Changes: Starship

Revision as of 03:20, 9 December 2007

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A starship is a manned spacecraft that is capable of viable interstellar travel via the ability to transport and support a crew across interstellar distances in a reasonable time. A starship accomplishes this via the employment of some form of faster-than-light spacecraft propulsion technology, such as warp drive.

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 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") While generally limited to the roles of exploration and defense, starships typically do not transport cargo, except in the case of an emergency. (TOS: "The Cloud Minders")

Design is also a factor in defining a starship. The configuration of a vessel, as identified by sensor scans, can be used in identifying a starship. (TOS: "The Doomsday Machine") Likewise, a starship can be identified on sensors by power utilization curve, as a vessel utilizing 100% power has the ability to skew sensor readings. (TOS: "Journey to Babel")

By the mid-24th century, the exclusiveness of term starship would essentially fall out of use, and would be redefined as a term interchangeable with spaceship and spacecraft.

Background

Production materials reproduced in Whitfield's "The Making of Star Trek", suggested that "starship" was a unique type designation for space-going vessels. In that vein, the Enterprise and her sister ships were originally designated "Starship class" vessels.

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 equivilant designation would be that of Explorer. This helps explain Merrik's reference to a "very special type of vessel and crew", as well as the numerous references to the extraordinary amount of authority granted the Captain of such a ship.

However, the term quickly 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.

External link

Starship at Wikipedia

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 Design is also a factor in defining a starship. The configuration of a vessel, as identified by [[sensor]] scans, can be used in identifying a starship. ({{TOS|The Doomsday Machine}}) Likewise, a starship can be identified on sensors by [[power]] utilization curve, as a vessel utilizing 100% power has the ability to skew sensor readings. ({{TOS|Journey to Babel}})
 By the mid-[[24th century]], the exclusiveness of term starship would essentially fall out of use, and would be redefined as a term interchangeable with spaceship and [[spacecraft]].
+== Background ==
+Production materials reproduced in Whitfield's "The Making of Star Trek", suggested that "starship" was a unique type designation for space-going vessels.  In that vein, the Enterprise and her sister ships were originally designated "Starship class" vessels.
+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 equivilant designation would be that of [[Explorer]]. This helps explain Merrik's reference to a "very special type of vessel and crew", as well as the numerous references to the extraordinary amount of authority granted the Captain of such a ship.
+However, the term quickly 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.
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