The USS Centaur remains one of the most enigmatic Starfleet vessels. Only one example has ever been seen, and in the absence of a definite class it is referred to by the name of that one ship. Purists prefer to call it the Centaur-type until this is confusion is rectified (if ever). No registry is given or visible on the model.
In design terms, it is definitely a kitbash, consisting as it does of an Excelsior saucer and nacelles (which are not really from an Excelsior, having some significant differences in detail) joined by an outsize Miranda rollbar. There are some additional protuberances on the saucer's underside, which are hypothesized to be sensor arrays.
The commander of the USS Centaur is named as Captain Charlie Reynolds, a friend of Captain Benjamin Sisko of Deep Space Nine. The same officer is later referred to as part of the Federation fleet to retake DS9, leading one to assume the USS Centaur was present (though not visible) at that action.
Known Centaur-class Ships:
USS Centaur
Notes:
A similar vessel appears in the DS9TM as a ship thrown together hastily from other components (including 'real' Excelsior nacelles) in the face of the Dominion threat. This vessel is clearly NOT the Centaur as seen in "A Time to Stand," and we can only speculate whether it is meant to be. If it is, then the Centaur is not a true class at all. For the purposes of this entry, however, we are assuming it is.
Data: (for the similar ship in the DS9TM ONLY - cannot be confirmed)
Production base: ASDB Integration Facility, Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards, Mars Type: Medium Cruiser Accommodation: 315 officers and crew Power plant: One 1500 plus Cochrane warp core feeding two nacelles; two impulse systems Dimensions: 381.87 meters long, 320.16 wide, 78.54 tall Mass: 870,000 metric tonnes Performance: Warp 9.6 for 12 hours Armament: Nine type-9 phaser emitters; two photon torpedo launchers
Sources:
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual "A Time To Stand" (DS9) "Sacrifice of Angels" (DS9)
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Centaur Class
Project First Submitted - 2331
The Centaur Class of Starship began as a Miranda-class development which would later progress into its own class. The original brief for the ship was for an uprated Miranda-class ship to possibly replace the Miranda as the mid range multi-purpose starship of the fleet. The designers felt that using existing components from classes such as the Miranda, the developmental Ambassador and the Excelsior would be an excellent way forward and began work with that assumption. The end result used mainly Miranda and Excelsior chassis components with additional inspiration from the Ambassador, such as in the warp drive, computer systems and IPS systems.
Initial testing proved the ship to be fast and agile, and would eventually lead to its major usage as a mid-range scout ship. By being one of the first ships in the fleet to use a modular approach to design and retrofitting, it laid the path for its larger predecessors, the Akira and Nebula-classes.
After nearly 15 years of production, though, the class was discontinued when mission limitations were found. Due to its odd hybrid nature it seemed to use huge quantities of fuel, far more so than either the Excelsior or the Ambassador (where the majority of its components originated). Warp theorists diagnosed the fault as "a severe problem with warp field rupture at velocities over Warp 7.2" and elaborated that "internal subspace fields around the ship cause a 'denting' of the bubble which leads to exponential energy consumption as warp speed increases". The unavoidable fact was the nacelles were too long, creating an extended warp field which lead to an oscillating tensor wave at speeds above Warp 7.2. It had been noted in some ships that above warp 8.2 engines had the terrible habit of stalling completely. In 2358 the USS Gala was destroyed while studying a quantum singularity which caused interference to the subspace warp field when jumping to warp. No lives were lost in the incident, however the ship's 'black box' revealed that the destruction of the ship was due to a subspace inversion within the warpcore, leading to a breach.
With more efficient ships under construction at the time it was decided to recall every Centaur-class vessel for retrofitting with the latest technology. A total of 36 Centaur-class ships spent nearly 4 years in Spacedock having their warp drives and computer systems overhauled. Initial testing proved that the problems with the warp drive were solved, but as a safety precaution the ships were restricted to speeds not exceeding Warp 8.1.
In more recent year the problems have been removed altogether thanks to the developmental work done on the Sovereign class of ship.
Commissioned Vessels:
USS Centaur - NCC - 39412 Current Status - Active USS Gala - NCC - 40213 Current Status - Destroyed USS Zuse - NCC - 39822 Current Status - Presumed Destroyed USS Huru - NCC - 39483 Current Status - Undergoing repairs
2331: Centaur-class Submitted and Approved by Starfleet.
2332: Production of USS Centaur and USS Huru begins at Earth Station McKinley
2333: Superstructure of both ships nearing completion - USS Centaur's computer cores are installed.
2335: Starfleet orders a third Centaur Class ship to be built. Earth Station McKinley currently full so order transferred to the newly-built Utopia Planitia .
2336: A modified warp nacelles is developed from those of the Excelsior class to be used in the production of the ship after previous designs were found to be lacking.
2337: Outer hull of USS Centaur nears completion. Ambassador class warpcore installed.
2338: First Warp engine tests near completion. USS Centaur performs to 90% power output.
2339: USS Centaur is launched and begins systems testing.
2340: USS Centaur is commissioned as testing is completed without incident. USS Huru is launched and begins testing.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
I'm pretty certain we see more than four centaur-type ships in the fleet shot in "A Call To Arms".
While speculation, the class should use far less fuel than an Excelsior- it's got the same overall engines but only about a third the mass (based on components).
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
This was written in about 1999; the best shots we had of the fleet were mainly blobs.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Ah.
Posted by The Mighty Monkey of Mim (Member # 646) on :
quote:Originally posted by Jason Abbadon: I'm pretty certain we see more than four centaur-type ships in the fleet shot in "A Call To Arms".
While speculation, the class should use far less fuel than an Excelsior- it's got the same overall engines but only about a third the mass (based on components).
As far as I know, the only two instances of the design being seen were in "A Time To Stand" and "Behind the Lines," and in both cases only a single vessel (the Centaur herself) was present. Unless you've got a screencap that shows differently, all other alleged appearances have been debunked as Mirandas.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Hmmmm...I think we discected A Call TO Arms frame-by-frame back when the DVD's first came out but even dredging those old threads would likely not reveal any viable linked pics.
I'll check Pedro's Shiporamma and see if any are there.
Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :
Seeing as where Pedro's hasn't been updated since 1999...
Posted by Captain Boh (Member # 1282) on :
If the old threads use pictures linked to old flare upload attachments, they can still be found by changing the url to match the new location of flare upload.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
quote:Originally posted by Topher: Seeing as where Pedro's hasn't been updated since 1999...
Yeah, but the grainy blobs posted there support my wild notion that half the fleet is composed of Elkins class cruisers and that Mothra is guarding the left flank...
Posted by The Mighty Monkey of Mim (Member # 646) on :
Mothra...yeah.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Mabye the Defiant has three tiny chairs for those three creepy miniature priestesses of Mothra...
Posted by The Mighty Monkey of Mim (Member # 646) on :
The Shobijin...yeah.
(Or the Cosmos, as they were [rather idiotically] called in the remakes.)
And weren't there only two?
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Two in the later versions, but I thought three in the original.
A new Mothra flick was on cable last week and I had to stop watching after about 30 minutes (I could feel my brain shriveling like a rasin). There was some tiny evil hottie on a rubber dragon flying after three children and the Shobijin were chasing her on a butterfly...
Meanwhile, a huuuge flock of Mothras were flying through space (flapping their wings for some reason) throughout the movie....