Ross Class

STARSHIP
Ross Class Explorer
Class	Ross-class
Allegiance	United Federation of Planets
Specifications
Type:	Exploration Cruiser (EC)
Length:	663.2 Meters
Beam:	398.9 Meters
Height:	146.8 Meters
Mass:	4,409,556.7 Metric Tons
Decks:	42 Deck Plans
Crew Compliment:	Standard: 250 Officers, 600 Enlisted plus civilian specialists and families. Emergency: 6,000
Warp Speed:	Main Core: Cruise Speed: 7.0 Sustainable Speed: 9.0 Emergency Speed: 9.2 (12 hour automatic shutdown) Auxiliary Core: Cruise Speed: 1.5 Sustainable Speed: 3.0 Emergency Speed: 5.0 (6 hour automatic shutdown)
Impulse Engines:	Type: 3 Class 8 Main Impulse Engines (MIE) Speed: .85 C
Defensive Systems:	Type-1A Shield generator
Other Defensive Systems:	30cm Ablative Armour
Armament:	Phasers: Dorsal 1x 270-degree Type-XI Array(Saucer); Ventral 1x 270-degree Type-XI Array (Saucer); Lateral 2x 60-degree Type-XI Arrays, one starboard, one port(Pylons); Ventral 1x 60-degree Type-XI Array (Secondary Hull); Torpedoes: 3x Rapid-Fire Photon Torpedo Tubes (2F/1A) Payload: 500 Photon Torpedoes.
Computer System:	Yori-Moto D4D019
Tractor/Repulsor:	2 Main Tractor/Repulsor Beams, 7 Shuttle-Docking Tractors 6 Docking Tractors
Shuttlecraft:	1 Bay (A), 16 Shuttles (8 Type 18, 8 Type 14), 4 Runabouts (Delta Class)
Sensors:	SS Sierra 1a8 Deep Space Scientific Sensors Daystrom Industries HSCS-3SC-A Starship Sensors

The Ross-class explorer is a limited production offshoot of the Galaxy-class explorer which incorporates advances from the Sovereign class and serves as a predecessor to the larger and more complex Odyssey-class explorer. While in almost every respect, her performance is close to her parent class, she is slightly faster, has a smaller crew, and has greater small craft abilities. The handful of these ships in Starfleet routinely see deep space exploratory service.

Class History

Following the Dominion War, Starfleet had a much larger number of Galaxy-class ships on hand than they did before the start of the war, thanks to the mobilization and completion of a number of spaceframes held in reserve; these large vessels operated without loss other than the Odyssey herself during first contact with the Dominion. Many of them were ordered and launched without their exploratory systems completed, and much of their internal volume left open.

One such vessel was the USS Ross, which was approximately fifty percent complete when the Treaty of Bajor was signed in 2375. With the Sovereign class now also in production, Starfleet ordered the Advanced Starship Design Bureau to consider options for integrating more of the technology found aboard these newer explorers into the Galaxy. Over the course of two years, modifications were made to the Ross that resulted in a leaner, slightly faster, and incrementally more advanced version of the Galaxy class, even as other vessels continued off of the line in the original configuration.

Extensive shakedown operations were conducted into the late 2370s, until the Ross was commissioned in 2379. Starfleet considered the project to be a success, but only ordered a small production run of this class, as it considered the Obena and Odyssey-classes to be more likely contenders as Galaxy successors. Indeed, the Ross herself never had leaps and bounds performance increases over the Galaxy.

What the Ross did lead to, though, were comprehensive refits of the Galaxy with enhanced tactical and computer systems, as well as tweaks to their warp drives to bring them on par with the Sovereign class. The successful test of a warp-capable saucer section also paved the way for a more advanced version of this on the Odyssey-class explorer. At least one heavily-damaged Galaxy-class ship was rebuilt as a Ross-class ship in the 2380s, but otherwise, the classes have continued on in parallel until the Galaxy-class began to be phased out, leaving the Ross-class to carry on its legacy.

Shipboard Life

Ross-class starships are considered to be something of an oddity by Starfleet officers, as the design they emerge from is so iconic. Indeed, one of the reasons that a large number of Galaxy-class ships weren’t reconfigured into this new design is that Starfleet’s most senior admiralty have been reluctant to alter the lines of the original for marginal performance increases when incremental upgrades respecting the integrity of the original design have proven to be just as successful. Even still, they are large and prestigious vessels, with experienced and talented crews.

While those aboard a Galaxy-class ship would likely be reluctant to admit this upon visiting a Ross-class ship, the accommodations aboard the Ross are slightly better, as the smaller crew means that more individuals can have their own quarters. The promenade feature in the saucer section is also very popular. Each of these ships has multiple holodecks, holosuites, lounges, and other recreation facilities.

Medical facilities aboard the Ross are larger than those aboard the Galaxy-class, with about twenty percent greater bed space, as well as a proportionally larger medical staff despite having a smaller crew. Combined with their large hangers, this makes them a good choice for humanitarian missions, though they are still eclipsed by the Obena and Odyssey-classes in this regard.

Vessels of Note

Name	Registry	Status
USS Ross	NCC-76710	Active
USS Archer	NCC-76725	Active
USS Vanguard	NCC-75148	Active
USS Yi Sun-Sin	NCC-76545	Active
USS Aquila	NCC-76853	Active