Ambassador class starship
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The Ambassador class starship is a rarely seen starship class in the Star Trek fictional universe built in the early 24th century. This starship follows a conventional approach to traditional Federation starship design with a saucer attached to a tubular engineering section with two warp nacelles attached to the hull by pylons running upward. At the bow of the engineering section is the navigational deflector while the shuttlebay is at the stern. The main bridge, lifeboats and dorsal phaser arrays are embedded into the top of the saucer section while the ship's ventral phaser arrays, a sensor dome and more lifeboats occupy the ventral section. The Ambassador class was probably first put into service during the early 24th century in response to the growing tensions with the Romulans, serving in many of the major crises of the 24th century such as the Dominion War and Borg incursions. Due to the availability and strengths of the Excelsior class, Ambassador class vessels supplemented the existing fleet rather than replacing most of the existing vessels. The Ambassador class was believed to have greater maneuverability than Romulan ships of the 2340's.
A different version of the class has been seen in the Yamuguchi and Zhukov, possibly a variant or a refit with additional features. The external differences include a modified deflector dish, additional lifeboats, a different sensor dome, and an additional shuttlebay.
The first example of the class seen in a Star Trek series was the USS Enterprise-C in the TNG episode "Yesterday's Enterprise"; the class was designed as a intermediary model between the Excelsior class Enterprise-B and the Galaxy class Enterprise-D, intended to suggest an evolution from B to C to D. Though this was the first ship in the class actually seen on Star Trek, Star Trek class-naming tradition holds that the first ship in the class would have been named the USS Ambassador, whose existence is fairly strongly confirmed by its mention in the TNG Technical Manual. The date of the building and launching of the first Ambassador class ships has not been revealed. It's not known how old the Enterprise-C was when she was destroyed. The Ambassador class was designed by Rick Sternbach and Andrew Probert for Star Trek: The Next Generation.
List of Ambassador class starships
- USS Adelphi (NCC-26849)
- Commanded by Captain Darson, the starship Adelphi was assigned to a first contact mission with the planet Ghorusda circa stardate 43779.3 in 2366. However, due to a misunderstanding, a conflict broke out and 47 crewmembers, including the captain, were killed.
- USS Ambassador (NCC-10521, ex-NX-10521)
- The starship Ambassador was the pathfinder of its class.
- USS Enterprise-C (NCC-1701-C)
- The fourth Federation starship to bear the name Enterprise, the starship Enterprise-C was commanded by Captain Rachel Garrett in 2344. While returning to Federation space after negotiating a peace treaty in 2344, the Enterprise-C responded to a distress call from a Klingon outpost on Narendra III. When the Enterprise arrived, she fought several Romulan warbirds before being destroyed. The heroic sacrifice of the Enterprise-C helped improve Klingon-Federation relations and prevented a Klingon-Federation war in an alternate universe. (See Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Yesterday's Enterprise).
- USS Excalibur (NCC-26517)
- Named for the mythical sword Excalibur, the starship Excalibur was undergoing a major refit and repair at Starbase 234 circa stardate 44995.3 in 2367. The Excalibur was brielfy commanded by Commander William Riker during the Romulan tachyon blockade circa stardate 45020.4 in 2368 during the Klingon Civil War. This ship might have fought at the Battle of Sector 001 in 2373. Fate uncertain. (See Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Redemption).
- USS Exeter (NCC-26531)
- Named for the HMS Exeter, the starship Exeter was a former assignment of Lieutenant Tom Paris. The Exeter was assigned to the Ninth Fleet during the Dominion War. Circa stardate 51721.3, the Exeter was commanded by Captain Henri K. Larsson who was later declared missing in action. The Exeter briefly visited Deep Space Nine for resupply circa stardate 51725 in 2374.
- USS Gandhi (NCC-26632)
- Named for Mohandas Gandhi, the starship Gandhi was assigned to the Lagana sector for a terraforming mission in 2369. The Gandhi was a former assignment of Lieutenant Tom Riker who left the Gandhi in 2371 to join the Maquis.
- USS Horatio (NCC-10532)
- Named for Horatio Nelson, the starship Horatio was commanded by Captain Walter Keel in 2364 when the starship Horatio was destroyed circa stardate 41775.5 near Dytallix B to cover up a conspiracy within Starfleet Command.
- USS Valdemar (NCC-26198)
- Named for inventor Valdemar Poulsen, the starship Valdemar was sent to the Cardassian demilitarized zone circa stardate 47944.2 in 2370 after the arrest of Chief Miles O'Brien by the Argrathi government.
- USS Yamaguchi (NCC-26510)
- Named for Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, the starship Yamaguchi was destroyed by the Borg at the Battle of Wolf 359 circa stardate 43997 in 2366.
- USS Zhukov (NCC-62136)
- Named for General Georgy Zhukov, the starship Zhukov was Lieutenant Reginald Barclay's first assignment under Captain Gleason. Circa stardate 44390.1, the Zhukov transferred Ambassador T'Pel to the USS Enterprise-D. On stardate 45208.2, the Zhukov transferred several science teams to the USS Enterprise-D for her mission into the Phoenix Cluster. Circa stardate 46357.4, the Zhukov was assigned to cultural observation of Alpha Laputa IV.
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External links
- "Ambassador class" at Memory Alpha (http://www.memory-alpha.org/en/index.php/Ambassador_class)
- "Ambassador Class Variants" by Bernd Schneider (http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/articles/ambassador.htm)
- "Ambassador class" at the Neutral Zone Starship Database (http://www.neutralzone.de/database/Federation/StarFleet/Ambassador.htm)