29 Jul 2025

The size of the Sagan class - USS Stargazer

The Sagan class was a type of starship operated by Starfleet during the early 25th century. The first ship in the class, the USS Stargazer, had already received an NCC commission, and was the first of a new class of ship to utilize components derived from research on the Borg cube Artifact that was found in the Beta Quadrant.

According to the official turbolift LCARS the ship has 16 decks.

USS Stargazer turbolift LCARS (juliensauctions.com)

  • The premise for all my deck calculations: a deck is 2.5m + 0.5m for EPS cables, power cables, ... = 3m height for a deck. 
  • My calculations follow a purely mathematical approach. I do not compare bridge modules or disk heights with each other. I always pull in decks based on the rows of windows and then calculate a physically plausible room height.

bridge blueprint by CBS
For my calculation I also used the Stargazer bridge blueprints. To do this, I traced the outline of the bridge and positioned it to my deck sizes. 
Note the design on several levels of the bridge. 
Level 1: Viewscreen
Level 2: Captain's chair
Level 3: Ready Room

 

Using the dimensions given on the blueprint the bridge fits perfect into the size of decks (using the premise that each deck is 3m high). 

schematic by Star Trek Online

With a deck height of 3m, this results in a total length of 540.7m.
The official length is therefore correct. This is one of the few examples where the official length of the ship coincides with the mathematical "real" ones.

Design fact: The Sagan class has 17 decks (not 16) because one deck of the lower pylons does not appear in the LCARS blueprint.
This doesn't matter for the upper pylons, as there is only one large deck (3 decks high) where the Plamsma Accelerators are housed.

USS Stargazer - by Doug Drexler

25 May 2025

The size of the Inquiry class

The Inquiry class was a type of starship operated by Starfleet during the late 24th and early 25th centuries.

The deck design of the Inquiry class is quite unique because the windows don't run straight to the decks in the side view. They often curve slightly.

According to this blueprint the ship has 21 decks.

schematic by Star Trek Online

  • The premise for all my deck calculations: a deck is 2.5m + 0.5m for EPS cables, power cables, ... = 3m height for a deck. 
  • My calculations follow a purely mathematical approach. I do not compare bridge modules or disk heights with each other. I always pull in decks based on the rows of windows and then calculate a physically plausible room height.

Despite the difficulties of deck design, I was able to determine a plausible number of decks (based on the rows of windows). These fit the position of the shuttle bay very well, especially from the rear view. 

schematic by Star Trek Online

With a deck height of 3m, this results in a total length of 477.2m

The official length of 640.1m definitely can't be correct. If the ship were 640.1m long, then the deck height would be 4.02m including the cables and technology. This would leave only 3.52m of headroom. With a length of 640.2m, many more decks would have to be added, which would then result in huge windows that often extend over two decks.

22 Feb 2025

STAR TREK Size Comparison Charts - Discovery 23rd century

A the size chart with the ships from Star Trek Discovery which are active in 23rd century.

 
PS: A special thank (and all copyright) for the picture material to: John Eaves, Drex Files, Star Trek Fact Files and Star Trek The Magazine, Starship Collection Magazine and The Light Works.

Size calculations:
 __________


8 Feb 2025

The size of the Reliant class

The Reliant class was a type of Federation starship operated by Starfleet during the early 25th century. Based on the configuration of the Miranda class from the 23rd century, it is based on the same construction method.

According to this blueprint the ship has 14 decks.

schematic by Star Trek Online

  • The premise for all my deck calculations: a deck is 2.5m + 0.5m for EPS cables, power cables, ... = 3m height for a deck. 
  • My calculations follow a purely mathematical approach. I do not compare bridge modules or disk heights with each other. I always pull in decks based on the rows of windows and then calculate a physically plausible room height.
With a deck height of 3m, this results in a total length of 355m.
The official length of 251m
definitely can't be correct, which can be deduced from the rows of windows - especially visible on the bridge segment (decks 1 and 2). If the ship were 251m long, then decks 1 and 2 would be one, or the deck height would only be 2.12m including the cables and technology. This would leave only 1.62m of headroom.

25 Jan 2025

Klingon D-7 Class - Coloration

In terms of color, I wanted to orientate myself on the TOS filming miniature and at the same time build a bridge to the IKS Gr'oth from the DS9 episode "Trials and Tribble-ations".



The hull color of the Klingon D-7 class consists of two colors.
A lighter one:
+ 50% US Grey Light (71045)
+ 10% Gunship Green (71014)
+ 40% USAF Medium Grey (71120)

And a darker one:
+ the color I had mixed before
+ 20% Medium Sea Grey (71049)


While the ship in TOS has a rather blue-gray basic shade, the makers of Star Trek chose a rather green-gray shade for the DS9 episode. I also like that more, because the ship then fits better with the other known Klingon ships, which all have a green basic tone.

screencapture by trekcore.com (DS9 "Trials and Tribble-ations")

20 Dec 2024

The size of the Odyssey class - Enterprise-F

The Odyssey class was a type of Federation starship operated by Starfleet during the late 24th century.  In 2401, the Enterprise-F was under command of Admiral Elizabeth Shelby. She led the opening celebrations for Frontier Day wherein she gave a speech to the entire fleet.

According to this blueprint the ship has 43 decks.

schematic by Star Trek Online

  • The premise for all my deck calculations: a deck is 2.5m + 0.5m for EPS cables, power cables, ... = 3m height for a deck. 
  • My calculations follow a purely mathematical approach. I do not compare bridge modules or disk heights with each other. I always pull in decks based on the rows of windows and then calculate a physically plausible room height.

With a deck height of 3m, this results in a total length of 1061.10m.
The official length is therefore correct. This is one of the few examples where the official length of the ship coincides with the mathematical "real" ones.

Design problems:

  • at the end of decks 3 and 4 there is an oversized airlock (height over two decks)
  • the airlock on deck 27 is as high as the entire deck (3m high)

13 Dec 2024

The size of the Gagarin class

The Gagarin class was a type of Federation starship operated by Starfleet during the early 25th century. Based on the configuration of the Shepard class from the 23rd century, it contains many design elements of this class.

According to this blueprint the ship has 16 decks.

schematic by Star Trek Online

  • The premise for all my deck calculations: a deck is 2.5m + 0.5m for EPS cables, power cables, ... = 3m height for a deck. 
  • My calculations follow a purely mathematical approach. I do not compare bridge modules or disk heights with each other. I always pull in decks based on the rows of windows and then calculate a physically plausible room height.
With a deck height of 3m, this results in a total length of 679.03m.
The official length of 492m
definitely can't be correct, which can be deduced from the rows of windows. If the ship were 492 m long, then decks 1 and 2 would be one, or the deck height would only be 2.06 m including the cables and technology. This would leave only 1.56m of headroom.