Prometheus class
The Prometheus-class was a highly classified Federation starship designed for deep space tactical assignments. It was one of the most advanced Starfleet vessels in operation during the later half of the 24th century as well as later use in the 25th century.

History 
The class prototype, the , was launched from the Beta Antares Ship Yards in the Antares sector on stardate 50749.5. At the time of its launch, the Prometheus was so highly classified that only four people in all of Starfleet were trained to operate the prototype. ()

In an alternate timeline, vessels of the Prometheus-class were among the Federation fleet that engaged the forces of the Sphere-Builders during the Battle of Procyon V in the 26th century. ()

Technical data

Propulsion system 
The warp drive of the Prometheus-class made the ships of this class faster than any other starship in the fleet at the time in the mid 2370s. The warp drive was capable of maintaining speeds exceeding warp 9.9. ()

Defensive systems 
The Prometheus-class was designed with an unprecedented level of automation, and, combined with its advanced tactical systems, was one of the most powerful combat ships in the Alpha Quadrant. The primary battle systems on board the Prometheus included regenerative shielding, ablative hull armor,  phasers, and photon torpedoes. 

A unique feature included in the Prometheus design was the multi-vector assault mode, which allowed the ship to split into three semi-independent sections that could each deliver massive force against an enemy target. All three sections were warp-capable. In this mode, the Prometheus could easily disable a  at warp, or a  on the field of battle. () While other starship classes had similar capabilities, such as the  with its saucer separation feature, generally the saucer section of such classes had no warp drive and limited weaponry. ()

Additional systems 
In addition to standard automation systems, the Prometheus-class design also featured holoemitters on every deck, which allowed the ship's Emergency Medical Hologram (Mark II) to access all areas of the ship (most EMHs were confined to sickbay only). 

Primary controls for the ventilation system were located in Jefferies tube 17, which was located five decks up from sickbay. ()

Interior design

Main bridge 

The fact that the Prometheus-class was mainly designed for combat was reflected in the design of its bridge. The bridge was designed with efficiency in mind, providing the commanding officer with visual access to all major stations when seated in the command chair. Directly in front of the captain's chair, sunken down with three steps, was the location of the helm on the port side and another station to starboard, combined in one large console. The latter was used to activate multi-vector assault mode and assess the status of ship systems, among other tasks. Both officers shared an unobstructed view of the main viewscreen with the commanding officer. All other stations were mounted against the wall, running around the entire length of the room. Directly aft of the captain's chair was the master systems display, with ops and tactical stations to starboard and port, respectively. To the captain's left and right, beyond these stations, were doors that may have provided access to the turbolift system. Further forward still, on either side of the main view screen, were two more stations, which also faced away from the center of the bridge. The starboard one displayed the same graphics as a typical engineering station of the era and provided an alarm when a warp core breach was imminent. Such an accident could quickly be prevented using this station as well. ()

Sickbay 

Sickbays on the Prometheus-class contained a single surgical biobed and a spartan research area. The sickbays were stocked with the latest in medical technologies and were the first to test the EMH Mark II. ()

Ships commissioned 
Named
  (NX-59650, prototype)
Unnamed
 Unnamed Prometheus-class starships

Appendices

Appearances

Background information 

The Prometheus-class was designed by Star Trek: Voyager senior illustrator Rick Sternbach and rendered as a CGI model by Foundation Imaging's Adam "Mojo" Lebowitz and Brandon MacDougall. Though the script for "Message in a Bottle" originally called for the Prometheus to split into five ships, the producers decided this may be difficult to make work on screen, and trimmed it down to three. Very early in the design process, Sternbach decided on a four-nacelle design, so the engineering section could easily split along the horizontal axis, into what Sternbach's sketches labeled the "Upper Warp Hull (UWH)" and the "Lower Warp Hull (LWH)." ()

What had started as a Voyager-style shuttlebay door was changed to an "Enterprise-1701-refit set of door fans." The nacelles were intentionally reminiscent of the , with additional inspiration from the  and  aircraft. ()

A production comparison chart would list the Prometheus as 1,360 feet (414 meters) in length. () A length of 414 meters was also listed in Eden FX materials. ()

The Prometheus-class interiors were designed by Voyager production designer Richard James, using re-dressed portions of the re-created  bridge that James had made for , the  sickbay, and a number of new sets. One year later, the bridge set went on to again be redressed, for the  .

Maximum speed 
↑Dialogue in "Message in a Bottle" suggests that warp 9.9, at which the Prometheus was traveling, was too fast for any other ship in Starfleet to catch up with before the ship crossed into the neutral zone. The  suggests that a speed of warp 9.9 makes it "the fastest vessel in Starfleet." The Star Trek: Starship Spotter (p. 69) lists the maximum speed as warp 9.99, which corresponds more closely with the idea of the Prometheus being the fastest ship in the fleet, since the  had been previously established as capable of warp 9.975.

The Star Trek: Starship Spotter (p. 69) lists the following details and specifications:
 Dimensions: Length, 415 meters; beam, 170 meters; draft, 113 meters
 Crew complement: 141 persons
 Velocity: cruising speed, warp 9; maximum speed, warp 9.99
 Standard mission: 1 year
 Warp systems: Four LF-50 Mod 1 Advanced Linear Warp Drive Units, One LF-12X Mod 2 Compact Linear Warp Drive Unit
 Weapons: Thirteen Type XII Collimated Phaser Arrays, Three Mk 95 Diret-Fire Photon Torpedo Tubes
 Primary computer system: M-16 Bio-neural gel pack Isolinear III Processor
 Embarked craft: two shuttlecraft, four shuttlepods

Apocrypha 
In the  series of s Avatar, Book One and Book Two, a Prometheus-class starship named  served as Admiral William Ross' personal flagship, replacing the .

In the game Star Trek Online, the class is categorized as an "advanced escort", with derived classes named , , and . When the class was initially added to the game, it did not feature multi-vector assault mode. This was added at a later date via a "multi-vector assault module" console and also included an alternate ship configuration.

External link 
 

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Federation starship classes