Clarke class

## SPACECRAFT CLASS

Starboard dorsal view

*"The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible." - Arthur C. Clarke*
The ***Clarke*-class**, named for Human aviator William Robinson Clarke and Human author Arthur C. Clarke, was a type of spacecraft developed by Starfleet at the beginning of the 25th century as part of the Yard 39 Project. It was inspired by the 23rd century *Malachowski*-class and incorporated elements of the *Reliant*-class. Starfleet classified the design as a scale 4 patrol cruiser.

## History

The project name was taken from the USS *Clarke*, a *Malachowski*-class vessel lost in the opening battle of the First Federation-Klingon War. Confusion later arose as to the namesake of the original vessel, and thus the project, as some believed it to be Robbie Clarke while others held that it was Arthur C. Clarke. It was finally decided to name the new class after both.

## Technical specifications

### Command systems

#### Unit operations center

Immediately aft of the bridge was the unit operations center, which served as the command, control, and communications hub aboard the starship to coordinate with other unit elements. While not as expansive or powerful as facilities aboard the *Buran* or *Europa*-classes, it allowed a *Clarke*-class vessel to coordinate with large numbers of auxiliary craft or to serve as a squadron leader.

### Propulsion systems

Like other vessels of the era, the *Clarke* used a Marrone/Ortiz warp drive configuration. Its two nacelles were mounted on pylons extending aftward from the small secondary hull. The original drive offered a cruising speed of warp 7 and maximum speed of warp 9.955.

The ship's two impulse propulsion units flanked its shuttlebay.

An Ithra IT-5 Transwarp Coil was equipped on *Clarke*-class starships, allowing each to connect to the Federation Transwarp Network and jump to gateways within the network at speeds of 360,000 light years per hour. To power the coil, starships had to divert energy from weapon and shield systems. Due to strains on the IT-5 coil and the drive's massive power requirements, it could only be used once every 20 hours.

### Science and remote sensing systems

Two nodes on the dorsal hull contained the active long-range sensor suites. These were a key element of the *Clarke's* purpose design as a patrol cruiser. The suites allowed the vessel to continuously scan its surroundings, while its paired computer cores would parse the information.

### Tactical systems

The hulls of *Clarke*-class starships were a neutronium alloy with a duranium nanomesh coating reinforced with micro-ablative generators. Based upon technology brought back from the Delta Quadrant by the USS *Voyager*, these generators helped to dissipate energy across the hull and to regenerate damaged portions of the ablative hull coating.

The *Clarke*-class was initially equipped with two Yoyodyne 960-G unified field emitter deflector shield arrays. These projected unimatrix shields with regenerative, multi-spectrum, covariant, and metaphasic properties around the vessels. Nexus Defense Screens, that protected the crew from the effects of the Nexus and similar phenomena, were also integrated into the shield systems.

The armaments of the design included five Type-X phasers, eight Type-VIII phasers, two Type-VII phasers, and eight variable-payload launch tubes. The five Type-X arrays were located on the forward half of the vessel, with one of them placed along the front edge of the primary hull. Two of the Type-VIII phaser cannons were forward-facing, with the remaining six flanking the shuttlebay at the *Clarke's* aft. The launchers were split evenly between fore and aft, with the aft tubes placed above the shuttlebay doors.

### Auxiliary craft systems

The shuttlebay of the *Clarke*-class was a single large compartment, though it had two separate external doors. The facility had the capacity for twenty auxiliary craft, depending on size and type, though the class had a standard complement of fourteen. This would vary by assignment and mission requirements, but typically included multiple Type 14 shuttlecraft, *Valkyrie*-class starfighters, and workpods.

### Crew support systems

Holographic projectors were equipped throughout *Clarke*-class vessels. These allowed for emergency holograms to be quickly activated at any location at the time of need. The photonic core of the class stored the programs for an Emergency Medical Holograms, two Emergency Engineering Holograms, and six Emergency Security Holograms.

## Ships commissioned

The initial confusion on the origin of the class name led to two general naming conventions being used for *Clarke*-class vessels: notable aviators and science-fiction authors, or terms related to either.

 USS *Laroche* | NCC-91602

## 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

* Clarke class (25th century) article at *Memory Beta*.
* Clarke Multi-Mission Command Cruiser article at the *Star Trek Online Wiki*.