Guide:Solar
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| |
| Solar | |
|---|---|
| Class Overview | |
| Category | cutter |
| Operational | 2250 - 2280
|
| Constructed | 1,619 |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 90.0 m |
| Beam |
|
| Height | 12.1 m |
| Mass |
|
| Performance | |
| Cruise Speed | w 5 |
| Max Speed |
|
| Endurance | 15 months |
| Complement | |
| Crew | 23
|
| Patients | 6 |
| Cargo | 250 mt |
| Tactical Systems | |
| Beam Weapons | Mk I
Mk III
Mk VI
|
| Shields |
|
| Transporters | Each second series
|
| Canonicity | |
| Design | FASA |
| Name | FASA |
| History | FASA
|
For the first decade of the Great Awakening, development of compact solid state warp engines approached the underutilized middle from both ends. Corvettes, escorts and skirmishers got their interstellar drives at a tad below hundred thousand tons per coil set, while Chameleon and Mission squeezed warp three cruise performance out of engines massing in at the low four digits. It was PB- 40, at 15,000 tons per set, that best met the needs of the civilian market, though. The promise of warp five cruising would be kept with the Masterson patrol cutters, Graynet corvettes and Tavares light transports – but only after being put to a test in a craft designed solely for speed.
The Solar class of fast revenue cutters by VXT was not intended for Starfleet use, despite its large, military-standard engines and relatively heavy armament. Fleet experts nevertheless watched with keen interest as Federation Customs Service put the craft through the paces, running the Moloch A antimatter powerplant at the limits of its performance. The closely spaced engine pair produced a spindle-shaped warp field for a peak speed of warp 5.7; for maintaining warp five, the reactor had to be surrounded by an array of heat dissipation plates that also helped contain less benign types of radiation. There was little else to the craft, save for an arrowhead crew compartment that clamped onto a shirtsleeves engine monitoring section just forward of the reactor, and a cylindrar pod for the navigational deflector beneath this compartment.
Faster than the more lavishly equipped Mastersons, the new cutters were ideal for early interception of vessels in need of pilot services or a quick verification of identity and intent. Search and rescue services were another matter. Even though a Solar carried a large transporter with twin rows of three pads, there was little room for evacuees, almost nothing in the way of medical facilities, and only a rudimentary sensor array for sorting out survivors from debris. Three laser cannon were included in most of the 588 craft built, their aiming being burdened on the then-standard L-14 central computing unit that had severely limited capacity for such extra duties. Affordable and standardized equipment was nevertheless essential for attaining such procurement numbers, and for equipping virtually every UFP port with a Solar or two.
The Mk II version for civilian markets was not a sales success, as it offered less than the similarly engined Tavares in virtually every respect, for only slightly lower price. A mere technology demonstrator wouldn’t sell – unless it demonstrated something more impressive. In 2262, the Mk III government and Mk IV civilian refits of the respective originals remedied some of the equipment shortcomings, providing the craft with cargo transporters and phaser armament. More importantly, they introduced the sleek PB-60 engine, which gave warp seven dash speed for the same power costs and weighed only mariginally more.
The Mk III was also offered for Starfleet, and 24 units were adopted as training craft. Several shortcomings in habitability and spaceframe durability were identified, and the manufacturer was prompted to design remedies. A reinforced structure and a beefed-up armament increased the mass of the special, all-newbuild Mk VI variant by two thousand tons, while crew facilities were rearranged to accommodate three instructors. The option of using the crew compartment as a separable lander was seldom used by other operators, yet Starfleet took the opportunity to carry out various rendezvous and docking training maneuvers with the lander. Introduction of the fully landing-capable Epsilon cutter soon outdated these units, though, and Starfleet sold all 24 of its Mk VI acquisitions forward.
Production of Mk VI ultimately reached 621 craft, which largely replaced the earlier models but did not spread high speed cutter services to new starports; that was left to the Epsilon class. As fast craft had fast replacement cycles, almost all the original Solars were gone by 2270, and the Mk VI batch was retired by 2280. Despite its lack of longevity and modest contribution to Starfleet, the class retains a prominent place in small craft history for launching not just one but two groundbreaking warp engines.
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