Challenger class

The ***Challenger*-class** was a type of spacecraft developed by Starfleet in the early 24th century. It was inspired by the 23rd century *Akula*-class design and was classified as a scale 4 light cruiser.

## History

The third design of the Century Cruiser Project, the *Challenger*-class was developed as a secondary test of the new Type C100 nacelle with a new warp core and power systems. A vertical arrangement was also used for the nacelles to determine whether the orientation would improve warp field efficiency and stability with the new nacelle type.

This arrangement had previously been used on the *Akula*-class starting in the late 2270s, and had proven to be a very successful design using the angular Type 71 nacelle. This vertical arrangement did not prove as efficient as hoped using the Century Cruiser nacelle, but the new warp core and power systems were a success.

Lacking the modularity of the *Springfield* and *New Orleans*-classes, the *Challenger*-class was not seen as a great leap forward of the Century Cruiser Project. Few vessels of the design were constructed as there were multiple other designs already in use that fit the same mission profile and the *Challenger* design brought little more to the table. The last vessel of the class, the USS *Buran*, was destroyed in 2366, ending the limited service of the *Challenger* design.

## Technical specifications

The Challenger measured 390 meters in length, with a beam of 234.4 meters and height of 115.1 meters. Due to the vertical arrangement of its nacelles, the habitable space within the vessel was only 56 meters in height and comprised a total of sixteen decks. Eleven of the decks were located within the combined primary and secondary hull, with five smaller decks in the large nacelle support pylons.

Like the *Centaur*-class before it, the *Challenger* was designed with a covered deflector dish.

### Deck plan

The following was the standard internal layout of *Challenger*-class vessels. The pylon decks were lettered, while those within the hull were numbered.

 5
 6
 6
 7
 10

## Ships commissioned

Standard naming conventions for *Challenger* vessels take names from historical aircraft, spacecraft, and pilots from Federation member worlds. The NCC registry range of the class ran from 57530 to 57599, with the notable exception of the experimental USS *Red Baron*.

## 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

* Challenger class article at *Memory Alpha*.
* Challenger class article at *Memory Beta*.
* *Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection* issue 114: "*Challenger* Class."
* *Star Trek Adventures - Utopia Planitia Starfleet Sourcebook* by Modiphius Entertainment.
* Challenger Class Reconstruction article at *Ex Astris Scientia*.

### Footnotes

1. ↑ Derived from MSD created by Rusted Gear Art.
2. ↑ *STA - Utopia Planitia* sourcebook, 160.