star trek capella class

Capella-Class Utility Cruisers

The Capella -class utility cruisers were a nearly ubiquitous presence along the internal space lanes of the 23rd century Federation. They served Starfleet and various Federation agencies for decades in a wide range of mostly peaceful roles.

Starfleet's Growing Logistics Needs For most of its first 75 years, the United Federation of Planets (UFP) had continuously expanded its borders further and further away from the small cluster of homeworlds of its founding member races. Under its jurisdiction were hundreds of cubic parsecs of space, containing thousands of star systems, nebulae, pulsars, and planets. However, despite the UFP's nominal control over this space, only a small fraction of these bodies had ever been studied in detail. Indeed, many star systems had never been visited by the UFP, or even by the United Earth or other founding nations, and had only been surveyed remotely, sometimes centuries earlier. Furthermore, the UFP began to realize that establishing a sphere of influence was much easier than maintaining it. The basic goal of governing Federation space required hundreds of missions of oversight, regulation, visitation, evaluation, judgment, and transport. As more and worlds were colonized by Federation citizens, they made ever greater demands upon Starfleet for protection, law enforcement, emergency assistance, and perhaps most of all, simple reassurance that Starfleet would come to their aid should the need arise. In addition, the space lanes tying these worlds and the Federation together needed to be constantly patrolled, protected, and maintained. Finally, Starfleet, which itself was supported by a bureaucracy that rivaled that of the UFP, required countless missions to redistribute starship crews and technicians, transport officials and dignitaries, and maintain internal lines of communication. For all these missions, Starfleet required vast numbers of ships.

From 2161 to 2236, Starfleet had invested considerable funds, materiel, and manpower to construct and operate a powerful armada of fast, well-armed starships to expand and defend Federation space. Although these ships were, to a greater or lesser extent, able to undertake less-dangerous missions of domestic service and internal exploration, both their crews and Starfleet felt that doing so would be to waste valuable and limited resources. Accordingly, Starfleet had occasionally constructed classes of less powerful ships, such as the 2182 Gagarin -class light cruisers , as multirole platforms able to undertake a wide variety of tasks in less-dangerous environments. These tasks were also undertaken by high-performance cruisers that had been withdrawn from front-line service after being superseded by more modern types. However, as the Federation's borders expanded and the speed of starship development increased, older ships became costlier to maintain and safely operate and more quickly became technologically obsolescent for even secondary roles. Instead, what Starfleet needed to carry out these less-dangerous missions was a large number of new vessels of moderate capability that would be less expensive to build and operate than either new cruisers or old cruisers.

Starfleet's Admiralty, meeting in San Francisco in October 2236 to celebrate the 75th anniversaries of the UFP and Starfleet, took this occasion to discuss several new classes of ship to address the strategic challenges faced by these maturing organizations. Later that year, Starfleet ordered they 2 new classes of heavy cruiser, the Pyotr Velikiy class and the legendary Constitution class , designed to project Federation power and scientific activities even further beyond its borders. In addition, Starfleet ordered a new class of general-purpose, or "jeep," ships designed to undertake a wide range of activities in Federation or near-Federation space. With the urging of Admiral Shrelev IV, this class, named the Capella class, was to be designed according to Andorian principles and constructed at Andorian shipyards.

Capella had a saucer-shaped primary hull with an abbreviated coplanar secondary hull attached directly aft. The primary hull featured a laterally delaminated dorsal control promontory, a fashion in starship architecture during the mid-23rd century (also seen on Lake -class transports and Pyotr Velikiy -class heavy cruisers), which was believed to refine boundary-layer transhull warp-field dynamics and catalyze transitions between warp-speed integers. The SSWR-XIV-A warp reactor was placed directly aft of the vertical structural core beneath the bridge and could not be ejected. The nacelles were unusual in that they could be mounted either dorsally or ventrally, depending on the mission and external load; the two mounting points not used for nacelles could then serve as hardpoints for mission modules. The performance of Capella was modest at both warp (cruise, wf 5.8/maximum, wf 7.3; range, 55 ly) and impulse but was considered sufficient for a general-purpose ship not intended to see combat. In rare cases, however, nacelles could be mounted at all 4 points for courier missions requiring higher speeds and greater range. The impulse drive filled the center of the secondary hull aft of the warp core and had thrust ports at the rear centerline. Deuterium, sufficient for the expected short-range missions, was stored in tanks within a hemicylindrical housing on the shoulders of the secondary hull. The rear-facing shuttlebay was in a ventral extension below the secondary hull.

Because Capellas were expected to undertake a wide array of mission types, which included scientific, cartographic, diplomatic, custodial, and logistic missions, they carried a variety of equipment for specific tasks and interior spaces that could be configured as needed. To carry out scientific and survey missions, Capellas had powerful analytic logic systems, laboratory facilities configurable for various fields of study (meteorology/ecology/oceanography, physics/quantum mechanics, engineering studies, medical studies, high-energy/tachyonics, biology/pathology, and general chemistry), and large multiarray, long-range sensor/deflector units, which replaced a traditional dish, facing fore and aft and mounted at the upper corners of the secondary hull. For specialized scientific or survey missions, the standard onboard sensor suite could be augmented by a dedicated sensor module attached with dual supports to the ventral hardpoints, and the nacelles could be mounted dorsally to minimize interference. For purely logistic missions, interior spaces could be reconfigured to expand carrying capacity by a factor of 3 for standard cargo modules, objects of unusual size and shape, or bulk liquid or solid loads, and a Joseph cargo cylinder could be carried externally via the hardpoints (usually ventrally). To service and replenish border-monitoring and deep-space stations and Starfleet and civilian vessels, Capellas could carry workshops and fabrication units, a variety of chemical stores, and an array of spare parts. For personnel transfer and diplomatic missions, the interior could be configured for meeting rooms, dining halls, and staterooms to accommodate guests of nearly any species. In short, for whatever mission they were called upon to undertake, Capellas could be outfit and dispatched.

Service History After smooth and uneventful development and construction periods at the Andorian Kellahn IV and Zarhat II shipyards, the lead ship of the class, USS Capella (NCC-S400), joined Starfleet in February 2239. Capellas quickly became a common sight throughout the Federation and built a reputation as sturdy and reliable, if unexciting, ships, and were well liked by their small, close-knit crews. Because of their large numbers, mundane tasks, unthreatening appearance, and modest performance, ships of the Capella class earned a variety of nicknames, which were either contemptuous or affectionate, depending on who used them. The most common was "Jeep," after a sturdy general-purpose military land vehicle of 20th century Earth. Others included "Goat" (after the class name, which meant "little goat"), which lead, in turn, to "Billy." Perhaps the nickname best liked by Capella crews was "LUF" (for "little ugly f*cker").

Most ships of the Capella class had long, fairly unexciting careers in Federation and near-Federation space undertaking missions of low risk. However, several ships were lost under unusual circumstances. USS Ruchbah (NCC-S425) was lost and presumed destroyed in 2251 after encountering a large, powerful noncorporeal lifeform in interstellar space in the Toso sector. USS Antares (NCC-S477) was destroyed in 2266 when a Human boy, who had been gifted with psychokinetic powers by the inhabitants of the planet Thasus, caused a baffle plate to fail, leading to a uncontrollable warp-core power surge, from a distance of several light-years.

Perhaps the most famous incident involving a Capella -class ship was that involving USS Diphda (NCC-S432). Her captain, Lynus Vorota, had finished last in his class (a position known as the "fantail") at Starfleet Academy in 2237 because of political instability on his homeworld of Yemaya and his captaincy of the Academy baseball team. As a result, Vorota was last to choose his postgraduate assignment and served first on the Pelagic -class transport ship USS Tucuxi (NCC-T366) rather than on a more desirable cruiser or destroyer. A capable, intelligent, and well-liked officer, he rose through the ranks of the transport and utility services to captain Diphda in 2245. While on approach to Federation colony Dessu 3 to deliver agricultural supplies, Diphda began receiving distress signals from the merchant vessel SS Xinzhongxin 82 of New China Interstellar lines indicating that the colony would soon come under attack by 3 unidentified vessels. Maneuvering quickly to put the system's sun between Diphda and the attackers, Captain Vorota made contact with the colony's governor to offer his assistance. The governor suggested that attackers were likely targeting mineral ores being processed in the colony's orbital facilities. Captain Vorota jettisoned the Joseph cylinder and sprayed its load of chemicals at high speed to create a partial sensor screen. Next, Diphda 's crew reconfigured 2 sensor drones to send out signals suggesting they were large, well-armed cruisers. As SS Xinzhongxin 82 transmitted a message in the clear apparently rejoicing over the timely arrival of a Starfleet destroyer squadron, Diphda emerged from the chemical cloud and charged the attackers, firing phasers and cursing loudly. The attackers returned fire and caused slight damage to Diphda before, believing themselves outnumbered and outgunned, they fled the system. Captain Vorota was later awarded the Grankite Order of Tactics for his actions and was transferred to Tactical Command. He later became captain of the Constitution -class heavy cruiser USS Saratoga (NCC-1724).

Capella -class ships provided years of steadfast service before the last ship was finally retired in 2288. During that time, Capellas undertook thousands of missions for Starfleet and the Federation, most of which have been forgotten by history. However, the Capella planform contributed, along with other influences, to the designs of several subsequent Starfleet ships, including the Miranda class of 2265 and the Oberth class of 2270. Even in retirement, efficient and economical Capellas continue to ply the Federation's spaceways in civilian service and will probably serve for decades to come.

USS Pollux (NCC-S444), which served in Starfleet for 42 years and then with the Andorian Imperial Guard, has been restored to her original appearance and is on display in the Starfleet Museum.

Standard displacement: 70,014 mt

Crew complement: 115 (18 officers + 97 crew) Weapons: 2 Type VI phaser turrets (2 × 1 mounts) Embarked craft: 1 medium personnel shuttlecraft, 3 personnel shuttlepods Warp drive: SSWR-XIV-A spherical cavity M/AM reactor with 2 Wanderer V nacelles Velocity: wf 5.8, cruise; wf 7.1, supercruise; wf 7.3, maximum Units commissioned: 100

*Standard configuration

Vintage Starships

2239 – capella class (tug configuration).

The Capella class was designed as, and served well in, the general purpose light cruiser role. Uniquely the design was created with alternate positions for the warp nacelles, they could be mounted atop or beneath the primary hull depending on mission requirements, the unused attachment points being available for use as hard points for the mating of mission modules, cargo pods, weapons or sensors.

Commissioned Ships

Capella class

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The Capella class was a type of Federation escort that saw service during the 24th century . They were considered a 'typical' escort that saw service in Starfleet at the time. ( Spacedock: The Advanced Starship and Construction Manual )

The USS Covila was a Capella -class escort that was assigned to the Starfleet Eighth Fleet at the start of the Dominion War . ( The Dominion War Sourcebook: The Fires of Armageddon )

External link [ ]

Capella class article at Memory Beta , the non-canon Star Trek wiki.

U.S.S. Capella NCC-1809 (Myriad)

Construction on the Federation Starship Capella, a Tikopai class cruiser (a variant of the Constitution class ), was authorized by the Star Fleet Appropriation of Stardate 5930 [1] and commissioned circa 2196 . The Capella served during the Four Years War . After the conflict ended in 2198 , all Tikopai class vessels were decommissioned and destroyed in weapons tests as part of Star Fleet 's postwar demilitarization. [2]

SFU Timeline

Construction on the Federation Starship Capella, a Tikopai class cruiser (a variant of the Constitution class ), was authorized by the Star Fleet Appropriation of Stardate 5930 . [1]

Tikopai class vessels

FASA Timeline

U.S.S. Acrux NCC-1818 • U.S.S. Adhara NCC-1827 • U.S.S. Agena NCC-1816 • U.S.S. Aldebaran NCC-1812 • U.S.S. Alioth NCC-1828 • U.S.S. Alkaid NCC-1829 • U.S.S. Alnilam NCC-1830 • U.S.S. Altair NCC-1803 • U.S.S. Anak NCC-1821 • U.S.S. Antares NCC-1820 • U.S.S. Arcturus NCC-1807 • U.S.S. Arided NCC-1831 • U.S.S. Bellatrix NCC-1832 • U.S.S. Betelgeuse NCC-1822 • U.S.S. Binar NCC-1819 • U.S.S. Canopus NCC-1814 • U.S.S. Capella NCC-1809 • U.S.S. Castor NCC-1833 • U.S.S. Darion NCC-1810 • U.S.S. Deneb NCC-1826 • U.S.S. Dubhe NCC-1834 • U.S.S. El Nath NCC-1835 • U.S.S. Fomalhaut NCC-1804 • U.S.S. Helios NCC-1825 • U.S.S. Hor NCC-1813 • U.S.S. K'Hotan NCC-1802 • U.S.S. K'Ushui NCC-1801 • U.S.S. Lux NCC-1823 • U.S.S. Miaplacidas NCC-1836 • U.S.S. Mirfak NCC-1837 • U.S.S. Murzim NCC-1838 • U.S.S. Nakarat NCC-1805 • U.S.S. Polaris NCC-1839 • U.S.S. Pollux NCC-1808 • U.S.S. Regulus NCC-1840 • U.S.S. Rigel NCC-1824 • U.S.S. Sardar NCC-1811 • U.S.S. Shaula NCC-1841 • U.S.S. Spica NCC-1815 • U.S.S. Tikopai NCC-1800 • U.S.S. Vega NCC-1806 • U.S.S. Vena NCC-1817 • U.S.S. Wezen NCC-1842

Notes and References

↑ 1.0 1.1 Joseph, Franz (Author). Star Fleet Technical Manual . Star Trek . Book. Ballantine Books . November 1975 .
↑ Theisen, John A. (Author). The Four Years War . Star Trek: The Role Playing Game . Book 2218A . Cover art and illustrations by Dana Knutson . FASA Corporation . 1986 .
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CAPELLA-CLASS UTILITY CRUISER

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The Capellans were a humanoid species from the Alpha Quadrant . They were native to the planet Capella IV . As of the 23rd century , their civilization was divided into Ten Tribes , all led by the High Teer . The position of Teer was normally hereditary, but could be taken by the winner of a successful challenge to the death. Sometimes such challenges involved large numbers of people fighting on both sides of the question.

In the later 23rd century , Capellan men wore tight fitting garb that covered nearly their entire bodies, generally leaving only the face and hands exposed. The hair was pulled into a kind of topknot through an opening in the top of the headgear. Male attire is very colorful, but there is no indication that color connoted status. More important Capellans added subdued ornamentation to their clothing; typically, this consisted of fringes or ruffs of fur. Capellan women wore long, flowing dresses and bound their hair.

Capellans were tall and large; seven feet was not unusual. They were also fast and strong.

Capellan society was bound by a wide variety of rules and strictures, violation of which could have consequences as severe as death. A few of these included:

No other man may touch the wife of a Teer. Doing so was punishable by death.
The heir of a deposed Teer was traditionally killed by the usurper; if the heir was not yet born, then the mother was killed before birth could occur.
If a woman offered a man fruit , and he accepted, her nearest male relative must try to kill the recipient. This form of challenge was considered an honor ; the Capellans valued combat even over love.
Capellans valued honesty, and accepted the word even of strangers. But if one's word was proved valueless, the offended Capellan would try to kill the offender. To say that someone's word was unimportant, and that you do not hear him was equivalent to accusing him of lying.
Capellans valued hospitality, and demonstrated it to anyone who did not give them reason to consider him an enemy.
Capellans valued the courageous, and disdained the fearful.
Capellans believed that the strong should survive, and the weak and sick died. They had little use for doctors or medicines .
When aroused to anger, a Capellan acted quickly; he did not stop to ponder his course of action, but usually simply attacked whoever had angered or offended him.

Capellan language and names often contained a double vowel combination; this often broke the word into extra syllables.

Capellans fought hand to hand with swords and knives. At ranges of up to one hundred yards, they could accurately throw a three bladed disc called a kleegat ; this weapon , in the hands of a skilled user, was deadly.

The Capellans had been aware of space -going society since at least the 23rd century , when Leonard McCoy visited their homeworld as part of a medical assistance team . In 2267 , a series of events involving a Klingon agent, Kras , and Captain Kirk led to the signing of a mining treaty between the Federation and the Teer of the Ten Tribes – at that time, the infant Leonard James Akaar was born. ( TOS : " Friday's Child ")

Leonard James Akaar
List of unnamed Capellans

External links [ ]

Capellan at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
1 Daniels (Crewman)
3 Calypso (episode)

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Capella Class

Discussion in ' Fan Art ' started by sojourner , May 14, 2009 .

sojourner Admiral In Memoriam

Well, was bored with existing projects today so I went surfing around the net and remembered this little design from Vance's books. So, I spent a few hours doodling this because I was curious to see how it looked in 3-D and because I had never A) tried a TOS era ship and B) convert someone's 2-D work to 3-D. So, here is the a few shots of a quicky project, still incomplete of the Capella aka Antares class. Original design by Brian Pimenta. Model based on Vance's schematics.

Wingsley Commodore Commodore

Sweet. At least as interesting as the TOS-R revision of the Antares in "Charlie X".

Psion Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

A Capella class ... a starship without musical accompaniment. ba-dum-bum You have a good start on this. It's a simple shape, but elegant. I love old-style starships.

Not much work to show on this. Trying to workout a reasonable impulse engine that closely matches Vance's schematics without being a hazard to the shuttle bays. This is what I have so far.

Hmmm ... those shuttle bays are a problem, alright. I'd suggest putting the impulse engines far out on the rim of the saucer, Galaxy-class style, or possibly on the warp pylons, Intrepid-class style. Better yet, expand the side bays, drop the aft bay, and put the impulse engines right on the stern, just above the centerline.

I can do that, but I am trying to keep to the schematics as presented here http://www.jaynz.info/files/Jaynz_05.pdf as much as possible. The only reason I have moved them down this much is the engineer in me was screaming about the exhaust blocking the shuttlebays.

Hmmmm ... oh, I see your point. Well, look that isn't even a shuttlebay in the back; since you're already moving the drive anyway (although only a few meters), stick it on the back and congratulate yourself on an improvement over a garbled transmission. Either that, or go with the notion that impulse engines are non-newtonian in the first place and therefore fine where they are (and if you tell Cary I said that, I'll deny it).

mirandafave Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

Well, was bored with existing projects today so I went surfing around the net and remembered this little design from Vance's books. So, I spent a few hours doodling this because I was curious to see how it looked in 3-D and because I had never A) tried a TOS era ship and B) convert someone's 2-D work to 3-D. Click to expand...

judge alba senior street judge Commodore

kinda like this one, it's similar to a ambassodor version i started a few months back. as to the impulse engine i know your trying to keep to the original but what you think about maybe drop your center 'saddle bag' thing and put it/them on the bottom?

Hehe, model is not finished, but could not help myself. Here is a quick image of a refit Capella. In 2309 Starfleet Astronomical Dept. opened a new research project with a modest resource budget. The project was going to require 6 to 10 ships to do a broad spectrum scan of Cosmic ray sources within Federation space. The nature of the scans would require being on station for months at a time thus precluding the use of normal fleet resources. The decision was made to find the required ships from one of the many mothball fleets. The Capella Class seemed like a perfect fit. A smaller ship with plenty of usable space that could be adapted to their needs. In order to reduce crew requirements a limited refit was planned out. The major visual result of this is the newer Warp Nacelles of the same type as the Oberth class and the new standard bridge module and support structure of deck 2. Internally, simple modification were made where possible to increase automation and decrease maintenance. This included new life support equipment, sensors, food replicators and update information system/computer core. While small changes were made to the warpcore, the bulk of the unit is still of original design.

Bernard Guignard Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

I'm liking both versions

Vance Vice Admiral In Memoriam

Well, since I can chime in. I would lower the slope under the shuttlebays a little bit, to give the needed clearance for the impulse engine. Remember, I went off a sketch to begin with, so a minor tweak like that to fix such an obvious issue shouldn't fret you too much, nae?

miraclefan Commodore Commodore

NEAT!* Snaps picture*

But ... but ... almost all your mass is above your impulse engine centerline!

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Star Trek Minutiae: Exploring the Details of Science Fiction

Reference Tables

Updated September 8, 2023

When I first started making my starship comparison charts, I gave little thought to documenting my references. I just wanted to see the ships side-by-side! But over the years, the Star Trek Minutiae reference charts have been shared widely on social media and have even been referenced (sometimes erroneously) by official sources. To help provide the most accurate information possible, these tables provide sources for the size of the ship and credit for the artist (where known) who created the image that is used in the chart. If any ship image is used with missing or incorrect credit, please let me know !

Star Trek (all series)

Entries marked [NC] denote non-canon ships.

2001: A Space Odyssey

Battlestar galactica (1978), battlestar galactica (2003), close encounters of the third kind, dune (2000), the expanse, for all mankind, forbidden planet, galaxy quest, independence day, interstellar, the last starfighter, marvel cinematic universe, the orville, silent running, space battleship yamato ( star blazers ), space: 1999, space: above and beyond, starship troopers, war of the worlds (1953).

Galactic Civilizations III

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Ptolemy class

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The Ptolemy -class was a type of Federation starship in service in the 23rd century , classified as a transport / tug . ( ST reference : Star Fleet Technical Manual )

1 Development history
2 Types of pods
3 Known vessels
4 Miscellaneous information
5.1 Connections
5.2 Appearances
5.3 External links

Development history

Used by Starfleet to transport priority military and government cargoes (civilian freighters being adequate for other loads), the tug was a full-fledged starship with limited armament suitable to its role in the fleet. However, since a Ptolemy -class tug cost almost as much as a large cruiser to build, competition between the Front-line and Logistical branches of Starfleet for construction funds was fierce.

The Ptolemy -class could carry up to three cargo pods. If only carrying two, one but not both could be a double-weight pod, and if one was a double-weight pod, it must be the one directly connected to the tug itself, at the front.

Types of pods

The pods themselves were towed in-line, one attached to the tug and the others to the pod in front.

The Starliner pod was designed for the transport of 300 personnel. Too expensive to use for colonization, it usually carried relief crews to isolated outposts. The Starliner pod was capable of independent operations at sublight speed.

There were actually several types of Cargo pod (liquid, break-bulk, container, pallet, dry bulk, etc.), but all were functionally identical. There was no crew, only some accessways for members of the tug's crew or the destination base' personnel to oversee loading and unloading.

There was also a Marines pod, used by the Starfleet Marine Corps as a troop transport and barracks.

(From the instruction manual for the video game : Starfleet Command , itself taken from the original Star Fleet Battles source material)

Known vessels

Miscellaneous information.

Admiral Fitzpatrick kept a model of a Ptolemy -class transport/tug in his office at Starfleet Headquarters in 2273 . ( TOS comic : " The Haunting of Thallus! ")

Connections

Appearances.

Star Fleet Technical Manual ( TOS technical manual) (first appearance)
25th Anniversary ( TOS video game)
Declassified ( VAN novel)

External links

Ptolemy class article from Memory Alpha , the canon Star Trek wiki.