Somerville class

## SPACECRAFT CLASS

The ***Somerville*-class** was a type of spacecraft developed by Starfleet in the early 25th century. Derived from the *Hernandez*-class in the Yard 39 Project, the class was designed to serve as an advanced, mobile, modular, scientific laboratory, although it also carried systems allowing it to serve a technical research ship role. Starfleet classified the *Somerville* as a scale 4 science cruiser.

## History

A number of *Hernandez*-class hulls were recovered in the 25th century from Yard 39. Starfleet, still recovering from the Iconian War, directed its Engineering Division to repurpose the recovered starships. The Corps shortly thereafter produced the *Somerville*-class science vessel, which applied 25th century technology and aesthetics to the 150-years-old hulls.

The class prototype, the USS *Somerville*, was commissioned on Stardate 87724.4 (22 September 2410), the first design to come from the Yard 39 Project. Six more vessels of the class were commissioned by the end of the year.

## Technical specifications

### Physical arrangement

The *Somerville*-class had a unique design for a Starfleet vessel. It was composed of two concentric hulls, with two nacelles integrated into the outer ring.

### Science and remote sensing systems

Vessels of the class were equipped with active sensor arrays to assist in information-gathering. The arrays, derived from those developed in Project Deep Shadow, allowed the starship to dispatch stealth drones to observe and obtain detailed information that required close proximity.

### Tactical systems

#### Defenses

The starships were also equipped with an integrated cloaking device that added to their defensive options.

#### Armaments

Though not intended for combat, the *Somerville*-class carried sufficient armaments to ably defend itself. The cruiser mounted sixteen Annular Confinement Beam-jacketed Type-X phasers, 7 Type-VII phasers, and 2 aft-facing variable-payload launch tubes.

### Auxiliary systems

The *Somerville* was equipped with sixteen Modular Mission Bays to greatly expand its scientific mission profile. Based on the same principles as the bays employed by the *Pathfinder*-class, the facilities allowed for wide versatility and mission capability for each vessel.

The transporter system connected to ten emitter arrays on the external hull.

### Auxiliary craft systems

The large afterdeck outside the shuttlebay door provided additional space for the docking of small craft.

The class carried one hundred and eighteen evacuation pods, each with its own ejection berth.

## 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

* Somerville class article at *Memory Beta*.
* Somerville Intel Science Vessel article at the *Star Trek Online Wiki*.

### Footnotes

1. ↑ *Star Trek Online* -  *Age of Discovery* short story: "Utopia Planetia: The Mystery of Yard 39."
2. ↑ *Star Trek Online - Awakening* blog post: "Commissioning the U.S.S. Somerville."