Miranda Class

Miranda
Affiliation	United Federation of Planets / Starfleet
Year Beginning Service	Mid to late 23rd century
Design Specifications
Ship Type	Destroyer
Length	230 meters
Beam	127 meters
Height	51 meters
Crew	235
Tactical Specifications
Armament	6 Type V Phaser Banks, 4 Photon Torpedo Launchers (Two Forward, Two Aft)
Defenses	Deflector Shields
Engineering Spefications
Top Speeds	Warp 5.0 (Standard Cruising), Warp 7.0 (Maximum Cruising), Warp 9.2 (Maximum Attainable)
Impulse Engines	One Impulse System

History

Miranda-class starships were in service as early as the mid-2280s. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)

Some Miranda-class starships constructed during the first half of the 24th century fell under the authority of the Yoyodyne Division, around Stardate 22519.5. Vessels including USS Brattain were constructed at this time at 40 Eridani A Starfleet Construction Yards. (TNG: "Night Terrors" dedication plaque)

The mission profile of the Miranda-class varied from performing various scientific roles to conducting patrol duties. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; TNG: "Night Terrors"; Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home; DS9: "In the Cards") By the latter half of the 24th century, one variation of this class was known by the designation of Class 6 Federation supply ship. (TNG: "Unnatural Selection")

The Miranda-class was present in several major Federation engagements against the Borg, including the Battle of Wolf 359 and the Battle of Sector 001. (DS9: "Emissary"; Star Trek: First Contact) They were also present in numerous Dominion War battles, where they often served as escorts. Many ships of the class saw action during Operation Return, the First and Second Battles of Chin'toka, and the Battle of Cardassia. Many Miranda-class vessels were stationed near Deep Space 9. (DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels", "Tears of the Prophets", "The Changing Face of Evil", "What You Leave Behind", etc.)

Miranda-class starship were also shown as models on several occasions such as in Deep Space 9's classroom. (DS9: "The Nagus")

Technical Data

Physical arrangement

USS Brattain MSD — Miranda Class Master System Display

The configuration of the Miranda-class shared a similar design lineage and features with the refit Constitution-class implemented in the early 2270s. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)

The Miranda-class was composed of a single primary hull, consisting of a saucer that was similar to that of the Constitution-class; however, the bridge module, positioned on top in the center, was shaped differently than the Constitution-class module.

Mounted on the underside of the primary hull were two nacelle pylons connected to the warp nacelles. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, etc.)

Design features of the primary hull included a docking port located on the forward section of the ship; the aft section included two shuttlebays, separated by the vessel's impulse engines. These shuttlebays were visually numbered; "1" being on the rear-port side, and "2" on the rear-starboard side. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; DS9: "The Way of the Warrior", etc.)

Design variants

Four design variations were known to be utilized with the Miranda during its time in service.

The predominant Miranda-class design included a superstructure (or "roll bar") fitted immediately above the primary hull, as a dorsal extension of the ventral nacelle pylons. This superstructure was equipped with torpedo launchers and phaser banks. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, etc.) By late 2373, this predominant design would undergo an upgrade to its warp nacelles. (DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels")

Some variants lacked the addition of a superstructure, and in other cases, included two large pods affixed on the port and starboard sides of the primary hull. (TNG: "Unnatural Selection"; DS9: "Emissary")

An additional variant of the Miranda-class was also created and configured with much more significant modifications. This design, known as the Soyuz-class, was retired during the 2280s. (TNG: "Cause and Effect")

Tactical systems

Standard to all designs were six dual phaser banks located on the primary hull – three mounted to the top and three mounted on the bottom of the saucer.

In those ships possessing the "roll bar," that superstructure contained two tubular phaser emitters on each side that could fire both forward and to the ship's flanks. There were also two forward and two aft photon torpedo launchers housed in a pod mounted in the center of the superstructure. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek: First Contact)

By the 24th century a number of modifications were made to the Miranda-class weapons systems. Some Miranda-class vessels, such as those of the "twin-pod" variant, included an upgraded phaser array mounted on the lower part of the ventral dome and photon torpedo launchers in the main part of the ship rather than in a pod on the "roll-bar". (DS9: "Emissary")

The class 6 variant of this class featured class 3 defensive armaments. (TNG: "Unnatural Selection")

A majority of 24th century Miranda-class vessels of the "roll-bar" variant, particularly during the Dominion War, were equipped with phaser arrays and photon torpedoes equivalent to those used on other ships of the era, while keeping the same weapon array placements as the 23rd century Miranda. (DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels", "What You Leave Behind", VOY: "Endgame", etc.)

Interior Design

Main bridge

The design of Miranda-class bridge during the 23rd century shared a similar layout to contemporary vessels of that era.

Located on Deck 1 of the saucer section, the Main Bridge housed the command center of the Miranda-class. The design lineage of the main bridge was a fairly standard floor plan for a Federation starship. Against the forward bulkhead was placed the ship's viewscreen, with side-by-side navigation and helm consoles. The captain's chair was directly aft of the aforementioned stations. Several variations exist in the layout of the surrounding stations.

At the rear and center of the USS Reliants bridge was the turbolift entryway. The primary stations, which were located along the rear of the bridge, included the tactical station on the port side of the bridge. Along the rear starboard side of the bridge were the primary science station and communications station. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) The bridge similarly found on board the USS Saratoga (NCC-1867) also had primary stations located along the perimeter of the bridge; however, the Saratogas bridge included the science station on the port side of the bridge, nearly parallel to the navigation station. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)

By the 24th century, further reconfigurations were made to the layout of the bridge, including the separation of the navigation and helm station, which was replaced by the conn station (on the starboard side) and ops station (on the port side).

The bridge of the USS Lantree was relatively simplistic in design, containing little more than a large LCARS interface and star charts on the back of the bridge. (TNG: "Unnatural Selection") The bridge of the USS Saratoga (NCC-31911) had a much more complex layout, including two additional standing consoles located behind the conn and ops, parallel and slightly behind the captain's chair. The standing console on the port side of the ship contained the tactical station. Also located on the port side, in the foremost section of the bridge, was a turbolift. Along the aft of the bridge were several various access stations. (DS9: "Emissary")

Relatively similar to the bridge of the Saratoga, the bridge of the USS Brattain had large support braces surrounding the captain's chair to the sides and rear. In place of the two standing consoles of the Saratoga was a single engineering station, placed directly behind the captain's chair and directly in front of an engineering MSD interface. (TNG: "Night Terrors")

Corridors

The numerous corridors that connected the various sections of the Miranda-class resembled those of contemporary designs. The corridors on board the USS Reliant resembled those of the refit Constitution-class. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) The outer corridors on board the USS Saratoga (NCC-31911) were heavily fortified with a system of support braces. (DS9: "Emissary")

Main engineering

Main engineering contained a vertical warp core, with multiple levels surrounding the core. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)

Transporter room

The staging area of the transporter room on board the Miranda-class possessed six transporter pads. Transporter control could be accessed through a console located on the bridge. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)

Shuttlebay

The Miranda-class features two shuttlebays, located port and starboard of the ship's center. On some Miranda-class ships, such as the USS Saratoga, both of the shuttlebays hold escape pods capable of transporting several personnel. (DS9: "Emissary")

Crew quarters

The crew quarters located on the outer rim of the ship contained several large picture windows, littered with numerous large support braces. (DS9: "Emissary")

Ships Using This Class in Star Trek: Second Fleet Online

There are no ships in ST:SFO of this class.

References

Specifications for the ship: Memory Alpha and General Blueprints and Specifications for USS Reliant

Pictures: From Paramount and CBS through Memory Alpha