Undoubtedly the undisputed champion of design longevity, the Miranda Class is one of the strongest holdovers from the 23rd century with a design surviving multiple upgrades and new integrations over the years.
Initially designed for scientific missions, as well as being used for border patrol, the Miranda Class was first launched in the 2260’s with a streamlined design mirroring the Constitution Class. A simplified saucer with underslung nacelles, the Miranda was also incredibly adaptable. The original variant included a rollbar on top of the rear of the extended saucer with a dual torpedo launcher.
Other variations included having no weapons module, some replacing it with a mounted sensor pod, and side-mounted sensor equipment among other changes the modular design would allow.
Shuttle and cargo bays were installed in the elongated bulk of the rear saucer with large doors leading to these bays on either side of the impulse engines. Aside from the rollbar variants tactical module, regular defences included three dual phaser banks on each side of the saucer with the ability to add more defensive weaponry in the same method as the modular mission specific pods.
Initially the bridge module mirrored the standard 23rd century design, with only minor differences form the Constitution class of the era. However later iterations of the bridge module would be modernised to the standard of the time; such as the USS Saratoga which included two large consoles either side of the Captains chair as well as split flight and operation consoles similar to the Galaxy Class of the era.
Other bridge modules would vary from the simplistic design of the USS Langtree’s bridge to the complex multi-level module used on the US Brattain. Main Engineering was more standardised, set between the two shuttle bays surrounding the warp core stretched between decks two and six.
The adaptable and versatile nature of the class would see it’s production last well into the 24th century. Miranda Class ships were even used in the Dominion War as both escorts as well as on the front lines in various conflicts including the final battle at Cardassia Prime.
Measuring just 233 meters in overall length, the Miranda is a nimble little ship that, thanks to it’s small size, is able to be manned by just 20-30 officers and crew by the 24th century though it can house up to two hundred dependant on mission profile.
First introduced in 1984’s Wrath of Khan as the USS Reliant, the Miranda Class was the first instance of a Starfleet ship that wasn’t a Constitution Class and the first ship in Trek to be designed since the Klingon Battlecruiser was built. Designed and constructed at Industrial Light & Magic under the supervision of Steve Gawley, the Reliant solidified the saucer section as a Starfleet identifier and used several elements from the studio’s Enterprise model to build a smaller, less bulky model in order to showcase it as the ‘lesser’ ship as well as make filming more practical than the hero ship.
Taking four months to build, Paramount got more than their moneys worth from the model which would appear again in The Voyage Home as the adrift USS Saratoga and find itself repurposed for multiple Starships in the Next Generation era from another Saratoga, this time a ship at Wolf-359, to other iterations including an extensive refit to become the Soyuz Class USS Bozeman in TNG’s Cause and Effect. Eventually the model would be retired for digital assets in Deep Space Nine and feature in multiple front line battles against he Dominion. The Digital models final appearance was in Voyagers Endgame where a Miranda Class was among the home fleet, though a final model was built for the Starfleet Museum in Star Trek Picard.
It’s physical arrangement has been copied many times over in both official and fan works. By the 254th century the class had finally been phased out after a hundred and forty years of being in production. The model was replaced by the Reliant Class design which first featured in Star Trek Online before artist Thomas Marrone was drafted in to bring the ship to live action alongside some of the games other popular designs.
Despite being replaced by a fully up to date new model in the Reliant Class, the Miranda is still the longest reigning and functional Starship designs used throughout Starfleet history and remains one of the most reliant adaptable structures
About the author
Delta Quarter Promotions & Citations: September 2026
Throughout it’s entire existence SFC has grown, evolved and thrived due to the commitment and passion of our officers and crew. Keen members can make a huge difference within their unit or the fleet as a whole, and we like to ensure members are rewarded and recognised for all they bring to the organisation. Starting this year, we're opening every new period within the fleet celebrating those who have made an impact and engaged in being a positive influence in their unit or in Q2 overall. And while we're getting in a little bit earlier, we'd like to introduce our Delta Quarter awards. While promotion is one of the most visible awards available to members, one of the most vital are our commendations. Commendations are a formal recognition awarded to members of Quadrant 2 who have shown commendable service and […]
What If…. the Whales Were Never Extinct?
Fondly remembered as the lightest, more comedic entries in Star Trek's film offerings, The Voyage Home is the story of an alien probe coming to Earth to talk to it's whale pen pal, a little bit miffed that they've not had a letter in a while. In the 21st century, those pen pals – Humpback Whales – had been hunted to extinction. Meanwhile, Kirk and his disgraced crew were on the way home to stand trial and through some time warp shenanigans, take a stolen Bird of Prey back to the 20th century, kidnap some whales, and take them to the 23rd century to save the day. The charges against Kirk were a fairly big deal. Previously Kirk had stolen a soon to be retired Enterprise, went against orders and along with support from his long standing command crew barged […]
[Retro Review] The Doomsday Machine
Responding to a distress call from the USS Constellation, the Enterprise race to the rescue but they arrive too late to save the day. Coming under fire from an alien entity, the Constellation has been heavily damaged and with only one survivor within it's charred shell; Commodore Matt Decker... Still in shock from the attack, Decker isn't able to say if it was an alien ship, or a creature that tore his ship apart. It doesn't take long to track the aliens flight path. It's not from around these parts, entering the Galaxy and on course towards populated areas that would undoubtedly be next in it's devastating path. Beaming on board with an away team, Kirk aims to try and get whats left of the ship back up and running while getting Decker to safety. But during the transit, the […]
Under Pressure: ‘Orders Of Magnitude’, Strange New Worlds S4E08
Boarding as a hero and legend, Admiral Joe Reeger arrives, take command and leaves Pike stranded as he leads the remaining Enterprise crew on an urgent mission. With a visiting (again!) James Kirk picked out as first officer, Reegers mission and motivations come into question and puts Kirk's leadership to task... Writers: Alan B McElroy Director: Sharon Lewis One thing about season four that's been a highlight through some uneven episodes is how it's guiding it's characters form our first contact with them in this series, and how we originally met them sixty years earlier. While it's been more obvious with Spock's pivot towards being closer to his logical side, we've had Chapel make the choice to become a permanent part of the Enterprise and Scotty's move towards being the 'miracle worker'. Even Pike seems to be on the […]
Days of Our Unreal Lives: ‘Like Chronitons Through The Hourglass’, Strange New Worlds S4E07
Waking up in sickbay with a comical bandage on his head following a shuttle accident, Pike quickly notices things are a bit off. The lights are too bright. The medical staff are behaving oddly with dramatic pauses aplenty. And he's fairly certain space madness isn't a genuine diagnosis. As the hour continues with devious secret siblings, dramatic feats of medicine and family drama aplenty, Pike is drawn further into the strangest of all worlds; the soap opera. Writers: Dana Horgan and Bill WolkoffDirector: Anna Dozoka Soap opera's are mental. And for a theme it's even more mental than it seems. But considering soap opera's are basically just overly dramatic premises with long lost relatives you'd never before heard of, absolutely insane scenario's that make Maggie Simpson shooting Mr Burns seem normal and plot twists so insane you genuinely have to […]
Star Trek Day 2026: Celebrating 60 Years of the Final Frontier!
Sixty years ago the world was introduced to a sci fi series that planted a seed of adventure, imagination and inspiration that would blossom into a juggernaut of media. After launching with the Man Trap on September 8th in the United States, the series would later grow into a pop culture icon spawning 9 Live Action Series, 3 Animated Series, 13 Feature Films & more including Streaming Events, Shorts and a huge amount of offshoot media across games, comics and books. With generations of fans discovering new era's and new adventures for decades, today we celebrate not only that first flight of the USS Enterprise and it's original crew, but an entire franchise that continued to grow, evolve, building a world of adventure, inspiration and hope for a better future! As we celebrate Star Trek at 60, we'd love to hear how […]
Related
[Ships of the Line] The Galaxy Class
The peak of mid-24th century design, the Galaxy Class was one of the fleet's most iconic capitol ships that inspired a whole new generation of Starfleet. Built for longevity, the Galaxy was conceived as a deep space exploration cruiser that was not only an adaptable megastructure of science and research, but one that was entirely self sustainable whilst giving it's crew all the creature comforts they need for years, or even decades, without having to turn back home. The key to the Galaxy Class' success was in large part down to it's modular design. It's vast internal space, mainly within the ships primary hull, was designed with extreme flexibility in mind to the point that some ships, including the flagship Enterprise, were launched with around a third of it's internal volume vacant for later improvements or mission specific adaption. Deck […]
[Ships of the Line] Send ‘nubes! The Danube Class Runabout
The world of Star Trek is filled with graceful and elegant ships, huge forces of nature packed to the rafters with a bustling crew with every skill imaginable under one roof for any situation. But not all of the fleet's numbers are massive hulks ready for adventure. Sometimes you just need a little runner to get you from one place to another for missions that might last a few weeks more than a few years. Put into action in the late 2360's, the Danube Class Runabout was ideal for short term missions or teams that needed more than a cramped and empty transport shuttle to get the job done. At at least four or five times the size of a standard shuttlecraft, the Danube class was a step up from the range of short-range craft. Designed as a tightly condensed […]
[Ships of the Line] The Pathfinder
Building upon the discoveries and experiences of Voyager's unplanned trip through the Delta Quadrant, the Pathfinder class is the first line of starships designed specifically for the Delta Quadrant. Less a replacement for the Intrepid and more of a specialised offshoot, the Pathfinder was conceived for a return to the Delta Quadrant with a ship and crew prepared for what to expect. [Image Note: Pathfinder Class model by Thomas Marrone. Screencap taken in Star Trek Online with Sovereign Refit Livery.] After being stranded in the Delta Quadrant, the USS Voyager returned to Earth in 2378 with a little intervention from their future selves, Borg transwarp conduits and enough technology from the future that would drive Temporal Investigations to insanity. Between the new technologies brought in by Admiral Janeway to the discoveries and modifications applied to the ship throughout it's isolated […]
[Ships of the Line] The Ambassador Class
A stepping stone between two pivotal design era's, the Ambassador Class was introduced by the 2320's as a replacement for the Excelsior and Constellation lines before being itself replaced with the larger and more adaptable Galaxy Class. Constructed during a time of cautious optimism in the decades following the original Khitomer conference and relative silence from the Romulan Empire. Strong and sturdy in it's nature, the Ambassador line were installed as a key front line heavy cruiser as a deterrent against enemies of the Federation to take advantage of the relative peace of the early 24th century. Traditional in it's layout, the design process was more drawn out than most and included several variations in style and layout before a more solid and simple base was produced for the final model which included a traditional secondary hull linking back to […]
[Ships of the Line] Dauntless Class (2380’s)
In 2374 the crew of Voyager, stranded in the Delta Quadrant were given a life line; an advanced Starship complete with slipstream drive that would reduce the time of their journey back to Earth form decades to months. Appearing alongside an introduction form Starfleet, the Dauntless appeared to be the next step of Starship evolution. Until they realised it was all a lie – an alien ship dressed up as a Federation ship in a revenge plot that would have led the all to their deaths. Despite the truth being revealed, Voyager's crew had extensively studied the Dauntless and would later try and apply some of the research in an abandoned mission. Once they did return home, thanks to the Borg transwarp network, the Dauntless research was handed over to Starfleets R&D division to reverse engineer their findings and create […]
Relay Recap: July 2024
All Features Universe Categories Fleet Alert Comms GORN GIRL recap; july 2025 Picking up on the Season 2 cliff-hanger, Strange New Worlds returned to our screens this month to find Captain Pike and his crew on the edge of war with the Gorn as Season 3 was finally released!Exploring new worlds and new problems, the Enterprise crew are back in action on Paramount Plus and we're keeping ourselves up to date with weekly episode discussion threads on our FB Continuing Mission Group & Weekly episode reviews from Admin ! Explore... Episode Reviews Spoilers Group ACROSS THE UNIVERSE As we look back on Pike's adventures on the Enterprise in the prequel series, Paramount also gave us a look at whats to come next as Entertainment Weekly and SDCC's Star Trek Universe panel gave us a sneak peek at the reopening of […]
