Miranda class
The Miranda-class starship was a type of Federation starship operated by Starfleet during the 23rd and the 24th century.

History 
The Miranda-class had entered Starfleet service by the 2260s, which included the launch of the  in 2264. (;  dedication placard)

Several Miranda-class starships were in service during the mid-2280s. (; )

Construction of the Miranda-class continued well into the 24th century. One starship, the , was constructed by the Yoyodyne Division and launched on stardate 22519.5 at the 40 Eridani A Starfleet Construction Yards. ( dedication plaque)

The Miranda-class was present in several major Federation engagements against the Borg, including the Battle of Wolf 359 and the Battle of Sector 001. (; ) 

Starships of the Miranda-class were also present in numerous Dominion War battles, where they often served as escorts. Many ships of the class saw action during Operation Return, the First and Second Battles of Chin'toka, and the Battle of Cardassia. ()

The Miranda-class was still in Starfleet service by 2378. ()

In 2381, a Miranda-class ship, the , featured in a holodeck program used by Ensign Beckett Mariner. ()

Technical data 
The mission profile of the Miranda-class varied from performing various scientific roles to conducting patrol duties. (, ; ) By the latter half of the 24th century, one modified ship of this class, the , was also designated as a Class 6 Federation supply ship. ()

By the 24th century, Miranda-class starships operated with a crew complement of 26 to 35 personnel. ()

Physical arrangement 

The configuration of the Miranda-class shared a similar design lineage and features with the refit  implemented in the early 2270s. () The design also closely resembled the  starships that were also in service around the same time. ()
 
The Miranda-class was composed of a single primary hull, consisting of a saucer that was similar to that of the Constitution-class; however, the bridge module, positioned on top in the center, was shaped differently than the Constitution-class module.

Mounted on the underside of the primary hull were two nacelle pylons connected to the warp nacelles. (, etc.) 

Design features of the primary hull included a docking port located on the forward section of the ship; the aft section included two shuttlebays, separated by the vessel's impulse engines. These shuttlebays were visually numbered; "1" being on the rear-port side, and "2" on the rear-starboard side. (; , etc.)

Configurations 
There were five different known hull configurations utilized with the Miranda-class during its time in service. 

The predominant Miranda-class design included a structure immediately above the aft primary hull, as a dorsal extension of the ventral nacelle pylons. This structure was equipped with a weapons pod, containing torpedo launchers and phaser banks. (, et al.) Some configurations lacked this structure, and in other cases, included two large sensor pods affixed on the port and starboard sides of the primary hull. In other configurations, there was a single pod module. (; ) 

By late 2373, Miranda-class ships using the predominant design had undergone upgrades to their warp nacelles and in some cases to impulse engine systems. ()

Tactical systems 
Standard to all designs were six dual phaser banks located on the primary hull – three mounted to the top and three mounted on the bottom of the saucer. Also standard to all designs were two single phaser emitters mounted just beneath the impulse engines. 

In those ships possessing the "roll bar," that superstructure contained two tubular phaser emitters on each side that could fire both forward and to the ship's flanks. There were also two forward and two aft photon torpedo launchers housed in a pod mounted in the center of the superstructure. (; )

By the 24th century, a number of modifications were made to the Miranda-class weapons systems. Some Miranda-class vessels, such as those of the "twin-pod" variant, included a phaser array mounted on the lower part of the ventral dome and photon torpedo launchers in the main part of the ship rather than in a pod on the "roll bar". ()

The class 6 variant of this class featured class 3 defensive armaments. ()

A majority of 24th century Miranda-class vessels of the "roll bar" variant, particularly during the Dominion War, were equipped with phaser arrays and photon torpedoes equivalent to those used on other ships of the era, while keeping the same weapon array placements as the 23rd century Miranda. (; ; etc.)

Interior design

Main bridge 
The design of Miranda-class bridge during the 23rd century shared a similar layout to contemporary vessels of that era.

Located on Deck 1 of the saucer section, the main bridge housed the command center of the Miranda-class. The design lineage of the main bridge was a fairly standard floor plan for a Federation starship. The ship's viewscreen was placed against the forward bulkhead, with side-by-side navigation and helm consoles. The captain's chair was directly aft of the aforementioned stations. Several variations existed in the layout of the surrounding stations. 

At the rear and center of the USS Reliants bridge was a single turbolift entryway. Flanking the turbolift along the rear of the bridge were two stations unique to the Miranda Class; they were the Master Situation Station on the starboard side, and the tactical station on the port side of the bridge. The starboard side of the bridge included the science station and the communications station. () The bridge similarly found on board the USS Saratoga (NCC-1887) also had primary stations located along the perimeter of the bridge; however, the Saratogas science station was located on the port side of the bridge, nearly parallel to the navigation station. () 

By the 24th century, further reconfigurations were made to the layout of the bridge, including the separation of the navigation and helm station, which was replaced by the conn station (on the starboard side) and ops station (on the port side).

The bridge of the USS Lantree was relatively simplistic in design, containing little more than a large LCARS interface and star charts on the back of the bridge. () The bridge of the USS Saratoga (NCC-31911) had a much more complex layout, including two additional standing consoles located behind the conn and ops, parallel and slightly behind the captain's chair. The standing console on the port side of the ship contained the tactical station. Also located on the port side, in the foremost section of the bridge, was a turbolift. Along the aft of the bridge were several various access stations. () 

Relatively similar to the bridge of the Saratoga, the bridge of the USS Brattain had large support braces surrounding the captain's chair to the sides and rear. In place of the two standing consoles of the Saratoga was a single engineering station, placed directly behind the captain's chair and directly in front of an engineering MSD interface. ()

Corridors 

The numerous corridors that connected the various sections of the Miranda-class resembled those of contemporary designs. The corridors on board the USS Reliant resembled those of the refit Constitution-class. () The outer corridors on board the USS Saratoga (NCC-31911) were heavily fortified with a system of support braces. ()

Main engineering 

Main engineering contained a vertical warp core, with multiple levels surrounding the core. ()

Transporter room 

The staging area of the transporter room on board the Miranda-class possessed six transporter pads. Transporter control could be accessed through a console located on the bridge. ()

Shuttlebay 

The Miranda-class featured two shuttlebays, located port and starboard of the ship's center. On some Miranda-class ships, such as the USS Saratoga, both of the shuttlebays held escape pods capable of transporting several personnel. ()

Crew quarters 

The crew quarters located on the outer rim of the ship contained several large picture windows, littered with numerous large support braces. ()

Ships commissioned 
Named
  (NCC-9844)
  (NCC-21166)
  (NCC-1837)
  (NCC-31060)
  (NCC-31910)
  (NCC-1864)
  (NCC-1887)
  (NCC-31911)
  (NCC-31905)
  (NCC-32591)
  (NCC-21382)
  (NCC-1948)

Unnamed
 Unnamed Miranda-class starships

Fictional
  (NCC-1877)

Appendices

Appearances 
In addition to the episode-specific appearances below, the Miranda-class made several appearances as a desktop model in , and .
 :

Background information

Name 
The name Miranda-class was not mentioned in dialogue on-screen, but was devised by the art department of  to refer to this design. The name was used on several pieces of on-screen signage referring to these vessels, and was also used by dedicated references such as the .

In the first draft script of , this class of ship was called Reliant-class. 

According to the , the Miranda-class was "named for Prospero's , a character in William Shakespeare's last play, The Tempest."

According to an early final draft of the script for "Unnatural Selection", the USS Lantree was identified as a "class R Starfleet supply ship" rather than a "class 6 Federation supply ship". 

The Miranda-class was in service for at least 111 years, with the registry of the Reliant appearing on a list of starships in "Court Martial" (set in 2267) and an unnamed ship appearing in a group of Starfleet vessels in "Endgame" (set in 2378).

Specifications 
The specifications for the Miranda were neither mentioned in dialogue, nor seen onscreen, but are referenced from the show's art department. The initial length for the Miranda-class of 765 feet (233 meters) was established during the production of Star Trek II, that was later followed up by Andrew Probert during TNG Season 1. The exact length, based on the universally accepted length of the refit , at least behind-the-scenes, at 1,000 feet and assuming that both classes employ standardized ship components like nacelles and saucer sections, is 234.9 meters (770.67 feet). The scale of the CGI mesh was scaled approximately twenty-five percent smaller than had been previously established. According to a 20 January 1998 post in the newsgroup alt.tv.star-trek.ds9 by David Stipes, a length of approximately 500 to 560 feet (167 to 187 meters) was used when he blocked shots in DS9.

Studio model 
See Miranda-class model.

Technical Manual 
The following information of specifications and defenses comes exclusively from the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual:

 Production Base: ASDB Integration Facility, Starbase 134 Integration Facility, Rigel VI.
 Type: Medium Cruiser.
 Accommodation: 220 officers and crew; 500 personal evacuation limit.
 Power Plant: One 1,500 plus Cochrane warp core feeding two nacelles; one impulse system.
 Dimensions: Length, 277.76 meters; beam, 173.98 meters; height, 65.23 meters.
 Mass: 655,000 metric tons.
 Performance: Warp 9.2 for 12 hours.
 Armament: Six type-7 phaser emitters; two pulse phaser cannons; two photon torpedo launchers.

Apocrypha 
In the comic book "Who Killed Captain Kirk?" and in the materials published by FASA for use with their Star Trek: The Role Playing Game and Star Trek: Starship Tactical Combat Simulator, this ship is referred to as the . FASA describes it as a refit of the , which had a similar design that featured TOS-style warp nacelles. Another popular alternative class designation that had been circulating in fan circles prior to the TNG establishment of the definitive one, had been "Avenger-class", most prominently in the 1989 book Ships of the Star Fleet.

Apocryphal appearances 
The Interplay PC game  featured several Miranda-class vessels including , , , , , and .

The Interplay PC game New Worlds featured the Miranda-class vessel 

The Activision PC game The Fallen featured the Miranda-class vessel . Several levels feature Sisko and Worf exploring the wreckage of the Ulysses.

The Interplay/Taldren games Starfleet Command I, Starfleet Command II, and its expansion, Orion Pirates all based the Federation "new light cruiser" hulls on the Miranda-class.

The PS2/XBox game Star Trek: Shattered Universe featured several Miranda-class vessels including the USS Ranger, its mirror universe counterpart , and a number of other Miranda-class ships in service of the Terran Empire.

In Cryptic Studios' MMORPG Star Trek Online, the first ship a Federation character received was a Miranda-class as the player ended up inheriting it after its captain was killed in action.

The reference work Ships of the Line included information about a . This starship was attacked near the planet Epsilon Draconis III by the Dominion. Suffering major damage, especially to the port nacelle, the captain ordered the crew to abandon the ship, and the crew fled the ship in escape pods. These pods landed on Epsilon Draconis III, a Dominion-controlled planet (pp. 132-133).

In the 2020  calendar, for the month of June, the  (NCC-1926) is depicted as fighting Tholian ships in the Battle of . This event was first mentioned in the Star Trek: Vanguard  .

External link 
 

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Federation starship classes