Skip to main content

star trek - How long can a galaxy class starship last before it needs servicing?


Assuming a Galaxy class starship were to work on a regular schedule (i.e. exploring, diplomatic missions etc. but NO battle), how long can it last before it has to return to a starbase for servicing?


I appreciate this may be difficult finding a series of episodes from TNG where the Enterprise-D does not battle between going to a Starbase, so, if it is absolutely necessary, battle can be included, but no major damage...



Answer



3 Years (ish) of normal operations


Whilst the TNG Technical Manual suggests that the Enterprise has the theoretical



"ability to operate independent of starbase refurbish-ment for extended periods. Independent exploration mode capability of seven Standard years at nominal Warp 6 velocity for docked configuration. Ability to execute deep-space exploration missions including charting and mapping, first cultural contact scenarios, and full biologic and ecologic studies.




the reality is that there are a number of service issues that would affect their ability to do so.


Fuel


The Enterprise-D seems to have sufficient antimatter (and Deuterium matter) fuel supplies to undertake 3 years of a normal mission profile without the need to refuel.


Antimatter
Each pod contains a maximum volume of 100 m^3 of antimatter, giving a 30-pod total starship supply of 3000 m^3, enough for a normal mission period of _three years_. Each is connected by shielded conduits to a series of distribution manifolds, flow controllers, and electro plasma system (EPS) power feed inputs.


Matter
The total internal volume, which is compartmentalized against losses due to structural damage, is 62,200 m^3. As with the volume of antimatter loaded for a typical multimission segment, a full load of deuterium is rated to last approximately _three years_.


Warp Core


The same source also notes that the engines must be maintained (at Starbase) every 10,000 hours of usage (approximately 1 year). Assuming the average mission requires a day of travel for every two days of actually doing stuff, this also works out to around 3 years


Standard in-flight preventative maintenance is not intended for the warp engine, since the core and the power transfer conduits can be serviced only at a Starfleet yard or starbase equipped to perform Class 5 engineering repairs. While docked at one of these facilities, the core can be removed and dismantled for replacement of such components as the magnetic constrictor coils, refurbishment of interior protective coatings, and automated inspection and repair of all critical fuel conduits. The typical cycle between major core inspections and repairs is 10,000 operating hours.



Warp Coils


The primary and secondary Warp coils also need "neutron purge refurbishment" every "2,000,000 Cochrane-hours". Given that a warp six field is 392 Cochranes, we can see that the main engines need to be overhauled at least every 3-4 years of normal use (or much sooner if high warp speeds are used regularly).


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Do the Kwikspell courses work?

In Harry Potter we are introduced to Kwikspell course in The Chamber of Secrets (and never hear about it again). We see Filch taking courses, presumably by mail. The descriptions of Kwikspell make me think it is for people who are weak in magic (kind of like how Neville was supposed to be when he was younger), but had magic in them nonetheless. However, Ron's comments later in the chapter make it sound like it is mainly for Squibs to learn magic. However, it is strongly implied through out all the books that Squibs are essentially Muggles, and will never be able to do magic. How then is a Kwikspell course supposed to work? Do we have any information to know if it works at all? Is it a scam? An answer from any level of canon is welcome. Answer Kwikspell courses are (probably) useful to some wizards, but not to squibs. The Kwikspell course literature comes with two testimonials. Madam Z. Nettles of Topsham writes: ‘I had no memory for incantations and my potions were a family joke...
Post a Comment
Read more

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

star wars - What "exactly" happens when someone turns to the Dark Side?

When I saw the original Star Wars saga as a kid, the concept of the Dark Side imprinted in me was quite simple. You did a bad thing, so you're a bad person so you go to the Dark Side and keep doing bad things. Now, obviously this doesn't hold true in reality. In my mind it is perfectly reasonable for Luke to kill the Emperor and Vader and then just flee the Death Star and rejoin the Alliance. After all they are at war, those are enemy officers that have captured him and are taunting him by threatening with death of all loved ones and the whole operation was intended to kill the Emperor anyway. The same would hold true for Anakin. He could have killed Mace Windu to save the Chancellor and Padme but that doesn't mean he's going to then go mad and kill all Jedis including children. It doesn't add up from a merely psychological point of view. He had a set of objectives and that made him want to keep the Chancellor alive (quite valid by the way, Mace Windu is quite clums...
Post a Comment
Read more

star trek - Warning regarding forward saucer section in Nemesis?

In Star Trek: Nemesis , just before the Enterprise rams into the Scimitar, Picard sends a text message from his captain's chair arm pad to Troi — who is manning the helm in lieu of the crewman who was just blown out through what was once the view screen — indicating that she should put full impulse on standby. (Literally, if you watch the scene closely, Troi's console prefaces the order with "TXT MSG" !) My question is: Did Picard also somehow warn crew members in the forward saucer section about what was about to happen? The ramming of the Scimitar was a heat of the moment decision. Considering that he also resorted to calling the auto-destruct sequence shortly after (which ended up being offline), he probably was of the mindset that any losses would be acceptable in order to hault Shinzon's march to Earth. Still, I'm curious. Answer The original script indicates that he called for the crew to " brace for impact ". Whether that call (or the comma...
Post a Comment
Read more