Guide:Lowell
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| Lowell | |
|---|---|
| Class Overview | |
| Category | scout |
| Operational | 2215-2239 |
| Constructed | 70 |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 74.3 m |
| Beam | 38.8 m |
| Height | 23.7 m |
| Mass | 56,000 tons |
| Performance | |
| Cruise Speed | w 4 |
| Max Speed | w 4 |
| Endurance | 8 months |
| Complement | |
| Officers | 3 |
| Enlisted | 10
|
| Passengers | up to 20 researchers
|
| Tactical Systems | |
| Beam Weapons | 2 laser emitters (900 MW) (port/stbd main hull)
|
| Shields |
|
| Laboratories |
|
| Transporters | 1 GP (3-pad); Mk I |
| Auxiliary Craft | none |
| Historical | |
| Ships of Note |
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| Canonicity | |
| Design | SFC, dimensions changed to match view |
| Name | SFC |
| History | SFC
|
During the period between UFP and Star Fleet political stabilization and the return of the Klingon
menace, interest in basic mapping and reconnaissance vessels was rekindled; the introduction of
warp four cruise propulsion provided sufficient reach for modern scoutships to credibly operate at
the far frontiers. Yet to be sure, this ‘supercruising’ was until the 2230s still largely the province and privilege of large ships. The latest PB-25 warp propulsion units optimized for use in the Podish
scout upgrades still massed some 90,000 tons apiece, and cost as much as two complete scoutships
of the preceding generation. If Star Fleet were to fill the gap in scouting resources, a more affordable
alternative would have to be found.
Beckerman-Fusai MHG Corporation went for what could be considered ‘de jure supercruise’, devising an engine just barely capable of sustained warp 4 at maximum power. At standard mission profile involving deployment runs of a few days, this translated to an endurance of 8 months – twice that of the various Ariadne–derived scouts with their monster engines, and this time with a useful scientific payload. The high performance engine nacelles were typical representatives of the third generation, their cylindrar main body terminating in a tapering aft segment with integrated intercoolers; the spooled coils massed barely 10,000 tons, but erection of a warp 4 field required four side-by-side sets. The powerplant was among the smallest total conversion reactors yet devised, housed in an external hull section of its own, and featuring separate antimatter tankage in dorsal pods. This presented virtually no demands on the pressure hull of choice, a stretched ovoid six decks high.
The combining of a tested and even somewhat dated spaceframe design of modest dimensions with these hypermodern engines raised a few eyebrows. But Beckerman-Fusai assured Star Fleet and the Council that the economic reasons behind the decision were sound: the tightly packaged superengines needed to be proven in practice before series production of third-generation units for use in light vessels such as corvettes or couriers could be begun. And a science scout, intended to run fast and straight to her target and not to engage in violent maneuvering, was the ideal test platform. To reduce costs, the company was ready to tap into its R&D funds, in order to solidify its position as the warp engine supplier to the upcoming projects involving marketing prospects for third-generation engines.
In late August of 2214, three things were slapped onto Beckerman-Fusai’s superengine: Star Fleet’s stamp of approval, a systematic Fleet propulsion block designation (in this case PB-26), and a spaceframe to carry a crew of thirteen plus abundant instrumentation for both technology demonstration and scientific study. Soon after leaving the dockyards next April, USS Lowell (NCC-I350) proved an excellent small scientific scoutship, demonstrating high speeds and the ability to accommodate and cater for the needs of research crews – in the relative context of very small ships, of course. The topmost of the six decks featured little beyond the navigation bridge and sensors; most control facilities, as well as cabins for the three officers, were on Deck 2. Two well equipped if small principal laboratories and various other research facilities dominated the middecks. Plenty of room was left for crew comforts, though, as propulsion and support machinery was mainly housed outside the main hull; decks 4 and 5 could accommodate up to 20 visiting researchers in addition to the 10 operating crew if needed. Deck 6 mainly housed sensor controls and life support systems.
Standard hull surface and domed sensors similar to those applied on the Mann and refitted Caracal cruisers were augmented by a selection of highly sensitive mapping instruments, including a trailing sensor pod deployed from above the support structure of the nacelles. A wide selection of probes could be sown from special racks mounted along the length of the support structure, or manually prepared in pressurized compartments and deployed through lateral chutes on Deck 3. For self-defense, two banks of lasers were also provided on that deck, and two navigational deflector emitters were inset at the bow.
The armament of the Lowells raised some initial critique. Admittedly the ships had been procured with tactical intelligence gathering in mind, as indicated by their registry prefix, and admittedly this presented the risk of combat. Yet the captains had no wish to engage an enemy of any military worth; effective sensors for early warning and sufficient speed for early retreat were felt to be more essential to survival than ship-to-ship armament. In combat against lesser opponents, the Lowells would in turn have trouble in bringing their weapons to bear, as the great mass of the warp engines and the fragility of the trusswork spaceframe were serious maneuverability handicaps. Nevertheless, Defense Command insisted on the relatively heavy laser mounts, which didn’t present any engineering or power allocation problems as such, and consumed relatively little space on Deck 3.
A more proper target of critique was the ships’ probe-launching capacity. The sublight probe racks and chutes were flexible and versatile tools for scientific study. Yet without a warp launcher, the scoutships would have to virtually overfly their targets in order to deploy their reconnaissance probes. For civilian applications, this was within the limits of practicability, but the threat environment of the 2220s required that even science scouts be ready to repel a Klingon invasion. Being fundamentally incapable of this, the Lowells lost some support, and the life-extension refits they required became less and less likely to take place. When the first of the Flagstaff scout drones became available in the early 2230s, Star Fleet Command decided to abandon the Lowell class entirely. Even though the vessels were still perfectly capable of performing their original mapping and research missions, the military requirements imposed by the Klingon threat cut short their careers. This in turn put an end to Beckerman-Fusai’s foray into the advanced warp engine business, leaving Pleshun, CWD and the newcomer Shuvinaaljis as the prime competitors in the field. The common small ship engine Star Fleet had hoped for was not to be PB-26, but instead the humbler and less compact CWD PB-22 that initially was coupled with conventional fusion powerplants.
The Lowell scouts were retired gradually between 2235 and 2239, handing over their missions to newer, larger, faster and more militant Hale and Bode classes. One Lowell, USS Arecibo (NCC-I365), was lost to a puzzling Klingon attack in 2221 above Sarthong V, a planet of scant strategic but noted archaeological significance. In 2210, the trailing sensors of USS Siding Springs (NCC-I356) intercepted the signals of a high velocity probe passing through the galactic plane at an estimated speed of warp 430. The alignment of the tight, narrow-band, high-energy signal (or actually its subspace aura, since the nature of the signal itself could not be determined) made it unlikely that the visitor had originated from any of the galaxies in the local cluster, thus suggesting this to be the first observation of intelligence outside our local galactic group.
Gallery
Notes
- The Lowells have 4 10,000-ton nacelles.