PROJECTED UPGRADES

	The Galaxy class USS Enterprise is not a static design. Rather, it is a 
dynamic system that is constantly being adapted to revised mission 
objectives and continuing technical advances. A key element of these 
adaptations is an ongoing program of upgrades and refits expected to 
continue throughout the projected hundred-year lifetime of the spacecraft. 
Starfleet expects numerous significant advances in technology during that 
time.

	Minor system upgrades are often performed during routine starbase 
layovers. During the shipÕs early years, such upgrades are expected to take 
place with relatively great frequencyÑperhaps two to four times annuallyÑ
as the spacecraft operating systems ÒmatureÓ with flight experience. Later, 
upgrades and refits are expected to occur less frequently, but will often be 
for maintenance or mission-specific purposes. Currently anticipated system 
upgrades include annual replacement of the LCARS computer software and 
a major upgrade of the warp driveÕs matter/antimatter reaction assembly, 
scheduled for early in the vesselÕs sixth year of operation.

	After the initial few years of shakedown, major upgrades are typically 
scheduled for twenty-year intervals, when the ship is removed from service 
for approximately one year so that work such as computer core swapout or 
warp coil replacement can be accomplished.

	Other major system refits can be performed at the direction of 
Starfleet Command when it is necessary to reconfigure the spacecraft for 
another mission classification. Such major mission-related reconfigurations 
are not expected to be frequently required for the multimission Galaxy class 
starships, but the scope of StarfleetÕs objectives often require flexibility in 
mission philosophies.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS: THE ROAD TO 1701-E

	Twenty years from now, the Galaxy class USS Enterprise will still be 
in the first phase of her operational lifetime. Crews will follow rotation 
cycles. New captains and senior officers will steer her into missions of vital 
importance to the preservation of peace in the Milky Way and the continued 
exploration of the unknown. Eventually, the Galaxy class will be superseded 
with a new space vehicle whose design will be as revolutionary as that of 
the Enterprise is today. One starship in the new class may even be the sixth 
to bear the name Enterprise, the NCCÐ1701-E.

	Starfleet Command, through its Advanced Starship Design Bureau, is 
already considering concepts for the proposed Nova class. It is difficult to 
predict mission and technologic requirements for vehicles that are still in the 
early phases of planning, but even these preliminary concepts offer a 
fascinating glimpse into the future.

	One proposed Nova concept calls for a ship with approximately 10% 
less total internal volume than the current Galaxy class, but which features a 
hybridized external shape. The overall curvilinear style of the 1701-D was 
shaped by an understanding of warp physics that is being refined. Research 
into materials, manufacturing processes, and the enhanced utilization of 
warp energies are driving toward a hybrid angular-curvilinear hull shape. 
Proponents of this design contend that the vehicle will require less 
fabrication time due to the simplified cross sections, and will also demand 
less major hull and frame rebuilding over its operational life. R&D facilities 
within the Federation assume that a new cycle of improved hardware 
efficiency and changing political conditions within the galaxy could allow for 
redefined missions with a down-sized vessel.

	Another approach assumes that warp field control techniques will 
improve to the point where even greater Z-axis warp field compression will 
be possible than in the present Galaxy class ship. This concept would 
feature a primary hull described as a 24¡ ellipse for substantially greater 
peak transitional efficiency. Preliminary tests have been unable to maintain a 
stable warp envelope with this degree of Z-axis distortion, but advanced 
research in high-frequency subspace field modulation may lead to a 
breakthrough in this area.

	Still another advanced starship concept would call for variable-
geometry warp nacelle pylons permitting optimization of field stress during 
extended Warp 8+ flight, resulting in significantly improved engine 
efficiencies. This design study features a saucer section composed of 
wedge-shaped modular segments that could be easily replaced as mission 
demands change and new technology becomes available. This concept calls 
for an internal volume approximately 40% less than the present Galaxy class 
starship, but this design is expected to perform similar mission profiles within 
normal cruise ranges because of the relative ease of spacecraft segment 
swapout.

	A fourth possible advanced starship design would completely 
abandon the traditional saucer and nacelle configuration in favor of a linear 
arrangement featuring forward mounted warp nacelles. Crew and mission-
specific modules would be mounted along the spine of the spaceframe. This 
concept would require significant advances in warp geometry technologies, 
but it would permit tremendous flexibility in ship configuration with little 
structural modification to the basic spaceframe. Proponents of this design 
suggest that the additional R&D costs for this ship would be more than 
balanced by the savings realized through the adaptability of this design to a 
wide range of starship types.

	Whatever the direction of future starship design, various vehicle 
planforms will be tested in thousands of hours of computer simulations and 
in the flight of testbed vessels, leading to the final design, in much the same 
process that led to the Galaxy class Enterprise. Theoretical engine designs 
will come and go, with each new type adding to the knowledge gained from 
its predecessors. Alloys and composites will be subjected to unimaginable 
stresses. The best of these will be chosen to form new shells to preserve 
living environments for those who travel among the stars.

	Even with the remarkable assistance of thinking machines and 
industrial hardware, the task will still be accomplished by people, imagining 
and guiding. The desire to move ever outward will remain strong within many 
evolving civilizations, as they find purpose through the creation of vessels 
that carry us into the unknown.  Æ