Yep. And if people say that the holodeck wouldn't get the ship blueprints wrong in TATV, I'd argue the holodeck ALSO very likely got the ranks of the crew wrong as I doubt they'd go without promotion for 10 years.
When was the NX-01 most likely refitted?
- Thread starter Yistaan
- Start date
It's easy then, the ship would have looked the same, there would have been no refit.
Ah okay cool. I looked it up and saw Drexler came up with it himself. I thought it was something Manny wanted. I was just starting to make some fanart of that version of it and the Franklin together.
Yeah, it's always been Drexler's baby. I think fans took what he said on the matter a little too seriously. But hey, he managed get the design onscreen. Took almost 20 years, but he did it.
Please do continue to make the fanart. I always love seeing the Franklin.
I think it is logical to imagine it could have received an upgrade either before the war proper or after suffering a lot of structural damage, perhaps at the Battle of Chelon. This is, as others have pointed out, if it really had a significant refit at all.
Speaking of which:
I know Doug designed it and it was his baby, but do we know that Manny didn't want it?
Thanks @ Yistaan, for starting this thread. Appologies if this turns into a monster sized post.
Personally, I don’t mind the design. I had a love/hate relationship with the NX-Class design anyway, and the refit hasn’t changed that. I’m more interested in the possibilities the refit offers than its appearance.
Riker’s creative license can explain the ship’s appearance in ‘These are the voyages’. As for Star Trek Legacy, mods can correct that discrepancy. It’s also possible that the secondary hull was detached prior to 2161 for some reason. For example, the first ever emergency saucer separation.
Assuming that the refitting process took 180 days, as in SOTL 2011, it could only have happened in 2155. The work would begin after the Terra Prime crisis (January 2155) and finish in July.
The refit was likely intended for Columbia, hence the official name being “Columbia-Class”. (That and possible survivor’s guilt on Archer’s part, if Columbia vanished like in the novels). But Enterprise was closer to Earth, needed repairs anyway, and had a more experienced crew.
2156-2160 is very unlikely. The Romulan war began sometime in mid-2156, but open attacks would start before then. It's implied that, until the Dominion war, this was the bloodiest war in Federation history. (See SCE short story "Field Expediency" for reference). Starfleet couldn’t afford to have its most advanced vessel taken off active duty for at least 6 months. Sending the NX-01 refit out without adequate testing makes it an unreliable asset. Also, reassigning the entire crew, or splitting them up, would reduce their effectiveness.
Having the refit after 2160 is also unlikely. The new technologies brought by the Federation’s founding makes the refit pointless. Enterprise has had 10 years of extensive combat, and continuous rebuilding and retrofitting. It's easier to build a new starship, than to keep replacing Enterprise piece-by-piece.
My headcannon is that the refit was part of a fleet-wide upgrade program that started after the Xindi incident. The program’s original goal was to better protect Earth and its colonies. That later expanded to making Earth a more valuable Coalition member. When the war starts, Earth won't be the most powerful Coalition member, but it will be better able to oppose the Romulans.
The refit would have two purposes:
1) To enhance NX Class capabilities:
According to SOTL 2011, Enterprise's warp reactor and deflector underperformed in the Delphic Expanse. Starfleet Command developed uprated versions of both, which were too big to fit in the saucer. The secondary hull allows the new versions to supplement the originals. The cutaway shown in the SOTL 2024 calendar confirms this. An added benefit is that the warp 5 reactor can provide extra power for weapons, defensive systems, etc.
The SOTL 2024 cutaway’s specifications say that the new reactor’s top speed is warp 7.5. I disagree for several reasons. First, no power known to 22nd Century Earth can exceed warp 7. Second, the current plasma injectors can’t withstand travelling at warp 6.9. Third, there may be unknown structural / design issues that aren't solved by the ‘E2’ modifications. With a warp 6 engine, one that has a top speed between 6 and 6.5, they can identify hurdles to warp 7 without destroying the ship. Another headcannon theory is that warp 7 is possible, but only if both reactors work in sync to create a warp field. By 2161, the data gathered would allow Starfleet to start building warp 7 reactors.
2) To create a testbed for new technologies and ideas:
The secondary hull provides enough room to install additional prototype technologies and systems. Enterprise's crew would be better able to solve any problems the development team faced. Anything that passes field tests would filter down to the rest of the fleet. In the war, a ship's crew can build the new tech themselves, as long as they have the plans and materials.
Some possibilities include:
- Deflector shields & defence fields
Force field technology was already in development on the series. The end result won’t be as strong as those of the major powers, but uprated hull plating will compensate for it. Also, the new blue-grey paint job could be some sort of refractory coating, further adding to its durability.
The Star Trek Legacy mission 'Be My Shepherd suggests that the weapons and shields can’t be used at the same time. Controlling force field particle density was a problem in ‘Vox Sola’. If it's still an issue, it makes sense that the shields would need power from other systems to compensate. Until they've resolved the problem, defence fields may be a workaround for combat. They would only shield key areas (bridge, engineering, nacelles, etc), instead of the whole ship.
- Auxiliary control centre
This idea is straight up copied from the Vulcan D’Kyr Class. Controlling the ship from a room somewhere on the middle decks shouldn’t be any harder than from a catwalk. Only some ships would have enough room for one, e.g. NX Classes, NX variants, and Daedalus Classes.
- Laser technology
First of all, I don’t believe these are modern day lasers, only tech with a similar sounding acronym, e.g. LEIZ-R or LAESR. I imagine Reed punching a bulkhead every time someone gets the two technologies mixed up. My headcannon is that this tech is based on the mining tools shown in ‘Demons’. Installed for drilling operations, but repurposed as weapons later in the war. It's why I imagine that the beams fired by the NXs on the cover of ‘To Brave the Storm’ are lasers.
If this tech was invented in 2154, that would align with the 1976 Spaceflight Chronology. It states that Earth invented laser weapons 2 years before the war, and that this tech contributed to Earth’s victory.
I'd like to learn more about this event, please could you cite a reference.
Personally, I don’t mind the design. I had a love/hate relationship with the NX-Class design anyway, and the refit hasn’t changed that. I’m more interested in the possibilities the refit offers than its appearance.
Riker’s creative license can explain the ship’s appearance in ‘These are the voyages’. As for Star Trek Legacy, mods can correct that discrepancy. It’s also possible that the secondary hull was detached prior to 2161 for some reason. For example, the first ever emergency saucer separation.
Assuming that the refitting process took 180 days, as in SOTL 2011, it could only have happened in 2155. The work would begin after the Terra Prime crisis (January 2155) and finish in July.
The refit was likely intended for Columbia, hence the official name being “Columbia-Class”. (That and possible survivor’s guilt on Archer’s part, if Columbia vanished like in the novels). But Enterprise was closer to Earth, needed repairs anyway, and had a more experienced crew.
2156-2160 is very unlikely. The Romulan war began sometime in mid-2156, but open attacks would start before then. It's implied that, until the Dominion war, this was the bloodiest war in Federation history. (See SCE short story "Field Expediency" for reference). Starfleet couldn’t afford to have its most advanced vessel taken off active duty for at least 6 months. Sending the NX-01 refit out without adequate testing makes it an unreliable asset. Also, reassigning the entire crew, or splitting them up, would reduce their effectiveness.
Having the refit after 2160 is also unlikely. The new technologies brought by the Federation’s founding makes the refit pointless. Enterprise has had 10 years of extensive combat, and continuous rebuilding and retrofitting. It's easier to build a new starship, than to keep replacing Enterprise piece-by-piece.
My headcannon is that the refit was part of a fleet-wide upgrade program that started after the Xindi incident. The program’s original goal was to better protect Earth and its colonies. That later expanded to making Earth a more valuable Coalition member. When the war starts, Earth won't be the most powerful Coalition member, but it will be better able to oppose the Romulans.
The refit would have two purposes:
1) To enhance NX Class capabilities:
According to SOTL 2011, Enterprise's warp reactor and deflector underperformed in the Delphic Expanse. Starfleet Command developed uprated versions of both, which were too big to fit in the saucer. The secondary hull allows the new versions to supplement the originals. The cutaway shown in the SOTL 2024 calendar confirms this. An added benefit is that the warp 5 reactor can provide extra power for weapons, defensive systems, etc.
The SOTL 2024 cutaway’s specifications say that the new reactor’s top speed is warp 7.5. I disagree for several reasons. First, no power known to 22nd Century Earth can exceed warp 7. Second, the current plasma injectors can’t withstand travelling at warp 6.9. Third, there may be unknown structural / design issues that aren't solved by the ‘E2’ modifications. With a warp 6 engine, one that has a top speed between 6 and 6.5, they can identify hurdles to warp 7 without destroying the ship. Another headcannon theory is that warp 7 is possible, but only if both reactors work in sync to create a warp field. By 2161, the data gathered would allow Starfleet to start building warp 7 reactors.
2) To create a testbed for new technologies and ideas:
The secondary hull provides enough room to install additional prototype technologies and systems. Enterprise's crew would be better able to solve any problems the development team faced. Anything that passes field tests would filter down to the rest of the fleet. In the war, a ship's crew can build the new tech themselves, as long as they have the plans and materials.
Some possibilities include:
- Deflector shields & defence fields
Force field technology was already in development on the series. The end result won’t be as strong as those of the major powers, but uprated hull plating will compensate for it. Also, the new blue-grey paint job could be some sort of refractory coating, further adding to its durability.
The Star Trek Legacy mission 'Be My Shepherd suggests that the weapons and shields can’t be used at the same time. Controlling force field particle density was a problem in ‘Vox Sola’. If it's still an issue, it makes sense that the shields would need power from other systems to compensate. Until they've resolved the problem, defence fields may be a workaround for combat. They would only shield key areas (bridge, engineering, nacelles, etc), instead of the whole ship.
- Auxiliary control centre
This idea is straight up copied from the Vulcan D’Kyr Class. Controlling the ship from a room somewhere on the middle decks shouldn’t be any harder than from a catwalk. Only some ships would have enough room for one, e.g. NX Classes, NX variants, and Daedalus Classes.
- Laser technology
First of all, I don’t believe these are modern day lasers, only tech with a similar sounding acronym, e.g. LEIZ-R or LAESR. I imagine Reed punching a bulkhead every time someone gets the two technologies mixed up. My headcannon is that this tech is based on the mining tools shown in ‘Demons’. Installed for drilling operations, but repurposed as weapons later in the war. It's why I imagine that the beams fired by the NXs on the cover of ‘To Brave the Storm’ are lasers.
If this tech was invented in 2154, that would align with the 1976 Spaceflight Chronology. It states that Earth invented laser weapons 2 years before the war, and that this tech contributed to Earth’s victory.
Mostly I agree with this. However, I think that the new reactor and secondary hull enable warp factor six, with a cruising speed of warp factor 5.4, with the reactor in the primary hull, warp factor 7 is possible, quite possible. However, the need to drop out of warp about every five light-years, ten light-years with two reactors per hull.
And yes, there were to be two reactors in the NX-01, from the start, in the warp slead per the Drex files.
As to force field technology I use the SR-71 stealth technology to indicate the level of capability, that is ~35x reduction of incoming shots.
