Sizes of each Enterprise

[Crewman47]

I've noticed that with each new Enterprise the following always seemed to get bigger than it's predecesor, Constitution - Refit - Excelsior - Ambassador - Galaxy and then to Sovereign, even the E-J seemed to be about twice as large as the Sovereign. Is there a real world reason behind this and would they always keep doing this with each succesive ship bigger that the last?

Just curious.

 

[USS Excelsior]

The Sovereign isn't bigger than a Galaxy class, longer perhaps but no larger.

 

[miraclefan]

I've noticed that with each new Enterprise the following always seemed to get bigger than it's predecesor, Constitution - Refit - Excelsior - Ambassador - Galaxy and then to Sovereign, even the E-J seemed to be about twice as large as the Sovereign. Is there a real world reason behind this and would they always keep doing this with each succesive ship bigger that the last?

Just curious.

Legths of each ENTERPRISE. NX Class: 225m = 675f. Constitution Class: 289m = 867f. Constitution Refit: 305m = 915f. Excelsior Class: 467m = 1,401f. Ambassader Class: 526m = 1,578f. Galaxy Class: 643m = 1,929f. Soverign Class: 685m = 2,055f. If you want to see them in detail just go to www.merzo.net

 

[miraclefan]

I've noticed that with each new Enterprise the following always seemed to get bigger than it's predecesor, Constitution - Refit - Excelsior - Ambassador - Galaxy and then to Sovereign, even the E-J seemed to be about twice as large as the Sovereign. Is there a real world reason behind this and would they always keep doing this with each succesive ship bigger that the last?

Just curious.

Short story, THE bigger it is the more STUFF it can do!

 

[LutherSloan]

I have yet to see anyone determine how long the E-J is, so I don't know if that trend is going to continue or not. From what I have seen of that ship, I would say yes, it is longer.

 

[uniderth]

Because small ships aren't cool! jk

 

[miraclefan]

Because small ships aren't cool! jk

HEY! there are plenty of COOL small ships! The DEFIANT, THE NX-O1, THE EQUANOX, And by TNG era standerds the Constitution class IS rather small. And that's just from the FEDERATION! look at the KLINGON Bird of prey, that,s a pretty small ship and it's one of the COOOLLLEST starship designs ever made.

 

[nx1701g]

Is there a real world reason behind this and would they always keep doing this with each succesive ship bigger that the last?

Because bigger is better.

 

[EmperorTiberius]

In Star Trek, bigger is always faster, stronger, better shields. Sovereign is something like 40% smaller than Galaxy I think

 

[Mr. B]

If technology advances and you can make ships more spacious and comfortable... why not?

 

[WendellM]

Is there a real world reason behind this and would they always keep doing this with each succesive ship bigger that the last?

As a rule of thumb, the same type of ship tends to get bigger over time in the real world (though there are exceptions).

Some sample US battleships:

1895 BB-1 Indiana................10,300 tons
1902 BB-13 Virginia..............15,000 tons
1910 BB-28 Delaware...........20,400 tons
1914 BB-34 New York..........27,200 tons
1920 BB-43 Tennessee.........32,000 tons
1941 BB-55 North Carolina...35,000 tons
1943 BB-61 Iowa.................48,500 tons

 

[miraclefan]

Stop and think about this. What is the ships MAIN mission? If what I remember is correct ( PLEASE correct me if I am wrong ) the 1701 was the biggest FED ship at the time it was luanched correct? It was not because starfleet wanted bragging rights that they had one of the biggest ships out there. No! it was because she was designed to stay out for far longer periods of time and having enough labs, supply's, and equipment without heading back to spacedock every few month's.

 

[miraclefan]

Also, I am pretty sure that as the 1701 became more prominent every new ENTERPRISE had to be specialy designed to do everything and more! Weather it be advances in scanning, weapons, warp drive, living arrangement's, ETC. Also the Galaxy had to be designed to go DEEPER in to space for far LONGER periods of time ( 10 = 25 years! ), thus explains the bigger saucer section.

 

[miraclefan]

And lastly, the reason why the ENT-E is designed the way it is ( Longer, Sleaker, Meaner ) is because it was desinged to withstand powerful attacks without any weakpoints bringing the ship down! Notice there is no neck section ( Wrath of Kahn anyone?) also it's sleaker so it has less warp field resistance, And it's the most heavily ARMED enterprise so it can stay in a firefight longer, AND to stand a chance aganst the following! ( BORG, ROMULAN, JEM.HADOR, CARDDASION, REMIN, TAKE YER PICK! ) so I hope that explains things for you!

 

[Cap.Sicho Nosk]

Stop and think about this. What is the ships MAIN mission? If what I remember is correct ( PLEASE correct me if I am wrong ) the 1701 was the biggest FED ship at the time it was luanched correct? It was not because starfleet wanted bragging rights that they had one of the biggest ships out there. No! it was because she was designed to stay out for far longer periods of time and having enough labs, supply's, and equipment without heading back to spacedock every few month's.

this is true, not to mention that the "galaxy" as well as carrying star fleet crew, also had to house many of the crew's family and civillians.

 

[lawman]

And lastly, the reason why the ENT-E is designed the way it is ( Longer, Sleaker, Meaner ) is because it was desinged to withstand powerful attacks without any weakpoints bringing the ship down! Notice there is no neck section ( Wrath of Kahn anyone?) also it's sleaker so it has less warp field resistance, And it's the most heavily ARMED enterprise so it can stay in a firefight longer, AND to stand a chance aganst the following! ( BORG, ROMULAN, JEM.HADOR, CARDDASION, REMIN, TAKE YER PICK! ) so I hope that explains things for you!

Well, that reasoning is kind of depressing, actually. It seems to imply that late-24th century Starfleet has transitioned away from an exploratory mission toward being a more strictly military fleet. Seems kind of at odds with the underlying philosophy that always made Trek special.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I actually favor the idea that Starfleet will begin building smaller and more efficient vessels in the future and vehicles like the Galaxy- and Sovereign-classes will be something of a peak in Federation starship sizes. I like to think that the Enterprise-H might be 10% smaller than the Enterprise-D. Even with the seemingly endless resources of the Federation, I believe it costs more (if only in raw materials and energy expenditure) to build larger ships than smaller ones. For one Galaxy-class ship, Starfleet could probably build two or three smaller ones, IMO.

I think large starships will always be an important part of Starfleet's vehicle mix, but I also think the need for large crews will diminish as Federation technology gets more and more sophisticated. Starships will need less and less people to operate them, IMO, and crews will feature more mission-specific personnel. I think a ship as big as a Galaxy or a Sovereign is crucial for long-range multipurpose starships which may frequently have missions requiring it to carry hundreds (if not thousands) of personnel in addition to its standard complement.

In comparison, large-scale ships from the Klingon and Romulan Empires (for examples) probably justify their large sizes to carrying lots of combat troops for both defensive and planetary control operations within their respective territories.

 

[kv1at3485]

Thankfully, one need not attribute the physical look to a particular function. Looks are constantly changing anyway. Tomorrow hulls may be polka dotted and saucers will have lots of spikes...

A better explanation for the Sovereign is Starfleet finally realized the Galaxy and Nebula were simply too large: lots of stuff packed into the hull that rarely gets used. So what to do? Build a smaller "big enough" ship which can also be built in larger quantities.

Interestingly enough, the Sovereign is actually Ambassador sized and smaller than a Nebula.

 

[miraclefan]

Well, that reasoning is kind of depressing, actually. It seems to imply that late-24th century Starfleet has transitioned away from an exploratory mission toward being a more strictly military fleet. Seems kind of at odds with the underlying philosophy that always made Trek special.

Oh I'm sorry, but just because the FEDERATION finally REALLIZES that the galaxy is NOT all, Happy funtime rainbow gumdrop hugs N kisses, And they start to better PROTECT themselves dosent mean that EXPLORATION has gone out the window! I think they are just being very realistic, cautious & proactive when it comes to protecting there ships and more importantly there CREWS! ( or as I like to call it TRUST, BUT VERIFY) Oh, and by the way! HOW many ships did STARFLEET lose again in just ten years? you know between the SLAUGHTTERS by the BORG and MASSARCES by the DOMINION?

 

[Cyke101]

Well, that reasoning is kind of depressing, actually. It seems to imply that late-24th century Starfleet has transitioned away from an exploratory mission toward being a more strictly military fleet. Seems kind of at odds with the underlying philosophy that always made Trek special.

Oh I'm sorry, but just because the FEDERATION finally REALLIZES that the galaxy is NOT all, Happy funtime rainbow gumdrop hugs N kisses, And they start to better PROTECT themselves dosent mean that EXPLORATION has gone out the window! I think they are just being very realistic, cautious & proactive when it comes to protecting there ships and more importantly there CREWS! ( or as I like to call it TRUST, BUT VERIFY) Oh, and by the way! HOW many ships did STARFLEET lose again in just ten years? you know between the SLAUGHTTERS by the BORG and MASSARCES by the DOMINION?

Because if the Federation compromises its values, it ceases to be the Federation. The UFP could at any time become the Dominion, as it has the firepower and resources to willingly take over any non-affiliated planet in response to a galaxy full of ever-growing dangers for the UFP's own safety. But they rely on diplomacy, exploration, cooperation, and ideals to go on. The intrinsic mission of Starfleet is a peaceful one. I don't believe it's a coincidence that, in every version of the far future we've seen, there's always a version of the Federation that exists as a protagonist force.

It's pretty telling that you bring up the Dominion. Had it not been for eras of peace and trust with the Klingon Empire, the Alpha Quadrant would have been defeated. After all, if it wasn't for the Federation, the Klingons would have prolonged their war with Cardassia and would have been in no condition to fight off the Cardassians AND the Dominion. The Romulans were already being heavily courted by the Federation as well for assistance, to try and get them out of their non-aggression treaty (yeah, Sisko isn't the only one to blame here). And frankly, because the Federation was the crux of the Alpha Alliance, there's a new era of peace amongst the three largest powers in Trek.

As for the Enterprise-E, I'd like to think that since Starfleet got rid of families on board, plus advancements in warp-compatible "aerodynamic" designs, the Sovereign can afford to be more streamlined, pack sharper teeth, yet still be suitable for peaceful missions. We did see her on a diplomatic assignment in Insurrection, after all, and you don't send ambassadors on warships.