franchise-star-trek-tng-technical-manual1
franchise-star-trek-tng-technical-manual1 franchise-star-trek-tng-technical-manual1
17.0 CONCLUSION17.2 FUTURE DIRECTIONS: THE ROAD TO 1701-E17.1 PROJECTED UPGRADES 17.2 FUTURE DIRECTIONS: THE ROAD TO 1701-EThe Galaxy class USS Enterprise is not a static design.Rather, it is a dynamic system that is constantly being adaptedto revised mission objectives and continuing technical advances.A key element of these adaptations is an ongoingprogram of upgrades and refits expected to continue throughoutthe projected hundred-year lifetime of the spacecraft.Starfleet expects numerous significant advances in technologyduring that time.Minor system upgrades are often performed during routinestarbase layovers. During the ship's early years, suchupgrades are expected to take place with relatively greatfrequency — perhaps two to four times annually — as thespacecraft operating systems "mature" with flight experience.Later, upgrades and refits are expected to occur less frequently,but will often be for maintenance or mission-specificpurposes. Currently anticipated system upgrades includeannual replacement of the LCARS computer software and amajor upgrade of the warp drive's matter/antimatter reactionassembly, scheduled for early in the vessel's sixth year ofoperation.After the initial few years of shakedown, major upgradesare typically scheduled for twenty-year intervals, when theship is removed from service for approximately one year sothat work such as computer core swapout or warp coilreplacement can be accomplished.Other major system refits can be performed at the directionof Starfleet Command when it is necessary to reconfigurethe spacecraft for another mission classification. Such majormission-related reconfigurations are not expected to be frequentlyrequired for the multimission Galaxy class starships,but the scope of Starfleet's objectives often require flexibilityin mission philosophies.Twenty years from now, the Ga/axyclass USS Enterprisewill still be in the first phase of her operational lifetime. Crewswill follow rotation cycles. New captains and senior officerswill steer her into missions of vital importance to the preservationof peace in the Milky Way and the continued explorationof the unknown. Eventually, the Ga/axyclass will be supersededwith a new space vehicle whose design will be as revolutionaryas that of the Enterprise is today. One starship in thenew class may even be the sixth to bear the name Enterprise,theNCC-1701-E.Starfleet Command, through its Advanced Starship DesignBureau, is already considering concepts for the proposedNova class. It is difficult to predict mission and technologicrequirements for vehicles that are still in the early phases ofplanning, but even these preliminary concepts offer a fascinatingglimpse into the future.One proposed Nova concept calls for a ship with approximately10% less total internal volume than the current Galaxyclass, but which features a hybridized external shape. Theoverall curvilinear style of the 1701-D was shaped by anunderstanding of warp physics that is being refined. Researchinto materials, manufacturing processes, and theenhanced utilization of warp energies are driving toward ahybrid angular-curvilinear hull shape. Proponents of thisdesign contend that the vehicle will require less fabricationtime due to the simplified cross sections, and will also demandless major hull and frame rebuilding over its operational life.R&D facilities within the Federation assume that a new cycleof improved hardware efficiency and changing political conditionswithin the galaxy could allow for redefined missions witha down-sized vessel.Another approach assumes that warp field control techniqueswill improve to the point where even greater Z-axiswarp field compression will be possible than in the presentGa/axyclass ship. This concept would feature a primary hulldescribed as a 24° ellipse for substantially greater peaktransitional efficiency. Preliminary tests have been unable tomaintain a stable warp envelope with this degree of Z-axis
17.2 FUTURE DIRECTIONS: THE ROAD T01701Edistortion, but advanced research in high-frequency subspacefield modulation may lead to a breakthrough in thisarea.Still another advanced starship concept would call forvariable-geometry warp nacelle pylons permitting optimizationof field stress during extended Warp 8+ flight, resulting insignificantly improved engine efficiencies. This design studyfeatures a saucer section composed of wedge-shaped modularsegments that could be easily replaced as mission demandschange and new technology becomes available. Thisconcept calls for an internal volume approximately 40% lessthan the present Galaxy class starship, but this design isexpected to perform similar mission profiles within normalcruise ranges because of the relative ease of spacecraftsegment swapout.A fourth possible advanced starship design would completelyabandon the traditional saucer and nacelle configurationin favorof a linear arrangement featuring forward mountedwarp nacelles. Crew and mission-specific modules would bemounted along the spine of the spaceframe. This conceptwould require significant advances in warp geometry technologies,but it would permit tremendous flexibility in shipconfiguration with little structural modification to the basicspaceframe. Proponents of this design suggest that theadditional R&D costs for this ship would be more than balancedby the savings realized through the adaptability of thisdesign to a wide range of starship types.Whatever the direction of future starship design, variousvehicle planforms will be tested in thousands of hours ofcomputer simulations and in the flight of testbed vessels,leading to the final design, in much the same process that ledto the Galaxy class Enterprise. Theoretical engine designswill come and go, with each new type adding to the knowledgegained from its predecessors. Alloys and composites will besubjected to unimaginable stresses. The best of these will bechosen to form new shells to preserve living environments forthose who travel among the stars.Even with the remarkable assistance of thinking machinesand industrial hardware, the task will still be accomplishedby people, imagining and guiding. The desire to moveever outward will remain strong within many evolving civilizations,as they find purpose through the creation of vessels thatcarry us into the unknown.17.2.1 Early concepts for a Nova class starship
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17.2 FUTURE DIRECTIONS: THE ROAD T01701Edistortion, but advanced research in high-frequency subspacefield modulation may lead to a breakthrough in thisarea.Still another advanced <strong>star</strong>ship concept would call forvariable-geometry warp nacelle pylons permitting optimizationof field stress during extended Warp 8+ flight, resulting insignificantly improved engine efficiencies. This design studyfeatures a saucer section composed of wedge-shaped modularsegments that could be easily replaced as mission demandschange and new technology becomes available. Thisconcept calls for an internal volume approximately 40% lessthan the present Galaxy class <strong>star</strong>ship, but this design isexpected to perform similar mission profiles within normalcruise ranges because of the relative ease of spacecraftsegment swapout.A fourth possible advanced <strong>star</strong>ship design would completelyabandon the traditional saucer and nacelle configurationin favorof a linear arrangement featuring forward mountedwarp nacelles. Crew and mission-specific modules would bemounted along the spine of the spaceframe. This conceptwould require significant advances in warp geometry technologies,but it would permit tremendous flexibility in shipconfiguration with little structural modification to the basicspaceframe. Proponents of this design suggest that theadditional R&D costs for this ship would be more than balancedby the savings realized through the adaptability of thisdesign to a wide range of <strong>star</strong>ship types.Whatever the direction of future <strong>star</strong>ship design, variousvehicle planforms will be tested in thousands of hours ofcomputer simulations and in the flight of testbed vessels,leading to the final design, in much the same process that ledto the Galaxy class Enterprise. Theoretical engine designswill come and go, with each new type adding to the knowledgegained from its predecessors. Alloys and composites will besubjected to unimaginable stresses. The best of these will bechosen to form new shells to preserve living environments forthose who travel among the <strong>star</strong>s.Even with the remarkable assistance of thinking machinesand industrial hardware, the task will still be accomplishedby people, imagining and guiding. The desire to moveever outward will remain strong within many evolving civilizations,as they find purpose through the creation of vessels thatcarry us into the unknown.17.2.1 Early concepts for a Nova class <strong>star</strong>ship
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