Though the Galaxy
Class was to be “Starfleet’s Best,” it was highly speculative as to
whether any more than the planned twelve would be built. However, with all the
money and effort being spent to develop the class and her technologies, it was
decided to start a second development project to leverage these across a
smaller, and cheaper vessel that could be built in larger quantities.
The Nebula Class Starship Development Project began in 2343, in parallel
with the Galaxy class. The same
general structures were used, with the structures themselves scaled down in
size. It was also decided to carry over certain systems, such as the warp drive
and computers, so they could be tested on a working mule without waiting for Galaxy
(CKE 70637) to be completed. The
USS Anasazi is equipped with upgrades and improvements similar to those found
aboard the Galaxy (II) class of starships.
Though such a moniker
seems a misnomer on such a large vessel, the Nebula Class was originally classified as a Light Cruiser as it is
smaller than the Galaxy. Though Heavy
Cruiser seems more fitting, for the time the CL designation remains.
The Nebula Class shares general design concepts with the Galaxy,
though the secondary hull has been extensively modified. The entire ship is more
compact, presenting a smaller cross section, making the vessel harder to hit.
The rear of the secondary hull has undergone extensive modification to both
mount the nacelles and to provide the hanger deck space normally found in the
primary hull and dorsal connector on the Galaxy.
The Nebula mounts most of the
laboratory and sensor suite capability of the Galaxy
Class. The primary saucer is built to the same specifications as the
Galaxy Class, the exception being the
bridge module which is unique to the Nebula
Class. The secondary hull is generally similar in layout to the Galaxy,
though there are differences such as the location of main engineering. In
addition, there is a single hangar bay, located at the base of the pod tower. It
is roughly the same size as the primary hangar bay on the Galaxy,
though total embarked craft is about 25% lower. The ship’s most distinguishing feature is a large pod that
fits atop the tower. The pod is replaceable and numerous models exist in support
of specific missions, including long range S.W.A.C. (Spaceborne Warning and
Control), exploration, tactical, volatile cargo, and others.
The
USS Anasazi has been fitted with different engines than the standard Nebula
Class cruisers. The
Engines installed on the USS Anasazi are the same as those found aboard the Galaxy
(II).
The Galaxy (II) Class were the first vessels to be equipped with the new Leeding Energies LF-43 warp drive, which provides a 20% increase in peak power output over the LF-41 found on the Galaxy and Nebula Classes. This raises the top sustained speed to Warp 9.9 and Bright Star achieved a top sustained speed of Warp 9.93 during “Operation Return.” The LF-43 also incorporates an improved warp-core ejection system that is far more resilient to system damage.
The USS Anasazi mounts the same Type XII phaser strips as the Galaxy (II), though she carries eight instead of twelve. Two Mk 95 quantum torpedo launchers are fitted, one forward-and one rear-firing. The tactical pod mounts two additional Type XII arrays as well as four more Mk 95 torpedo launchers and a pass through launch bay for the 898th Marine Strike Group embarked aboard the USS Anasazi. The USS Anasazi carries the FSQ/2 shield system. All of these upgrades are the same as the upgrades for the Galaxy (II) over the Galaxy class cruisers.
The USS Anasazi has
also been outfitted with prototypes of the Regenerative, Ablative Armor and the
TransPhasic Torpedoes brought back by the USS Voyager.
These systems have been fitted to the USS Anasazi as a test bed and for
complete testing in real life situations encountered by Star Fleet vessels.
The USS Anasazi is
equipped with the same computer system found aboard the Galaxy (II) class
of starships.
The new
M-16 Isolinear III computer was originally installed aboard Bright Star
to test its performance. A partially cybernetic system utilizing “bio-neural
gel pack” processors in addition to standard isolinear ones, it is both faster
and more powerful than the current M-15 used in the Griffon, Galaxy, and Olympus
Classes.
The first set of
vessels were built in the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards in Mars orbit, so as to be
near the Galaxy. Since then, the San
Francisco Fleet Yards have also built vessels.
DaimlerChysler Aerospace is the prime contractor.
Final design of the Nebula Class was locked down in August of 2345 and the keel was laid that year. It was decided that a second vessel could help with system “debugging” on the new components, and a second ship, Farragut (CL 60591) was started at the same time. By this time, computer simulation showed that the ship would be an effective platform, and three more vessels were approved in 2350, with an additional ten added in 2355. Nebula and Farragut were completed in 2352. They immediately went into service testing the systems both ships shared in common. With the commissioning of the second batch of ships in 2357, Nebula and Farragut were released from component testing and entered regular Starfleet service.