The Columbia class was an upgrade and reconfiguration of the proven NX-class design originally in United Earth Starfleet service during the 2150s. Following the formation of the United Federation of Planets in 2161, the combined Federation Starfleet began producing additional Columbia-class vessels.
History[]
The Enterprise (NX-01) was the first vessel to receive this upgrade in 2156. While the class would have thus been named after Enterprise, Jonathan Archer insisted that it instead be named in honor of her sister ship, Columbia, which had recently become the first NX-class vessel lost in the line of duty. With the rising tide of the Earth-Romulan war, additional NX class construction was put on hold as Starfleet focused on refitting the existing Daedalus-class vessels, a more time- and-cost-effective measure. (Ships of the Line 2011; ENT novel: A Choice of Futures)
By 2162, the last original NX-class vessel, the Endeavour was refit to Columbia specs. All future ships would be of the new class, and at least eight more entered service by 2167, as outlined by Admiral Archer. (ENT novel: Live by the Code)
Most vessels of this class were withdrawn from service by the early 23rd century. The few that remained in service underwent further upgrades to their internal design and technology, while the established spaceframes remained largely unchanged.
However, in the 2280s, Starfleet revisited the Columbia-class, overhauling the existing vessels and commissioning new ones, for use as escort and perimeter action vessels. Included among these was a new USS Columbia (NCC-2200).
Over a century later in the 2410s, Columbia class vessels returned to active service as temporal operative escorts, including the Columbia herself, as well as newly-constructed vessels. Though their outer appearance remained identical to the 2280s design, they were outfitted with both state-of-the-art 25th century and futuristic technologies like a molecular reconstruction array, alongside replicas of their original equipment, such as grapplers for period-appropriate camouflage during temporal reconnaissance missions. (Star Trek Online)
Specifications[]
An orthographic view of the NX-class refit.
The most visible difference between the original NX-class design and her refit configuration was the addition of a secondary hull, something that would carry through into the designs of most Starfleet cruisers for the next several centuries. The new hull was shaped with a deep undercut in the rear, allowing it to be positioned within the warp field's secondary node; a new, more powerful navigational deflector system was also installed, along with a newer, large warp core, allowing the vessel to fly at speeds exceeding warp factor six; the warp nacelles and nacelle pylons were slightly reoriented as well.
For their initial service during and after the Earh-Romulan War, the Columbia-class vessels were outfitted not only with human-made equipment, but also technologies from the various worlds in the Coalition of Planets, including Andorian-designed deflector shields, and Vulcan tractor beams. The mix of human, Andorian and Vulcan tech resulted in certain incompatibilities, and limited the vessels' speed to around warp factor three, until these issues were overcome by an engineering team led by Dr. Tobin Dax. The newly-built, post-war ships incorporated upgrades which included more advanced impulse drive assemblies and navigational deflectors from Grennex Aerospace, a Rigel-based shipbuilding firm. (ENT novel: Rise of the Federation: A Choice of Futures, Live by the Code)
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The Columbia class of the 2280s.
The refit of the 2280s saw not only internal changes, but a major reworking of the spaceframe, in line with the more "art deco" aesthetic of the era, as typified in contemporary Akyazi-class and Oberth-class designs. The USS Columbia and her sister ships were built for fast action against the rising threat from the Klingon Empire, thus their hulls were reinforced against the stresses of traveling in bursts of what was then high-warp speed, and their structural integrity fields were likewise robust.
The 25th century refit saw the addition of quantum slipstream drive and transwarp conduit access, as well as a point defense system. These latest Columbia-class vessels were also equipped with holoprojectors, and the molecular reconstruction array employed on all temporal vessels of the era, which for both multi-functional configuration changes and era-specific camouflage, along with many other advanced technologies developed by the Federation and other Khitomer Alliance powers. (Star Trek Online: Legacy)
Known vessels[]
22nd century[]
- SS Enterprise (refit from NX class, 2156)
- USS Endeavour (refit from NX-class, 2160)
- USS Buran (launched, 2165)
- USS Shenlong (launched, 2165)
- USS Apollo (launched, 2165)
- USS Soyuz (launched, 2165)
- USS Ares (launched, 2166)
- USS Charybdis (launched, 2166)
- USS Phoenix (launched, 2167)
- USS Valiant (launched, 2167)
23rd century[]
- USS Columbia (launched, circa 2280)
External links[]
- Columbia class article at Memory Beta, the non-canon Star Trek wiki.
- Columbia Legendary Temporal Operative Escort article at the official Star Trek Online wiki
- Legendary Temporal Operative Escort