Oberth class

The Oberth class was a small Federation starship used primarily by Starfleet and civilian scientists alike, as a scout class and science vessel, from the late-23rd to the late-24th century.

History
In service as early as the 2280s, the Oberth-class was designed and used almost exclusively for the study of astronomical phenomena, including data gathering missions on stars and planets, well into the 2360s. By the latter half of the 2360s, these vessels would serve in a number of limited capacities, such as transports and supply ships. 

In 2358, the Oberth-class USS Pegasus served as a prototype for testing advanced starship technologies. The Pegasus was outfitted with an experimental engine and new weapon systems, some of which were used in the designs for starships. In addition to this, the Pegasus was the test bed for an illegal Federation cloaking device. 

The Federation continued to construct Oberth-class starships as late as 2363, at such locations as the USSR's Baikonur Cosmodrome. ( dedication plaque)

The Oberth was present in several major Federation engagements including the Borg invasion of 2366-2367, where it participated at the Battle of Wolf 359, as well as the Battle of Sector 001 in 2373. 

The class would slowly be phased out of service during the 2370s, shortly after the introduction of the more advanced science vessel. 

Technical data
The Oberth-class had an standard crew complement of eighty, but was capable of operating with a minimum crew complement of five. 

Physical arrangement
The Oberth-class design was atypical among Federation starships of the time. The outboard plan of the Oberth's design incorporated a unique split hull design, with an upper primary hull that was composed mainly of the saucer section, which was mounted onto a rear extension that mounts the impulse drive, and warp drive nacelles to either side to the saucer. The secondary hull was connected to the primary hull at the nacelles by reinforced pylons. The secondary hull itself was oblong in shape. (, etc.) In all, the Oberth contained thirteen decks. 

Design features of the secondary hull included a docking port located on the port side of the hull. 

Defensive systems
More suited for science missions than combat missions, the Oberth-class had minimal defensive systems. They were tactically inferior to such enemy vessels as the Klingon Bird-of-Prey and the Borg cube. 

The weapon systems of the Oberth-class included a forward phaser bank. 

As a science vessel, the Oberth-class was designed with specialized shields, which allow them to push through gravitational wavefronts. In conjunction with this feature, the interior bulkheads were composed of victurium alloy to better facilitate shielding. 

Auxiliary craft
Oberth-class starships were equipped with escape pods, stowing a minimum complement of two on board a vessel with a crew of five. These escape pods were capable of transporting at least nine personnel at once. 

Main bridge
Located on Deck 1 of the saucer section, the bridge housed the ship's command center. In general, the Oberth-class had a fairly standard Federation starship floor plan.

Located in the front was the viewscreen, with side-by-side navigator and helm consoles, which are in contrast positioned opposite to the arrangement found aboard starships. The captain's chair is directly aft of the aforementioned stations.

At the rear of the bridge, was a single turbolift-entryway. The primary stations, which were located at either side of the captain's chair included a primary science station to port (pictured, below left) with secondary stations trailing along the wall towards the back of the bridge. Along the starboard side of the bridge was the communications station (pictured, below center). 

The bridge layout during the 24th century included an emergency hatch set in the bulkhead, which could be used to escape from the bridge, into space, during an emergency situation. 

Corridors
Because of its small size, many of the corridors doubled as auxiliary access points to various parts of the ship.

The anteroom, just outside the bridge, was located at the end of a corridor. This section contained a viewscreen-monitor and the ship's dedication plaque. 

Main engineering
Engineering was located in the center of the ship, it was where the ship's power systems were controlled and home of the ship's antimatter warp drive chamber and impulse engine controls. 

Science and service sections
The Oberth-class was equipped with numerous science labs dedicated to scientific study.

One section, located on deck 4 in the saucer section, was a corridor-like chamber that contained a couple of science consoles and adjacent monitors against the wall. Access to the computer core could be interfaced via ODN junction located below the science consoles. The computer core itself was located on deck 13, inside the secondary hull. 

Another section, known as science ops, contained multiple computer consoles and a personnel transporter pad. 

Accommodations
Crew quarters found aboard the Oberth-class were not unlike those found aboard other Federation starships. They included a main living area, with an attached bedroom and adjacent bathroom. 

Ships commissioned

 * Named:
 * USS Biko
 * USS Cochrane (NCC-59318)
 * USS Copernicus (NCC-640) (NCC-640)
 * USS Grissom (NCC-638) (NCC-638)
 * USS Oberth (NCC-602) (prototype)
 * USS Pegasus (NCC-53847)
 * SS Tsiolkovsky (NCC-53911)
 * SS Vico (NAR-18834)
 * USS Yosemite (NCC-19002)


 * Unnamed:
 * Unnamed Oberth-class starships


 * Uncertain:
 * USS Raman (NCC-29487)
 * USS Springfield (NCC-1963)
 * USS Helin (NCC-1692)

Background information
Production sources dating back to Star Trek III established an overall length for the Oberth-class at 395 feet (120 meters), a length also adopted by Andrew Probert during the early production phase of TNG Season 1.

According to the Star Trek Encyclopedia, the Oberth-class was named for, the "Father of German Rocketry."

Studio model

 * see Oberth-class model

Apocrypha
Non-canonically, the was considered by some of the production staff as the replacement for the Oberth-class as research and science platform. (Star Trek: Starship Spotter, p. 36)