Galaxy-class

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The Galaxy-class is a multi-role starship used by Starfleet in the 24th century.

Technical Data

A Galaxy-class starship is equipped with ten phaser banks, 275 photon torpedoes fired from forward and aft tubes, and a high capacity shield grid[1]. It can maintain speeds of Warp 9.3 with minimal risk, but the engines will sustain damage if forced to maintain higher speeds for an extended time. Attempting to maintain Warp 9.8 involves a high risk of damaging or destroying the ship[2].

The class shows an astonishing number of glaring design flaws for a vessel that would be expected to act as a front-line warship in the event of a military confrontation.

  • While it is the largest design ever produced by Starfleet, it makes extremely poor use of space. Quarters for the ship's personnel are luxurious suites instead of compact staterooms, and much of the primary hull is devoted to scientific laboratories, cargo bays, recreational facilities, and other equipment with little military value. The primary hull includes entire decks with no specific purpose[3], and a large lounge area occupies the bow of the ship.
  • The class was designed to carry a large number of civilians, resulting in large numbers of non-combatant personnel on the ship. The primary hull (saucer) was designed to detach and carry the civilians to safety should the ship be called into battle, but the impulse engines in the primary hull contain so much of the ship's power reserves that it needs to be in place to maximize the ship's combat effectiveness[4].
  • Ships of the class are especially noted for the poor performance of critical safety systems. In several instances, "fail-safe" systems designed to shut down or eject the ship's warp core in the event of an imminent containment breach failed to operate, sometimes resulting in the destruction of the ship[5]. Virtually all of the ship's safety systems are controlled by the central computer, resulting in severe risk if the computer suffers damage or a major malfunction[6]. The biofilter built into the transporter system to keep infectious diseases from being transported onto the ship consistently fails to detect new pathogens.[7]

Notes

  1. TNG "Conundrum"
  2. TNG "Encounter at Farpoint"
  3. TNG "Liaisons"
  4. TNG "Best of Both Worlds"
  5. TNG "Cause and Effect"
  6. TNG "Contagion"
  7. TNG "Angel One", "Shades of Gray"

History

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Notable ships