Constitution Class

Early

Universe :	Prime Timeline
Affiliation :	Federation
Class Name :	Constitution Class [1]
Type :	Heavy Cruiser [2]
Unit Run :	12 built in total. 12 have been retired from service.
Commissioned :	2244 - 2260, class remains in service
Dimensions :	Length : 289 m [3] Beam : 127.1 m [4] Height : 72.6 m [4] Decks : 21 [5]
Mass :	600,000 metric tons
Crew :	203 [6]
Armament :	6 x Heavy laser cannon, total output 2,000 TeraWatts 4 x Mod 3 photonic torpedo tube
Defence Systems :	Standard shield system, total capacity 394,000 TeraJoules Standard Monotanium Double hull. Standard level Structural Integrity Field
Warp Speeds (TOS scale) :	Normal Cruise : 5 Maximum Cruise : 6 Maximum Rated : 7.5 for 8 hours.
Strength Indices : (Galaxy class = 1,000)	Beam Firepower : 40 Torpedo Firepower : 15 Weapon Range and Accuracy : - Shield Strength : 145.93 Hull Armour : 10 Speed : 220 Combat Manoeuvrability : -
Overall Strength Index :	61
Diplomatic Capability :	4
Expected Hull Life :	40
Refit Cycle :	Minor : 1 year Standard : 1 years Major : 20 years

Notes

The original configuration of the USS Enterprise differed from the "classic" fit which gained the ship fame in several ways. Most notably, the original design incorporated a higher degree of automation and a smaller number of science facilities, giving a standard crew of 203. [6] The ship was launched with laser cannon rather than the phasers which came into service in the 2260s. It also carried the "photonic" torpedoes which had been developed in the previous century, rather than the fully fledged photon torpedoes which came into service soon afterwards.

Colour key

References

#	Series	Season	Source	Comment
1	TNG	1	The Naked Now
2			Star Trek III : The Search for Spock	Display on bridge
3			Star Trek Encyclopedia	Third edition, page 138
4			Star Trek - Starfleet Technical Manual	Section 1:04:10
5			Production drawing
6	TOS	1	The Cage

Comments

This page is prompted by the fact that there are noticable and canon differences between the Enterprise seen in The Cage and Kirk's Enterprise. Notably, the shooting model is slightly different - and the changes have been kept even in the remastered version of the episode. Pike also gives the crew complement as 203, when Kirk's ship had 400+ crew. The differences in the sets is also significant, most notably in the communicator devices attached to consoles.

The idea of the ship being armed with lasers is presumed from the fact that the crew were using hand lasers. Why they would go from the phase weapons of Enterprise to lasers and then to phasers I do not know; just one more example of Enterprise screwing things up. I've kept Enterprise's "photonic" torpedoes and generally tried to make the ship a bit slower and weaker than the classic Enterprise.

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Last updated : 30 Dec 2022

Series :	TNG Season 1
Episode :	The Naked Now

Series :	TOS Season 1
Episode :	The Cage

Film:	Star Trek III : The Search for Spock
Comment :	Display on bridge

Book :	Star Trek Encyclopedia
Comment :	Third edition, page 138