DECK BY DECK DETAIL: INTRODUCTION

This section also deals with the Nova-class starship and leads into information specifically relating to USS Equinox and the changes made to that ship.

A Nova-class starship has eight decks, and are fairly small vessels designed for short term missions. Accordingly they do not carry many of the components that are typically found on larger starships e.g. the Nova class only has a single computer core, and does not have the components necessary to assemble a reserve warp engine core. As it is designed as a science vessel, a substantial part of the ship is given over to sensor pallets, which can be used in a variety of research missions.

Below: USS Equinox [#120 and #121 Equinox] and USS Rhode Island [#171 and #172 Endgame]
(this artwork also appears in the article Nova-Class Variants)

As on almost all Starfleet vessels, the bridge is on Deck 1, with Deck 8 forming the lowest level of the ship. Deck 1 has an unusual design feature (which it shares with the Akira class), namely a defensive wall is placed several meters outside the perimeter of the bridge, which affords extra protection in case of an attack. This feature is slightly unexpected on a science vessel, but can be explained by the fact that the shell of the Nova class was originally developed as part of the Defiant project. The deck is served by a turbolift and also contains the captain's ready room.

The impulse engines are located at the rear of Decks 1 and 2 at the rear of the saucer section, while the computer core runs between Docks 2 and 4.

Below and to the aft of this, a large cargo bay crosses Decks 3 and 4. It is equipped with a number or Work bees, which can be used to move large amounts of cargo, and to effect repairs on the exterior of the ship.

Deuterium storage tanks can also be found on Deck 3, in the centre of the ship immediately below the impulse engines, and above the warp core. This deck provides access to the majority of the escape pods in the saucer section, which are positioned alongside the forward phaser strips.

The secondary navigational deflector dish is located at the front of Deck 4, with the upper part of the dish extending into Deck 3. In the saucer section, a large part of Deck 4 is given over to sensor arrays with two massive pallets flanking the secondary deflector, and a further series of arrays mounted in the underside of the saucer. All these sensors are used as part of the ship's mission to survey planets.

starboard nacelle being hit by weapons from USS Voyager, and venting plasma as a result

The sonic waverider shuttle (an independent vehicle similar to the captain's yacht on Galaxy and Sovereign class vessels) is docked at the front of Deck 4, immediately behind the secondary deflector, and forward of the bridge. The waverider shuttle is designed for planetary flight and can attain speeds of mach 5. When the waverider shuttle is absent, the structural integrity field is automatically adjusted to ensure the vessel remains structurally sound. In the engineering hull, Deck 4 has a number of facilities including sickbay and the primary research lab, which is located directly over the warp core. The shuttlebay is at the very rear of the deck, between the warp nacelles.

The lower decks are primarily taken up by engineering systems. The warp core runs between Decks 5 and 8, and is located in the center of the ship. A hatch on the underside of the vessel can be used to eject the core in emergencies. The main navigational deflector dish is positioned immediately forward of the warp core, and it is the single largest component on the ship, running between Decks 5 and 8 and completely covering large portions of Decks 6 and 7. The main ventral phaser strip runs around the outside of Decks 7 and 8.

USS Equinox was commissioned on stardate 47007.1.

USS Equinox: fore view

Source TOSTFF

USS Equinox: fore view schematic is on page 9. See it now. Source: ST:M.

USS Equinox: aft view

Source TOSTFF

USS Equinox: aft view schematic is on page 9. See it now. Source: ST:M.

The TNG Technical Manual mentions a possible Galaxy-class successor called Nova class: "Starfleet Command, through its Advanced Starship Design Bureau, is already considering concepts for the proposed Nova class." In [Equinox] Janeway refers to "Nova class". Perhaps there are two starship classes called Nova? - one comprising small planetary research vessels such as USS Equinox, and the other consisting of starships at least the size and capability of the large Galaxy-class? or maybe the class name was only tentative during development by the ASDB?

Unlike Voyager, Equinox was designed to enter a planet's atmosphere in order to carry out its planetary research missions. The ship has four retractable landing struts which are located in the lower decks of the engineering hull.

Equinox was originally equipped with several shuttlecraft but no doubt lost them during the crew's experiences in the Delta Quadrant. The shuttlebay on Nova-class ships is located on deck 4 with a secondary shuttlebay located forward of this on deck 3 (a crewman informs acting captain Maxwell Burke that the shuttlebay is two decks down from the bridge). In addition, a larger hypersonic 'wave-rider' shuttle was docked on the underside of the saucer section which was the equivalent of the captain's yacht on the Galaxy- and Intrepid-class ships. It was a highly fuel-efficient vessel and was designed to operate in a planetary atmosphere and could achieve speeds in excess of Mach 5.

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