Changes: Starship

Latest revision as of 04:44, 27 March 2022

Starship chronology classroom chart — Silhouettes of several Earth and Federation starships

A starship was any manned spacecraft that was capable of viable interstellar travel, i.e. any manned spacecraft that had the ability to transport and support a crew across interstellar distances. Most starships accomplished this via the employment of some form of faster-than-light spacecraft propulsion technology, such as warp drive.

Many times, starships were often personified as female by their crew. (TOS: "Charlie X", etc.)

In the Federation during the 22nd and 23rd centuries, spacecraft, such as those of the Starship-class, were identified almost exclusively as vessels operated by Starfleet, or as stated by R.M. Merik, "a very special vessel and crew." (TOS: "Bread and Circuses")

Within the Federation, starships were viewed as having the role of protector within the civilian community, as starship captains were given a certain level of authority in the region they patrolled. (TOS: "Mudd's Women", "The Conscience of the King", "The Trouble with Tribbles")

Design was also a factor in defining a starship. The configuration of a vessel, as identified by sensor scans, could be used in identifying a starship. (TOS: "The Doomsday Machine")

Likewise, a starship could be identified on sensors by its power utilization curve, as a vessel utilizing 100% power had the ability to skew sensor readings. (TOS: "Journey to Babel")

Generally limited to the roles of exploration and defense, starships did not generally transport cargo, unless in the case of an emergency, where they could take on any role. (TOS: "The Cloud Minders")

While discussing his service history with Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Captain Montgomery Scott noted that in his lifetime he had "served aboard eleven ships," including "freighters, cruisers, [and] starships." (TNG: "Relics")

By the mid-24th century, though, the exclusivity of the term "starship" had essentially fallen out of use, and was redefined as a term interchangeable with "spaceship" and "spacecraft". (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager)

When the Ferengi Marauder Kreechta was about to target the USS Enterprise-D, after interfering with the battle simulation Operation Lovely Angel, the Ferengi ship's sensor codes were overridden and it was fooled to believe there was "another Federation ship" closing. When it was further revealed that the Federation ship was in fact "a starship," the Ferengi feared that they had been outmaneuvered and quickly retreated. (TNG: "Peak Performance")

Appendices

Background information

In The Original Series, the term "starship" was seemingly synonymous with Starship-class, if not any reference made to any other Starfleet vessels. In at least two instances, the term was applied to two other non-Constitution-class vessels, namely the "old Class J starship" in "The Menagerie, Part I", and the D7 class in "Elaan of Troyius". Contrarily, at least two other alien ships were specifically said not to be starships, the Orion scout ship in "Journey to Babel", and the Orion vessel in "The Pirates of Orion".

External links

Starship at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Starship at Wikipedia

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 [[File:Starship chronology classroom chart.jpg|thumb|Silhouettes of several Earth and Federation starships]]__NOTOC__
-A '''starship''' was any manned [[spaceship|spacecraft]] that was capable of viable [[star|interstellar travel]], i.e. any manned spacecraft that has the ability to transport and support a [[crew]] across interstellar distances. Most starships accomplished this via the employment of some form of [[faster-than-light]] spacecraft propulsion technology, such as [[warp drive]].
+A '''starship''' was any manned [[spacecraft]] that was capable of viable [[interstellar flight|interstellar travel]], i.e. any manned spacecraft that had the ability to transport and support a [[crew]] across interstellar distances. Most starships accomplished this via the employment of some form of [[faster-than-light]] spacecraft [[propulsion]] [[technology]], such as [[warp drive]].
+Many times, starships were often [[Personification|personified]] as [[female]] by their crew. ({{TOS|Charlie X}}, ''etc.'')
-In the [[Federation]] during the [[23rd century]], starships were identified exclusively as vessels operated by [[Starfleet]], or as stated by [[R.M. Merik]], "''a very special vessel and crew''". ({{TOS|Bread and Circuses}}) Within the Federation, starships were viewed as the role of protector within the civilian community, as starship [[captain]]s were given a certain level of authority in the region they patrolled. ({{TOS|Mudd's Women|The Conscience of the King|The Trouble with Tribbles}}) Generally limited to the roles of exploration and defense, starships typically did not transport cargo except in the case of an emergency. ({{TOS|The Cloud Minders}})
+In the [[Federation]] during the [[22nd century|22nd]] and [[23rd century|23rd centuries]], spacecraft, such as those of the {{class|Starship}}, were identified almost exclusively as vessels operated by [[Starfleet]], or as stated by [[R.M. Merik]], "''a very special vessel and crew.''" ({{TOS|Bread and Circuses}})
-Design was also a factor in defining a starship. The configuration of a vessel, as identified by [[sensor]] scans, could be used in identifying a starship. ({{TOS|The Doomsday Machine}}) Likewise, a starship could be identified on sensors by its [[power]] utilization curve, as a vessel utilizing 100% power had the ability to skew sensor readings. ({{TOS|Journey to Babel}})
+Within the Federation, starships were viewed as having the role of protector within the civilian community, as starship [[captain]]s were given a certain level of authority in the region they patrolled. ({{TOS|Mudd's Women|The Conscience of the King|The Trouble with Tribbles}})
-By the mid-[[24th century]], the exclusivity of the term "starship" essentially fell out of use, and was redefined as a term interchangeable with spaceship and [[spacecraft]].
+Design was also a factor in defining a starship. The configuration of a vessel, as identified by [[sensor]] scans, could be used in identifying a starship. ({{TOS|The Doomsday Machine}})
+Likewise, a starship could be identified on sensors by its {{dis|power|physics}} utilization curve, as a vessel utilizing 100% power had the ability to skew sensor readings. ({{TOS|Journey to Babel}})
+Generally limited to the roles of exploration and defense, starships did not generally [[transport]] [[cargo]], unless in the case of an emergency, where they could take on any role. ({{TOS|The Cloud Minders}})
+While discussing his service history with [[Captain]] [[Jean-Luc Picard]], Captain [[Montgomery Scott]] noted that in his lifetime he had "served aboard [[Scott's ships 001|eleven ships]]," including "[[freighter]]s, [[cruiser]]s, [and] starships." ({{TNG|Relics}})
+By the mid-[[24th century]], though, the exclusivity of the term "starship" had essentially fallen out of use, and was redefined as a term interchangeable with "[[spaceship]]" and "spacecraft". ({{s|TNG}}, {{s|DS9}}, {{s|VOY}})
+When the [[Ferengi Marauder]] ''[[Kreechta]]'' was about to target the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}}, after interfering with the [[battle simulation]] [[Operation Lovely Angel]], the Ferengi ship's [[sensor code]]s were overridden and it was fooled to believe there was "another Federation ship" closing. When it was further revealed that the Federation ship was in fact "a starship," the Ferengi feared that they had been outmaneuvered and quickly retreated. ({{TNG|Peak Performance}})
 == Appendices ==
-=== Related links ===
+=== See also ===
+* [[Galactic starship design]]
 * [[Starship classification]]
-* [[:Category:Starship classifications|List of starship classifications]]
+* [[:Category:Spacecraft classifications|List of classifications]]
 * [[:Category:Starships|List of starships]]
 * [[:Category:Starship classes|List of starship classes]]
 === Background information ===
+In ''The Original Series'', the term "starship" was seemingly synonymous with {{class|Starship}}, if not any reference made to any ''other'' Starfleet vessels. In at least two instances, the term was applied to two other non-''Constitution''-class vessels, namely the "old [[Class J starship]]" in {{e|The Menagerie, Part I}}, and the [[D7 class]] in {{e|Elaan of Troyius}}. Contrarily, at least two other alien ships were specifically said not to be starships, the [[Orion scout ship]] in {{e|Journey to Babel}}, and the [[Orion vessel]] in {{e|The Pirates of Orion}}.
-Production materials reproduced in [[Stephen Whitfield]]'s ''[[The Making of Star Trek]]'' suggested that the term "starship" was a unique designation for space-going vessels. In that vein, the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701}} and her sister ships were originally designated "Starship-class" vessels. The [[dedication plaque]] on the bridge designates the ship as "USS Enterprise, ''Starship'' Class".
-The term denoted a large, multi-purpose vessel capable of taking on a variety of tasks during an extended mission, often at some distance from central authority. (The nearest 24th century equivalent designation would be that of [[Explorer]].)  This helps explain Merrik's reference to a "very special type of vessel and crew" ("...Kirk commands, not just a spaceship, but a ''Starship''"), as well as the numerous references to the extraordinary amount of authority granted to the captain of such a ship.
-However, in {{film|1}}, as well as everything afterwards, the term fell into a more "generic" use, first as describing Federation vessels in general, and then large, faster-than-light-capable vessels from a range of cultures.
-Likewise, the "[[NCC]]" registry was originally to be used only for the self-same ''Starship''-class vessels, just like the modern CVN registry is used for nuclear-powered aircraft carriers of the United States (example; {{USS|Enterprise|CVN-65| CVN-65}}). That, too, as of TMP, had become "generic" among [[Starfleet]] ships. The NCC was inspired by the modern NC registry for non-commissioned (civilian) ships in the military. Since the ''Starship'' was an exploration vessel first and combat vessel secondary, [[Gene Roddenberry]] liked the parallel.
-=== External link ===
+===External links===
-* {{Wikipedia}}
+*{{mbeta}}
+*{{Wikipedia}}
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-[[Category:Technology]]
+[[Category:Spacecraft classifications]]
+[[Category:Starships| ]]