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Miranda class

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Miranda class
Port view, with "roll bar"
Port view, with "roll bar"
Port view, with "roll bar"
Affiliation: Federation Starfleet
Type: Science vessel, supply ship
Active: 23rd century - 24th century
Length: 233 m
Crew complement: 26 (USS Lantree)
Armament: 6 dual phaser banks (all configurations)
2 phaser emitters (USS Reliant and USS Majestic)
4 photon torpedo launchers (USS Reliant)
2/4 photon torpedo launchers (USS Majestic)
"Class 3 defensive": phasers only (USS Lantree)
1 ventral dome-mounted phaser array and photon torpedo launchers (USS Saratoga)
Defenses: Deflector shields

The Miranda-class starship was a type of cruiser introduced by Starfleet in the late 23rd century and had a production run through the mid 24th century. During the 24th century, variations of this class were sometimes known as Class 6 Federation supply ships. (TNG: "Unnatural Selection")

Contents

[edit] History

Introduced in the latter half of the 23rd century, these ships typically performed patrol and survey assignments. Despite the small size, the class performed satisfactorily. Several series and variants of these ships were produced throughout the 23rd and 24th centuries, with many still serving in the fleet through the mid-2370s. The design filled a number of different mission profiles, from supply ship (the USS Lantree) to science vessel (the USS Brattain). These vessels served in a large number of engagements during the Dominion War. Used primarily as escorts, many were subsequently lost. (TNG: "Unnatural Selection", "Night Terrors")

Many ships of the class saw action during Operation Return, the First and Second Battles of Chin'toka and the Battle of Cardassia. Many ships of the class were stationed near Deep Space 9.

[edit] Technical data

[edit] Physical arrangement

The configuration of the Miranda-class shared a similar design lineage and features with the refit configuration Constitution-class, implemented in 2265-2270.

All Miranda-class starships had a saucer section making up the majority of the vessel. The saucer was similar to that of a Constitution-class, with 6 phasers mount on the top and the bottom of the saucer, and a bridge module positioned on top in the centre. However, the bridge module was differently shaped than the Constitution-class module, and Miranda saucer also included a bulkier aft end with shuttlebays with numbered square-shaped bay doors ("1" on the port side and "2" on the startboard side) and a warp core. Below the saucer, at the aft edges, were the nacelle pylons connected to the warp nacelles. Although the nacelles were visually identical to the nacelles used on Constitution-class, the top of the nacelles were mounted to the pylons. On the Constitution-class, the pylons were mounted to the bottom of the nacelles.

There were four configurations of the Miranda-class.

The most common was the configuration of the USS Reliant, which had a "roll bar" mounted immediately above the nacelle pylons. The "roll bar" had two tubular phaser emitters on each side that could fire both forward, aft, and to the ships flanks, along with two forward and two aft photon torpedo launchers housed in a pod mounted in the center of the rollbar. This pod was somewhat similar in appearance to the front of the torpedo launchers used on Constitution-class vessels.

Another configuration was that of the USS Lantree, which lacked the "roll bar" and featured only Class 3 defensive armaments. This type of Miranda class was apparently suitable for transport duty.

The USS Saratoga, like the Lantree, also lacked the "roll bar". However, it did include two large sensor pods installed on the port and starboard sides of the ship. It also had a modern solid-beam phaser array mounted on the lower part of the sensor dome and photon torpedo launchers.

In "Emissary", the Captain of the Saratoga gave an order to "load torpedo bays", though the ship was never seen firing any torpedoes at all. Thus, the actual placement of the torpedo launchers was never made clear.

The USS Majestic had the "roll bar" like the Reliant, but the warp nacelles were different from the other Miranda configurations; most notably, they glowed bright blue along the sides. Also, the phasers and photon torpedoes were also upgraded to match those of other Federation ship classes, such as the Galaxy-class, though the placement of these arrays was unchanged. This, along with some other details, could indicate a further design variant or refits to the original Reliant configuration.

Some of the ships of this configuration were seen with a red glow where the rear torpedo launchers should be. It has been theorized that the red glow on the Majestic roll bar were an extra set of impulse engines, but this has not been confirmed – that part of the ship could glow red for other reasons, after all.

USS Reliant

USS Lantree

USS Saratoga (NCC-31911)

USS Majestic

[edit] Interior design

[edit] Main bridge

The Miranda-class bridge of the 23rd century shared a similar layout to that of the upgraded Constitution-class vessels.

Located on Deck 1 of the saucer section, the Main Bridge housed the command center of the Miranda-class. The design lineage of the main bridge was a fairly standard floor plan for a Federation starship.

Located in the front was the ship's viewscreen, with side-by-side navigation and helm consoles. The captain's chair was directly aft of the aforementioned stations.

At the center, rear of the bridge, was the turbolift entryway. The primary stations, which were located along the rear of the bridge included the tactical station on the port side of the bridge. Along the rear starboard side of the bridge were the primary science station and communications station. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)

Later 24th century Miranda bridges used LCARS interfaces and consoles like those used on other 24th century Federation starship classes, including the Galaxy-class. (TNG: "Unnatural Selection"; DS9: "Emissary")

23rd century Miranda-class bridge

24th century Miranda-class bridge

24th century Miranda-class bridge viewscreen

The bridge of the Reliant appearing in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was a redress of the USS Enterprise bridge, with different colors and a rearrangement of consoles. Because of this, some of the displays mistakenly had diagrams of a Constitution-class on them. The bridge of the Miranda-class USS Saratoga (NCC-1867) in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was similar to the Reliant bridge.
The bridge of the Lantree appearing in "Unnessesary Selection" was a redress of the USS Enterprise-D battle bridge and was rotated 180 degrees as well. As a result, the battle bridge viewscreen appeared at the rear of the bridge. This was covered up by placing LCARS and a starchart on the "viewscreen" to make it appear as a panel instead.

[edit] Shuttlebay

Miranda-class shuttle bay interior
Miranda-class shuttle bay interior

The Miranda-class features two shuttle bays port and starboard of the ship's center. On some Miranda-class ships, such as the USS Saratoga, both of the shuttlebays hold lifeboats capable of carrying several civilians and crew. These are usually used during an evacuation. (DS9: "Emissary")

[edit] Ships commissioned

Named
Unnamed

[edit] Appendices

[edit] Appearances

[edit] Background

[edit] Name

The name Miranda-class was not mentioned in dialog on screen, but was devised by the art department of TNG to refer to this design. The name was used on several pieces of on screen signage referring to these vessels, and is also used by official references such as the Star Trek Encyclopedia.

The name "Miranda" may refer to a character from the play "The Tempest" by Earth playwright William Shakespeare. Shakespeare invented the name, which is a play on "admired" for the play. In the play, Miranda is the daughter of the wizard Prospero. She exclaims the famous line once referenced by Captain Jean-Luc Picard "Brave New World...", one of the most appropriate of all Shakespeare quotations for the Federation's message of peaceful exploration of the unknown.

However, it is also possible that the class was named for Miranda, the smallest and innermost moon of Uranus (which was in turn named after Shakespeare's Miranda).

[edit] Model

[edit] Design

The Miranda-class studio model, specifically the USS Reliant, was designed at Paramount by Joe Jennings and Mike Minor.

In designing the Reliant, the script called for an older cruiser of "Enterprise's own class" but of a "different configuration." This ended up being a different class of starship in its own right, the first distinct Federation starship design other than the NCC-1701 to ever appear in a filmed, live-action Star Trek production.

The Miranda-class model was originally designed "upside-down", with the nacelles above the dish and the "roll-bar" bellow the dish. However, when the initial drawing was sent to Harve Bennett for approval, he viewed the drawings upside down. He liked the design and signed off on it. The FX team debated whether or not to send the sketches back to Bennett (who was in Israel at the time working on another project) with the correct orientation, but they decided that there was insufficient time to do so.

[edit] Construction

The studio model was constructed at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) under supervising model maker Steve Gawley. Among Gawley's crew were modelmakers Bill George, Sean Casey, Larry Tan, Jeff Mann, Steve Sanders, Brian Chin, Bob Diepenbrock, and Mike Fulmer, with Martin Brenneis responsible for model electronics.

In constructing the model, ILM took much consideration in creating a model that could be light enough to be easily maneuvered during photography. This approach was taken because they did not want to create another bulky model, like the Enterprise built for Star Trek: The Motion Picture. As a result, model was made at scale three-quarters that of the Enterprise. In addition, the hull for the Reliant was shaped from vacuum-formed plastic, resulting in a model that was light enough that it could be handled by two people.

Larger pieces were constructed for close-up shots, notably the the rollbar. Explosive charges and pre-packed pieces of plastic scrap were packed into the molds to give the illusion of an exploding ship. The exploded model was formed from wax to allow the pieces to be remolded for additional shots.

[edit] Legacy

The high quality studio model continued to be reused for over fifteen years by the producers of TNG and DS9 to represent a plethora of different starships and classes, following modifications used in creating the USS Lantree, the USS Bozeman and the USS Saratoga.

Even as the original models were worn out, new CGI models were created and used during the later years of DS9 and VOY. According to DS9 Visual Effects Coordinator David Stipes, the Miranda-class ships appearing in the later seasons of series were modeled, surfaced, and animated by Digital Muse. [1]

In the It's A Wrap! sale and auction, a bronze model of a Miranda-class was sold. This model had four nacelles, with the standard nacelles under the ship along with two others attached to the roll-bar above the other nacelles. This configuration was never shown on screen.

[edit] Specifications

The specifications for the Miranda were not mentioned in dialog, but are referenced from the show's art department. The length shown here is based the official overall length as given during the production of Star Trek II, that was later followed up by Andrew Probert during TNG Season 1.

[edit] Technical Manual

The following information of specifications and defenses comes exclusively from the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual:

  • Type: Medium Cruiser
  • Production Base: ASDB Integration Facility, Starbase 134 Integration Facility, Rigel VI
  • Accommodation: 220 officers and crew; 500 personal evacuation limit
  • Power Plant: One 1,500 plus Cochrane warp core feeding two nacelles; one impulse system
  • Dimensions:
    • Length: 277.76 meters
    • Beam: 173.98 meters
    • Height: 65.23 meters
  • Mass: 655,000 metric tons
  • Performance: Warp 9.2 for 12 hours
  • Armament: Six type-7 phaser emitters; two pulse phaser cannons; two photon torpedo launchers

While the Technical Manual itself is not canon, it is a Memory Alpha permitted resource.

[edit] Apocrypha

After its 1982 premier in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, fan-produced blueprints named this ship type the "Avenger-class Heavy Frigate". Further non-canon fan publications created its mid-23rd century predecessor the Surya-class. Ships of the Starfleet suggests that the prototype vessel USS Miranda had the registry NCC-1833.

Some sources have described the class as the Reliant-class.

[edit] Apocryphal appearances

  • The Interplay PC Game Starfleet Academy features several Miranda-class vessels including USS Oberon (NCC-1806), USS Rutherford (NCC-1835), USS Alexandria (NCC-1842), USS Tempest (NCC-1852), USS Atlantis (NCC-1865), and USS Demeter (NCC-1868).
  • The Interplay PC Game New Worlds features the Miranda-class vessel USS Ranger (NCC-1975).
  • The Activision PC Game The Fallen features the Miranda-class vessel USS Ulysses (NCC-10767).

[edit] Related link

  • Soyuz-class, which was based on the Miranda-class model
Retrieved from "http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Miranda_class"
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