Lassell-class Starship

[Planet of Hats]

Lassell-class Starship
Heavy exploration cruiser

Starship Specifications: ShowHide

GENERAL INFORMATION Class William Lassell Designation Heavy exploration cruiser Hull Duration 75+ years Time Between Refits 15 years for major replacementss Time Between Resupply 5-7 years	PERSONNEL Officers 150 Enlisted Crew 700 Civilians Up to 250 Marines/MACO 0 Evacuation Limit 2,750
DIMENSIONS Length 646 metres (as designed); 689 metres (after refit) Height 118 metres Width Decks 29	WEAPONS AND DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS Shields Launch: 12x shield grids, total capacity 2,244 MW Refit: 12x auto-modulating shield grids, total capacity 5,220 MW Weapon Systems Launch: 12x Type IX phaser beam array Refit: 14x Type XI phaser beam array Torpedo Armament 3x multi-purpose torpedo tube, two forward-firing and one aft
SCIENTIFIC SYSTEMS Sensor Systems 60x sensor pallets, interchangeable 2x Autoscopic Systems ultra-long-range high-resolution spatial/subspatial imaging systems 1x Autoscopic Systems spatial countermeasures system (from 2410) Scientific Laboratories 32x multipurpose laboratory facilities Probe Systems Class I through X probes available	PROPULSION SYSTEMS Engine Configuration Launch: -- 1x Yoyodyne SSWR-28 M/AM warp core powering 2x Mitsubishi-Thylliash MAM-5750-02 warp nacelles -- 1x Mitsubishi-Thylliash ID-3050-3 impulse drive Refit: -- 1x Yoyodyne SSWR-42 M/AM warp core powering 2x Rolls-Royce Sehlat Mk. IV nacelle assemblies -- 1x Ares Dynamics Challenger-5C adaptive impulse drive, dual-outlet configuration Cruise Speed Launch: Warp 7.5 Refit: Warp 8.3 Maximum Sustainable Speeds Launch: Warp 9.57 for 12 hours Refit: Warp 9.958 for 12 hours; slipstream 24.5 in short bursts Emergency Speed Warp 9.964
CREW SUPPORT SYSTEMS Medical Support Systems Starship sickbay facilities with 1x intensive care unit and 4x surgical suites Recreational Systems 2x standard holodecks and 8x holosuites 1x weight room and pool area, lower saucer, port side 1x lounge area, lower saucer, starboard side Crew Quarters Capacity for up to 1,100 regular residents	AUXILIARY CRAFT Shuttlebays 1x standard shuttlebay, capacity for six shuttles 1x auxiliary shuttlebay, capacity for four shuttlepods Small Auxiliary Craft 6x Type 8 shuttle 4x shuttlepod or work bee Large Auxiliary Craft

The ships of the Lassell class emerged from the long development cycle of the Galaxy-class starship. As USS Galaxy faced funding delays and issues with some of her fundamental technologies, it became clear to Starfleet the class would not enter service until at least the late 2350s, and even that would entail extensive work and delays to iron out the bugs in some of her newer systems. With the existing stock of Ambassador-class ships growing long in the tooth, Starfleet issued an RFP for an Interim Explorer design to bridge the perceived "explorer gap" between the Ambassadors and the new generation of ships. A whirlwind competition was won by Austal Galactic, proposing a design based on elements of both the Ambassador lineage and the proposed "Probert" cruiser of the 2340s, a design study that was influential on the Galaxy-class. Austal's design was essentially a scaled-down Galaxy, built primarily with modern but proven technology to cut down on both development time and teething issues. A positive ADSB review saw Austal engineers move to the Salazaar Shipyards to begin construction, with 12 ships on order.

The first ship of the Lassell class entered service in 2356, a year ahead of USS Galaxy despite development of the Lassells starting /later/ than the Galaxy class. The ship performed more than satisfactorily in her shakedown cruise, and construction proceeded apace on the next ships of the class, the cruisers Giovanni Piazzi, Asaph Hall and John Kavelaars (completed in 2357, '58 and '59 respectively). However, by the time Kavelaars reached 80% completion, teething issues with Galaxy's warp field geometry and Type X phasers had largely been resolved, and construction had begun on her sister ships, Yamato and Enterprise. With the closure of the explorer gap seeming imminent, Starfleet Command cancelled the last eight ships of the class and left Kavelaars as the final ship of the run.

The Lassells represented some of the largest ships of the period, with a larger and wider saucer than the Ambassador class and a length of over 120 metres greater - actually a couple metres longer than the Galaxy, though part of that was the rearward set of the nacelles to create a more streamlined Cochrane profile. The overall design was shorter and sleeker, losing a few lower decks from the shallower engineering hull but making up for it with a more compact suite of engineering systems - many of them pioneered on the Nebula class - allowing for comparatively less space needed for deuterium tanks and injector systems. Much of the lab space was moved to the saucer, and the primary shuttlebay was moved to the saucer aft, with a secondary shuttlebay housed at the stern.

The four class orphans proved highly effective in service and popular with crews. Unlike the more modern Galaxy and Nebula ships, the Lassells incorporated control systems with a substantial analog element, one of the last classes in Starfleet to do so. These mechanical systems took up slightly more room but were more resistant to console explosions or computational failures. Crews found the ships to be rugged and reliable. Further, the ships boasted one aspect shared only by the Galaxy: Their sensor systems were enhanced by ultra-long-range arrays designed to detect and analyze spatial anomalies across sector block distances, essentially allowing the Lassells to act as mobile observatories and better plan their exploration routes. System integration for these arrays was housed in two blocks near the rear of the saucer, just behind the top of the neck. In practice these systems would be modularized and integrated into other ships' sensor pallets, but at the time they represented some of the longest-range sensors available.

The biggest knock on the Lassells was that they were not transformational designs, yet came at a time when the Federation was poised for a major leap in ship technology. The Lassells were deliberately built with technology that did not push the envelope, though their design was expansive enough that they were fitted "for but not with" more sophisticated gear. Their baseline equipment was certainly some of the best of the current generation, but it wasn't /next/-generation.

The scaling back of the Galaxy class to a six-ship run saw the Lassells utilized to bolster Starfleet's exploratory ranks. However, the onset of conflicts in the 2370s would force the ships onto the front lines. USS Kavelaars was destroyed at the Second Battle of Chin'toka, and the remaining three ships earned numerous battle scars and suffered battle damage here and there through the course of the conflict. USS Asaph Hall in particular was part of the task force that retook Betazed, and USS William Lassell led a battle group during Operation Return.

By 2409, the three ships remained in service, but had increasingly been supplanted by more modern vessels as frontline ships. The three served mainly as observation ships in sectors somewhat away from the front lines, where their long-range sensors were adapted for intelligence-gathering. The ships underwent complete refits in 2410 to enhance this role and bring them up to modern standards, the main changes being the replacement of the older Mk IX phasers with modern Mk XI arrays and the removal of the warp core and internal nacelle structures for replacement with systems suitable for the high-performance Rolls-Royce Sehlat warp coils. The nacelle upgrade in particular added 43 metres to the length of the ship through the addition of trailing structures designed to push the warp field out into a more elongated configuration, allowing for asymmetric warp fields to be sustained for long periods. These refinements, together with overall strengthening of tactical and scanning systems and the upgrading of the long-range sensors to include ultra-high-resolution data imagers from Autoscopic Systems, brought the three Lassells up to modern combat strength and slotted them neatly into the role of scout cruisers: Fast and far-seeing enough to enter hot zones and quickly gather key data, but tough enough to hang in a fight with the Klingons.

The less discussed addition to the ships was the incorporation by Autoscopic of a spatial countermeasures system. This vague description papered over its actual utility: While not an outright cloaking system, the spatial countermeasure suite enabled the Lassells to utilize a combination of emission suppression, signature dampening and white noise generation to disguise themselves to long-range sensor. A Lassell with her countermeasures active would appear from a distance to blend into the background noise of the interstellar medium, only appearing when enemy ships closed the ranks. The ships used these abilities to full advantage during the war, shadowing Klingon fleets from range and gathering intelligence on potential target systems without being spotted.

As of the 2420s, the three Lassells remain active as second-line survey and mapping ships, often following up on surface exploration by more modern ships. Starfleet is considering decommissioning them by 2435, however.