Based on the concept art for an NX-Alpha -Beta -Delta, which I mistook for an NX-01 concept I decided to make an actual NX-01 concept.
In this version of Starfleet Earth is much more primitive when it developes the warp five engine, so it lacks robust antigravity, stand alone impulse engines, and transporters. The 3.5 meter lasers are the most advanced weapon system the ship carries, other than its caltrops (sneaky antimatter triggered thermonuclear weapons dropped behind the ship if chased at warp).
Landing involves separating the command section from the propulsion section. While the command section lands, the engine section stays in orbit to monitor the command section and deploy recoverable satellites. The command section is a SSTO VTOL morphing flying wing with hybrid air breathing antimatter fusion rocket engines capable of landing at sea or land. Once landed it deploys a smaller vessel to complete the last leg of the journey.
The engine section houses a fusion reactor and hybrid antimatter fusion engine which can be used for propulsion and power generation. A low power warp field generated by the warp engines is used to augment the fusion torch propulsion.
The warp engines are self contained hot swappable power/propulsion units. When underway the Bussard collectors' magnetic field arrays open to capture interplanetary deep space hydrogen which is funneled directly into the matter-antimatter reactors within the warp nacelles. As speed increases the field arrays narrow as hydrogen drag increases. Excess hydrogen is diverted to storage. At warp the field arrays will dilate to maximum size once in interstellar deep space and contract as drag increases.
In this version of Starfleet Earth is much more primitive when it developes the warp five engine, so it lacks robust antigravity, stand alone impulse engines, and transporters. The 3.5 meter lasers are the most advanced weapon system the ship carries, other than its caltrops (sneaky antimatter triggered thermonuclear weapons dropped behind the ship if chased at warp).
Landing involves separating the command section from the propulsion section. While the command section lands, the engine section stays in orbit to monitor the command section and deploy recoverable satellites. The command section is a SSTO VTOL morphing flying wing with hybrid air breathing antimatter fusion rocket engines capable of landing at sea or land. Once landed it deploys a smaller vessel to complete the last leg of the journey.
The engine section houses a fusion reactor and hybrid antimatter fusion engine which can be used for propulsion and power generation. A low power warp field generated by the warp engines is used to augment the fusion torch propulsion.
The warp engines are self contained hot swappable power/propulsion units. When underway the Bussard collectors' magnetic field arrays open to capture interplanetary deep space hydrogen which is funneled directly into the matter-antimatter reactors within the warp nacelles. As speed increases the field arrays narrow as hydrogen drag increases. Excess hydrogen is diverted to storage. At warp the field arrays will dilate to maximum size once in interstellar deep space and contract as drag increases.
