U.S.S. Excelsior
Ingram-Class Blueprints
Revised Ingram-Class Blueprints
Illustrator: Todd Guenther
Copyright: 1996
Summary:
THE U.S.S. INGRAM IS THE CULMINATION OF TWO SEPARATE YET CONCURRENT PROJECTS BEGUN ROUGHLY 16 EARTH-YEARS AGO, IN 2274, THE CONCEPT OF A 'SPACE CONTROL SHIP' WAS PRESENTED TO AND SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED BY SENIOR OFFICERS OF STAR FLEET COMMAND, ITS PURPOSE WAS TO FILL A GAP PERCEIVED BY MANY TO EXIST IN LARGE CRAFT AVAILABILITY, CAUSED PARTIALLY BY THE DISPARITY IN SIZE BETWEEN THE CORONADO AND ADVANCE-CLASS THROUGH-DECK CRUISERS AND THE MUCH LARGER ARIEL-CLASS SHUlTLECARRIERS. HOWEVER, IT WAS NOT UNTIL 2277 THAT A PROGRAM TO DEVELOP SUCH A VESSEL WAS IMPLEMENTED.
ORIGINALLY, 'SPACE CONTROL' CALLED FOR A VESSEL WITH THE ABILITY TO TAKE CONTROL OF A HOSTILE AREA WITH A MINIMUM AMOUNT OF EFFORT AND HOLD SAID AREA FOR AN UNSPECIFIED LENGTH OF TIME, OR UNTIL REINFORCEMENTS COULD ARRIVE TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE. SUCH SHIPS WOULD FREE THE ARIEL CLASS STARSHIPS FOR LARGE-SCALE COLONIZATION AND POSSIBLY MASS RELOCATION PROJECTS. SINCE THEY MIGHT ALSO FIND THEMSELVES IN SMALLER-SCALE HOSTILE SITUATIONS, A LARGE HANGAR CAPACITY WAS REQUIRED FOR THE EMBARKATION OF TACTICAL COMBAT CRAFT. THE FINAL HULL DESIGN WHICH MET THE AFOREMENTIONED REQUIREMENTS IS THAT OF U.S.S. INGRAM, DELIVERED IN 2289, ORIGINALLY PRESENTED TO STAR FLEET IN THE FORM OF U.S.S. EXCELSIOR, IT WAS DECIDED AFTER A BRIEF SHAKEDOWN THAT HER PRIMARY AND ESPECIALLY HER SECONDARY HULL NEEDED MAJOR REWORKING, INGRAM WAS ALTERED TO MEET THE NEW SPECIFICATIONS WHILE STILL IN INITIAL DRYDOCK, AND EXCELSIOR IS CURRENTLY BEING RETROFITTED.
IN EARLY 2275, A NEW TYPE OF STAR DRIVE WAS SOUGHT TO PROVIDE HIGH-OUTPUT, LOW CONSUMPTION PROPULSION FOR THE EXTRA-LONG RANGE OF THE SUPERSCOUT CLASSES, A DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM WAS AUTHORIZED IN 2276, AND THE EVENTUAL RESULT WAS THE TRANSWARP DRIVE PROPULSION SYSTEM, UTILIZING A SELECTIVE (AND CLASSIFIED) MANIPULATION OF THE WARP FIELD AS IT CYCLES THROUGH THE WARP ENGINE PROPULSION SHAFT. TRANSWARP DRIVE (OFFICIAL NAME: KOELLER UTI K-27 PROPULSION SYSTEM) FAILED TO ACHIEVE THE POWER CURVE ENVISIONED BY ITS DESIGNERS, ALSO, ITS COMPLEXITY AND SUSCEPTIBILITY TO EXTRANEOUS FACTORS RESULTED IN ENORMOUS ENGINE NACELLES, WHICH IN TURN REQUIRED A HULL THAT WAS LARGER THAN NECESSARY FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES, CONSEQUENTLY, THE TRANSWARP SYSTEM PROVED INADEQUATE FOR THE SUPERSCOUT PROGRAM. IN 2283, AN ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO SALVAGE THE CONCEPT BY PAIRING IT WITH THE SPACE CONTROL DESIGN, WHICH IN TURN RESULTED IN THE ORIGINAL CONFIGURATION OF U.S.S. EXCELSIOR. HOWEVER, TRANSWARP'S PROMISE OF ATTAINING UNPRECEDENTED SPEEDS WHILE MAINTAINING REQUIRED SAFETY FACTORS NEVER MATERIALIZED. IT HAS UNOFFICIALLY BEEN PLACED BACK ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT STATUS, AND A SOPHISTICATED FORM OF THE STANDARD WARP DRIVE IS CURRENTLY IN USE ABOARD INGRAM AND WILL BE INSTALLED ON EXCELSIOR AS HER REFllTING IS COMPLETED, (REFINEMENTS AND CONTINUING ADVANCES IN THE A.C.E. [ADVANCED CIRCUMFERENTIAL WARP ENGINE] DESIGN HAVE LED TO THE POSSIBILITY OF INCORPORATING IT INTO THE EXCELSIOR/INGRAM SPACE CONTROL CONCEPT AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE). THE U.S.S. INGRAM IS DEPICTED IN THESE DATA FILES IN BOTH HER TRANSWARP CONFIGURATION (FOR REFERENCE PURPOSES ONLY) AND IN HER CURRENT FORM WITH LN-72 LINEAR WARP DRIVE UNITS AND REDUCED UPPER LANDING BAY. FOR A COMPLETE, UP-TO-DATE SCHEMATIC, CONSULT THE CURRENT EDITION OF 'SHIPS OF THE STAR FLEET'.
WITH THE PROBLEMS THAT AROSE AS A RESULT OF THE INSTALLATION OF THE TRANSWARP SYSTEM (AND ITS SUBSEQUENT REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT], THE TWO EXISTING EXCELSIOR CLASS SHIPS HAVE PROVED DIFFICULT AND TIME-CONSUMING TO PROCURE, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE COSTS HAVE INCREASED DRAMATICALLY. THREE OTHER SHIPS ORIGINALLY CONTRACTED FOR THE CLASS (SIMDNOV, RICHMOND AND EXPERIENCE) HAVE 8EEN CANCELLED, AND PLANNED FUNDING FOR VESSELS SIX THROUGH EIGHT IS NO LONGER BEING CONSIDERED. EXCELSIOR IS EXPECTED TO BE DELIVERED IN EARLY 2291, AND ALONG WITH INGRAM WILL BE PLACED UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF TACFLEET. THEIR PERFORMANCE AND EFFECTIVENESS IN THE NEAR FUTURE MAY ULTIMATELY DETERMINE THE VIABILITY OF THE SPACE CONTROL CONCEPT.
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