Guide:Canopus
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| Canopus | |
|---|---|
| Class Overview | |
| Category | survey cruiser |
| Operational | 2243-2266 |
| Constructed | 22 total: |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 242.0 m |
| Beam | 127.2 m |
| Height | 70.8 m |
| Mass |
|
| Performance | |
| Cruise Speed | w 6 |
| Max Speed | w 7 |
| Endurance | 10 years |
| Complement | |
| Officers | 30 |
| Enlisted |
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| Tactical Systems | |
| Beam Weapons | Canopus
Centurion
Cavalier, Canopus/Centurion refit
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| Missile Weapons | Centurion
Cavalier, Canopus/Centurion refit
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| Shields |
|
| Laboratories | 10x (varying configurations) |
| Transporters |
|
| Auxiliary Craft | 2x medium shuttles |
| Historical | |
| Ships of Note |
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| Canonicity | |
| Design | SFC |
| Name | SFC |
| History | SFC, FASA Four Years War sourcebook, Steve Bacon
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Unlike so many turning points in history, the technological revolution of the Great Awakening was
not identified and romanticized decades after the fact. Rather, it was subject to aggressive
contemporary campaigning, inserting a glimmer of hope into a population demoralized by the
relentless alien threats to their existence. And none was keener to contribute to the vital propaganda
effort than Chiokis Corporation, the chief designer and manufacturer of the most prominent
examples of Great Awakening technologies.
Yet the Constitution starships always were meant to be spearheads – showpieces, even – for a bold new Star Fleet equipped with a range of new vessels and technologies. That they also soon became frontier workhorses did not detract from the perception of them as representing the limit of the possible, not of the practicable. While Chiokis pushed aggressively for further high-strung vessel types related to Constitution, other manufacturers benefited from their image as trusted providers of proven, no-frills technologies. It was on this basis that Geering managed to sell its own breed of dilithium-powered deep space exploration cruisers just a few years after Project Starship began bearing fruit.
The Canopus class was deliberately aiming low when it came to propulsion, using conservative PB-21 engines solidly engineered for the endurance needs of the transport and patrol frigate fleet a couple of decades earlier. Burdened in this SP model with wraparound plasma expanders and heavy duty ramscoops, they could reach a dash speed of mere warp seven even when fired up by a modern four-chambered dilithium powerplant. What really counted was a reliable cruise speed of warp six, and Star Fleet trusted Geering’s word that the legacy engine would provide this even for the marathon missions intended for the ship type. Armament was also kept at modest levels, to establish a separate operational niche in exploration and research at uncontested theaters of operations. In other regards, though, the cruisers were close matches of the Chiokis starships, just with classic Geering counterparts to each individual component.
A trademark flat, sharply terraced saucer 99 meters across provided primary habitation and housed most mission gear. A tubular secondary hull accommodated the central parts of the main power system, leaving just enough room for a versatile sensor array astern, a deflector dish at bow, and an archaic-looking pair of lateral doors for accessing the ship’s main hangar and hold area in between (two medium shuttlecraft were provided with maintenance facilities, and stowage of up to six further craft was possible). The overall profile of the ship was distinct mainly due to lack of a connecting neck, the saucer being bolted directly onto the tube via an angular adapter that allowed for emergency separation. In dorsal view, the very broad gullwing pylons for the warp engines were also evident; such a viewpoint in turn hid the reliable SAA impulse engines at ventral mid-wing, in a powerful double twin configuration.
In 2241, when the first keels were laid, Star Fleet was intent on dedicating these vessels to a grand project worthy of the pomposity of its propaganda terminology: a Great Leap across the Grand Rift to the Sagittarius arm of the galaxy, in the tradition of the Byrd adventures but with the persistence and momentum of a fleet of two dozen vessels. A few twin 130/4 lasers were to suffice for tactical needs, while supplies and gear would be carried for decade-long missions. Yet when the first vessels were completed two years later, a memorandum already explored the possibility of introducing a torpedo launcher and accommodating modern tactical sensors. At the completion of the initial batch of fifteen, the Axanari defection was grim reality, and missions by Canopus explorers were divided sharply in two. Half a dozen vessels had committed to exploring the far side of the Grand Rift, unaware of the events close to home as their ‘breadcrumb’ communications lines were deemed insecure for discussions of the strategic situation. The rest performed deep space operations of another sort: when not running at the edge of its performance, the PB-21 had a relatively low and indistinct signature and was surprisingly suited for long term reconnaissance deep in enemy territory.
The Canopus was at a distinct disadvantage if discovered spying. Many Klingon front-line vessels were able to match her top speed for a brief while, and that was all that was required to bring the scantly armed and lightly protected type to her knees. Five vessels were lost in all, and the rest returned safely home only by virtue of never having been challenged. Yet the information they brought back was of great strategic value, forming a much more comprehensive picture than single sorties by smaller scoutships. Efforts were therefore concentrated on adding to protection, and the second batch was given three-layer shielding plus the long-planned torpedo launcher. Ordnance was still mainly of an older type, though. Alas, the six Centurion vessels were not completed until the conclusion of the open fighting; absent hurry, the seventh vessel, USS Cavalier, came to mark the definite standard to which all earlier, surviving units were refitted.
The returning Sagittarian explorers were among the recipients of the modern torpedo system and heavy phasers, but did not manage to retrofit the new triple shields. Nevertheless, all the vessels were operated in strategic reconnaissance duty now. It was to the detriment of the class that the strategic need for long range missions dwindled rapidly in the aftermath of the open conflict – the Canopus in its newest form was too clumsy for short range operations, and too muscular for the sort of scientific research that at the end of the 2250s was again becoming a distinct strategic possibility.
The class did remain in active service longer than other Geering designs, but only through a select few individual ships. The bulk of the force was retired by 2257 already, having been found inferior to the now-recovered Byrds in extreme range exploration duty and denied the required refits. The hulls found plenty of use among UFP allies and partners, many being purchased for capital ships in foreign fleets cleared to receive dilithium technology. UFP research organizations also got hold of a few, and it was from one of these that Star Fleet Museum in 2290 managed to purchase USS Canopus herself, for restoration into its main representative of the design lineage that just barely survived the Great Awakening.
Gallery
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External Sources
- Vintage Starships: "2249 – Canopus": includes 3D viewer
Notes
- Adrasil: see the 3D model for additional perspective and features.
- Though I'm not changing it now, the PB-21 appears not to be the correct nacelle, as it is used with a different form by the Burke class. It is possible it /could/ be a later version (than the PB-21E) if the length is similar, but performance should also be considered. PB-20 might be a realistic nomenclature.
- The sidebar was changed to reflecting building the original Canopuses between 2241 and 2243, per the text, which is supported by the loss of Axanar.
- The sidebar was changed to reflecting building the Centurions between 2245 and 2247, supporting the text, which suggested the "second batch" weren't completed until after the fighting. Because of the 2-year slide back for both subclasses, the Cavalier has also been brought back to 2248 for construction.
- Analysis of the text: six of the original Canopuses explored beyond the Great Rift and upon their return received the weapons upgrade. However, 9 of the originals did not explore, but instead scouted Klingon space, and some of those (survivors) received the weapons upgrade, as well as the one for the triple shielding. So, there could be three flights of Canopuses: original, Flt II (weapons/shielding), and Flt III (only weapons). The upgrade to Flight II is presumed to have started in 2248, and Flight III is presumed to have slated into shipyards following the completion of the IIs.
- The complete registry for the class comes from the Vintage Starship datasheet. The text above indicates 2 of the Centurion subclass ships were replacements in name also for ships of the Canopus subclass that were lost (presumably in Klingon space scouting missions). These have been identified (partly due to the datasheet) as USS Caledonia and USS Cambria (NCC-O704/NCC-O716 and NCC-O714/NCC-O720, respectively).