Ship Closeup – Nova Class

The Nova-class starship is a tiny but tenacious workhorse of the fleet whose design philosophy focuses around compact size, reliability and a simple but rugged design. Its primary mission task is short-term planetary study, a noticeable shift away from the increasingly more militarized Starfleet design philosophy exemplified in the Defiant and Prometheus classes.
Our community has one active Nova-class starship, the USS Aurora. Let’s learn more about it.
The Nova-class starship is a very small vessel, dwarfed even by the comparatively small Intrepid-class starship. Capable of warp 8 the ship is a science vessel at heart, boasting an impressive array of sensors, expanded science laboratories and associated facilities. Weighing in at 110,000 metric tonnes, the ship is incredibly lightweight. Design wise, the secondary hull of the Nova-class is attached directly to the saucer section, both for ease of construction and for structural integrity purposes.
One unique feature of the Nova-class is the so-called “Waverider” shuttle, which is docked on the ventral hull of the starship. This crafts serves in a similar capacity to the Aeroshuttle of the Intrepid-class, although it is specifically designed to fly in atmospheres too difficult for even the Aeroshuttle- this gives the Nova-class vessel increased mission flexibility and versatility.
The Nova-class is generally unsuitable for combat operations, although they have been directly deployed in harm’s way in the past. Although the tiny vessel lacks a great deal of firepower compared to its larger cousins, its high maneuverability, compact packaging and small attack surface make it surprisingly capable in combat.
One particularly nasty surprise the ship can deploy is its fast-charge shield array- by deactivating their shield array for forty-five seconds, a Nova-class vessel can completely recharge their shields. This, coupled with their small size and high maneuverability, makes the Nova excellent at hit-and-run tactics- especially when presented with natural “cover”, such as a nebula.
The USS Aurora is a newly launched Nova-class vessel, lead by Commander Della Vetri and sailing under the motto “Knowledge is it’s own reward”. We wish them happy sailing!