Guide:Capella

Capella
Class Overview
Category	surveyor / supply ship
Operational	2239-2276
Constructed	100; Mk I surveyors: 58 (2239-2242); Mk II surveyors / supply ships built: 43 built, 17 refitted from Mk I (2249-2252); Mk III supply ship: 1 refitted from Mk II (2270);
Dimensions
Length	; 127.7 m (original); 138.0 m (PB-34 refit); 145.0 m (WD-4 refit);
Beam	68.0 m
Height	; 22.4 m (original); 25.7 m (PB-34 refit); 27.0 m (WD-4 refit);
Mass	; 220,700 tons (original); 230,500 tons (PB-34 refit); 290,600 tons (WD-4 refit);
Performance
Cruise Speed	; w 3 (original); w 5 (refits);
Max Speed	; w 4.8 (original); w 7.1 (PB-34 refit); w 7.3 (WD-4 refit);
Endurance	1 year
Complement
Officers	18
Enlisted	; 88 (original); 97 (refits); ;
Passengers	; (up to) 50 researchers (original); (up to) 20 researchers (refits); ;
Tactical Systems
Beam Weapons	; Original 2x laser emitters (600 MW) (port/stbd bridge); Refit 2259 2x phaser VI emitters (port/stbd bridge); ;
Shields	; 1-layer conformal forcefield; Navigational deflectors (dorsal cowlings);
Laboratories	; 1x general purpose; 1x planetary sciences; 1x astrophysics; 1x life sciences; up to 12x modules (for up to 4 themes);
Transporters	; Original 2x GP (6-pad), Mk II; Refit 2x GP (6-pad), Mk III; 2x cargo, Mk III;
Auxiliary Craft	; 1x light shuttle; 1-3x shuttlepods;
Historical
Ships of Note	; USS Bellatrix (NCC-S462); USS Capella (NCC-I609); USS Hypatia (NCC-I624/NCC-S415);
Canonicity
Design	Masao Okazaki, Allen Rolfes
Name	Christopher Bennett
History	Masao Okazaki, Christopher Bennett ;

The delays met in Project Starship did not completely paralyze Star Fleet procurement in the 2230s. While primary and some secondary combatants were put on hold pending the outcome of the Project, plans for smaller support types continued to receive funding and access to the latest in propulsive, power production and computing technology. In 2238, Salazaar was tasked with creating a high endurance, deep space survey and surveillance type for the needs of the intelligence community, replacing the Hale class and emphasizing affordability over the technological ambitions that had hobbled the earlier program.

The dockyards managed to sketch the required compact design in record time using Pyotr Velikiy solutions. Key among these was the use of complex, nested hull shapes to efficiently graft a compartment for a king-size warp core onto the mission-specific parts of the ship. The bridge and surrounding officer accommodations were sunken halfway into a flat, round dome, which in turn was topped by a rectangular cowling that provided headroom for analysis rooms and space for armament, support gear and computing systems. This second deck was offset forward with respect to the oval planform of the next two decks, providing room and easy access for the labor-intensive SSWR-XVIII reactor amidships. A rectangular stern extension housed the remaining vital systems: a dorsal cowling for twin impulse engines was matched by a ventral protrusion for a miniature shuttlebay and adjoining cargo hold, while the upper corners of the extension sported canoe fairings for compacted deuterium, giving the vessel the required interstellar endurance.

That the initial mounting of two heritage PB-23 nacelles yielded a pedestrian performance of warp three cruising and warp 4.8 dash speed in the 2239 trials was an anticipated and accepted outcome at this stage of the process. Much like Pyotr Velikiy, the tiny surveyor had been built with robustness as the leading criterion: the short and sturdy pylons could mount a variety of nacelles in the 70,000-100,000 ton, 60-80 m size range, paired either dorsally or ventrally, or even in combinations of four. While the quad-nacelle combination was abandoned for a range of practical reasons, USS Capella (NCC-I609) tested a ventral positioning for PB-23C even as nineteen sister ships were already undergoing structural assembly. A dorsal mounting was eventually selected for the entire class, but the alternate hardpoints were retained.

In 2240, the Capella class entered survey and surveillance duty along the Klingon border, armed with two 600 MW lasers and a host of sensors, the latter domed at the forward and aft ends of the fuel canoes as well as above and below the main hull. The 58 vessels embarked crews of up to a hundred and fifty, accommodating researchers and other specialists as needed and carrying up to sixteen compact laboratory modules at times. As with the Hale, a light F class shuttle and up to three D class pods could be squeezed into the hangarette for planetary forays, although not efficiently maintained for long missions. Despite the seeming flexibility and versatility, missions soon ran into hardware and space limitations – by no means an unexpected turn of events for a ship this small. Normally, SF Exploration Command and Intelligence would have been satisfied to retire the class after a couple of decades of service, starting anew from a clean slate.

Yet the late 2240s offered a tempting alternative. The Procyon corvettes and their offshoot couriers and scouts transcended small vessel propulsion doctrine with their PB-34 engines and compact dilithium-focus powerplants – both technologies easily applicable to the Capella spaceframes. The generic, already somewhat archaic hulls would not make for superb corvettes, couriers or scouts, but they would provide a cost-effective basis for a jack of three trades. With modern sensors and all new duotronic mainframes now propelled through deep space at warp five cruising speed, the Capellas could take on practical courier loads, bring sensors to bear on fairly distant targets, and even provide point defense with the increased power now available to the lasers. In addition, the interiors were built to be more reconfigurable than ever, accommodating fabricators, special cargo holds or triage rooms with minimal downtime at spacedock.

Some forty new keels were also laid down in 2249 to make best possible use of the new capabilities, utilizing lightweight materials and simplified structural solutions. As no ventral engine hardpoints were installed this time, the newbuilds could not mount a cargo grapple there like the seventeen refitted original Capellas did; nevertheless, the entire class received new registries, switching from I to S prefix to emphasize the general support role. Thanks to the modernization, the class could continue frontline service for two more decades, easing the Hale class to much-awaited retirement and providing welcome overlap with the follow-on Garneau survey and supply ships. Various minor further upgrades were performed, including the installation of Type VI phasers and two rounds of sensor refits. WD-4 engines were also trialed on the Bellatrix (NCC-S462), and cleared for general use. By the 2270s, the Capella class was hopelessly outdated nevertheless; the last units were retired in 2276, donating the class name (and several individual ship names) for thematic use by the Tikopai fleet of deep space cruisers.