Miranda-class

From Hidden Frontier

The USS Columbia, a Miranda-class Federation starship.

The Miranda-class Starship

The Miranda-class starship is a type of cruiser introduced by Starfleet in the late 23rd Century and remained in use through the late 24th Century.

The configuration of the Miranda-class shares a similar design lineage and features with the refit Constitution-class implemented in the early 2270s. The Miranda-class is composed of a single primary hull, consisting of a saucer that was similar to that of the Constitution-class. Mounted on the underside of the primary hull were two nacelle pylons connected to the warp nacelles. Although the nacelles were visually identical to the nacelles used on the Constitution-class, the tops of the nacelles were mounted to the pylons, as opposed to the Constitution-class where the pylons were mounted to the bottom of the nacelles.

The mission profile of the Miranda-class has varied from performing various scientific roles to conducting patrol duties and serving in a logistics support role. The Miranda saw heavy use as an escort during the Dominion War.

Four design variations are known to have been 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 fore and aft torpedo launchers and phaser banks. By late 2373, this predominant design would undergo an upgrade to its weapons complement and warp nacelles as part of a wartime retrofit of the class.

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. 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 2280's.

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