Category:Starfleet Ships

Identification standards

Names

• Vessels named with "USS" prefix
  • Officially "United Space Ship", but occasionally parsed as "United Starship" (TOS)
• By Starfleet policy, two vessels (starships or shuttlecraft) in service at the same time may not hold the same name (TTN Novel: Taking Wing)
  • Two vessels referring to individuals with the same surname can be in service at the same time, and may be referred to in shorthand with the surname alone (i.e., "USS Kirk"), but the official recorded name will use the individual's full name to avoid confusion of reference (i.e., "USS James T. Kirk"). (TTN Novel: Taking Wing)

Registries

• Initially, registry numbers inherited from predecessor fleets and transferred into Starfleet organizational structure directly
  • Practice abandoned late 22nd century for simplicity, but official registry numbers for ships during this era not changed
• Registry number prefix indicates category of vessel
  • NCC: Standard service
    • Short for "naval construction contract" (TOS Novel: Best Destiny)
  • NX: Experimental or prototype vessel
    • If a class prototype, redesignated "NCC" upon completion of tests (Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country)
  • NAR: Decommissioned vessel remanded to civilian organization
    • Number maintained in Starfleet databases for later reference as needed
  • AGC, AGS: Deprecated prefix originally inherited from Andorian Guard fleet
• Registry number assignment pattern varies
  • Generally ascending over time by construction order, but not fully
    • At times assigned in consecutive batches within a class
    • At times assigned with consecutive prefixes but arbitrary suffixes within a class
    • At times assigned arbitrarily by availability
  • As late as mid-23rd century, registry numbers for noncombat vessels would be prefixed with a single-letter identifier indicating role; however, the number itself is still unique
    • F: Freight (TAS: "The Pirates of Orion")
    • G: Unmanned robot ship (TAS: "More Tribbles, More Troubles")
  • Registry numbers for ships whose names have especially notable legacies will be recycled with a letter suffix indicating such: -A, -B, and so on (Star Trek: The Voyage Home; TNG; Star Trek: Generations; Star Trek: First Contact)
    • These alternate registry numbers are assigned upon the decision to reuse such a name, after initial registry assignment
      • The initially-assigned registry number will technically also still apply to the vessel, and so will still be recorded and cannot be assigned to another vessel, but the alternate number will be considered primary
    • Not all such name recycling will result in an alternate registry number, only when the original vessel was declared by Starfleet Command to be worthy of special honors due to its position in Starfleet history
      • When a ship is declared as such by Starfleet Command, the newly-named vessel will receive a "-A" suffix even if the name had been used prior to the historically-relevant ship

General notes

• Front-line vessels tend to be officer-heavy as compared to other vessels (TNG Novel: Greater Than the Sum)
• Door functionality
  • Door entry to rooms marked as private provided by relevant entry keyword spoken by the occupant (TNG Novel: A Time for War, A Time for Peace)
    • "Come", "Enter", etc.
• Terminal functionality
  • Text messages can be sent between terminals (SGR Novel: The Valiant)
• Following decommissioning, vessels can have a number of fates
  • Rarely, some vessels will be held in reserve for potential recommissioning
    • Given that vessels are only decommissioned when judged as no longer suitable for Starfleet operations this is usually infeasible
  • Prior to any other fates, all sensitive or defensive systems are removed
  • Significant vessels remanded to various fleet museums
  • Those still generally well-functioning often remanded to civilian organizations (TNG: "Hero Worship"; DS9 Novel: The Missing)
    • Such vessels recorded in Starfleet records with NAR registry prefix (TNG: "Hero Worship")
  • Other vessels used for various purposes within Starfleet
    • R&D testbeds (SCE Short Story: "Foundations, Book Three")
    • Wargames scenarios (TNG: "Peak Performance")