Miranda class The " Miranda " - class starship was a type of starship introduced by Starfleet in the late 23rd century and remained in use through the late 24th century . History . " Miranda " - class ships such as the were in service as early as 2267 . ( ) " Miranda " - class starships were in service well into the mid - 2280s . ( ; , ) Some " Miranda " - class starships constructed during the first half of the 24th century fell under the authority of the Yoyodyne Division , around stardate 22519 . 5 . Vessels including were constructed at this time at 40 Eridani A Starfleet Construction Yards . ( " dedication plaque " ) The mission profile of the " Miranda " - class varied from performing various scientific roles to conducting patrol duties . ( ; ; ; ) By the latter half of the 24th century , one variation of this class , , was known by the designation of Class 6 Federation supply ship . ( ) The " Miranda " - class was present in several major Federation engagements against the Borg , including the Battle of Wolf 359 and the Battle of Sector 001 . ( ; ) They were also present in numerous Dominion War battles , where they often served as escort s . Many ships of the class saw action during Operation Return , the First and Second Battles of Chin ' toka , and the Battle of Cardassia . Many " Miranda " - class vessels were stationed near Deep Space 9 . ( , etc . ) " Miranda " - class starship were also shown as model s on several occasions such as in Deep Space 9 ' s classroom . ( ) Technical data . Physical arrangement . The configuration of the " Miranda " - class shared a similar design lineage and features with the refit implemented in the early 2270s . ( ) The design also closely resembled the starships that were also in service around the same time . ( ) The " Miranda " - class was composed of a single primary hull , consisting of a saucer that was similar to that of the " Constitution " - class ; however , the bridge module , positioned on top in the center , was shaped differently than the " Constitution " - class module . Mounted on the underside of the primary hull were two nacelle pylon s connected to the warp nacelle s . ( , etc . ) Design features of the primary hull included a docking port located on the forward section of the ship ; the aft section included two shuttlebay s , separated by the vessel ' s impulse engine s . These shuttlebays were visually numbered ; " 1 " being on the rear - port side , and " 2 " on the rear - starboard side . ( ; , etc . ) Configurations . There were five different known hull configurations utilized with the " Miranda " - class during its time in service . The predominant " Miranda " - class design included a superstructure ( or " roll bar " ) immediately above the primary hull , as a dorsal extension of the ventral nacelle pylons . This superstructure was equipped with torpedo launcher s and phaser bank s . ( , etc . ) Some configurations lacked the " roll bar " superstructure , and in other cases , included two large sensor pods affixed on the port and starboard sides of the primary hull . In other configurations there was a single pod module . ( ; ) By late 2373 , " Miranda " - class ships using the predominant design had undergone upgrades to their warp nacelle s and in some cases to impulse engine systems . ( ) Tactical systems . Standard to all designs were six dual phaser bank s located on the primary hull – three mounted to the top and three mounted on the bottom of the saucer . Also standard to all designs were two single phaser emitters mounted just beneath the impulse engines . In those ships possessing the " roll bar , " that superstructure contained two tubular phaser emitter s on each side that could fire both forward and to the ship ' s flanks . There were also two forward and two aft photon torpedo launcher s housed in a pod mounted in the center of the superstructure . ( ; ) By the 24th century a number of modifications were made to the " Miranda " - class weapons systems . Some " Miranda " - class vessels , such as those of the " twin - pod " variant , included a phaser array mounted on the lower part of the ventral dome and photon torpedo launchers in the main part of the ship rather than in a pod on the " roll - bar " . ( ) The class 6 variant of this class featured class 3 defensive armaments . ( ) A majority of 24th century " Miranda " - class vessels of the " roll - bar " variant , particularly during the Dominion War , were equipped with phaser arrays and photon torpedoes equivalent to those used on other ships of the era , while keeping the same weapon array placements as the 23rd century " Miranda " . ( ; ; etc . ) Interior design . Main bridge . The design of " Miranda " - class bridge during the 23rd century shared a similar layout to contemporary vessels of that era . Located on Deck 1 of the saucer section , the main bridge housed the command center of the " Miranda " - class . The design lineage of the main bridge was a fairly standard floor plan for a Federation starship . The ship ' s viewscreen was placed against the forward bulkhead , with side - by - side navigation and helm consoles . The captain ' s chair was directly aft of the aforementioned stations . Several variations existed in the layout of the surrounding stations . At the rear and center of the USS " Reliant " s bridge was the turbolift entryway . The primary stations , which were located along the rear of the bridge , included the tactical station on the port side of the bridge . Along the rear starboard side of the bridge were the primary science station and communications station . ( ) The bridge similarly found on board the USS " Saratoga " ( NCC - 1887 ) also had primary stations located along the perimeter of the bridge ; however , the " Saratoga " s bridge included the science station on the port side of the bridge , nearly parallel to the navigation station . ( ) By the 24th century , further reconfigurations were made to the layout of the bridge , including the separation of the navigation and helm station , which was replaced by the conn station ( on the starboard side ) and ops station ( on the port side ) . The bridge of the USS " Lantree " was relatively simplistic in design , containing little more than a large LCARS interface and star chart s on the back of the bridge . ( ) The bridge of the USS " Saratoga " ( NCC - 31911 ) had a much more complex layout , including two additional standing consoles located behind the conn and ops , parallel and slightly behind the captain ' s chair . The standing console on the port side of the ship contained the tactical station . Also located on the port side , in the foremost section of the bridge , was a turbolift . Along the aft of the bridge were several various access stations . ( ) Relatively similar to the bridge of the " Saratoga " , the bridge of the USS " Brattain " had large support braces surrounding the captain ' s chair to the sides and rear . In place of the two standing consoles of the " Saratoga " was a single engineering station , placed directly behind the captain ' s chair and directly in front of an engineering MSD interface . ( ) Corridors . The numerous corridor s that connected the various sections of the " Miranda " - class resembled those of contemporary designs . The corridors on board the USS " Reliant " resembled those of the refit " Constitution " - class . ( ) The outer corridors on board the USS " Saratoga " ( NCC - 31911 ) were heavily fortified with a system of support braces . ( ) Main engineering . Main engineering contained a vertical warp core , with multiple levels surrounding the core . ( ) Transporter room . The staging area of the transporter room on board the " Miranda " - class possessed six transporter pad s . Transporter control could be accessed through a console located on the bridge . ( ) Shuttlebay . The " Miranda " - class featured two shuttlebays , located port and starboard of the ship ' s center . On some " Miranda " - class ships , such as the USS " Saratoga " , both of the shuttlebays held escape pods capable of transporting several personnel . ( ) Crew quarters . The crew quarters located on the outer rim of the ship contained several large picture windows , littered with numerous large support braces . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Name . The name " Miranda " - class was not mentioned in dialogue on - screen , but was devised by the art department of TNG to refer to this design . The name was used on several pieces of on - screen signage referring to these vessels , and was also used by dedicated references such as the . In the first draft script of , this class of ship was called " Reliant " - class . According to the " Encyclopedia " ( 4th ed . , vol . 2 , p . 45 ) , the " Miranda " - class was " " named for Prospero ' s , a character in William Shakespeare ' s last play , " " . " " According to an early final draft of the script for " Unnatural Selection " , the USS " Lantree " was identified as a " class R Starfleet supply ship " rather than a " class 6 Federation supply ship " . Specifications . The specifications for the " Miranda " were not mentioned in dialogue , but are referenced from the show ' s art department . The initial length for the " Miranda " - class of 765 feet ( 233 meters ) was established during the production of " Star Trek II " , that was later followed up by Andrew Probert during TNG Season 1 . The exact length , based on the universally accepted length of the refit , at least behind - the - scenes , at 1 , 000 feet and assuming that both classes employ standardized ship components like nacelles and saucers - sections , is 234 . 9 meters ( 770 . 67 feet ) . The scale of the CGI mesh was scaled approximately twenty - five percent smaller than had been previously established . According to a 20 January 1998 post in the newsgroup alt . tv . star - trek . ds9 by David Stipes , a length of approximately 500 to 560 feet ( 167 to 187 meters ) was used when he blocked shots in DS9 . " Technical Manual " . The following information of specifications and defenses comes exclusively from the " " : Apocrypha . In the comic book " Who Killed Captain Kirk ? " and in the materials published by FASA for use with their " " and " " this ship is referred to as the " Reliant " - class . FASA describes it as a refit of the " Anton " - class , which had a similar design that featured TOS - style warp nacelles .