Vesta class

## SPACECRAFT CLASS

Starboard view (Thomas Marrone)

Ventral view

Class development project patch (Thomas Marrrone)

The ***Vesta*-class** was a type of spacecraft developed by Starfleet in the late 24th century. It served as a test-bed for numerous technologies and, due to the success of the class, multiple variants were developed over the years to further increase the versatility of the design.

## History

A second wave of *Vesta*-class cruisers began construction in the mid 2390s. The first of these, the USS *Ostia*, left its moorings in 2397 on a mission to explore far beyond the Federation's borders. Several more vessels were commissioned into late 2398.

## Technical specifications

### Deck plan

Due to the modular nature of the design, there was great variation in the *Vesta*-class outside of core facilities. The following was the internal layout of core facilities aboard *Vesta*-class vessels.

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### Command systems

Like in most Starfleet designs, a command chair was at the center of the *Vesta*-class bridge. The seat was flanked by chairs and consoles for an executive officer and a mission advisor. Forward of the command area were mirrored consoles for helm and operations.

### Propulsion systems

The class employed a single D'Shalla Industries *TSek*-34 Matter/Anti-Matter Reaction Assembly to power its two warp drive units and two Keenser/Pegg E1Q Subatomic Unified Energy Impulse Engines.

The greatest innovation with the *Vesta* design was the inclusion of a Quantum Slipstream Propulsion System. This drive allowed the vessels to travel at slipstream speeds exceeding 300 light years per hour. Due to power limitations at the time, the drive could only be operated for 10 seconds before needing a 4 hour recovery downtime. The slipstream tunneling projector and two waveform attenuators helped to maintain the slipstream corridor.

### Tactical systems

The *Vesta*-class was protected by a duranium-tritanium double hull and deflector shields. Also incorporated into the design were Sympathetic Fermion Transceivers, which created a large, temporary fermion field around a starship, bolstering its shields and structural integrity.

Though its tactical systems were designed for defense and long-term sustainability, the class still mounted significant armaments. Two Type-XII phasers were mounted beneath the two forward launch tubes on the ventral hull. Seven Annular Confinement Beam-jacketed Type-X phasers provided overlapping coverage around the vessel. Located beneath Shuttlebay 2 were two aft-facing launch tubes.

### Auxiliary systems

*Vesta*-class starships carried ten personnel transporter pads, four cargo transporters, and six emergency evacuation transporters.

#### Landing mechanism

The *Vesta*-class was the largest Starfleet design with the ability to enter a planet's atmosphere, land on the surface, and return to space. Vessels were equipped with antigravity generators and impulse lifters on the ventral side of both the primary and secondary hulls and landing pads on the lower section of the stardrive hull. Vessels of the class would enter blue alert when performing a planetary landing.

### Auxiliary craft systems

The afterdeck, which extended stern from the main shuttlebay, could serve as a landing platform to extend the carrying capacity of the class. The space could accommodate up to three runabouts, or a variety of smaller craft, but was only accessible via environmental suit or transporter.

Below the afterdeck was Shuttlebay 2, which typically held a starship's shuttlepod and workpod complement.

## Derivatives

### Mark II - *Rademaker*

The Mark II was developed as a specialized refit of *Vesta* space frames. Named the *Rademaker*-class after the first vessel built to the new specifications, the Mark II was purpose built to explore extreme spacial phenomena and areas of space with extreme gravity. The *Rademaker* design had a more ovular saucer, larger nacelles, and a wider shuttle bay that the *Vesta*. Only three vessels were ever refit to Mark II specifications.

### Mark III - *Aventine*

While in for scheduled repairs and upgrades in opening years of the 25th century, the USS *Aventine* instead underwent significant retrofitting. The Mark III, dubbed the *Aventine*-class, had a sharper saucer and forward-angling pylons than either the *Vesta* or *Rademaker* hulls. The design was intended to expand the tactical capabilities of the Vesta during a conflict-ridden period of Federation history. Like the Mark II, only a limited number of vessels were refitted as the Block II series entered production shortly after the introduction of the *Aventine*-class.

### Block II

After the success of the *Vesta*-class and its refits in the early 25th century, Starfleet engineers revisited the base design once again. Working alongside shipwrights from the Romulan Republic and the Gorn Hegemony, the Advanced Starship Design Bureau (ASDB) participated in the Multi-mission Explorer Development Project (MMEDP). The project was an effort to create state-of-the-art vessels that could fulfill multiple scientific mission profiles. Three new designs, based upon the *Vesta* spaceframe were developed by the ASDB during the project.

#### *Brigid*

Further expanding on the standard *Vesta*, the *Brigid*-class was developed by drawing upon the technological advancements of the early 25th century. Implemented into the *Brigid* variant's design was the isometric dispersal array, which allowed the starship to release a single, devastating, cylindrical blast of electrical energy. Enemies struck by the blast suffered heavy electrical damage to their ships' systems and interrupted engine power.

#### *Esquiline*

The *Esquiline*-class, named after the first *Vesta* starship lost in service, was built upon the tremendous success of the *Rademaker*-class and was among the most technologically advanced Federation starships when it was introduced. The class included an omni-directional tachyon wave siphon, which allowed the *Esquiline* to drain the shields of nearby enemies while bolstering its own secondary shields.

#### *Palatine*

More tactically focused that the other multi-mission explorers, the *Palatine*-subclass was built upon the success of the Mark II variant at combating the Borg Collective and the multitude of other hostile forces Starfleet engaged in the early 25th century. The radiation bombardment matrix of the *Palatine*-class allowed the starship's deflector to periodically bombard enemy starships in its frontal arc with deadly radiation. This interrupted ship systems and caused irritation, nausea, headaches, and dizziness in most species.

#### *Caelian*

Developed in secret in parallel to the MMEDP, the *Caelian*-class was a combination of the multi-mission capabilities of the *Vesta* line and the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aspects of Project Deep Shadow.

## Ships commissioned

First run vessels bore names of the seven hills of Rome, with the exception the lead ship and the USS *Rademaker*, which was named after the primary designer of the class who died in an accident shortly before the USS *Vesta* began its trials. Starship constructed in the second run were named after places near the city of Rome on Earth, or names of ancient Roman Empire gods.

## Appendices

### Connections

**Project groups:** **Union Station** (*Geneva* • *Concorde* • *Presidio*) • **Century Cruiser** (*Springfield* • *New Orleans* • *Challenger* • *Niagara* • *Freedom II* • *Galaxy* • *Nebula* • *Cheyenne*) • **Multi-Mission explorers** (*Brigid* • *Esquiline* • *Palatine*) • **Deep Shadow** (*Eclipse* • *Phantom* • *Scryer*) • **Miracle Worker** (*Scott* • *Daystrom* • *Tucker* • *Gagarin*) • **Aeronaut** (*Mercury* • *Ajax* • *Icarus* • *Shran*)

**Other named classes:** *Aegian* • *Aerie* • *Akula* • *Atlas* • *California* • *Centaur* • *Challenger* • *Cheyenne* • *Constellation* • *Constitution III* • *Crossfield* • *Curry* • *Daedalus* • *Dauntless* • *Excelsior II* • *Freedom II* • *Gemini* • *Glenn* • *Guardian* • *Inquiry* • *Iwo Jima* • *Jupiter* • *Lexington* • *Niagara* • *Obena* • *Okinawa* • *Parliament* • *Perseus* • *Pioneer* • *Ranger* • *Sagan* • *Solanae* • *Springfield* • *Turing* • *Ulysses*

**Auxiliary craft:** *Aero* • Class C • Class F • *Danube* • *Flyer* • *Gondola* • *Kodai* • *Mollard* • *Peregrine* • *Selenic* • Type 4 • Type 5 • Type 6 (Type 6A • Type 6S) • Type 7 • Type 8 • Type 9 (Type 9A) • Type 10 • Type 11 • Type 14 • Type 17 • Type 19 • *Valkyrie* • *Venture* • *Waverider* • *Yellowstone*

**Leadership:** Commander-in-chief • Joint Chiefs • Chief of Starfleet External Affairs • Chief of Starfleet Operations • Chief of Starfleet Research and Exploration • Chief of Starfleet Tactical

**Agencies:** Operations (Engineering • Judicial • Materiel Supply • Mission Operations • Personnel Management • Records Service • Shipyards Operations • Starbase Operations) • Research & Exploration (Science • Medical) • External Affairs • Tactical (Intelligence • Security • MACO)

**Notable units:** Ktarn Fleet • Task Force 77

**Facilities:** Deep Space K-7 • Deep Space K-13 • Deep Space 9 • Masamichi Array • Starbase 45-Keepsake • Starbase 82-Maat • Starbase 234-Beskerm • Starbase 247-Vershina

**Agencies:** Starfleet • Diplomatic Corps • Department of Temporal Investigations • Federation Security Agency

**Facilities:** 40 Eridani A Starfleet Construction Yards • Antares Ship Yards • Beta Antares Ship Yards • Copernicus Ship Yards • Laikan Starfleet Shipyards • McKinley Station • Memory Project • New Aberdeen Shipyards • Proxima Maintenance Yards • Salazaar Shipyards • San Francisco Fleet Yards • TL-9139 Starfleet Maintenance Yards • Tranquility Base • Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards

### Sources consulted

* Vesta class article at *Memory Beta*.
* Vesta class article at the *Star Trek Online Wiki*.
* Vesta Multi-Mission Surveillance Explorer article at the *Star Trek Online Wiki*.
* *Star Trek Adventures - Utopia Planitia Starfleet Sourcebook* by Modiphius Entertainment.
* Vesta class article at Bravo Fleet - Star Trek RPG and Community.
* Vesta Class Explorer article at the Federation Space wiki.
* Vesta-class article at *Memory Zeta*, the Sixth Fleet RPG wiki.
* Vesta class article at the Alpha Command Wiki.

### Footnotes

1. ↑ *STA Utopia Planitia Starfleet Sourcebook*, 191.
2. ↑ Derived from MSDs created by Benjamin Brougham (dead link) and Lee Arundel.
3. ↑ Based upon the USS Aventine Bridge by HaphazArtGeek.
4. ↑ *STA Utopia Planitia Starfleet Sourcebook*, 190.