The Shepard class was a 22nd[1] and 23rd century Federation starship class, a battlecruiser[2] in Starfleet service in the 2250s[3] and the 2410s[4] decade. (DSC episode: "Battle at the Binary Stars", STO Collection Issue 01: "USS Gagarin")
Service history and specifications[]
The Shepard-class light cruiser was developed as part of Operation Next Step alongside the visually similar Walker-class multirole explorer in the year 2195. Construction was undertaken by the Federation shipyards Tranquility Base Ship Yards and Copernicus Ship Yards, positioned in orbit of Luna. On 5 May 2196, the USS Shepard (NCC-1250) and USS Gagarin (NCC-1309) were officially launched. Due to fabricated RCS thruster trouble, the Gagarin was the first to move into lunar orbit under its own power, in honor of Yuri Gagarin, the first Human in space.
In the 2240s decade, Starfleet made Doctor Richard Daystrom's duotronics computer system upgrades a priority for Walkers and Shepards. The smaller computers made room for additional laboratories. Shepard-class ships refitted at the Imperial Andorian Ship Yards received additional phaser bank capacitors.
Following the introduction of the Constitution- and Saladin-classes, the Shepards were relegated to internal Federation duties. (Star Trek Adventures module: Discovery (2256-2258) Campaign Guide)
Several ships of this class were in service in the 2250s decade, including the USS Gagarin and USS Ride. (DSC Collection Issue 03: "USS Kerala")
Structurally, the vessel consisted of a flat and wide saucer section with a ventral spine that housed the deflector dish at the ship's bow. The starship bridge sat atop the saucer's center, and was flanked by a flat, angular secondary hull. On either side of the engineering section a nacelle pylon was attached, which held the ship's long warp nacelles. (DSC episode: "Battle at the Binary Stars")
A Shepard-class ship was 505.5 meters long, and armed with phaser banks and photon torpedo launchers. (DSC Collection Issue 03: "USS Kerala")
The shuttlebay was situated at the rear of the engineering hull. (STO - Mirror of Discovery mission: "Jayce's Interstellar: Around the Galaxy")
The design mirrored that of the Walker-class starship, with the two types being upside-down versions of one another. Like the Walker class, the Shepard class configuration harkened back to the 22nd century NX-class cruiser. (DSC Collection Issue 01: "USS Shenzhou")
In the year 2256, ships of this class participated in the Federation-Klingon War of 2256-2257. (DSC episodes: "Battle at the Binary Stars", "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum")
In 2257, the USS Sebrova was the command of Thy'kir Shran, and wrecked in the defense of Starbase 1 against House D'Ghor. (DSC episode: "The War Within, The War Without", STO - Age of Discovery mission: "Defense of Starbase 1")
Following a stellar event at TL-9139 that forced Starfleet to abandon Yard 39 and over 150 ships in 2259, leading to an end to the generation of starship designs, including the Shepard class. Within a decade, Starfleet abandoned most of these classes altogether in favor of newer designs like the Miranda- and Excelsior-class. (STO Collection Issue 01: "USS Gagarin")
Ships of this class were cycled into civilian use in the latter half of the 23rd century and left service in the 2290s. (Star Trek Adventures module: Discovery (2256-2258) Campaign Guide)
150 years after the stellar event at TL-9139, in 2410, Ensign Elyos and Lieutenant Whetu of the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards discussed the recovery of Yard 39 and several hulks of Starfleet ships hastily abandoned there when the star TL-9139 erupted and flooded its system with baryon radiation in 2259. This included the second USS Gagarin, another Shepard-class starship. With the radiation suddenly diminishing, Starfleet was able to recover Yard 39 and its assets. (STO - Age of Discovery short story: "Utopia Planetia: The Mystery of Yard 39")
The new USS Gagarin.
The Shepard class was revived, refitted for service and a 25th century counterpart developed, the Gagarin-class miracle worker battlecruiser. The new Shepard and Gagarin types were conceived of as a battlecruiser that incorporated the miracle worker ship capabilities of the much larger Daystrom-, Scott- and Tucker-class miracle worker cruisers. While the Gagarin was shorter with 492 meters, both classes shared a standard crew complement of 550. (STO Collection Issue 01: "USS Gagarin")
Mirror universe[]
ISS Gagarin over Pahvo.
In the mirror universe, a darker-hulled Shepard-class served as cruiser in Imperial Starfleet. In late 2256, the Terran Empire traveled forward in time to planet Pahvo in 2410. The Khitomer Alliance defended the Pahvan homeworld against waves of Imperial vessels, including the ISS Gagarin and other Shepard-class cruisers. (STO - Mirror of Discovery mission: "Peril Over Pahvo")
Livery[]
In the 25th century, the design of the Shepard-class miracle worker battlecruiser allowed its commanding officer to choose from different designs of hull materials, which could be modified further at shipyards. (STO - Klingon War mission: "Welcome to Earth Spacedock")
Furthermore, the installation of deflector shields from specific factions modified the hull appearance, including shields from the Reman Resistance, the Breen Confederacy and the Dominion. (STO missions: "Coliseum", "Cold Storage", "Boldly They Rode")
Known vessels[]
| ship name | registry | ship commissioning | disposition |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Shepard[1] | NCC-1250[1] | 5 May 2196[1] | active (2196)[1] |
| USS Kerala | NCC-1255 | active (2256) | |
| USS Ride | NCC-1265 | active (2256) | |
| USS Gagarin | NCC-1309 | 5 May 2196[1] | destroyed (2256) |
Vessels abandoned at Yard 39[]
The following vessels were abandoned at Yard 39. It is unknown what state these ships were in at the time.[5]
| ship name | registry | ship commissioning | disposition |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Antioch | NCC-1275 | abandoned | |
| USS Stalwart | NCC-1291 | abandoned | |
| USS Warspite | NCC-1303 | abandoned |
Appendices[]
Connections[]
| Shepard-class starships | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Federation Starfleet (primary universe) |
standard configuration | Abdulaziz • Gagarin • Gagarin (II) • Kerala • Laika • Novak • Ride • Sebrova • Shepard • unnamed: NCC-1325 |  
|
| variant configurations | Gagarin-subclass: Christopher • Cunningham • Empyrean • Gagarin • Gotana-Retz • Kennedy • McKinley • Passaro • Resnik • Tereshkova • unnamed: NCC-97999 | ||
| Terran Imperial Starfleet (mirror universe) |
standard configuration | ISS Gagarin • Gagarin-subclass: ISS Gagarin |  
|
Background[]
The Shepard-class was revealed on StarTrek.com [1]. According to Eaves on social media, the Shepard-class was named after American astronaut, Alan Shepard. (Star Trek: The Art of John Eaves, p. 196)
The designs for the Kerala were said to have "continued to experiment with the streamlined hull and elongated nacelles." Eaves specifications for the design measured 505.2 meters (1658'-7") in length, 61.6 (203'-9") in height, and the diameter of the saucer was 224.4 meters (737'-11"). (Star Trek: The Art of John Eaves, p. 197)
The USS Curie was a Shepard-class starship that was to have originally appeared in Context Is for Kings episode: before being rewritten as the Crossfield-class USS Glenn. (Star Trek: The Art of John Eaves, p. 196)
External links[]
- Shepard class article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Shepard-class article at Star Trek Online Wiki.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Star Trek Adventures module: Discovery (2256-2258) Campaign Guide.
- ↑ STO Issue 01: "USS Gagarin"
- ↑ DSC episode: "Battle at the Binary Stars"
- ↑ STO Issue 01: "USS Gagarin"
- ↑ STO video: Gagarin Class Battlecruiser | Official Breakdown, supporting information (Twitter)