the Excelsior class the Miranda class is to the Constitution.  They have the same saucer section and warp nacelles with a lack of a secondary hull.   

The original design brief was for a medium-size ship capable of performing 85% of the Excelsior's mission capabilities while requiring a smaller crew and fewer resources and having a shorter build time. The design team borrowed from the Miranda class concept for their design, but based the ship off of the Excelsior class components that were coming out of the shipyards.

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.

The ship's design is centred on the Excelsior class saucer, so the internal arrangement is similar in the crew areas. The ship's Phaser banks are arranged with 4 on the dorsal saucer, 5 on the ventral saucer, and 1 on the aft of the lower pod. There are two torpedo launchers on the forward side of the pod and 1 aft-firing launcher aft of the bridge on Deck 2. To protect the bridge from any cases of a launcher jam, the launcher was placed at the end of a long extension away from the main section of Deck 2.

Another unique feature of the design is an ejectable bottom deck, which stores the Antimatter containment pods. The entirety of decks 15 and 16 are contained in a blister-like attachment to the bottom of the cargo/engineering section that can be ejected from the ship in an emergency situation, which makes it easier to retrieve the antimatter later if it doesn't detonate as a result of whatever emergency prompts the ejection. This feature is intended for use in conjunction with a warp core ejection and thus the ship has no warp core ejection hatch on the lower hull.

The Centaur has surprising manoeuvrability for its size and era, surpassing the Miranda class. 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 Klingon and Romulian skirmishs 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.

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 medical supplies and scientific equipment, as well as other supplies. It's not a cargo ship, but works well as a medium-range courier for small amounts of supplies.