Nova class

Nova class

The Nova class was a type of research/laboratory vessel serving in Starfleet in the late 24th century.

The class was originally conceived in 2360 as a future successor to the Galaxy class, with several designs submitted.  The launch of the Ascendant class and the end of the Federation-Cardassian War had Starfleet look at a smaller vessel design. 

Its original spaceframe design was designed by Gedna Tachion, though it was submitted for theDefiant class heavy escort.

Eight decks housed a normal crew of 78, with room for 25 passengers, though in emergencies up to 610 beings could be brought aboard.

Warp 8 could be maintained for 18 hours, though the ships normally cruised at six thanks to its class 5/H warp engine and type 6 warp nacelles.

Eleven type VIII phaser arrays, as well as a forward photon torpedo launcher capable of a four torpedo spread made up their armaments.

The Nova's normally carried a shuttlecraft and a pair of shuttlepods.

Variants

Two main variants existed, one a heavily armed scout akin to the vessel's original design, and a medical cruiser.

The armed scout version featured ablative armor, type IX phasers, and more powerful warp core which increased the vessel's top speed to 9.351.

Known Vessels

USS Nova

USS Equinox

USS Helix

USS VanDenBroeck

USS K'shal

USS Binary

USS Nadir

USS Solstice

USS Aldin 

USS Dra

USS Foundation

USS Lonestar 

USS Serova

USS Nova

USS Lionheart