Galaxy Class

posted on January 28th, 2010, 5:16 am

However I feel that size is a factor.

Shame on you. It's not the size of the boat, but the motion of the ocean.

[navyguy]

posted on January 28th, 2010, 6:49 am

Last edited by navyguy on January 28th, 2010, 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

I never understood why the Galaxy, had civillians on board in the first place. Civillians have no place on a ship that may go to war.  I often wonder why you would put them at risk? often thought the saucer seperation was not practical . I know they had there little roles to play, but that would be like sending out the U.S.S. MICHIGAN SSBN 727 WITH civillians on board asking questions, seeing things that shouldnt be seen, almost a seacurity risk? I know alot here dont agree with me and thats okay, but to put civillians on a galaxy class, just doesnt make sense your adding losses that dont have to be there.

posted on January 28th, 2010, 7:42 am

I never understood why the Galaxy, had civillians on board in the first place. Civillians have no place on a ship that may go to war.  I often wonder why you would put them at risk? often thought the saucer seperation was not practical . I know they had there little roles to play, but that would be like sending out the U.S.S. MICHIGAN SSBN 727 WITH civillians on board asking questions, seeing things that shouldnt be seen, almost a seacurity risk? I know alot here dont agree with me and thats okay, but to put civillians on a galaxy class, just doesnt make sense your adding losses that dont have to be there.

  It's not the same thing.

  The U.S.S Michigan SSGN-727 (GN, not BN) is an Ohio Class Guided Missile Submarine.  It's not remotely in the same purpose category as a Galaxy Class Starship.

  One does wonder, however why civilians in general would be on a starship built for exploration unless they were taking part in sociological experiments and such.  I assume it was simply because the Galaxy's were built to be large exploration "cities" almost.  With 700-800 civilians on board it could very well be that: a spacefaring community that could exist healthily out in space for years at a time if need be and live normal lives while they explored.

  Comparing a Galaxy to a submarine is like comparing ... well it's like comparing the International Space Station with an Iowa Class Battleship:  they have different purposes. 

  If you want a real comparison: look at the Nimitz-Class Aircraft Carrier.  I think they are the best comparison to a Galaxy Class vessel.  The Nimitz basically has it's own town built into it with many different manner of people doing many jobs that you wouldn't expect to see on a Naval vessel.  They have cooks, tailors, barbers, entertainers, all kinds of weird shit.  They are Nuclear-powered and can stay at see for a long time so they have many different people aboard to provide as "normal" a life as possible for a crew that may not get home often.  The Carriers are made for war though, while the Galaxy is made for exploration and Diplomacy.  If The Nimitz Carriers were made for exploring the stars, they'd likely have more normal stuff on them too.

[navyguy]

posted on January 28th, 2010, 8:04 am

Last edited by navyguy on January 28th, 2010, 8:13 am, edited 1 time in total.

When i was in the navy they were called boomers, ssbn,  ssn were for fast attacks, unless they have changed ive know them ass ssbn? i used the sub for example as a tool for deep underwater exploration, sort of like space a very uncharted area. I was in during the COLD WAR, never heard of gn? you must be talking about the boomers that were, some used with the tomahawk missle? converted to that purpose.

posted on January 28th, 2010, 8:20 am

Hmm ... could be.  You likely know the lingo better than I do.

  I feel like still ... War Subs are not built to dive to depths that are synonymous with "exploration".  I doubt the state department would be pleased with a Nuclear submarine scrounging around the seafloor to discover new animals and such.  It's made for War.  It's like the Defiant.  Built for a very specific purpose.


  Think more along the lines of a space station.  In the International space station it's less about war and more about doing experiments in space, working collaboratively with other nations, and generally progressing towards a "better" future.  It may not be super practical, but it's pushing the boundaries.

  That's how I always looked at the Galaxy: like a city representing the Federation exploring the Cosmos and sharing Federation culture with new species  .

  I wouldn't want to show up on an alien species' doorstep in a Nuclear Aircraft Carrier or Submarine .

posted on January 28th, 2010, 9:48 am

Let's also not forget that the Galaxy was built during the 'Golden Age' of the Federation - they were allies with the Klingons, the Romulans had been in isolation for decades, the war with the Cardassians was won fairly easily, the Borg and the Dominion weren't known about - the Federation didn't really have many major enemies from races that were truly able to compete with them, let alone with one of their, at the time, most powerful, state-of-the-art starships, so civilians on board could also probably be justified in that way

  I wouldn't want to show up on an alien species' doorstep in a Nuclear Aircraft Carrier or Submarine .

Me neither....I feel a submarine or aircraft carrier in space wouldn't fare too well 

posted on January 28th, 2010, 4:59 pm

Yeah, the Galaxy-classes represented a grand experiment in having 'civilians' on board - you can bet they weren't on there for the Dominion War, but since the Federation wasn't at war most of the time, it was probably considered less a risk, and more a chance for exploration for all on board one of these star liners ... especially considering they were the most powerful and most advanced starships yet designed. Remember that Starfleet - unlike the U.S. military - is the diplomatic, exploration, and military wing of the Federation.

posted on January 28th, 2010, 5:13 pm

Yeah, the Galaxy-classes represented a grand experiment in having 'civilians' on board - you can bet they weren't on there for the Dominion War, but since the Federation wasn't at war most of the time, it was probably considered less a risk, and more a chance for exploration for all on board one of these star liners ... especially considering they were the most powerful and most advanced starships yet designed. Remember that Starfleet - unlike the U.S. military - is the diplomatic, exploration, and military wing of the Federation.

isnt it also the scientific branch?

posted on January 28th, 2010, 5:32 pm

Some of it at least - a lot is done by the "civilians" too as we see throughout TNG - I guess I should have been more precise though, as I meant "exploration" in both the internal and external sense 

posted on January 28th, 2010, 6:31 pm

ah^^

i thought the civilians were a pretty good idea for long term exploration, maybe many of them are the families of the crewmembers that help them to survive through 5 or more years of isolation in this ship..

posted on January 28th, 2010, 6:34 pm

Having the civilians wasn't new for Starfleet, non-Galaxy ships like the Miranda also had them aboard. The Galaxy was probably the first attempt at designing a ship designed specifically for a full civilian compliment.