Ambassador-Class Heavy Cruiser
The Ambassador was the first Star Fleet vessel to incorporate a number of new technologies in warp and impulse propulsion, tactical, life support, and computer systems. It was also the largest vessel to date the Star Fleet had ever constructed.
Class:
As successful as the Excelsior class has been, Starfleet wanted an even larger vessel to allow for longer-duration missions. In 2310, Leading Energies began development of the LF-10 warp drive, designed to provide much of the benefits transwarp was to have offered. Alas, the drive system was so large that it would not be able to be mounted on either the Excelsior or Ingram classes, which were the largest vessels of their time. Also, additional system advances had been discovered, none of which could be easily fitted to the Excelsior / Ingram.
The ASDB commissioned a new starship development project in 2315 to begin to bring all these new technologies together in a vessel that was expected to replace the Excelsior class. As it was expected to serve on the edge of Federation space and be at the forefront of first-contact missions, the new project was named “Ambassador”.
Classification:
Like her Enterprise and Excelsior class forebears, the Ambassador was classified as a heavy cruiser as she was expected to perform the same general missions.
Design:
The Ambassador class draws heavily on the Enterprise and Excelsior classes in its design, and the family similarities are quite noticeable. The vessel is huge, massing almost three times that of the Excelsior. The Ambassador class sets new standards for luxury aboard a Federation starship. Cabin sizes are much larger than those on the Excelsior, and rack-berthing has been eliminated. The ship can comfortably fit its crew of 700, as well as up to 1200 passengers.
Engineering:
The LF-10 drive system was the first in a new generation of high-performance drive units from Leading Energies. They allowed the Ambassador to obtain a top end of Warp 9.5 and a sustained maximum cruising speed of Warp 9.
Due to the massive displacement of the vessel, it was necessary for an entirely new impulse drive system to be created. Initial modelling showed that the necessary drive system would require significantly more power and space. Instead, Chiokis Drives added a space-time driver coil to its FIG-2 series of drives to create the FIG-3. The coil allows the entire mass of the ship to be lowered to a point within the capabilities of the FIG-2.
Tactical:
In 2315, HiBeam Energies developed the first collimated phaser emitter unit. By 2316 they had linked them together to form the phaser strip. A quantum improvement over the turret based systems before it in both power and flexibility, the Ambassador was the first class to be fitted with the new system. Twelve strips were fitted, offering the ship omni-directional fields of fire, along with one forward-firing and one rearward-firing Mk 75 photon torpedo launcher. The Ambassador class was the first installation for Charlottes Shields, Inc. FSP shield system, whose energy dissipation rates were a full 25% greater than their FSO system used in the latest Excelsior class ships.
Computer Systems:
The first of the Duotronic IV computer systems was the Daystrom M-9, fitted on the Enterprise (II) and Excelsior classes in 2284. While Daystrom was hard at work on what would become the M-13 Isolinear 1 system, it was not yet available at the time of Ambassador’s keel-laying. Therefore, the M-12 Duotronic V was installed, as it could handle the new technologies incorporated in the Ambassador class. Later build vessels (CH 26133 onwards) incorporated the M-13 Isolinear I system, though earlier ships were not refitted.
Builders:
The first eight ships were constructed at Starfleet’s San Francisco Fleet Yards, as it was the only facility with the experience to build such a large vessel. During this time, personnel from the Puget Sound and Saint Petersburg Fleet Yards assisted to gain the necessary experience. When a second set of nine ships was approved in the 2330’s, the New Aberdeen and Alfras Fleet Yards were awarded contracts. Both Earth Station McKinley and Pedersen Spaceport were awarded individual ship construction contracts as rewards for their work on other starship construction projects.
Development and Construction History:
The Ambassador class SDP was finalized in 2318 and the keel of the first four vessels were laid in 2320. It was decided to retire the Excelsior class U.S.S. Enterprise in late 2320, and the second vessel of the class was assigned that most famous name and NCC number (now with a C suffix). Construction took four years, exceptional considering the new technologies incorporated. The USS Ambassador (CH 10521) was launched in December of 2330. The Ambassador underwent an extensive eight month testing program to validate the design as her sisters underwent their shakedowns. When that was successfully completed, funds for four more vessels were approved. Once the original eight were in service, Star Fleet made a number of minor, and a few major, changes to the design, including adding a third shuttle bay underneath the rear of the engineering hull, which itself was slightly widened. It was decided not to refer to these vessels as a new class or sub-class, and eight were ordered in 2332, starting with the U.S.S. Winter Solstice (CH 26133). Finally, three of the earlier-spec models were ordered in 2334 in an effort to save funds, but in the end only two complete vessels were built, the third having only the secondary hull completed before cancellation.
Current Specifications for the Ambassador class:
Displacement: 3,740,000 mt
Overall Length: 526 m
Overall Draft: 125 m
Overall Beam: 320 m
Propulsion:
Two LF-10 Mod 1 energized-energized antimatter warp drive units
Two FIG-1 subatomic unified energy impulse units
QASR-2 particle beam maneuvering thrusters
“Trentis III” pulsed laser reaction control system
Velocity:
Warp 6.0 Standard Cruising Speed
Warp 8.5 Maximum Cruising Speed
Warp 9.0 Maximum Attainable Velocity
Duration:
5 years, standard
Complement:
115 Officers
585 Enlisted Crew
0 Passengers (Normal – Up to 500 maximum)
700 Total Crew (Standard)
Embarked Craft:
2 Type 6 Personnel Shuttle
2 Type 7 Personnel Shuttle
1 Type 9A Cargo Shuttle
4 Type 16 Shuttlepod
Navigation:
RAV / ISHAK Mod 3 Warp Celestial Guidance
Computers:
M-12 Duotronic IV
M-13 Duotronic I (CH 26133 onwards)
Phasers:
12 Type IX Collimated Phaser Array
Missiles:
2 Mk 75 Photon Torpedo Launchers
Defense:
FSP Primary Force Field
Life Support:
NAG2 Modular Gravity Unit
AL2 Life Support System
