Prominent Current Roles of Galaxy Class Ships

[MatthiasRussell]

The central ships in the New Frontier novels are the Galaxy-class Excalibur-A and Trident. “Indistinguishable from Magic” and “Rough Beasts of Empire” centered around the Galaxy class USS Challenger and USS Robinson.

Consider:
Currently, 24th century trek lit is in the early 2380s.

Galaxy-class development began in 2343. The 1701-D was launched in 2363.
Sovereign-class development began in 2365. The 1701-E launched in 2372.

Sovereigns are a smaller and more modern design, no doubt requiring less time and resources to build. Presumably, Sovereigns are not family-friendly ships like Galaxies.

Wouldn’t you expect Sovereigns to supplant Galaxies as the dominant front line heavy cruiser and feature more frequently in trek lit then be replaced by Vesta-class in the coming years?


Would you like to see refit Galaxies like the future 1701-D from “all Good Things” in 2380s trek lit? Consider that this alternate universe Enterprise appeared around 2395. It was warp 13 capable which could theoretically be due to slipstream drive.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Slipstream isnt about a third warp nacelle. Slipstreams about a streamlined design and a big deflector array.
That said, I thought the three nacelled dreadnought-style Enterprise was cool, in a fanwanky way. I'd get a kick out of seeing one like it on the cover.


Just out of curiousity, how does everyone imagine the bridges of these Galaxy-class ships in Treklit? The minimalist TNG series look, or the upgraded Generations version with extra stations and background crew? Or the variations we've seen in various alternate realities and possible futures?

 

[Sci]

The central ships in the New Frontier novels are the Galaxy-class Excalibur-A and Trident. “Indistinguishable from Magic” and “Rough Beasts of Empire” centered around the Galaxy class USS Challenger and USS Robinson.

The Galaxy-class U.S.S. Venture is also depicted in TrekLit and the canon as a prominent starship: leading the task force to protect Deep Space 9 from the Klingon Defense Force in 2372 (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior"); participating in Operation Return and the First Battle of Chin'toka (DS9: "The Sacrifice of Angels;" "Tears of the Prophets"); escorting the Trinni/ek delegation to the Federation in March 2380, and then serving as the Presidential transport for Nanietta Bacco (possibly assuming the call sign of Starfleet One, depending on whether you want to imagine that practice from a Myriad Unvierses timeline as happening in the Destiny-verse) when Koa is inducted into the Federation that December (Articles of the Federation); and leading the defense of Andor in the Borg Invasion of 2381 (Destiny: Mere Mortals; A Singular Destiny).

In addition, the U.S.S. Galaxy herself has a prominent role, though this has more been emphasized in the canon than in TrekLit: participating in Operation Return, the First Battle of Chin'toka, and the Battle of Cardassia (DS9: "The Sacrifice of Angels;" "Tears of the Prophets;" "What You Leave Behind"), and being assigned to the Starfleet task force whose mission was to rendezvous with the Enterprise to intercept and destroy the I.R.W. Scimitar (Star Trek: Nemesis).

Consider:
Currently, 24th century trek lit is in the early 2380s.

Galaxy-class development began in 2343. The 1701-D was launched in 2363.
Sovereign-class development began in 2365. The 1701-E launched in 2372.

Where was it established when development on the Sovereign class began? I think it's far more likely that development on the Sovereign would have begun some time in the late 2350s, given the long design time it took between beginning development on and then launching the Galaxy.

Sovereigns are a smaller and more modern design, no doubt requiring less time and resources to build. Presumably, Sovereigns are not family-friendly ships like Galaxies.

Wouldn’t you expect Sovereigns to supplant Galaxies as the dominant front line heavy cruiser and feature more frequently in trek lit then be replaced by Vesta-class in the coming years?

Well, no. The Galaxy class was explicitly designed to be adaptable and to serve as major ships of the line for decades, with a projected operational lifespan of around 100 years, and they were in production for ten years before the Sovereign was.

And we've seen a lot of Sovereign-class starships in TrekLit, too, including the U.S.S. Sovereign (A Singular Destiny), the U.S.S. Musashi (A Time to Kill; A Time to Heal; Destiny: Lost Souls); and the U.S.S. Republic (A Time to Heal). Further, the unseen starships U.S.S. Saratoga (DS9: "Wrongs Darker than Death or Night") and U.S.S. Destiny (DS9: "Afterimage") are depicted as Sovereign-class starships in the video game Star Trek: Armada.

So, including the U.S.S. Enterprise, that's six prominent Sovereign-class starships (four in the novels) and six prominent Galaxy-class starships (again, four in the novels). That sounds about right to me.

Frankly, I'd expect to see them in about equal numbers, with Galaxy-class starships perhaps being more generally assigned to diplomatic and humanitarian missions, and Sovereign-class starships being more generally assigned to combat-oriented or defense missions.

I think the Vesta-class is unlikely to ever appear in large numbers, because of the relative scarcity of benamite crystals. The Vesta, I would imagine, would play key roles in task forces that require speed and the projection of sudden force across vast distances, but I don't think they'd ever be capital ships.

Meanwhile, I'd expect to see Luna-class starships continuing as the primary long-range deep space exploration ships, to see Akira-, Defiant-, and Intrepid-class starships as the main supporting ships in defense and science, and Nova-class starships as the main support research and scout ships (replacing the Oberth-class starships in that regard).

Would you like to see refit Galaxies like the future 1701-D from “all Good Things” in 2380s trek lit? Consider that this alternate universe Enterprise appeared around 2395. It was warp 13 capable which could theoretically be due to slipstream drive.

No, I think it's clear that "warp 13" was just a more advanced form of standard warp drive, and that the Federation in the Destinyverse has advanced beyond the technology in the "All Good Things..." future.

ETA:

Just out of curiousity, how does everyone imagine the bridges of these Galaxy-class ships in Treklit? The minimalist TNG series look, or the upgraded Generations version with extra stations and background crew? Or the variations we've seen in various alternate realities and possible futures?

When I'm conscious of it, I try to think of the bridge from GEN. Often I mentally revert to the TNG series bridge without thinking about it -- even when reading scenes set aboard the Enterprise-E!

 

[MatthiasRussell]

Why does warp 13 have to necessarilly be due to warp drive? Warp speed is a measurement of velocity, not the magnitude of the warp shell. And who says the third nacelle is what enabled the warp 10+ speeds?

I understand the Galaxies were designed to have long service life, but the quadrant was a different place when they were designed, perhaps the Sovereign fits better into the needs of the present. Some aircraft, like the B-52, live far beyond their design expectancy. Some, like the space shuttle, don't meet their designed service life goals.

As to which ship class to use, I spoke to Peter David on the subject once. He said the ship class was uniportant to him and the ship choice was an editorial decision. I was shocked when the editorial choice was made for the Excalibur A to be Galaxy rather than the more current Sovereign.

I understand why the Galaxy class Challenger was used, because of the VOY episode where Geordi was captain of it in an alternate time line. However, I would expect authors and editors to choice the more modern ship as their ship of choice to have on book covers and in the stories.

 

[MatthiasRussell]

BTW, I got the dates from Memory Beta.

 

[Sci]

Why does warp 13 have to necessarilly be due to warp drive?

I mean, it doesn't have to be. But it seems silly to think that something called "warp factor X" isn't actually warp.

I understand the Galaxies were designed to have long service life, but the quadrant was a different place when they were designed, perhaps the Sovereign fits better into the needs of the present. Some aircraft, like the B-52, live far beyond their design expectancy. Some, like the space shuttle, don't meet their designed service life goals.

Sure, but there's no evidence that the Galaxy class has in any way failed to meet its designed service goals, or that it's somehow unusable in the modern quadrant. And it's more than possible for the Galaxy-class starships to be refit when there are other concerns.

Like I said, we've seen prominent Galaxy-class ships in about equal number to Sovereign-class ships. That seems rational to me.

As to which ship class to use, I spoke to Peter David on the subject once. He said the ship class was uniportant to him and the ship choice was an editorial decision. I was shocked when the editorial choice was made for the Excalibur A to be Galaxy rather than the more current Sovereign.

I understand why the Galaxy class Challenger was used, because of the VOY episode where Geordi was captain of it in an alternate time line. However, I would expect authors and editors to choice the more modern ship as their ship of choice to have on book covers and in the stories.

Why? I mean, seriously, what's wrong with there being both? Why does it have to be one or the other? It's not like there can only be One True Starship.

And it makes sense to use the Galaxy class in Star Trek: New Frontier. It's a familiar, widely-recognized Star Trek design that can be used on covers; it evokes fond memories in the audience of TNG; it's a ship class whose capabilities are well-established and can be built upon; and it wasn't being used as the "starring ship" in any other ongoing TrekLit series.

ETA:

BTW, I got the dates from Memory Beta.

The only source Memory Beta cites for that claim is Starship Spotter. I'm inclined to disregard the assertion that development began on the Sovereign class and that it was then launched only five years later. It seems implausible, given the design lead times we know starship classes generally have -- the only starship class to canonically receive such a short lead time is the Defiant class, and that one is significantly smaller and more specialized in its functionality than the Sovereign class.

 

[Knight Templar]

The central ships in the New Frontier novels are the Galaxy-class Excalibur-A and Trident. “Indistinguishable from Magic” and “Rough Beasts of Empire” centered around the Galaxy class USS Challenger and USS Robinson.

Consider:
Currently, 24th century trek lit is in the early 2380s.

Galaxy-class development began in 2343. The 1701-D was launched in 2363.
Sovereign-class development began in 2365. The 1701-E launched in 2372.

Sovereigns are a smaller and more modern design, no doubt requiring less time and resources to build. Presumably, Sovereigns are not family-friendly ships like Galaxies.

Wouldn’t you expect Sovereigns to supplant Galaxies as the dominant front line heavy cruiser and feature more frequently in trek lit then be replaced by Vesta-class in the coming years?


Would you like to see refit Galaxies like the future 1701-D from “all Good Things” in 2380s trek lit? Consider that this alternate universe Enterprise appeared around 2395. It was warp 13 capable which could theoretically be due to slipstream drive.

What makes you think that the Sovereign class began development in 2365?

 

[Stevil2001]

I miss the Madison and the Idaho.

 

[The Wormhole]

Just out of curiousity, how does everyone imagine the bridges of these Galaxy-class ships in Treklit? The minimalist TNG series look, or the upgraded Generations version with extra stations and background crew? Or the variations we've seen in various alternate realities and possible futures?

I try to picture the Generations bridge, but sometimes (like in Indistinguishable From Magic) the TNG series bridge just gets stuck in my head.

 

[Christopher]

I'm not a fan of the Generations bridge, or really of any of the later 23rd-century bridges. The idea behind the TNG bridge was that technology had advanced to the point of being largely invisible, that you didn't need a whole bunch of manned consoles with tons of blinky lights and buttons because the ship was advanced enough that it could mostly run itself. That's legitimate futurism. Even today, technology has a tendency to get more minimalist and less intrusive. Our computers and phones and music players are all these compact, smooth slabs. But the makers of the later shows and films evidently didn't think it looked busy or visually interesting enough, so they reverted to a more complicated, more overtly technological, more heavily manned design philosophy that's really a step backward in terms of sophistication and credibility.

 

[Sci]

I miss the Madison and the Idaho.

Are you saying you... ship them?

 

[WarsTrek1993]

Just out of curiousity, how does everyone imagine the bridges of these Galaxy-class ships in Treklit? The minimalist TNG series look, or the upgraded Generations version with extra stations and background crew? Or the variations we've seen in various alternate realities and possible futures?

I try to picture the Generations bridge, but sometimes (like in Indistinguishable From Magic) the TNG series bridge just gets stuck in my head.

I always imagine the Generations bridge. That image just gets stuck in my mind when a Galaxy-Class is shown.
Somewhat relevant: I always imagined the first Excelsior (NCC-2000) had TNG era phasers (The kind that fire orange strands beams).

 

[F. King Daniel]

^I picture the red crackly "tracking phasers" the Excelsior was armed with in the old DC comics "Mirror Universe Saga"

I'm not a fan of the Generations bridge, or really of any of the later 23rd-century bridges. The idea behind the TNG bridge was that technology had advanced to the point of being largely invisible, that you didn't need a whole bunch of manned consoles with tons of blinky lights and buttons because the ship was advanced enough that it could mostly run itself. That's legitimate futurism. Even today, technology has a tendency to get more minimalist and less intrusive. Our computers and phones and music players are all these compact, smooth slabs. But the makers of the later shows and films evidently didn't think it looked busy or visually interesting enough, so they reverted to a more complicated, more overtly technological, more heavily manned design philosophy that's really a step backward in terms of sophistication and credibility.

While that is true, the next logical step from TNG is people sitting in a comfy living room pressing buttons on iPads. Although not visually interesting enough for a television show or movie (or, at the very least, not something TPTB wanted to risk failing at), it may work far better in a book, where such considerations are moot.

 

[Ben]

While that is true, the next logical step from TNG is people sitting in a comfy living room pressing buttons on iPads. Although not visually interesting enough for a television show or movie (or, at the very least, not something TPTB wanted to risk failing at), it may work far better in a book, where such considerations are moot.

Isn't that kind of what they were doing on TNG? The bridge looked like someone's living room, and the panels were all touchscreens! Roddenberry invented the iPad!!

 

[Christopher]

^True, the iPad and earlier PDAs were somewhat inspired by the handheld PADDs of TNG and its successors, which were in turn based on the futuristic "clipboards" used in TOS. But the credit there would go not to Roddenberry, but to the art department. The original TNG PADDs were probably designed by Rick Sternbach. The TOS clipboards (called "data slates" in the novels) were probably designed by Matt Jefferies or Irving Feinberg or Wah Chang or somebody like that.

 

[MatthiasRussell]

Christopher, as a fan and a writer, do you put much thought into your ship selections?

Also, when you are writing ship-board scenes, do you use pictures of ship interior sets, or schematics to develop a mental picture of the scene?

 

[MatthiasRussell]

Sure, but there's no evidence that the Galaxy class has in any way failed to meet its designed service goals, or that it's somehow unusable in the modern quadrant. And it's more than possible for the Galaxy-class starships to be refit when there are other concerns.

Like I said, we've seen prominent Galaxy-class ships in about equal number to Sovereign-class ships. That seems rational to me.

But with Sovereigns being a smaller and newer design, I would expect Galaxy production to slow or halt in favor of Sovereigns as well as being surplanted asthe front-line ship. This makes sense resource-wise. Plus, I seem to remember reading somewhere that the Galaxy-class was meant to have a limited production run but I can't find the documentation and may be thinking of something else.

Why? I mean, seriously, what's wrong with there being both? Why does it have to be one or the other? It's not like there can only be One True Starship.

But this has been the case at times. In TOS, it seems like Constitutions were the only heavy cruiser-type ship in the fleet. It seems like the same thing happened with Excelsior production.

Then we come to Ambassadors which we rarely see (even though we still see Excelsiors in the 2380s) so it seems some heavy cruisers do have limited production runs or service lives.

And it makes sense to use the Galaxy class in Star Trek: New Frontier. It's a familiar, widely-recognized Star Trek design that can be used on covers; it evokes fond memories in the audience of TNG; it's a ship class whose capabilities are well-established and can be built upon; and it wasn't being used as the "starring ship" in any other ongoing TrekLit series.

Is the Galaxy really more recognizable to fans than the Sovereign? Does it sell more books on covers? Is a sovereign on the cover of the new Titan book because it will see the book better than a Luna class image?

I think the Sovereign has endeared and showed itself to fans in the 3 films. It may even be fan-preferred.

Similarly, the TOS Connie is a classic, but I've found talking to many trek fans that they prefer the TMP version.

 

[Sci]

Sure, but there's no evidence that the Galaxy class has in any way failed to meet its designed service goals, or that it's somehow unusable in the modern quadrant. And it's more than possible for the Galaxy-class starships to be refit when there are other concerns.

Like I said, we've seen prominent Galaxy-class ships in about equal number to Sovereign-class ships. That seems rational to me.

But with Sovereigns being a smaller and newer design, I would expect Galaxy production to slow or halt in favor of Sovereigns as well as being surplanted asthe front-line ship. This makes sense resource-wise.

Not if the underlying assumption of most sources about the ships' relative design functions is accurate. Most sources seem to say that the Sovereign is a more combat-oriented class, which implies that the Galaxy is oriented more towards scientific research and exploration.

Further, smaller is not always better. A Galaxy-class starship, precisely because it is larger, can be preferable to a Sovereign-class starship, depending upon the mission. If a starship is called upon to transport large numbers of people in an emergency situation, or if it is called upon to transport a great deal of cargo or matériel, then a Galaxy-class starship is obviously preferable to a Sovereign-class starship.

We can reasonably presume that a Sovereign-class starship has a lower cost in resources, but that doesn't mean that it's the better choice for all missions or that it's as capable in all circumstances as a Galaxy. Guided missile cruisers are less expensive than aircraft carriers, but that doesn't mean they're always the right tools for the job.

Plus, I seem to remember reading somewhere that the Galaxy-class was meant to have a limited production run but I can't find the documentation and may be thinking of something else.

Way back in 1991, the Star Trek: The Next Generation: Technical Manual indicated that only six Galaxy-class starships had been built as of TNG Season One, and that only six more were currently in production. That doesn't mean that Starfleet didn't order more Galaxy-class vessels later on.

Why? I mean, seriously, what's wrong with there being both? Why does it have to be one or the other? It's not like there can only be One True Starship.

But this has been the case at times. In TOS, it seems like Constitutions were the only heavy cruiser-type ship in the fleet. It seems like the same thing happened with Excelsior production.

That is a function of television programs having limited budgets and therefore reusing ship models. You no doubt noticed that by late DS9 and mid VOY, when it became economical to depict numerous different ship classes onscreen, that's exactly what happened.

Since finding money to transport and film a model starship is obviously not a concern in a novel, there's no valid reason for the novels to adhere to a practice the TV shows themselves disregarded.

And it makes sense to use the Galaxy class in Star Trek: New Frontier. It's a familiar, widely-recognized Star Trek design that can be used on covers; it evokes fond memories in the audience of TNG; it's a ship class whose capabilities are well-established and can be built upon; and it wasn't being used as the "starring ship" in any other ongoing TrekLit series.

Is the Galaxy really more recognizable to fans than the Sovereign?

I don't know. But that's completely besides the point. As I noted above, what made the Galaxy a good choice for the Excalibur-A's ship class was that it was both a recognizable Star Trek design and that it was not (at the time) being used for the "starring ship" of any other ongoing TrekLit series. If your goal is to have a visual identity for your covers that is recognizably Star Trek but which also sets you apart visually from the other TrekLit series, the Galaxy class is an excellent choice.

Does it sell more books on covers? Is a sovereign on the cover of the new Titan book because it will see the book better than a Luna class image?

I do not know.

I think the Sovereign has endeared and showed itself to fans in the 3 films. It may even be fan-preferred.

I really don't think anyone's ever researched this one way or the other; if you can convince Zogby or Pew conduct a poll on this, knock yourself out.

But I will point out this: The Galaxy class was the "starring ship" of a popular and successful television program for seven years. The Sovereign class, by contrast, was the starring ship for only three movies, one of which was relatively unsuccessful (INS) and one of which was an outright box office bomb (NEM). So, yes, it's entirely plausible -- it is not NECESSARILY true, but the idea is plausible -- that the Galaxy class may be more widely recognized and preferred.

 

[Christopher]

Way back in 1991, the Star Trek: The Next Generation: Technical Manual indicated that only six Galaxy-class starships had been built as of TNG Season One, and that only six more were currently in production. That doesn't mean that Starfleet didn't order more Galaxy-class vessels later on.

There were plenty in service during the Dominion War. We saw as many as ten of them onscreen at a single time during Operation Return (i.e. in "Favor the Bold"/"Sacrifice of Angels"). The fleet that met Voyager upon its return contained at least seven Galaxy-class ships.

Although I never liked seeing that many complete G-class ships in the war. They weren't designed for combat; at least the saucers weren't. It would've made more sense if they'd just mass-produced the battle hulls.

But as you say, the Galaxy class is well-known and liked by the audience, so the makers of DS9 used a lot of them rather than using other, more obscure classes (and they avoided Sovvies or Intrepids because they wanted those looks to be unique to the E-E and Voyager -- except in "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges," where they needed most of the episode to take place on a starship and it was cheaper to shoot it on VGR's standing sets than to build new ones).

 

[Sci]

Way back in 1991, the Star Trek: The Next Generation: Technical Manual indicated that only six Galaxy-class starships had been built as of TNG Season One, and that only six more were currently in production. That doesn't mean that Starfleet didn't order more Galaxy-class vessels later on.

There were plenty in service during the Dominion War. We saw as many as ten of them onscreen at a single time during Operation Return (i.e. in "Favor the Bold"/"Sacrifice of Angels"). The fleet that met Voyager upon its return contained at least seven Galaxy-class ships.

Although I never liked seeing that many complete G-class ships in the war. They weren't designed for combat; at least the saucers weren't. It would've made more sense if they'd just mass-produced the battle hulls.

To be fair, the visual evidence for most of the CGI Galaxy-class starships would seem to indicate that the class generally underwent a refit of combat systems in the years leading up to the Dominion War. I imagine that it might have been more economical to continue production of Galaxy-class ships already being built as tensions were building up in the years prior to the war (modifying them during construction to be better combat vessels), and to have existing ships refit, than it would have been to ratchet up production of Sovereign-class vessels in the very few years they had between the class's launch and the outbreak of the war.

But as you say, the Galaxy class is well-known and liked by the audience, so the makers of DS9 used a lot of them rather than using other, more obscure classes (and they avoided Sovvies or Intrepids because they wanted those looks to be unique to the E-E and Voyager -- except in "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges," where they needed most of the episode to take place on a starship and it was cheaper to shoot it on VGR's standing sets than to build new ones).

Yep. Branding is an important consideration for the producers when they set out to decide which ships will appear in which series.