STSTCSOLD&A | Federation - Excelsior class (refit)

his is one of those designs that the original writers at FASA never anticipated, even though it was fairly safe to assume that the NCC-1701-B Enterprise was going to be an Excelsior; especially after ST:TNG made it plain that the Excelsior class had a very long life in Starfleet. However, it seems silly to think the Excelsior class would go 75 years without a significant refit, when even the Constitution class hull did not last that long without a major external/internal overhaul. On the balance, the Excelsior refit is not nearly as extreme as that done to the Constitution, but the differences are great enough that I opted to separate the Excelsior refit from its base type, giving them different ship pages, stats, and schematics.
          In 2007 I did something I've been wanting to do for many years: I re-drew the schematics for this class, paying close attention to studio model photographs, as well as the schematics as they appeared in Star Trek - The Magazine. To my surprise, the magazine schematics had several significant problems, including wrong or missing details on the large, secondary impulse decks, and poor or incorrect detailing of the secondary hull superstructure. Eventually I did away with the magazine schematics and eyeballed the studio model exclusively, modifying and enriching where it seemed appropriate. I think I got it about 85% true to the studio, with one deliberate cheat: I raised the nacelles on their pylons a significant amount. Why? It never made sense to me that the nacelles would be so low to the secondary hull that the largish secondary impulse decks belched their plasma exhaust right into the bussard collection points on the forward tips of each nacelle.
The Excelsior (refit) class U.S.S. Enterprise, NCC-1701-B, here seen in spacedock prior to its christening. (Screen capture from Star Trek: Generations)           Aesthetically, it took me a long time to get over the shape of that secondary hull, as first seen in Star Trek: Generations. Modification of the warp nacelles and saucer I could buy. But what purpose do those horizontally-projecting sponsons up near the navigational deflector serve? Beyond providing Kirk with a place to tinker with controls before being sucked out into deep space during a hull compromise??
          Who knows.
          The stats listed below for the Excelsior Refit are of my own devising, and I've tried to base them as much as I can on what little I know about official Trek canon regarding this design. I've also tried to limit the firepower and structural strength of the older models so that, yes, they are improved over the original Excelsior, but still modest enough to reflect their aged nature when compared to the Galaxy and Sovereign classes. Conversely the later models are almost as potent as the Galaxy class, and allow the Excelsior Refit to retain its role as a front-line cruiser in Starfleet (ala the USS Lakota) taking part in all the heavy action, as is often seen in ST:TNG and ST:DS9.

--- Brad, STSTCSOLD&A

Construction Data: Model Numbers- Ship Class- Date Entering Service- Number Constructed	MK IV * XIV 2293 A.D. N/A	MK V * XIV 2315 A.D. N/A	MK VI * XIV 2332 A.D. N/A	MK VII * XIV 2357 A.D. N/A
Hull Data: Superstructure Points- Damage Chart- Size Length- Width- Height- Weight- Cargo Cargo Units- Cargo Capacity- Landing Capability-	45 C 468.6 meters 189.2 meters 89.5 meters 244,310 tons 200 units 10,000 tons None	48 C 468.6 meters 189.2 meters 89.5 meters 250,100 tons 200 units 10,000 tons None	51 C 468.6 meters 189.2 meters 89.5 meters 253,200 tons 200 units 10,000 tons None	56 C 468.6 meters 189.2 meters 89.5 meters 262,400 tons 250 units 12,500 tons None
Equipment Data: Control Computer Type- Transporters- Standard 6-person- Emergency 22-person- cargo-	M-9A 7 6 4	MBT-08 7 6 4	MBT-09 7 6 4	MBT-10 7 6 5
Other Data: Crew- Troops- Shuttlecraft-	780 50 20	760 50 20	720 50 20	695 50 20
Engines and Power Data: Total Power Units Available- Movement Point Ratio- Warp Core Type- Warp Core Output- Stress Charts- Maximum Safe Cruising Speed- Emergency Speed- Impulse Reactor(s) Type- Impulse Reactor(s) Output-	145 6/1 FESW-2 110 D/F Warp 7 Warp 9.9 FNIS-300 35	155 7/1 FESW-3 120 D/F Warp 7 Warp 9.9 FNIS-300 35	158 7/1 FESW-3 120 D/F Warp 7 Warp 9.9 FNIS-320 38	160 6/1 FNWD-5B 120 F/K Warp 8 Warp 9.9 FNIS-330 40
Weapons and Firing Data: Beam Weapon Type- Number- Firing Arcs- Firing Chart- Maximum Power- Damage Modifiers +3 +2 +1 Beam Weapon Type- Number- Firing Arcs- Firing Chart- Maximum Power- Damage Modifiers +3 +2 +1 Missile Weapon Type- Number- Firing Arcs- Firing Chart- Power To Arm- Damage-	FH-11 6 2p, 2f, 2s Y 10 (1 - 10) (11 - 17) (18 - 24) FAHW-20 6 2f/p, 2f/s, 2a T 12 (1 - 6) (7 - 14) (15 - 18) FP-4 6 2f, 1f/p, 1f/s, 2a S 1 20	FH-11 6 2p, 2f, 2s Y 10 (1 - 10) (11 - 17) (18 - 24) FAHW-20 6 2f/p, 2f/s, 2a T 12 (1 - 6) (7 - 14) (15 - 18) FP-11 6 2f/s, 2f/p, 1a/s, 1a/p U 1 21	FAHW-22 8 2p, 2f, 2s, 2p/s/a U 14 (1 - 7) (8 - 14) (15 - 20) FP-13 6 2f/s, 2f/p, 1a/s, 1a/p V 3 23	FAHW-22 8 2p, 2f, 2s, 2p/s/a U 14 (1 - 7) (8 - 14) (15 - 20) FP-15 6 2f/s, 2f/p, 1a/s, 1a/p T 3 25
Shields Data: Deflector Shield Type- Shield Point Ratio- Maximum Shield Power-	NGSS-F 1/3 21	NGSS-G 1/3 24	NGSS-G 1/3 24	NGSS-H 1/3 27
Defense Factor- Weapon Damage Factor-	unknown unknown	unknown unknown	unknown unknown	unknown unknown

* Denotes completely hypothetical model number and stats, devised by Brad R. Torgersen.