Niagara class

## SPACECRAFT CLASS

Forward ventral view (Maxloef1990)

Aft dorsal view (Maxloef1990)

The ***Niagara*-class** was a type of spacecraft developed by Starfleet in the mid-24th century. The class was a test to determine whether developments from the Century Cruiser Project could be integrated into older starship designs.

## History

When two *Ambassador*-class vessels, the USS *Niagara* and USS *Princeton*, came in for scheduled overhauls they were instead slated for a refit using elements from the Century Cruiser Project. The intent was to see how well elements of the project could be integrated into older vessels when due for maintenance and upgrades. A triangular nacelle arrangement was required to create a proper and safe warp field, as the *Niagara* had not been designed from the ground-up to accommodate the Type C100 nacelles.

Both starships were in drydock for nine months before being recommissioned, with new registry numbers, in late 2349.

Overall, the design proved a failure and no additional *Ambassador*-class vessels were refit to *Niagara* specs. The primary outcome of this endeavor was the understanding that new designs, instead of refits, would be needed in order to more-widely take advantage of project developments and that the cost-benefit of a third Type C100 nacelle was heavily skewed towards its removal. Specifically, it was found that three bussard collectors generated deuterium far in excess of the power requirements of the *Niagara*-class to the point where fuel flow management became dangerous for no discernable benefit. The reviewing panel noted that until matter/antimatter reactor technology had developed sufficiently in either increased output ceilings or miniaturization that the fuel collected by the third nacelle was simply unnecessary.

In 2356, the USS *Niagara* suffered significant damage during the Battle of Chin'toka in the Federation-Cardassian War and was decommissioned. Many of its components were repurposed to speed-up construction of *Freedom II*-class vessels. The USS *Princeton* continued in service for another decade before it was lost at the Battle of Wolf 359.

## 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

* Niagara class article at *Memory Alpha*.
* Niagara class article at *Memory Beta*.
* *Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection* issue 126: "*Niagara* Class."
* *Star Trek Adventures - Utopia Planitia Starfleet Sourcebook* by Modiphius Entertainment.
* Niagara Class Reconstruction article at *Ex Astris Scientia*.
* *The Price of Freedom - The United Federation of Planets Sourcebook* by Last Unicorn Games.
* *Ships of the Star Fleet, 190th edition, Volume 1: Cruiser*.
* Niagara-class article at the Star Trek Armada 3 Wiki.