Post-TOS Hospital Ship

[nicholasm]

While I'm away from my main computer, I downloaded one of my first attempts at a ship and decided to revamp it.
I envision it as being like a starbase's mobile medical section capable of taking on the crews of several ships and ferrying them to safe harbor and treating injuries.
I want to start moving away from the TOS nacelles a bit, so I'm trying out some early-DSC era boxy nacelles.
The decks 2 and 3 hump will house the shuttlebay, and the lower strip will be for the engineering. The second little saucer section is supposed to a dedicated cargo deck. The bridge bubble can be adjusted to be more cage-era, or it can be squat like the TOS era; I'm open to suggestions.

 

[publiusr]

I like the layered look for saucers…the more, the better

 

[Atolm]

That's one sexy ship

 

[nicholasm]

I've been toying with this ship off and on while I try to recover my other files and have finally found a window design that I think captures both the era and the functionality of a hospital ship.
The windows are my best approximation of the window style seen on ships post-Constitution and pre-Refit era, and are tucked inside the superstructure, protected with (yet to be added) additional shield emitters in the overhang.
I'm adapting the three dots from the original Constitution class to be the ship's deflector array, though the dishes are still placeholders in this image.

The ship will have a total of three shuttlecraft hangars, a small one on decks two and three for small away missions, and one on either side of the saucer to hold ferries, ambulances, and breaching craft for rescue operations. On the lower saucer section, there will be a cargobay, so the ship will be covered in doors. The outer windows for the hangar observation decks are styled after those seen in the Discovery's conference room/Pike's ready room.

The bridge remains largely untouched, but I've blocked out the consoles and supports.

This image provides an aft-view from what will be one of the outer wards. The undersides of the nacelles will have heavy greebling panels for visual interest.

 

[BorgMan]

That saucer rim with overhang really gives this a pre-TOS vibe, really like it. I'm not sure about the structural integrity of the upper pylon though, with such a large cavern underneath I'm having doubts if that could hold the weight of the nacelle. Do you have enough room to add a centre structure in the shuttlebay? This would split the space in half, yes, but also adds a bit more credence to this being a less advanced ship.

 

[nicholasm]

That saucer rim with overhang really gives this a pre-TOS vibe, really like it. I'm not sure about the structural integrity of the upper pylon though, with such a large cavern underneath I'm having doubts if that could hold the weight of the nacelle. Do you have enough room to add a centre structure in the shuttlebay? This would split the space in half, yes, but also adds a bit more credence to this being a less advanced ship.

The shuttlebay is about sixty feet wide, and the hull between the ceiling of the hangar and the base of the pylon is five feet thick. My thinking was that, since the ship isn't meant for in-atmosphere activities, the pylon could just be bolted to frame without a lot of reinforcements.
I'll experiment with different structures, see what fits.

 

[blssdwlf]

I think what you have is fine. Even though TOS is considered "less advanced" it still is significantly advanced relative to modern day material science. That's how the TOS Enterprise can get away with the thin warp pylons, the shuttle with its own thin nacelle connectors, etc...

 

[nicholasm]

I did a bit of work on the bridge. The goal is to feel robust, so even the railings are bolted to the support structures.
The hatch structure on the ceiling is my best go at the one seen on the Discovery, as they are both science ships.

I've played with adding a central column/divider in the shuttlecraft hangar, but it makes the hangar feel oppressive when divided into two, so I've just extended the forward structures aft, like they're the housing of some major structural elements. I've also made a go at the Strange New Worlds shuttlecraft for fun and because I've lost my old DSC era shuttle. The figure is six-feet-tall, so the hangar has the capacity to fit a pretty large shuttle if it needed to.

Finally, I've squished the nacelles closer to the center by about ten feet each, which really emphasizes how absurdly long the nacelles are, which I feel really emphasize the purpose of the ship: pop out of warp, hoover up survivors, and get away as quick as possible.
The blue space marks out the port/starboard hangar locations, but the actual hangars won't bump right up to the edge of the window inset.

 

[publiusr]

Love the shuttles.