Tractor beams

[Lazar]

Of course Starfleet has at least one type of tug, we saw it in DS9 "A time to stand" towing an Excelsior Class with its tractor beams so i guess is possible to tug a starbase too, but as i was saying it's not the same to tug a starship and a starbase.
Lets compare using DITL numbers as a reference: The Federation Tug's length is 120 m.

Excelsior Class:
Length: 467 m
Beam: 185 m
Height: 100 m
Decks: 28
Mass: 2,350,000 metric tons

Starbase 74:
Diameter: 8,781 m
Height (main): 10,712 m
Height (overall): 13,356 m4
Decks : 2,765
Mass: 71,000,000 metric tons

Hardly the same.

I agree; I have no doubts about SF's ability to tug ships through warp, but S74 completely dwarfs even the largest Federation ships, and we've never seen them move something of that size through warp. It might be possible - I mean I'm sure the Voth could do it -, but I'm skeptical. I think it stands to reason that there's some upper limit to the size of the warp engines and warp fields that SF can produce.

[Sionnach Glic]

Hardly the same.

Of course not. But there's still no reason that a sufficiently powerful tractor beam couldn't tow it.
The only other alternative is that it was actualy built out there, which brings up all the problems I discussed earlier.

[McAvoy]

If they're anything like the real world tugs, then I'd imagine SF tugs would be designed around two things, their tractor beam(s) and their engines. For much larger ships, multiple tugs are needed.

So I honestly don't think SF would use a single tug to pull SB 74, more like a dozen of them. Whether or not it's possible at warp speed, my guess is as good as anyone elses.

[Lazar]

But there's still no reason that a sufficiently powerful tractor beam couldn't tow it.

At impulse, yes, but there's still the problem of propelling all that mass through warp. This thing is more than a dozen times larger than SF's largest vessels, and we've never seen them propelling anything even close to that size at warp speed.

[Sionnach Glic]

Mass lightening would help with that.

[McAvoy]

In Q-less didn't the E-D try to do that with a small moon?

I think if was possible, I honestly don't think a ship would be able to go above Warp 2 just because of putting the warp field over such a large object like SB74.

[Mark]

I always thought they pushed it a little with that. Moving a moon with a tractor beam seems a little excessive.

[Mikey]

I always thought they pushed it a little with that. Moving a moon with a tractor beam seems a little excessive.

That's why they made the mass of the moon smaller.

[Lazar]

That's why they made the mass of the moon smaller.

I forget, how did they do that?

[Mikey]

Expanded the ship's warp field to encompass part of the moon.

[Mark]

So, the next generation of Starbases SHOULD have been fully warp capable thank to the E-D's wonderful discovery 8)

[SomosFuga]

Expanded the ship's warp field to encompass part of the moon.

Are you sure they did that? even more, can they do that at warp speed??? Does not make much sense to me but if it's cannon, well... that's quite a big thing to do, could change the whole meaning of this thread.

[Lighthawk]

Expanded the ship's warp field to encompass part of the moon.

Are you sure they did that? even more, can they do that at warp speed??? Does not make much sense to me but if it's cannon, well... that's quite a big thing to do, could change the whole meaning of this thread.

They did, though from the data display in main engineering, it was more like they were projecting the field forward in a cylinder shape that went through the middle of the moon. They did not do it at warp though.