Redesigning the Warp Delta

Introducing the Yeager-class (Warp Delta) U.S.S. Yeager:

In-Universe Context

Registry	NCC-64
Class	Yeager-class
Type	Destroyer
Active	22nd Century
Decks	3
Length	Approximately 118m
Capacity	40 humanoids
Max. Speed	Warp factor 5.1
Max. Cruising	Warp factor 4.4
Armament	Phase cannons (x4 phaser arrays) Photonic torpedoes (x1 launcher)

After the success of the NX project with the launch of the NX-01 Enterprise is 2151, the United Earth Starfleet began work on a smaller, simpler starship design able to accommodate the warp 5 engine. This led to the production of the Yeager-class destroyer: a small delta-shaped craft capable of keeping pace with the new NX-class starships as Earth took a more and more active role in galactic trade and politics. Designed primarily for defense and patrol duties, the Yeager-class was a simple, durable design that served as the United Earth Starfleet's workhorse prior to the Earth-Romulan War, and after the war served admirably in the new Federation's starfleet for several decades.

The primary hulls of the Yeager-class starships were constructed on Earth, where they were fitted with powerful rocket boosters and propelled into orbit with the aid of mass drivers. Once in orbit, the rear components were gutted and replaced with the warp engine components, including a warp field regulator 

Commentary

The Warp Delta only appeared very briefly in the latter seasons of Star Trek Enterprise, usually in the background  part of a battlegroup defending Earth in the episode 

One idea I had while trying to determine appropriate proportions for the warp nacelles is that the quantum slipstream drive would produce enormous stresses on the warp engine, effectively causing the reactor/nacelles to "burn out." So I connected the nacelles to a block-shaped pod at the bottom of the hull, with the idea that the entire warp engine assembly could be swapped in out as-needed. If you download the model for yourself, you'll be able to swap between three different nacelle configurations--the default nacelles, longer Sovereign-style nacelles, and shorter, stubbier, Intrepid-style nacelles.

The most dramatic change I made to the design is the addition of a secondary hull, loosely modeled on that of the hypothetical NX-refit class, which would have debuted in Enterprise' fifth season. My thinking was that this addition makes the "evolution" of the traditional Starfleet starship design (disc-shaped primary hull, cylinder-shaped secondary hull, nacelle pair) from aerospace craft a bit clearer. My thinking was that these ships would primarily be constructed on Earth's surface, then launched into orbit, where they could be outfitted with a secondary hull to accommodate components that could not be installed on the planet due to the necessary restrictions of maintaining an aerodynamic profile. Over time it's easy to imagine these basic forms evolving: the delta-shape eventually becoming circular, once orbital shipyards becomes more standard, the secondary hulls becoming larger, and the nacelle pylons shifting from the the primary to secondary hulls. Perhaps this is an unnecessary half-step, but I found it fun to model.

Of course, l never intended that this new version should replace the classic (if that's the appropriate word to use here) design depicted ever-so-briefly in Enterprise, so I made sure to build the model such that the secondary hull could easily be removed--resulting in the simpler, cleaner design we are all(?) so familiar with. (I know there are other people out there infatuated with starships--there may well be dozens of us!)

In my experience modeling starships, I've learned a great many things. And while it may seem too forward for an amateur like myself to offer any advice on this subject, I have discovered one universal rule that it feels appropriate to share here: smaller is always better.

To briefly explain, when designing ships I have tendency to overestimate scale. I've found, while browsing many the models and concepts from other starship aficionados, that this is an extremely common tendency. This is especially problematic when I redesign ships, as I did back with my Excelsior-class model and, indeed, as I am doing here. Essentially, the question to ask--constantly--is this: what is the minimum size these components need to be in order to plausibly function? And that is what the entire scale of the ship needs to be oriented around. With the Warp Delta, there were few elements of the model to indicate scale--only the bridge superstructure (which can be misleading) and the single row of windows along the edges of the hull. My solution will be more evident in the cross-section in the Gallery below, but to briefly explain it: I was able to "minimize" the design of the Warp Delta to a mere three decks. The result is slightly larger windows, or portholes, which in theory I ought to have shrunk a bit to reflect the more limited technology of a primitive era, but in practice I'd prefer to maintain parity with my other models--which means standardized window sizes across all eras and civilizations. It's much easier to determine scale at-a-glance when windows are all the same size, whether or you're looking at a 22nd century human cruiser or a 24th century Romulan dreadnought (though god help me if I ever manage to finish that model to my satisfaction).

This smaller size is much more appropriate to a starship that essentially begins its life as just a really big plane that needs to be slung up into space--the more mass a ship like this has, the less believable it'd be, yeah?

To Because the warp delta was only ever a "guest" ship, and had so little screentime, I was free to make up up a bunch of details had the opportunity to invent details that could plausibly exist. As I stated earlier, my headcanon for this design is that it would be constructed--at least partially--on Earth's surface, before being launched up into orbit. Probably via some kind of thrust booster more mass driver. In either case, this would require temporary components attached to the aft end of the hull which would later be removed. To reflect this, I made the aft hull "unfinished" -- which also serves as a stark contrast from the "perfectly smooth" hulls that characterized 23rd Century federation starship design at Gene Roddenberry's insistence.

The exposed pods (reactor cores?) on the secondary hull also reflect this more primitive technology, I hope.

So the aft end of the hull features several in-set details: large tanks (presumably fuel tanks, or some other kind of potentially hazardous material best kept contained outside the ship) as well as windows for a mess hall and hatches for cargo bay access. The idea being that containers with foodstuffs could be slotted into these bays and accessed directly from the galley.

Y'all may not be able to tell just by looking, but the hardest parts of this model? The nose. Basically, the bridge dome is a bizarre shape that required some... imaginative interior design (a capsule bridge and a small observation half-deck) and because it's positioned so far forward there was little room from the required registry text.

Many of the starship designs in Discovery suffer from a similar problem, and their solution has typically been to reposition the registry to the sides of the hull. This is... not a solution I'm fond of, but perhaps I should reconsider: it's certainly much easier! Instead, here, I tried to cram a small registry onto the very tip of the nose--and getting text to look nice on a curved surface is not easy! Ultimately I think I managed a passable job, but hoo boy, I hope I don't have to try anything like that again.

That just about covers everything, I think. The great problem in allowing a backlog to build up, as I have, is that it's easy to forget crucial details! If you're at all interested, I strongly recommend you check out this model for yourself! Nothing beats examining the thing in full 3D. 

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Gallery

The "capsule bridge" visible from outside the hull.

Bridge interior, facing forward. The viewscreen is at an odd angle that wouldn't be ideal with modern display technologies, but hey, what is SF for if not hand-waving problems like that? Let's just say it's holographic.

Bridge interior, facing backward. There are six stations in addition to the captain's chair, making this bridge feel especially claustrophobic.

Just in front of the bridge is an observation deck, positioned halfway between decks 1 and 2.

It's also fairly cramped and doesn't have much space for anything beyond some simple seating standing room.

The aft end of the hull features a large mess hall. While not strictly necessary, I think it's important to consider large "sets" like this when considering Star Trek ships. Spaces where hypothetical dramatic scenes could play out among the crew.

You'll notice I neatly evaded needing to to model the kitchen by placing a shutter over the counter.

Directly next to the mess hall on either side are cargo bays where storage containers can be neatly slotted in.

Beyond which are the storage tanks, which by necessity come in several sizes.

The (optional) secondary hull features a additional pair of phase cannons, indicating that while the "refit" version is primarily about extending the ship's range, it also adds a bit of extra firepower. Perhaps a development of the Earth-Romulan War?

Nestled between the phase cannon ports and torpedo tube are a pair of triangular plates--simple navigational deflectors to protect the ship when the secondary hull is not attached.

Determining the appropriate weaponry was a bit difficult. The NX-class features four torpedo tubes, which seems like overkill relative to the photon torpedo tubes of later ships, but doesn't necessarily correlate to greater relative firepower. But the NX-class is also rather large. I ultimately settled on just the single torpedo tube, as I found that the other options made the hull look too busy, and it was already crowded enough with the phase cannons and deflectors.

In addition to the pair of phase cannons on the bottom of the main hull, there is an additional pair located at the base of the "wings" -- where the warp pylons attach to the main hull.

The secondary hull attaches directly to the point where the main reactor would be. My thinking was that the secondary hull would primarily function to provide a secondary power reactor to allow the refitted Warp Delta greater range and combat capacity. The new, large deflector dish would probably also correlate to better sensors.

Due to the small size of the Warp Delta, there's really no space for a proper shuttlebay, but I did make sure to place a pair of vertical-launch bay doors on the bottom of the hull to accommodate a pair of shuttlepods.

When I was a kid, I though the warp nacelles of the ENT-era ships features little glowing blue pods/balls rather than the warp coils of later craft. This is something I reproduced in some of my earliest models. But, in fact, that was just an illusion created by the bar-pipe that runs over the exposed warp coils. Oops!

I believe the "warp pod" in the TV show's original model is identical to that of the NX-class, but I chose to take some liberties with my revision. It's essentially the same shape, but simpler and streamlined.