Nova class

## SPACECRAFT CLASS

Class development project patch (Thomas Marrone).

The ***Nova*-class** was a type of spacecraft developed by Starfleet the mid 24th century. It generally served in a science vessel role.

## History

While the *Galaxy*-class was considered a success, there were some concerns among Starfleet and Federation leadership at the vast resources needed to construct the large cruisers. Additional concerns highlighted that the dedicated science vessels in Starfleet, such as the *Oberth*-class, were increasingly showing their age. Engineers at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards were then tasked with designing a starship that had advanced sensors and scientific equipment in a small and easily maintainable frame.

Applying some of the newest technological innovations and using some of the older ones in new ways, the design team created the *Nova*-class. Construction on the prototype began in 2367 and it was completed early the next year.

After an incredibly successful trial run of the prototype, Starfleet Command ordered an additional six *Nova*-class starships. Three were commissioned in 2369, with the other three following a year later.

Unfortunately, the loss of three of the vessels in 2371 caused Starfleet Command to recall the remaining frigates and have the Corps of Engineers perform a total review. After a thorough eight-month review, the evaluation team found no discernable issues that could explain the loss of the *Borealis*, *Equinox*, and *Zodiac*. The four remaining *Nova*-class starships were put back into limited service. No further complications were experienced over the next few years and six additional hulls were ordered and completed in time for the outbreak of the Dominion War.

After the war, Starfleet Command ordered a review of the *Nova* frigates. The evaluation showed some areas where the design could be improved and a redesign was implemented spawning a new Mark II variant. Named the *Rhode Island*-class, the new design entered service in 2376 and supplanted construction of new *Nova*-class vessels.

## Technical specifications

### Physical arrangement

The *Nova*-class was designed to be compact, but powerful in its scientific capabilities. It followed traditional Starfleet design principles with its saucer-shaped primary hull, elongated secondary hull, and warp nacelles connected by pylons to the stardrive section. Coming in at 221.74 meters in length, with a beam of 119.94 meters and draft of 47.62 meters, the *Nova* contained 8 decks and had a mass of 865,000 metric tons. It was classified as a Scale 3 frigate by Starfleet.

The class was one of the few Starfleet vessels designed with the ability to enter a planet's atmosphere and land on the surface. Vessels were equipped with antigravity generators, impulse lifters on the underside of both the primary and secondary hulls to aid in descent and landing pads to allow for safe landing. A ramp on the lower section of the stardrive hull allowed for egress without the need for transporters or shuttlecraft.

#### Deck plan

The following was the standard internal layout of *Nova*-class vessels.

### Command systems

The bridge of the *Nova*-class, located on Deck 1, was sizable compared to the vessel's overall size. A command pit was at the center of the bridge and contained chairs for the commanding officer and executive officer. These flanked a built-in console that provided the ability to access and operate most ship's systems. The flight control station was immediately forward of the command area and just aft of the viewscreen on the forward bulkhead.

Additional consoles were mounted on the bridge's perimeter, with the master systems display on the aft bulkhead. Entryways to the bridge were located on both the port and starboard sides. The port door connected to the turbolift while the starboard door led to the Deck 1 corridor.

### Propulsion systems

*Nova*-class starships were equipped with a single Tallier T2-16 Subatomic Unified Energy Impulse Engine that resided along the spine of the secondary hull and two Salduro LF-47 Linear Warp Drive Nacelles at the end of angled pylons. These were powered by a Ceries F-Type Matter/Anti-Matter Reaction Assembly.

Beginning in 2372, as vessels were prepared to reenter service, they were retrofit with the Salduro LFA-47 Variable Warp Drive Nacelles to mitigate damage to subspace.

### Tactical systems

The hull of the class was a Duranium-Tritanium composite. The shield system made use of the new FSQ Primary Force Field and Deflector Control System, which were connected to two Prohg-Barc KP-18 Unified Deflector Field Emitter Arrays.

The Type X phaser arrays on the class were purposely kept small so that more space could be devoted to sensors and other scientific facilities. However, the *Nova* starships could still defend themselves ably with their eleven Annular Confinement Beam-jacketed Type X phasers and two variable-payload launch tubes. The two launchers were forward-facing and mounted to either side of the secondary deflector.

### Auxiliary craft systems

The *Nova*-class was equipped with a ventrally-docked, subordinate craft: the *Waverider*-class. The craft was designed for atmospheric operations to supplement the scientific capabilities of its primary vessel. Significant upgrades were applied to the *Waverider* design after the Dominion War, with the new VAR-2 being capable of speeds up to Warp 5.

The *Nova*-class had a small shuttlebay with less than 4 meters of clearance out its doors. This severely limited its options of auxiliary craft and thus the standard complement was two Type 8 shuttlecraft and two Cargo Management Units.

## Ships commissioned

Standard naming conventions for *Nova*-class frigates were astronomical terms from Federation worlds, although a few vessels were named after notable scientists and locations.

## Derivatives

### *Rhode Island*

The Mark II *Rhode Island*-class implemented many of the technological developments from the early 2370s. The class was launched in 2376, in the hope that a new century of exploration lay ahead.

### *Equinox*

As Federation leadership continued to push for a greater focus on exploration, Starfleet engineers revisited the *Nova*-class to meet the need. The new design, named the *Equinox*-class, carried the most advanced and extensive sensor systems for a vessel of its size. To bolster its scientific mission profile, designers did away with the *Waverider* support craft and replaced it with two Satellite Sensor Drones. These could be dispatched from the ventral hull to provide sensor triangulation or to cover larger areas than the frigate could alone.

## 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

* Nova class article at *Memory Alpha*.
* Nova class article at *Memory Beta*.
* Nova class article at the *Star Trek Online Wiki*.
* *Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection* issue 15: "U.S.S. *Equinox* NCC-72381."
* *Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection* special issue "U.S.S. *Equinox* NCC-72381."
* Nova-Class Specs article at the *Advanced Starship Design Bureau*, a website for *Star Trek: A Call to Duty*.
* *Star Trek Adventures - Core Rulebook* by Modiphius Entertainment.
* *Star Trek Adventures - Utopia Planitia Starfleet Sourcebook* by Modiphius Entertainment.
* *Star Trek Roleplaying Game: Starships* by Decipher, Inc..
* *Star Trek: The Magazine* volume 2, issue 3.
* *Nova Class Starship Technical Manual* by L. J. Katz.
* Nova article at *Bravo Fleet - Star Trek RPG and Community*.

### Footnotes

1. ↑ Derived from the "Nova class decks" article at *Memory Alpha,* the "Nova Class External Blueprints and Internal Deck Plans" from Strategic Design, the "Nova-class Specs" article at the *Star Trek: A Call to Duty* website, and the MSD by BuzaNorbi.
2. ↑ Derived from USS *Equinox* bridge reconstruction at *Ex Astris Scientia*.