Archive File 1A:
DAEDALUS CLASS CRUISER
The Daedalus class cruiser was one of the first starship designs used by the United Federation of Planets for Starfleet Command. The first ship of this class was commissioned sometime between 2161 and 2165, although the exact date is unknown. These ships were one of the first designs to use the primary/secondary hull and dual warp nacelle configuration that has since become a trademark of Starfleet vessels. The design made these ships ideal for planetary survey missions, interplanetary patrols, and deep space exploratory assignments.
This early design, although strong for its day, did have a major drawback compared to later starship classes. These vessels were built before Starfleet's Research and Design division at the San Francisco Fleet Yards, Earth discovered a way to link a ship's navigational subsystem with an external sensor net and the onboard computer. As a result, a Daedalus class ship's navigator and helmsman had to work together to calculate a course that would avoid planets, stars, and any other interstellar debris. The helm would then have to be programmed to cause the ship to jump into warp space until it reached a specified point and then drop back into regular space. The navigator and helmsman would then repeat the process of calculating coordinates and do another warp jump, and this procedure would continue until the starship reached its ultimate destination. Therefore, if a Daedalus class cruiser was travelling from Earth to Starbase 12, then it might take performing this maneuver fourteen times to achieve the goal. The first Starfleet vessel to be freed from this difficulty was the first Constitution class heavy cruiser USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) commanded by Fleet Captain Robert April and First Officer George Samuel Kirk, which was launched as an experimental prototype in 2245. [Editor's Note: For more information about this topic, refer to the novel Star Trek: Final Frontier by Diane Carey.]
While on an exploratory mission in the C-111 star system in 2167, the Daedalus class starship USS Archon (NCC-189) visited planet Beta III. The planet had a master computer called Landru that ran planetary affairs, provided a security barrier against foreign elements, and held the population under strict mind control. The computer was known as Landru because it was built and programmed by a popular and wise past leader of the same name who used his own brain wave patterns as a basis for the computer's artificial intelligence. Unfortunately, the computer developed a form of megalomania and believed it actually was its creator Landru although it had originally been programmed to know its true identity. As a result of the computer's problems, it perceived the Archon as an outright threat to planetary security and used a form of tractor beam to destroy the ship by pulling it out of orbit. Although most of the Starfleet crew members were killed, many of the survivors were "absorbed" into the mind-controlled population and were called "the Archons" by the inhabitants from then on. [Editor's Note: Refer to the original series episode "Return of the Archons" for further information.]
Also in 2167, the USS Essex (NCC-173), commanded by Captain Bryce Shumar and First Officer Steven Mullen, was on a survey mission in the Mab-Bu star system. It was caught in an electromagnetic storm over the Class M moon of planet Mab-Bu VI and was destroyed. There were no survivors of the crew of 229. Shumar's immediate superior officer in the sector had been Admiral Uttan Narsu of Starbase 12. When Narsu's orders to find the Essex proved pointless, the vessel's fate remained a complete mystery until 2368 when the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) learned of the tragedy from a group of aliens imprisoned on the moon since before 2167. [Editor's Note: Refer to the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Power Play" for further information.]
The USS Horizon (NCC-176) was assigned to a deep space exploratory mission shortly after it was commissioned. It visited planet Sigma Iotia II, which is located about one hundred light years beyond Federation space, in 2168. The crew reported a humanoid population that was close to industrialization. At that time, Starfleet Command had not yet created the Prime Directive of non-interference, and a Horizon crew member accidentally left behind a print copy of a history book entitled Chicago Mobs of the Twenties. The unintended horrible result was that the Iotian people adopted the book as a model for their society. A short time after first contact at Sigma Iotia II, the Horizon was lost with all crew members. As a result, Starfleet did not know about the cultural contamination of the planet until standard radio signals from the Horizon reached one of the outlying Starbases one century later in 2268. When the signal was received, Starfleet dispatched the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) under the command of Captain James T. Kirk and First Officer Spock to investigate the planet. [Editor's Note: Refer to the original series episode "A Piece of the Action" for further information.]
In comparison to the number of vessels originally launched by Starfleet Command, the class prototype USS Daedalus (NCC-170) and the USS Carolina (NCC-160) were part of a relatively small group of Daedalus class starships to survive until the end of the design's tenure of active duty. Starfleet decommissioned the last of these ships in 2196. Due to many strong years of service provided by vessels of this class, at least one of them has been granted a permanent dock in the Starfleet Museum.
DAEDALUS CLASS CRUISER
