Guide:Mission
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| Mission | |
|---|---|
| Class Overview | |
| Category | runabout / utility craft / scoutcraft |
| Operational | 2248 - 2285
|
| Constructed | 1,293 |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 32.0 m |
| Beam | 25.0 m |
| Height | 13.1 m |
| Mass |
|
| Performance | |
| Cruise Speed | w 3.0 |
| Max Speed | w 4.0 |
| Endurance |
|
| Complement | |
| Crew | 3 |
| Passengers |
|
| Cargo |
|
| Tactical Systems | |
| Beam Weapons | Each original series
Each second series
|
| Shields |
|
| Transporters | Each second series
|
| Historical | |
| Ships of Note |
|
| Canonicity | |
| Design | FASA (corrected by Timo) |
| Name | FASA |
| History | FASA
|
When Star Fleet in 2243 set out to acquire a replacement for its aging Hubble runabouts, there was considerable excitement among small craft manufacturers. Why a dull utility vehicle would create such interest was obvious in the specifications for its warp drive system. For the first time, a dilithium-regulated antimatter reactor and associated solid state warp coils would be mounted onto a small craft, and access to these technologies would give the project winner a definite lead in the market.
There was considerable financial and conceptual risk in the project, though. Nobody knew how much the new drive system would eat into available space and payload capacity in a vessel whose dimensions had already been fixed to approximate Hubble values. There was even less idea about how the hopefully increased drive performance would affect the doctrines of runabout operations. Yet it was obvious that priority freight carriers would be the first to call for civilian sales. Star Fleet had nothing against the idea, and arranged for risk mitigation through a deal to produce some 70 hulls for the civilian market concurrently with 40 fleet liaison craft. In 2247, the lot fell on three manufacturers: VXT Interstellar, Arbing & Lidde, and Thornycroft.
The companies would produce three distinct variants of the design. VXT’s version emerged in March 2248 with a cargo capacity of 5,000 tons and a large cargo elevator; A&L’s design carried 7,500 tons at reduced endurance; and Thornycroft’s craft was cleared for 3,750 tons, but dedicated to a scouting mission and featuring a range of special sensors and onboard analysis computers, probe deployment chutes, and an advanced navigation suite. Externally the vessels were virtually indistinguishable, with wedgelike hulls that had broad windows for the command deck ahead and a raised stern section for the RMR-500 military-standard antimatter reactor. The two DB-38 solid state nacelles each weighed some 1,500 tons, a heavy price indeed to be paid for the performance increase over spool technology. Out of structural necessity, the engines were slung low to minimize stresses when gravity and integrity systems were idled; landing pads just inboard would ease the craft to the surface, then retract to bring it to rest on the engine nacelles.
Despite the structural challenges, integration of the modern drive system was achieved to Star Fleet’s satisfaction. There were wide performance margins in the design, and a nominal maximum speed of warp four in no way inconvenienced the powerplant. Power could—for example—be diverted to a 200 nm laser emitter covering the forward angles in all flight modes. Shielding was the weak point in the tactical whole, but would suffice for most applications; the level of protection afforded by the military-standard FS series bubble field generator was certainly unprecedented in small craft like this.
Thanks to the speed and especially range of the new craft, Star Fleet satisfied itself with 393 of the all-important Mk I couriers, ten dozen Mk II utility transports with drone control option, and sixty Mk III scoutcraft, collectively designated the Mission class even though variant names Jgonas and Galileo were sometimes also used. Mk II was also produced in the unarmed Mk IV guise for civilian needs, as promised. In addition to shuttling between starbases, the vessels tailed exploratory assets to systems of interest, assisted in surveys, helped in founding outposts, and generally did their best in maintaining momentum on the exploratory program. Pressure from the Klingons nevertheless largely kept the big starships away from their projected exploration assignments. In their absence, the Mission craft had the opportunity to shine on their own, as the high-tier element of Project Locust.
Beginning in 2259, Star Fleet procured some 720 additional craft in the series, with emphasis on utility operations. Scouting tasks were moving on to more advanced types, as even modern phaser armament could not guarantee the safety of the Missions on the frontier. Ever-smaller interstellar liaison craft and ever-faster couriers kept emerging as warp technology matured; as the 2270s approached, it was obvious that the two decades of frontline service were not going to be followed by a third. The lion’s share of the more than a thousand Mission craft was sold forward to civilian operators in the 2270s, with only a token handful remaining for starbase support. As the last of these retired in 2285, civilian operation and production of the type was still going strong, and would dominate the market for years to come.
As the first truly interstellar runabout asset of Star Fleet, the Mission class also suffered an unprecedented number of casualties. Almost a hundred craft were registered missing or destroyed, most in transit, although landing accidents also plagued the type. The low-slung nacelle configuration was found disadvantageous, and the follow-on Messina type took the opposite approach. A myriad other examples of technology maturation also prompted Logistics Command to move in different directions in runabout design, and from today’s point of view, the Mission looks awkward and antiquated. Yet few other Star Fleet-originated designs have gone to similar UFP-wide commercial success. For the interested hobbyist, a Mission of Star Fleet origin (but typically layer upon layer of commercial improvement and upkeep) is one of the easiest vintage starcraft to find.
Gallery
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Notes
- The distinction between the Mk Is and Mk IIs (of both series) is tweaked a bit, to make it quite clear as to which is the runabout/courier and which is the cargo-handling utility craft.
- Ship registry numbers have only been assigned for the first series (at this time). As about eleven years are in between the decision to build the first series from the second, it stands to reason, there might be a registry gap.
References