- For similarly named articles, see Odyssey (disambiguation).
The Odyssey class was a type of Federation starship that served (in varying configurations) as a dreadnought, star cruiser, and explorer. Originally developed in the 2380s, the class would not go into full production until the early 25th century. (PIC comic: Picard: Countdown; Star Trek Online)
Over the course of the 2410s, at least four variant subclasses were introduced. Most of the Mark I Odysseys would be upgraded to the Yorktown class, a science-focused multi-mission star cruiser. Additional variants included the Sojourner class, an operations-focused star cruiser; the Endeavour class, a tactical star cruiser; and the Verity class, a command dreadnought cruiser. (Star Trek Online)
History[]
Conception[]
During the 2370s, Starfleet reconsidered their stance on the development of large dreadnought classes after encountering two massive enemy starships.
The first of these incidents was during the Dominion War, when the USS Valiant encountered a prototype Jem'Hadar dreadnought, twice the size of a Galaxy-class starship and three times as powerful. Later during the war, further such vessels would be encountered, even larger, up to three times the size of the Galaxy, with massively increased power output.
The second incident came several years after the war, when in 2379, the USS Enterprise encountered the Reman warship Scimitar, and was nearly destroyed by her in the Bassen Rift.
Since the end of the long Federation-Klingon Cold War, over the last century Starfleet's starship design philosophy had shifted away from large dreadnought-style ships, and the few battleship designs in service were small, maneuverable escorts such as the Defiant class and Prometheus class designed to harass larger foes like a Borg Cube or a D'deridex-class warbird. At the time, such warships were few, and most of the fleet was built upon the backs of exploration cruisers like the Galaxy and Sovereign classes. The wartime encounters with Jem'Hadar dreadnoughts had already forced Starfleet to reconsider this stance, and the Scimitar incident only served as further confirmation that a new class of dreadnought was needed.
Development[]
Odyssey Class Development Project
As typical when a new design mandate is given, the Starfleet Corps of Engineers and the Advanced Starship Design Bureau began work on two dreadnought classes during the later half of the Dominion War, anticipating a prolonged conflict. The first was envisioned as an upgrade and structural overhaul of the Galaxy class into a configuration along the lines of the last century's Federation-class dreadnought, and would develop into the Olympus class. Work began at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards in 2374, and easier than developing a ship from scratch, the refit was ready within three years, and the first vessels of the Olympus configuration entered into service in 2377.
The development of a totally new spaceframe would take much longer. The new class was named after the USS Odyssey, the first Starfleet casualty in conflict with the Dominion, and the spaceframe that would become the USS Odyssey was laid down at San Francisco Fleet Yards. The spaceframe of a sister ship, the Verity, was also laid down not too long after.
A New Mandate[]
In 2381, work on the Odyssey was just over half-complete, and somewhat further behind on the Verity, when Starfleet learned of the impending Romulan supernova. Admiral Picard was looking for a flagship for the rescue armada, and it was decided that the one of the new dreadnoughts would be the only vessel large enough to serve the purpose. Though the Verity was farther from completion, this was considered a boon, as it meant the necessary changes to her internal structure could be completed faster. Work was abandoned on the Odyssey as Verity became the top priority at San Francisco Yards, while Commander Geordi La Forge oversaw the development of a full fleet of evacuation vessels at Utopia Planitia. Within months, the Verity was ready for service, and Picard took her out to begin the great work of rescuing the Romulan people from an extinction-level event.
The Odyssey herself was left on the backburner as most of Starfleet's ship-building efforts were focused on pushing out the existing Wallenberg-class transports and La Forge's new rescue fleet.
Attacked and Abandoned[]
On First Contact Day in 2385, the entire Federation watched in horror as the synthetic labor force of Dayston A500 androids went rogue and destroyed Utopia Planitia, obliterating the evacuation ships, and igniting the Martian atmosphere; the death toll of that day exceeded 93,000 souls lost.
In the wake of this tragedy, the Federation banned all synthetic life, and abandoned the Romulan rescue mission altogether. The Verity was recalled to Earth and mothballed, while the unfinished Odyssey lay forgotten in storage as the work of rebuilding the UFP's starship construction capabilities commenced.
New Threats, Second Chances[]
An Odyssey-class star cruiser
In the early 25th century, new conflicts brought Starfleet back around again to concept of larger battleships geared for war. With the Klingon Empire having launched their Vo'quv-class dreadnoughts a few years earlier, and the looming threat of the Undine, Starfleet decided to finally complete the Odyssey and develop an entire line variable mission sub-classes based on her design.
Having spent a quarter century gathering space dust, the Odyssey was upgraded with the latest technologies, and additional spaceframes were laid down immediately. The Odyssey underwent shakedown, and was commissioned in early 2409, launched from San Francisco Fleet Yards.
On April 5, 2410, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Mars attack, the rebuilt Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards commissioned its first starship, the second of the new Odyssey class to enter service -- the USS Enterprise-F, under the command of Captain Va'kel Shon. Already differing from her older sister Odyssey, the Enterprise-F's aft section was redesigned to house an Aquarius-class light escort as a combat support craft. (Star Trek Online: "Boldly They Rode", "First Contact Day")
More vessels soon followed, including the USS Houston, assigned to Task Force Omega under Admiral D'Vak. (Star Trek Online: "Hive Onslaught")
A Design for Every Mission[]
Variants of the Odyssey class
Within a few years, variants of the Odyssey were introduced as sub-classes, equipped for different mission profiles.
The first of these was the Yorktown class, a science star cruiser design; the Enterprise-F was eventually reconfigured to this layout. The Sojourner class and Endeavour class entered service at roughly the same time, as operations and tactical cruisers, respectively. (Star Trek Online: "Scylla and Charybdis")
A fourth variant, the Verity class class was introduced later, as a "legendary" command dreadnought cruiser, in honor of the earlier Verity and her tragic, yet noble history. (Star Trek Online: Legacy)
Further developments of the Yorktown class would lead to a fifth variant, the Lexington class. (Star Trek Online: Terran Gambit)
Technical data[]
Specifications[]
Technologies[]
Mark I Odyssey[]
At her official launch in 2409, the Mark I Odyssey was equipped with the following equipment:
- Propulsion
- 1 Yoyodyne 46A M/ARC warp core
- 2 Charon Yards hyper impulse engines
- 10 Zhiv/Ren SR83 impulse thrusters
- transwarp drive
- advanced quantum slipstream drive
- Sensors
- 4 DYN-75 multi-band linear sensor suites
- 4 omniwave passive sensor matrices
- 1 J-DOME omnidirectional sensor array
- Armaments
- 18 mark XII phaser arrays
- 4 variable payload torpedo launchers
Mark II/S Yorktown[]
The Mark II Yorktown refit was upgraded to the following loadout:
- Propulsion
- 1 Yoyodine 47B M/ARC warp core
- 2 Keenser/Pegg heavy impulse engines
- 2 inline flux secondary impulse engines
- Sensors
- 12 DYN-90 multi-band linear sensor suites
- 4 omniwave passive sensor matrices
- 1 JAWS active directional sensor array
- Armaments
- 21 mark XIV phaser arrays
- 6 variable payload torpedo launchers
Deck listing[]
Ships commissioned[]
- USS Odyssey (NX-97000)
- USS Verity (NX-97001)
- USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-F)
- USS Yorktown (NCC-97005)
- USS Houston (NCC-97284)
- USS Ulysses
- USS Dennison
- USS Columbia
- USS Yorktown (NCC-98300) (MK II/S)
- USS Sojourner (NCC-98400) (Mk II/E)
- USS Endeavour (NCC-98500) (Mk II/T)
- USS Hikaru Sulu (NCC-92420)
Appendices[]
Background[]
- The Odyssey class was designed for Star Trek Online, as a the class for their USS Enterprise. In the game, the class was first launched in 2409, and variant designs were introduced in 2410.
- When the Star Trek: Picard: Countdown comic book depicted the USS Verity as a member of the Odyssey class in 2385, STO designer Thomas Marrone crafted a retcon explanation for how the Verity could predate the Odyssey in service by a quarter-century. He provided that answer on a QueueTimes stream on March 10, 2020.
External links[]
- Odyssey class article at Memory Alpha, the canon Star Trek wiki.
- Odyssey class article at Memory Beta, the non-canon Star Trek wiki.
- Odyssey class article at the official Star Trek Online wiki