franchise-star-trek-tng-technical-manual1

1.3 GENERAL OVERVIEW1.3 GENERAL OVERVIEWAny discussion of the Galaxy class starship that attemptedto detail all of the possible attributes and applicationsof the vessel would fill many volumes of this size. As with livingorganisms, a mobile environment as large as the USS Enterpriseis undergoing constant evolution. Were one to make aclose examination of the starship at ten-year intervals overthenext one hundred years, one would see a slightly differentvessel each time.At present, the starship is still in the early operationalphase of its lifetime, a few years out of the Utopia Planitia FleetYards, its components and crew settling in, slowly becominga totally integrated working unit.The USS Enterprise is categorized as an Explorer, thelargest starship in a classification system that includes cruiser,cargo carrier, tanker, surveyor, and scout. While most starshipsmay be adapted for a variety of mission types, the vessel typedesignations describe their primary purpose. Smaller vehicleswith impulse or limited warp capability, such as shuttles,are referred to as craft, to distinguish them from the largerstarships.Seen from a comfortable distance of two or three kilometers,the starship takes on the graceful lines of a nonrepresentationalorganic sculpture. Nature has determined the flow ofthe design, adhering closely to mathematical formulae at workin the universe surrounding the builders. Even in the desireto expand beyond the apparent limits of the natural world,familiar forces create familiar shapes. As the rapid aquaticand avian creatures of dozens of habitable worlds independentlydeveloped the unmistakable attributes of streamlining,so too did their interstellar cousin.The combination of forces produced within the warpengine core and the flow of space and subspace around thevessel created the particular engineering solution to theproblem of faster-than-light travel. The initial Starfleet requirementthat a single spacecraft be able to perform as threedistinct vehicles presented some rather complex — thoughsome engineers not normally afraid of numbers preferred theword "daunting" — computational challenges.The docked configuration presented the most efficientuse of warp flight forces, but the Battle Section was alsorequired to perform to specifications at warp velocities on itsown, and the Saucer Module would have to have the capabilityof high sublight speed and possibly survive a separation athigh warp. Scientists and engineers throughout the Federation,with all the deportment of composers and conductors,arranged sweeping curves, described vast volumes, andsummoned up fantastic energies to bring their creation intoexistence.1.3.1 Galaxy class starship Enterprise