Nova Class Starship 

I love the Nova class. It had another advantage over the Oberth, it wasn't made of explodium.

UFP: We need a replacement for the Oberth class. SF Design: Hold my synthale (Shows ship with 11 phaser arrays and 4 torpedo launchers) UFP: We get it. Oberth was a little too passive.

One design choice that made the Nova class infinitely superior was the choice of hull material. It turned out that making Oberth class ships out of explodium had been a design flaw. Nova class ships proved capable of taking more than one hit before becoming flaming wreckage.

until this video i never noticed how adorable the Nova is

The Nova class always makes me think of a mini Sovereign class

Oh to be on a three year deep space science mission on a nice little Nova, away from the chaos, just checking out cool plants and chilling in the holodeck on weekends. Starfleet goals

Ever since the Nova class was introduced in ST-Voy it's had a special place in my heart, it's an absolutely gorgeous ship that makes sense for starfleet to have, So much fun potential crammed into a small package without it relying on plot armour. I've made Various ships of the class the "Home Base" for a number of homebrew RPGs for my friends

"Whoever designed the Oberth class should be made to live on one... permanently!!!" -the Dockmaster Seriously, this is one of the prettier ships SF made, and is one of my favorites, along with the sovereign!

Gotta admit, playing STO as a science officer, getting my first Nova was the first time I felt I wasn't flying an old junker. I loved that ship right up until I got my Luna.

The Nova class is one of my favorite designs. Thanks for doing this.

I think they did a wonderful job with the Nova Class. Even considering what it was initially intended to replace, this ship class is very well designed, balanced & elegant. Nothing bad to say about it.

"Plus they were running out of Oberths" made me lol Keep up the good work. I'm enjoying these breakdowns, especially with the STO footage.

Used a Nova class starship in one of my Star Trek RPG campaigns. Useful vessel for supporting new settlements; second contact duties; boundary/frontier scouting & surveys; etc. The type of ship with assignments to secondary exploration & support roles.

I love the Nova. It looks very cozy. It's easily my favorite ship.

This is definitely a ship made to have a home starbase, like the Defiant.

Last time I was this early I was stuck in the Delta quadrant!

I do like the later era designs for Starfleet ships. Not only because they're beautifully designed, but because I love what they represent. That the Federation has grown in the face of adversity, that it's no longer complacent and stagnant, that it's willing to fight hard for what it has. But hasn't lost it's soul and is still tries to be an enlightened and compassionate civilisation.

We know the Tech Manuals aren't officially full canon but it's fun to see how often they get mined for material that becomes canon. Yes, I know, a bunch of almost-made-it material was included in them for fanservice but still it's nice to know it wasn't wasted.

In many respects, I could see the Nova-class becoming the Miranda of the 25th century Starfleet.

Now I wish for a new Star Trek show starring Garret Wong as Harry Kim, captain of the USS Rhode Island a Nova-Class starship.

i used this ship exclusively on my tactical character on STO with massive success. i love this ship

I love the Nova Class, It can go faster than Warp 8 if you throw some ghosts into the engine.

I loved my Nova in STO. I liked to imagine that it's smaller size meant the crew was closer and more personally involved with one another. Thus I would avoid fights and focus on survival when in one. Functionally it helped justify my solo conservative playstyle but I enjoyed that role play aspect.

Definitely a better science ship than the Oberth-class.

OMG, I don't know exactly why, but this is one of my favorite ships in Next Gen Star Trek

I figured that, due to the planetary landing capability, the Nova class should be pretty touch. I imagine that removing the landing struts and some of the labs would allow for a Defiant type warp core, which could power more tactical systems. A tough scout ship might have been needed during the Dominion War.

The Nova class is _what it needed to be_ for those Equinox episodes, but it is not consistent in its design brief - it should have a *Holodeck* and be *fast.* [Warning Essay] The ship needed to have no Holodeck for plot reasons, because that is a luxury that would keep the crew psychologically healthy. But a Holodeck is a *necessity for a science vessel.* Pretty well every scientific mystery episode featured analysis on the Holodeck, its the single most important analytical tool Starfleet ships have. And since it can work just like real equipment, it can be used as spare laboratories. Spare bespoke specialist laboratories that weren't included in the dozen or so labs that your ship already has (although standard labs are good enough to do illegal experiments on using sentients as nitro). And it can create artificial environments, simulations of phenomenon and provide AI experts (like Cardassian doctors, and hold on, you already have holosystems installed - the EMH!) and training from simulations of the best teachers and scientist, and… The list goes on, it's just to useful not to include, except for story purposes. But they could have just stated that the Holodeck had been destroyed on the Equinox. Except that Voyager gets half it's interior reconfigured into Holodecks by Hirogen or three decks blown away and its back to normal next week - although maybe the Intrepid class has an experimental manufacturing facility that besides making shuttles and photon torpedoes could rebuild the ship. A industrial replicator built on top of a transporter [and why don't small Federation ships have a combo holodeck/replicator/transporter built into one room to save space, they use the same technological principles? and it would make the Holodeck becoming sentient even more fun…]. Although the official explanation is that Voyager is constructed of *Weeklonium,* that _resets to its default condition_ every week. One solution would have been to show the Equinox with part of the ship missing, say a corner of the saucer section, the Holodeck was there, and the main replicators are trashed as well so it can't be rebuilt. But seriously, you could make a science vessel half holodeck with labs created on the fly, as long as it had a power surplus, and it would be a viable design. Another main plot point of the Equinox was it was slow, so getting back home was even harder (as was avoiding combat by running away, something a non combat vessel, with eleven phasers(?), off by itself examining uninhabited planets in a big nasty galaxy should do), till it was modified to run on dolphin blood (a suggestion put forward by GENERATION TECH). But in the backstory of the Nova class it says that the original hull design was from the Defiant pathfinder when they were thinking of a *high warp torpedo attack boat,* instead of the close range maneuverable slugger they went with. It was capable of warp 9.982 (really fast) and was designed to do hit and run strikes. It states that the warp core was downgraded to increase service intervals, which is huh? If it's for long term missions then why no Holodecks? And if it's short range missions then service intervals are not a issue. Surely you just don't thrash it at full power to keep it running sweet. A nice big warp core that doesn't have to go above 50% power in normal use would run smoothly for years, a small warp core that you have to rev to get anywhere burns out quicker. It does make sense to have a fast science vessel, it can get to _time sensitive_ phenomenon quickly, it can run away from trouble if it encounters hostiles by itself instead of tying up other ships in rescuing or more likely avenging it. And it can waste less time in transit from one site to another. And the big, big issue is it's listed as a dual purpose ship (triple, it's a explorer). It's also a *scout ship,* for use in general war (eleven phaser arrays and three torpedo launchers…). It has the best sensor array of any Starfleet vessel so it's job was to travel ahead of the fleet and scan for enemies, as well as go by itself on recon missions. But it can't do that if it's so slow it holds the fleet up and can't stay out of range when it detects enemy ships or even get to the designated search zone in a reasonable timeframe. Quite simply this is not compatible with its three cylinder engine from a city car. It should have a big V6 at least or even a V8 and use cylinder deactivation when it's just puttering around on its daily commute, but be able to burn rubber when it's scouting for tanks in a hot zone. The ship has contradictions in its concept. This inconsistencies could have been all solved if it had been stated that it originally had these features (Holodeck and high warp) but they, and the ability to repair them, had been destroyed when the captain decided to challenge an _entire alien armada_ with the authority of the Federation, which was approximately 70 plus years away travel time, in order to save a few weeks on that same journey. Or maybe the Holodeck was to be installed on Tuesday? Still one major improvement was that in instead of being constructed of *Explodium* like the Oberth, it's now built out of *Unrepairium.*

The Nova class is my favorite Starfleet ship! I absolutely LOVE the Rhode Island refit of it too. Thanks for the breakdown!

"We gave it double shelding, the back bone of the Defiant and a ton of passers! Then we called it a Science Ship!!!" Overheard - A Drunk Engineer, at Quark's Bar, Grill, Gaming House and Holosuite Arcade, 2372.

The deflector dish is capable of being used to solve whatever problems that are required to be resolved by the plot before the end of the episode.

Always been one of my favorite trek ship designs, love the cutout in the front and the secondary deflector

We commonly talk about the Borg but the re-emergence of the romulans also had a profound effect. The Nova class certainly was a test bed that incorporated multiple priorities that would later diverge. These divergences would be the defiant the sovereign the Intrepid, and the Norway. The Akira, Danube-class, the steam Runner the saber and the Venture class I believe have Origins with the romulans in mind. The Borg serve as a more politically appropriate excuse.

Much needed, and worthy, successor to the aging Oberth class.

While the "fun" is usually in the bigger, faster & stronger ships, the Nova seems like a fine vessel that I wouldn't mind being made Captain of. Great video. Very interesting & informative.

I love the little Novas, especially as a tackler in STO:beta. Why Starfleet decided to deliberately under power and under speed such a otherwise versatile and well armed ship I will probably never understand with in universe reasons. Maybe a Nova refit will bring us a fast utility science escort?

I could see this used by Starfleet marines, manoverable, surprisingly tough hull and shields for its size and capable of ground to orbit flight would have made it perfect for planetary assaults putting or retrieving a platoon on the surface quickly even without transporters.

The Nova class is one of my absolute favorite classes of Starfleet ships!

I've always loved this ship design. It's just gorgeous.

I got a soft spot for the little ship. It's modern and sleek but still small and useful. Wouldn't mind being captain of one myself if I were in Star Trek though I'd probably sacrifice some space for an additional holodeck or two.

I always loved the Nova class. I dare say it' s cute.

When I first saw it back on Voyagers season finale and premier for Equinox Part 1 and 2. I fell in love with it. Honestly they could have it as a swiss army knife of ships.

I love the Nova. I'm a big fan of small ships and the Niva was my favorite part of that Voyager 2-parter.

Phaser strips seem to have been a short-lived Federation fad from the TNG era. They'd used fixed-point phaser cannons previously, and the dedicated combat ships (especially the Defiant) tended to favour that design instead. Then classes like the Nova and Intrepid had shorter, more numerous phaser strips, not the really long ones like on the Galaxy. I don't think any other race had such a feature on their ships. It's a pity, because watching them charge up made it look powerful, but perhaps it was just that the intimidation factor had a negative impact on its effectiveness in combat.

This is one of my favorite Federation vessels. All the DNA of Federation design philosophy is on display here, refined and distilled in a vessel with a small crew compliment. What a cool class to command!

Years ago,, I bought a resin model of the Nova class ship that was made in scale with the Voyager (plastic)model kit. The ship, though small is a very good design

Pretty much my favourite Starfleet ship class. I think it helped fill a massive void as far as small and potentially modular vessels were concerned.

I think one of the things that often gets missed about the Oberth class in the 24th is that they often had non-Starfleet registries such as NAR or NSP. What this seems to indicate is that many of them were already phased out of Starfleet service and transferred to civilian operators such as various scientific institutions or possibly even as civilian transports. This would imply that a high degree of automation had been installed on them prior to civilian transfer. I think Starfleet actually kept a few of them in operation specifically as spy ships and for covert technology testing, like the USS Pegasus, largely because they wouldn't draw attention to themselves. I wonder if this phasing out of the Oberths well before the Novas were ready helped contribute to the retention of so many Mirandas which were being converted to all kinds of auxiliary roles. I do think it likely that the Novas get re-engined at some point in the 2380s and once they are they prove themselves to be a lot more versatile than just light science vessels and scouts. I can easily see them in traditional coast guard-type roles: internal security, patrol, customs and trade enforcement, search and rescue, those sorts of things.

I always thought the Nova Class would be good for a tabletop RPG. It's smaller and more intimate for players to get around but is still tough enough to survive many situations.

A great vid mate. Cheers and well done. I love the Nova -class. I think it is a good multi purpose ship

I love the Oberth Memes and I love the Nova Class Starship. Even after the showcase of the "Rhode Island" refit, I fell in love with the Nova class since, imo, the starship debut at new class of starship that portrayed a sense of scientific exploration yet not yet naive in lack of defenses since the grandeur of space is not meant for the timid : )

🖖😎👍Very cool and very nicely well done and informatively explained and executed in every detail way shape and format provided on the Nova class starship's and on its design and various functions, duties and missions required of it as well as it's engine's capabilites and shielding and various weapons systems, A job very wonderfully well done indeed Sir!👌.

I really love that little ship it looks really great I like the smaller ships better than the big ships for the most part

I think it's adorable

Hey Rick thanks again for another fantastic informative ship lore video, my favourite design of ship is the Normandy SR series of ship from Mass effect 😀

Love the nova design it is just amazing to me. Great vid sir and please keep them coming. You are what I listen to when I play sto every day.

I always liked the look of the Nova. It’s angular look is aggressive. I envision it as an anti cloak vessel with its advanced sensors much like anti sub destroyers in WW2. It should be a match for Klingon bird of preys or act as a hound to flush out larger cloaked vessels.

The Fleet Nova Pilot Scout Ship is a great Sci ship. It's tough for a scout, has a secondary deflector, a Science commander seat.

Another one of my favourite ships. A really pretty design and quite the plucky little bastard!

One of the smaller issues perhaps of a Nova class is a lack of holosuites onboard. I'd seriously would have to recommend holographic fitted rooms for the various science labs to become multi-purpose labs instead, mostly so I could then fit in at least a few smaller holosuites like that size Quark uses. Combat wise, a smaller and more agile ship that could easily be armored up and fitted with proper weapons, makes a lot more sense then dedicated large one time use war ships. With some careful planning, such a small ship hull could really be refit and built into a multi purpose roll, and being so small means you can have a lot more of them. Logistically the smaller ship design also tends to be easier to field a large number of them. Though I admit the very first thing I'd probably do to a Nova if I were the captain, is put some armoring on the thing. Exploration is dangerous, theres no excuse you can give me that would stop me from doing some sensible ship-wide protection options.

I'm really enjoying these starship videos

The really heavy armament for the Nova highlights something that is implied but never stated on screen, the closest being TMP. That being, phasers on Starfleet vessels likely draw from a common capacitor and power source. Which means the strength of the ship's phaser armaments are decided most by the variant of the phaser (e.g. Phaser Type XI) and the power generation of the ship. This partially explains why Defiant was built with an oversize warp core, it wasn't just for the speed. Individual phaser strips likely still have firing limitations, like maybe an overheat state, but probably not to a significant degree. More phasers does not equal more firepower, outside of firing arc coverage. The Nova therefore likely has a very low phaser output, despite the larger number of strips. What makes most Starfleet ships notably very powerful in combat regardless of size is the torpedoes. Even a single launcher is the same as a launcher on any other ship, as torpedoes are standardized. Most Starfleet ships at least have 2 forward launchers, giving them a lot of commonality in terms of firepower.

One of my favorite ships, along with the saber and the Raven type. Smaller ships seem more appealing and whenever I see those "what ship would you choose" questions I always think of these examples. Though the Raven type could probably be made the most cozy or livable ships.

I love this little ship, and while I was also a fan of the Oberth, I think the Nova is an improvement. I don't just mean 'in game stats', I mean, a better design concept, having never been a fan of 'how DO we get into the secondary hull?' issue of the Oberth. :D

Adorable. I love it. It's amazing and I want one.

I really like this ship. I'm my head canon I figure it not only replaced the Oberth class but also more or less the Miranda as well. But either way really love this little ship

One of my favorites :-)

I know I'm late on this but I really like the Nova class ship. Most importantly I love the U.S.S. Rhode Island version of the Nova class. The Equinox is alright but that big cut out of the saucer deflector dish didn't sit right with me, never has. With the Rhode Island it looks more like an Intrepid now. I also loved the raised bridge for the U.S.S. Rhode Island. I do love the early concepts that's shown in the TNG Tech Manual.

The Nova is a cool design and looks like it fits it's role well.

The Nova class is a great example of Starfleet taking its time and getting a ship right... 🤔

Nice ship i could hope to own one day, haha! Great job on the video, I like how you mix real life into the star trek lore. I remember seeing the original design in my tng technical journal. Same as the prototype for the Enterprise J.

Another great video 📹

Very nice video! "Running out of Oberths" LOL

Finally, a little science ship that doesn't explode if someone looks at it funny, and actually looks good rather than something cobbled together by a 2 year old with duplo blocks.

I absolutely love the star trek game on Xbox its amazing fun being able to fly in a patrol fleet of three or four ships doing missions and helping each other out on the multiplayer missions.

The novas variable geometry nacelles is reminiscent to variable geometry wings on the F14 from top gun thanks again Rick 😀

Almost anything is an upgrade from the doom canoe. Cloaked or at least stealthed, a tactical Nova with space for 200 passengers and a second EMH would be a capable special missions ship if Starfleet ever got willing to fight anything but defensive wars of attrition.

The Rhode Island is a neat little ship, with the overcharged defiant-type core re-installed and upgraded tactical systems, it's like a more comfortable Defiant without giving up a lot in most situations to the smaller, more focused craft.

The little ship design that could no matter how much it got cannibalized it kept on trying til it became a new ship to help the fleet

My all-time favorite Starfleet design. Thank you for the video, though I must point out some errors. The Nova has only two torpedo launchers. They are not located above the main navigational deflector dish (think Intrepid), but are instead located on the bow, flanking both sides of the secondary deflector dish. Additionally, you misidentified the impulse engine as an aft torpedo launcher.

Awesome vid

I adore the nova class and the Rhode Island variant. It looks like a sports car of a starship.

I love this ship and design. I would love to see a TV or Movie with it being the ship it uses.

Really loved this ship class would love to serve aboard this ship myself

Interesting! 👍

...I now want to see a Terran version of this ship that's a destroyer escort in STO.

One of my favorite ships in STO.

Love this ship. It's got a lot of potential in a (comparatively) small package. I wish it was better in STO though. My STA group is flying one. It's perfect for a small crew.

My favorite Federation starship!

One of my favourite class of ships . It was nice to get a ship that wasn't a kitbash effort

My favorite ship.

I love the Nova class, especially the Rhode Island version

Great video! It would be nice to see a video for the Diligent Class as well.

I think the lore story for the Nova is far better told from the perspective of a design team or design bureau. The way you tell the story makes it sound like the "nova class" itself was changing form and structure as though it were an android giving up it's parts. Instead the design *on paper* for the not even finished *draft concept* for a new starship were changing, which is literally a collection of technologies and theories of operation on how to make a complete starship come together. That is a very long way of saying that a single design team had the goals of their project change on them repeatedly and so the design work they *had* done to investigate implementing new technologies, which is usually the very start of a project, they looked to use elsewhere to not waste their work/time, and the value of that work was likely the only reason that particular design team stayed together as very early concepts for ship designs are something that should be being *constantly* suggested and shelved based on changing requirements, as is the case in reality. So where you say the ship is very different from it's original purpose, I think it's better to phase it as the design concept is very different from it's initial brief, that the team's actual assigned task kept changing, as the design of the actual thing that became the Nova itself, the actual hull form, did not come until a lot later, the other concepts *could* have become the Nova, but didn't, they were only ideas. Like others, though, I *love* the Nova class

It's cuuuuute... 🥰

*nucleogenic lifeforms left the chat*

It's always nice when you cover real Trek.

Ok making me want to fly the Equinox Class :) not a true Nova but still carries her spirit.

Feels like a deflector pod could be attached at the front like the defiant hope sto gives us the defiant pathfinder

I graduated from Starfleet Academy. 1st in the class. They assigned me to a Nova class! It's not bad. When we were out in the delta Quadrant we kidnapped these energy beings and used them on our warp core. It worked until captain Janeway of Voyager got sour about it and she shot our ship. So now here I am. When I got back to the alpha Quadrant they assigned me to cleaning toilets at Quarks bar on DS9.

Honestly it makes sense for Star Fleet security to use this hull but with an up-rated warp core. Good sensors, comprehensive weapon suite and advanced shields plus a normal role that is rather unassuming and nonthreatening.