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Anti-Matter Containment Pods

Due to Antimatter’s volatile nature it is kept in 24, 4x8 meter, magnetic storage pods. Each AMCP carries 100 m³ of Anti-Deuterium, giving a total load of 2,400 m³ (equivalent to 2.4 years normal use). Refuelling needs to occur at a Starbase . In the case of containment failure or core ejection, these pods are automatically ejected also at a velocity of 40 m/s.

Artificial Gravity

The USS Sutherland has four overlapping sections, each covered by their own Gravity generator, which function similarly to a Tractor Beam. In the case of total power loss the Artificial Gravity will continue for approximately 3 hours. On the USS Explorer artificial gravity is provided by 38 improved stator rotary gravity generators, based on the units used in the Defiant Class, allowing similar period of residual gravity in times of total power loss

Autonomous Survival and Recovery Vehicle Escape Pods

As a technology the ASRV are only 30 years old (developed 2337). Each measure 3x3x3m, with a mass of 1.35 tonnes. Normally only 4 people would be assigned a single ASRV but they can handle up to 6. On the USS Sutherland there are 400 ASRVs in the Primary Hull, allowing a total contingent of 1,400 Evacuees. For the USS Explorer there are 10 life boats in the rear port and starboard sides of deck 2, and 1 in the forward section of the command deck, allowing a total contingent of 52 Evacuees. The ASRV Lifeboats are designed for;

• Rapid departure at 40m/s away from vessel (at T-10 ejection ASRVs will reach distance of 400m).
• Independent manoeuvring with a total velocity of 3,600 m/s.
• Life Support for 86 days divided by the number of persons.
• Connection points for other ASRV to augment survival and recovery potential.
• subspace radio and locater beacon.
• Atmospheric landing ability.

Bussard Ram Scoop Collectors

The red section at the front of Federation nacelles. Named after the physicist Robert W. Bussard, who invented the principle in 1960, rellies on magnetic fields to funnel and compress stray ionised atoms from the near vacuum of space. The average rate of collection is one atom per cubic meter. At Full Impulse this means a collection rate of 2.67x10¹³ atoms a second, and at Warp 5, 2.28x10¹⁶ atoms a second. The Bussard collectors may be "back-flushed" to create a stream of Hydrogen, which appears as a very pretty, but harmless, crimson light show.

Diagnostics

There are five processes by which the Engineering staff may check ship systems, each with differing levels of automated assistance. The low level diagnostics run faster on a smaller ship, but the manuall diagnostics still require the same time for a system overhaul regardless of if you are in a Danube or a Sovereign Class. Note the times shown for Diagnostics 3 to 5 are split between the Explorer/Sutherland respectively

Diagnostic		Duration		Frequency		Description
Level 5		0.3/2.5sec		Daily and in Crisis Situations		Automated general self diagnostic
Level 4		3.75/30sec		Suspected fault missed by level 5		Automated thorough self diagnostic
Level 3		1.25/10min		Key systems need thorough check		Crew monitor self diagnostic and check key systems
Level 2		1-2 hours		Severe problem where system can not be taken off line		Crew inspect most aspects of system by hand to augment automated diagnostic
Level 1		2+ Hours		Thorough manual overhaul. Complete failure of system		System taken off line. Crew inspect every aspect of system

Deuterium Fuel

Deuterium is a Hydrogen isotope, and normally kept at "slush" state at approximately 13.8 degrees Kelvin (or -259 degrees Centigrade). The Primary Deuterium Tank (PDT) is compartmentalised to inhibit losses due to structural fracture, and on the USS Sutherland holds about 50,560 m³, though the normal load is around 50,000 m³. This should last for 2.4 years. On the USS Explorer There are twin Deuterium tanks, port and starboard trailing aft of the ship. Each holds 3,160 m³, though the normal load is around 3,000 m³. The duration of use is still 2.4 years total.

Fire Suppression Systems

Although all materials on a Federation vessel conform to must conform to inflammability standards SFRA 528.1(b), occasionally material from outside the vessel is brought by guests or refugees, or for colonies, or some object meeting these standards will still catch light. Face it, if it includes Carbon it can burn. There are three programmed responses;

1. In cases of a small field a focused force field will contain and suffocated the fire, and Opps and Security will be notified. The field will be maintained until the temperature of the materials drops below ignition point. These beams are so accurate that Worf once noted you would need to be standing in the fire to be caught by it.
2. If larger fires are detected doors may be closed to seal of whole rooms.
3. If the fire affects large areas of the ship those sections may be opened to hard vacuum. This is, of course, a desperate recourse and must be initiated by Bridge personnel.

Holodeck

A device used to simulate reality, much like a giant computer game, for recreation and scientific simulations.

Impulse Engines

Deuterium fuelled engine that drive ships at sub-light speeds. Note the engines of the USS Explorer are prototypes and designed for high stress performance.

Mining and Industrial Construction Bay

This area on the USS Sutherland is set aside for the construction of Relay Beacons and Stations, as well as prefab houses for colonies. It is very resource intensive and relies on the Mining facilities included for the majority of it’s raw materials. There are no such areas on the USS Explorer, or most other Starfleet vessles.

Inertial Dampening Systems

The IDS compensate for the immeasurable G-forces that would normally act on ship and crew. Any acceleration of over 30 m/s (approximately 3g) would cause serious, maybe fatal damage to crew. Full Impulse can exert G-forces in excess of 1,000g. The IDS compensates by maintaining a force field around each section of the ship, which it uses to apply a force on all object within it equal to any inertial force that may be acting in the opposite direction. As such, if the ship accelerated to Full Impulse (74,167 m/s) the IDS would produce a force of 74,167g in the opposite direction. The net effect felt by the crew would be nil. There is a 295 millisecond lag before the IDS can compensate, but that is taken into account when course corrections are made and both are initiated simultaneously. However, explosions, and other unexpected forces may have a small impact on the crew. This is why you can still see a crew shaken around during a battle or some such. Each Generator consists of twelve 500MW graviton polarity sources. On the USS Sutherland there are 6 IDS field generators, 4 in the Secondary Hull and 2 in the Primary Hull, and two in each section are normally operating. There are also 6 back up generators which provide 12 hours at 65% strength. Standard operation is 48 hours with a 12 hour rest and maintenance period, and each generator has an operational life of 2,500 hours. On the USS Explorer there are 4 IDS field generators which can be set to work in parrallel or sequence to compensate for the extreme manouvers the ship is designed to perform. Each can adjust to increase the stresses on ship sections by seperate ammounts depending on the manouver. There are also 4 back up generators which provide 4 hours at 80% strength. Standard operation is 24 hours with a 3 hour rest and maintenance period, and each generator has an operational life of 2,160 hours.

Life Support & Environmental Control

Environmental control is set to maintain M Class atmosphere (Nitrogen 78%, Oxygen 21%) at the appropriate temperature (around 22.5 degrees) and relative humidity(45%) and pressure (101 kilopascals), as per regulation SFRA 102.19. Under normal conditions the USS Sutherland is equipped with so many extensive life support systems and redundant backups that it could continue to function for 500 years. Approximately 10% of USS Sutherland's crew quarters can be converted to H, K, or L Class atmospheres, and an additional 2% can be converted to N Class atmospheres.Starbases can swap ship wide facilities to convert the ship to H, K, or L Class atmospheres. On the USS Explorer, as all of the cabins are self contained modules, all of them can be modified to provide H, K, L or N Class atmospheres. There are a number of life support systems and back ups;

• Every 50 cubic meters there are two redundant atmosphere reprocessors which use photosynthetic bio-processing to remove Waste gasses and replenish 0₂ levels. Normally these systems run for only 96 hour, with maintenance checks every 2000 hours. The operational one is considered the primary system, and the redundant one is the secondary backup.
• The reserve (or tertiary redundant system) can operate at 50% of normal yield for up to 24 hours.
• In the case of total loss each corridor has a minor system which will maintain atmosphere for 30 minutes, so crew can reach emergency shelters. Each designated shelter has 36 hours of automated reprocessing, as well as independent oxygen and power supplies.
• Every section of corridor holds two EVA suitss which have a one hour oxygen supply.

Except in the case of Explosive Decompression, even the most critical atmospheric loss should allow 50 minutes of life support for crew to evacuate the section completely.

Nacelles

These are where the actual ship’s Warp Engine propulsion comes from. Inside each nacelle are a number of Warp coils which, when subjected to high energy plasma from the Warp Core, produce a Warp field. The Nacelles are equipped with an emergency separation system, which will launch a damaged, and potentially dangerous, nacelle away at 30 m/s. In emergencies the nacelles can vent the highly charged and explosive plasma from the core into space. This lowers the chance of internal explosion. On the USS Sutherland there are 18 coils in the nacelles measuring 21x43 meters and weighing about 34,375 tonnes. The nacelles comprise 25% of the ship’s mass. The exact construction of the USS Explorer's four Nacelles is a well guarded secret, as it needs to manage the Trilithium plasma.

Primary Hull

Also known as the Saucer Section. The round bit on the front of a Starfleet Vessel. You know, shaped like a saucer. Almost every ship from the Daedulous Class to the Intrepid Class has had one. Only lame "Post Roddenbury" ships don’t. Most have been capable of separating to allow the Saucer section to escape while the Stardrive Section caused a distraction. The Saucer section is only Impulse capable. The Galaxy Class was capable of separating and reconnecting regularly. The Nebula Class does not seem able to separate at all. The Explorer Class is almost entirely saucer section. Strangely enough it does have a seperation plane through the middle, seperating aft and fore. The reson for this has not been divulged.

Reaction Control Systems

The USS Sutherland has 6 main RCS thrusters (4 on the "corners" of the Primary Hull, 2 on the Secondary Hull), and 6 auxiliary thrusters (2 on the Secondary Hull, and 4 on the nacelles). The USS Explorer uses only 2 main RCS thrusters (on the forward "corners" of the saucer section) and 12 auxilary thrusters (on the Aft section along the line of the ASRVs). They are designed for minor sub-light manoeuvring and station keeping where very fine adjustments need to be made, such as docking or maintaining orbit. A major RCS consists of;

• Gas Fusion Reactor
• Magnetohydrodynamic Energy Field Trap
• Upper and Lower Vectored Thrust Exhaust Nozzles.
• Deuterium Fuel Pods (fed from Main Deuterium Tank).
• Precision Mooring Tractor Beams.

Auxiliary thrusters do not have the energy traps and are therefore less economical to run. Each Reactors can be used for 4,000 firings. Main RCS have an operational life of 5,500 hours (just over 32.7 weeks continuous use) before major overhaul is needed, while auxiliary RCS only have 4,500 (just over 26.7 weeks).

Replicator

Devices used to create matter from raw atomic materials. Some of these can be very basic, the simplest on record being a crystal latice that creates basic salts when heat is applied. This was designed by Julian Watts as his third grade science project, "Rocks into Replicators".

Secondary Hull

Also known as the Stardrive Section. This section houses the Warp Engine and most of the Maintenance and Engineering, as well as combat facilities on a Starfleet ship. Almost every ship from the Daedulous Class to the Intrepid Class has had one. Only lame "Post Roddenbury" ships don’t. Most have been capable of separating. In most Vessels it may be separated from the Saucer Section to continue to fight and cause a distraction long enough for the majority of the crew to escape in the slower section. The Nebula Class does not seem to have this design function, however the pylon positioned on the top rear of the Secondary Hull may be jettisoned as an enlarged escape vehicle. It (like the Saucer Section) is only Impulse capable. The Explorer Class is almost entirely saucer section. Strangely enough it does have a seperation plane through the middle, seperating aft and fore. The reson for this has not been divulged.

Sensors

Devices used to measure, record and analyse phenomena. The USS Explorer has the stadard cluster of sensors. The USS Sutherland has an extensive Sensor Array to help it with it’s exploratory mission. Although they are impressive there are at least 15,525 substances that can not be detected by Federation scanners no matter how you configure them.

Structural Integrity Fields

The SIF compliment the physical structure of the ship with force fields, that can increase the strength and counter act shearing forces. In extreme conditions they even act to seal hull breaches, though this is very power consumptive. On the USS Sutherland there are 5 SIF generators, 3 in the Primary Hull and 2 in the Secondary Hull, though only one in each section is normally operating. When all generators are active internal strain can be rated at around 1,250 times the normal physical load limit. The USS Explorer has 6 SIF generators, two of which are running at any given time, and an additional two if Red Alert is initiated. When all generators are active internal strain can be rated at around 8,320 times the normal physical load limit. This is to allow the ship to perform extreme course corrections, making the most manouverable ship produced by Starfleet to date. Each Generator consists of twenty 12MW graviton polarity sources. Both ships also have 4 back up generators which provide 12 hours at 55% strength. Standard operation is 36 hours with a 24 hour rest and maintenance period, and each generator has an operational life of 1,500 hours.

Transporters

Devices used to break down and record objects subatomic make up, then project and reconstruct material at another destination.

Turbo Lift

Ultra fast elevator system that carries personnel from different decks and sections on a Federation vessel. Most multi-decked vessels rely on these and only have ladders inside the Jefferies Tubes. There are an average of ten lift cars in active service at any given time, though at peak times, such as change of shift, the number can be doubled with only a 22% drop in response time. The cars are capable of accelerations, vertically and horizontally, of 10m/s, with their own independent IDS retarding (but not eliminating) the effects. Each car is voice activated which allows the computer to screen for unauthorised access to certain areas. Once the destination is selected the main computer navigates the fastest route, taking into account traffic of other cars. There is one express system devoted purely to transporting Bridge crew form main Bridge to the Battle Bridge. In the case of power loss each unit is fitted with automatic locking clamps that hold the cars in place until their occupants can be recovered, or power is restored. While docked at a Starbase a hard connector at the top of the Bridge allows Turbolift cars to move freely into the facility. Note that the computer will try and maintain the number of cars on the ship as possible but it is possible in cases of emergency decoupling to have more or less than the usual allotment of cars, or that the ship leaves with one of theStarbase ’s cars which may be faulty in some way. The USS Explorer has only 3 decks and relies exclusively on ladders to move between decks.

Warp Engines

The primary method of propulsion of all Federation vessels capable of Warp speed.

Waste Reclamation

Waste product is produced by all normal ship functions and collected automatically. The water is separated and treated and returned to fresh water supplies. The solid material is automatically catalogued and 82% is recycled. This includes items such as clothing, packaging and personal items. They are decontaminated and broken down to smaller useable materials, such as the fibre clothing is constructed from. The water reclamation and waste treatment systems produce a large quantity of unrecyclable sludge that is then broken down to elemental constituents and used as base material for Replicator functions. This last process is extremely energy intensive and so tends to be used only if no other function for the material can be found. 5% of material is considered to be extremely hazardous (toxic matter, hazardous chemicals, radioactive materials) even these can be broken down to inert carbon molecules and returned to recycling. Typically the crew of the USS Sutherland produce 31 tonnes of waste water and sewerage each day, though the crew of the USS Explorer produce much less.

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