Luna-class starships were exploration cruisers introduced in 2378, and quickly became the top of the line in the Federation Starfleet's scientific and exploratory pursuits on behalf of the United Federation of Planets. Each had an average crew of 350 individuals and was approximately 450 meters long. (Star Trek: Titan)
All Luna-class starships were named after moons. The first production lot was named after moons in the Sol system; the second batch included several ships named after the moons of Bajor. (TTN novel: Taking Wing; Star Trek: Pendragon)
History[]
The Luna class was designed by Dr. Xin Ra-Havreii at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards on Mars, and initially conceived for scientific exploration of the Gamma Quadrant following the discovery of the Bajoran Wormhole. The prototype, USS Luna was launched for a shakedown cruise in 2372, under the command of Captain Fujikawa. Even after months of testing and safety checks, when the ship's warp engines were engaged, there was an explosion in main engineering, killing several crew members. Dr. Ra-Havreii blamed himself for this for many years, even though the survivors insisted it was not his fault, and there was no way to have predicted the problem.
The explosion aboard the Luna wasn't the only setback for the project, as the impending threat from the Dominion caused Starfleet to put the project on hold entirely. It would not be restarted until after the end of the Dominion War, and work on the Luna class was fast tracked in 2376. (TTN novel: Taking Wing; Star Trek: Destiny novel: Gods of Night)
In January 2377, Ezri Dax considered applying for a post on a Luna-class vessel, although she was advised it would be several years before they became operational. (DS9 novel: Warpath)
The USS Titan, USS Europa, USS Io and USS Ganymede were among the first Luna class ships, after the Luna herself, to be launched in 2379. (TTN novel: Taking Wing, Sword of Damocles; ST novel: Articles of the Federation)
The Titan and Ganymede were paired off on exploration missions of the Gum Nebula in the Beta Quadrant, far beyond the boundaries of Federation space. Titan was assigned to explore the coreward half of the nebula, and Ganymede the rimward half. (TTN novel: Taking Wing)
Over the next several years, other Luna class ships would enter service, including the USS Oberon, USS Triton, USS Almathea, USS Callisto, USS Rhea, USS Charon and USS Galatea, completing the first wave of twelve such vessels.
In 2381, Federation President Nanietta Bacco promised that more Luna-class starships would be commissioned, pledging to continue Starfleet's mission of exploration. (Star Trek: Destiny novel: Lost Souls)
After the initial batch of ships were launched, one of the next Luna-class vessels to be commissioned was the USS Jeraddo. Launched in the mid-2380s, the Jeraddo was assigned to a long-term exploration mission in the Gamma Quadrant. (Star Trek: Pendragon: "To Follow a Sinking Star")
By the early 25th century, the Luna class had been upgraded with quantum slipstream drive, though earlier generations of the technology were incompatible with the ship's geometry. By that time, several subclasses had also entered service, the Comet, Polaris and Sol classes; the family of designs were then classified as reconnaissance science vessels. They were later joined by the Titan-class, a destroyer. (Star Trek Online)
Known vessels[]
- USS Luna (NX-80101)
- USS Titan (NCC-80102)
- USS Oberon (NCC-80103)
- USS Europa (NCC-80104)
- USS Io (NCC-80105)
- USS Triton (NCC-80106)
- USS Ganymede (NCC-80107)
- USS Almathea (NCC-80108)
- USS Callisto (NCC-80109)
- USS Rhea (NCC-80110)
- USS Charon (NCC-80111)
- USS Galatea (NCC-80112)
- USS Tourangeau (NCC-80113)
- USS Ariel (NCC-80114)
- USS Iapetus (NCC-80115)
- USS Himalia (NCC-80116)
- USS Proteus (NCC-80117)
- USS Baraddo
- USS Endalla
- USS Hyperion
- USS Jeraddo
- USS Konshu
- USS T'Rukhemai
| Luna-class starships | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Block I | Amalthea • Callisto • Charon • Europa • Galatea • Ganymede • Io • Luna • Oberon • Rhea • Titan • Triton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Block II | Ariel • Himalia • Iapetus • Proteus • Tourangeau | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| additional vessels | Ananke • Andor • Adrastea • Antrim • Baraddo • Caliban • Calypso • Cinera • Circe • Cirithil • Deimos • Endalla • Hecate • Hyperion • Izar's Shroud • Jeraddo • Kera • Kifau • Konshu • Leda • Mimas • Miranda • Metis • Phinda • Phobos • Rána • Selene • Seyann • Syladdo • Tarmorn • Tilion • T'Rukhemai • Umbriel • Uriel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| variants: | Comet-subclass: Comet • Polaris-subclass: Polaris • Sol-subclass: Borland • Sol | Titan-class (2410s) |
Selune • Titan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Appendices[]
Background information[]
- The design of the Titan, and her sister ships of the Luna class, was made a contest by Pocket Books, allowing fans to send in ideas for the ships appearance. The winning design, pictured, was created by Sean Tourangeau, and announced on October 6, 2005.
- Star Trek Nemesis did not specify any details of the Titan, other than Riker and Troi's assignment there, and as such, several RPGs differed in their interpretation from the Pocket novels. However, ancillary material for Star Trek: Picard in 2020 semi-canonized the Luna-class version; the Titan later appeared in Star Trek: Lower Decks, making the Luna class design and designation canonical.
- The deck count of the Luna class has not been established, but based on the size of the ship, it is conjectured to have 24 decks (counting the sensor pod).
External links[]
- Luna class article at Memory Alpha, the canon Star Trek wiki.
- Luna class article at Memory Beta, the non-canon Star Trek wiki.
- Luna class article at Star Trek Expanded Universe, the fanon and fanworks Star Trek wiki.