Exterior Connect Hardpoints

During its predicted Eighty-year operational lifetime, a Nova class starship is expected to put in for maintenance and upgrade layovers at starbases and repair docks approximately two hundred times. A typical starbase visit will include periodic component swapouts, structural scans by nondestructive testing methods, systems upgrades, and consumables resupply. Many of these functions are carried out though a series of dedicated umbilicals, loading bays, and access hatches located over the entire vehicle.

The exterior connections were designed into the starship to take advantage of certain existing docking mechanisms originally created for the Ambassador class and integrate new automated arm and end effector devices. Most of the consumables supplied to the ship are accepted through twenty-four transfer ports located along the structural spine of the Engineering Section.

Distinct one-way-fit supply tunnels mate with the spine ports, assuring that fluids, gases, and dried solids remain separate and are routed to the proper storage compartments. Most raw materials destined for eventual replicator reassembly are transferred in this manner and placed in large bulk holding tanks.

Exterior connections for numerous other ship systems are located within the spine, including the electro plasma system, optical data network, main computers, structural integrity field, inertial damping field, and aft torpedo launcher. Much of the general "health" of the Solstice can be gauged through these links, and appropriate preventative maintenance can be performed to bring the ship into homeostasis.

Fill, vent, and purge lines to the primary deuterium tankage is accessed through eight connectors in the spine. Complete tank cleaning and inspection are accomplished by starbase-assisted pumps, followed by deuterium refilling. Complete antimatter tankage refurbishment is performed only at certain starbases with refining or tanker transport capabilities. The antimatter ports and warp engine core access panel are located exterior to Deck 8 on the ventral surface of the Engineering Section.

Bulk cargo is loaded through six large iris and flexibleplanar bay doors located in the aft hull undercut, the forward ventral surface of the Engineering Section, and the ventral surface of the Saucer Module. These doors open onto eight cargo holding and distribution spaces; materiel is routed to smaller storage bays for later use during flight.

Certain internal cargo bays not serviced by exterior doors or cargo turbolifts are accommodated by large cargo transporter pads. Items requiring special handling, such as medical supplies, can be stored in these bays for rapid dispersal by transporter and antigrav pallets. Personnel transfers are accomplished through Two pressurized gangways.

Two large elliptical tunnel connectors can be deployed vertically from the dorsal surface of the Saucer Module. Most large-scale crew movements take place at these points, plus two docking collars on Deck 4, aft of the forward photon torpedo launcher. Starbase gangways are standardized with adaptable docking collar interfaces. There are two additional crossover points to starbase spacedock facilities in the form of turbolift pass-throughs, allowing turbolift modules to move directly to the base from the ship.