Constellation class The " Constellation " - class starship was a type of Federation star cruiser employed by Starfleet from the late 23rd century through the late 24th century . History . The " Constellation " - class began service as early as 2285 , when at least one such ship , the , was constructed by Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems at the Copernicus Ship Yards on Luna . ( USS " Hathaway " dedication plaque ) Nearly a decade after the launch of the " Hathaway " , the prototype for the class , the , was still undergoing certification trials . ( " Operation Retrieve chart " ) During the early 24th century , the " Constellation " - class was noted for performing both deep - space exploration and defensive - patrol duties . ( ) By the mid - 2360s , this class of " old - style " star cruiser was on the fringe of being phased out of the fleet . Those that had been decommissioned , including the eighty - year - old " Hathaway " , were stripped of their offensive systems and rendered " warp inactive , " which included the removal of all antimatter . ( ) Those that remained in service were typically relegated to transport duties . ( ) " Constellation " - class starships were also used in second - line service , including the hastily - organized Federation blockade during the Klingon Civil War . ( ) In 2369 , commander of the , Captain Jean - Luc Picard , regarded his former command , the " Constellation " - class USS " Stargazer " as being " " an overworked , underpowered vessel that was always on the verge of flying apart at the seams , " " adding , " " in every measurable way , my " Enterprise " is far superior . " " However , he did admit that there were days when he would ' ve done anything to be back aboard the " Stargazer " . ( ) Technical data . Crew . A ship of this class could be manned with a crew of forty . ( ) Propulsion systems . One notable feature of the " Constellation " - class was that it was one of the few classes in use mounted with four warp nacelle s . This unique arrangement in a starship design was later found in one of the , as well as the and es . ( ; ) The " Constellation " - class had a maximum speed of warp 9 . ( ) During their original construction , " Constellation " - class starships employed Avidyne engine s . By the latter 24th century these had been replaced with more effective engines . ( ) These starships had at least two impulse reactor s . ( " remastered " ) Interior design . Main bridge . Although the layout of the main bridge of the " Constellation " - class of starships could be described as " standard " in terms of how Federation starship bridges are designed , the " Constellation " - class appeared to have two prominently different bridge types . These variations can be recognized between the , launched in 2285 , and the , last active in 2355 . The " Hathaway " - type bridge had an unusual arrangement , with front of the bridge relatively wide open and the primary stations cramped in the rear of the bridge . The helm and navigation stations were located on the extreme port and starboard sides of the ship with the captain ' s chair near the center of the bridge . This gave the captain an unobstructed view of the viewscreen located at the front of the bridge . Next to the captain ' s chair , set less than a meter back and off to the right , was the first officer ' s chair with console . Directly behind the command chairs was the tactical station , with the engineering station to the far rear ( on the port side ) and science station to the far rear ( starboard side ) . In front of the engineering station was an entryway to the bridge entryway . ( ) Described as a " cramped little bridge " by Picard , the " Stargazer " - type was actually less cluttered than the " Hathaway " - type , with a design more reminiscent of the refit or bridge . ( ) In the front was the viewscreen , with side - by - side helm and navigator consoles , a feature that noticeably contrasts that of the " Hathaway " - type . The captain ' s chair was directly aft the aforementioned stations ; no accommodations were present for the first officer in this type . At the rear of the bridge , a tactical station was found on the far left with monitors along the back wall behind the captain ' s chair , with a second primary station located on the opposite side of the bridge . The primary stations were attached to the rear wall of the bridge ; support railing partially enclosed that section from the front of the bridge . On either side of the rear wall monitors and between either primary station were two turbolift s . Along the port wall , directly to the left of the captain ' s chair and between the tactical station and the viewscreen , was the entryway to the captain ' s ready room . ( ) Main engineering . Main engineering was where the ship ' s power systems were controlled and was the home of the ship ' s antimatter warp drive chamber and impulse engine controls . ( ) Crew cabins . Cabins aboard " Constellation " - class starships were of typical design associated with Federation starship of the era , providing spartan accommodations for the crew . ( ) Appendices . Background information . The first " Constellation " - class ship seen , the " Stargazer " , was originally planned to be a ship , allowing the visual effects staff of to make use of the existing movie model . Actually , the producers did not make the decision to build a new , full scale filming , or studio model , of the " Stargazer " until after the episode was filmed with both Wil Wheaton and LeVar Burton calling it a " Constitution " . The choice of the name " Constellation " was based largely on the fact that it could be dubbed over La Forge ' s line since the two words are so similar . ( " " , 2003 , p . 41 ; ) In Vonda N . McIntyre ' s of , the is referred to as a " Constellation " - class starship instead of " Constitution " - class . " The Magazine " . A Starfleet Technical Database - article appearing in that was later written by designer - creator Rick Sternbach stated that this class of ship had fifteen decks and a crew complement of 535 and that the class consisted of eight vessels ( including the USS " Gettysburg " and USS " Magellan " ) . In addition to the aforementioned , the article also stated that a USS " Valkyrie " ( NCC - 2590 ) and a USS " Gihlan " ( NCC - 9761 ) existed , the latter named after an admiral who oversaw the development of " Constellation " - class starships . The class ' s mission statements were : long - range sensor analysis within threat territories , communications , intelligence gathering , deployment and retrieval of cargo and stealth shuttles , general science and patrol duties .