INTREPID CLASS NX-74600
Starship Prototype
External Blueprints & Deck Plans

Design Team: David Schmidt, Tim Palgut
Copyright: 2007

DESIGN HISTORY:

Project Intrepid was first proposed by Starfleet Command to the Federation Council in 2360 as an exploration vessel to supplement the Galaxy Class - nearing completion at the time. As such it would replace the aging Excelsior Class. The proposed specifications and capabilities were far superior to that of the Excelsior-class, as the latter - albeit continuously upgraded with newer technologies throughout the decades of their refits - reflected the lack of flexibility inherent when state-of-the-art systems are installed within older vessels not designed to make maximum usage of them. In 2256 Starfleet Command instructed the Advanced Starship Design Bureau to begin the design process. The Bureau's Starfleet Tactical Development Division experimented with several spaceframe concepts, finally accepting the then-untried 'Hybrid Hull' - which would eventually be utilized in the design of the Sovereign Project.

The Intrepid-Class Exploration Cruiser incorporated an outstanding array of sensors, full phaser coverage, and high warp cruising ability. Perhaps the most innovative of the design's features were variable-geometry warp nacelles. It was long recognized that warp fields needed different configurations for optimal performance at different speeds. Traditionally, starships achieve these configurations by "forcing" their hardware, using different injection angles in the warp nacelles. Engineers with the Strategic Design and Tactical Group developed a unique approach: move the nacelle to fit the configuration demanded. The motion is hardly noticeable, ranging from thirty to thirty-four degrees, but the improvement in efficiency (and resultant lessening of spaceframe stress) is dramatic.

Another major improvement over previous designs is the improved impulse engines, capable of increased sublight tactical maneuvering. Their power re-circulated relocation from the traditional dorsal surface to the warp nacelle pylons, which in turn required that the pylons be lowered to horizontal when the ship is in impulse mode. The ship's complement was reduced somewhat, and a prototype Emergency Medical Hologram system was installed.

The first spaceframe components of the class' lead ship were gamma-welded at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards in 2363. On 09 November 2368, U.S.S. Intrepid (NX-74600) was launched from Utopia Planitia. She immediately began shakedown trials in the home sectors, being formally commissioned on 30 July 2369. Intrepid has the distinction of being the only starship built under the auspices of the Warp Travel Restriction Act of 2370. Her variable geometry nacelles would outpace damage that traditional starships produced. Lessons learned from Intrepid make retrofits of existing starships possible, allowing the negation of the Act in 2371.

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