Starfleet's FAILED Experiment! - Excelsior Class - Star Trek Ship Breakdown

[@xedanis101]

I'd like to take a minute to apologize for what I said on this video. Most critically in regards to Crazy Horse. I am not as familiar with American history as I'd like to be and until a few hours ago I was not aware of who Crazy Horse was. Naturally the more research I did, the worse I felt about what I said here. Of course this isn't an excuse for not having done the research before hand, or at least during recording of the voice over. I offer my deepest apologies for the disrespect, inadvertent though it was, and I promise to be more mindful in the future.

[@egustafson]

Not a high chance of you knowing. Dust it off, no big deal.

[@michaelgodding8572]

I'm from Aus and even I'm aware of who Crazy Horse was. But also who cares, I doubt your loyal following is looking for faults.

[@mikedubovs1574]

I was going to say something funny and anti woke.. but I'll say this American media is sheeting on Queen Elizabeth 2.. and blaming her for colonization and racism and slavery and imperialism et al.. so do not feel bad.. people with multiple million dollar budgets for news are off by 100 or 200 years

[@Janzer_]

Half native, don't worry about it. People get too caught up in being offended but you weren't trying to be a jerk. We can tell the difference as people without social media approval!

[@ryanellis7842]

Don’t give an inch to the cancel culture libs.

[@martinjrgensen8234]

The Excelsior class is like the B-52. No reason to change it, just give it new engines one every 10 years.

[@paullopez6620]

A-10 is what I just posted!😂😂😂

[@yomogami4561]

same can be said for miranda class

[@montithered4741]

⁠ From what I’ve seen from beta canon, the NX-2000 was much larger than the Constitution class because the NX-2000 had to hold a much larger warp core, TWO larger duotronic computer cores, and a transporter array directly tied into both the warp core and computer cores. Personally, I think the ship was over-designed because as soon as the transwarp tech was removed, she immediately set a new bar for federation ships. I also think there is an aspect of nostalgia for Excelsior ships. So many were constructed and served for so long, the crews and citizens of the federation and starfleet grew up with the class. I see it as a vote of confidence for the Excelsior class that admirals, captains, and veteran crews still wanted to serve on Excelsior even as newer ships entered service.

[@edkrach8891]

The new engines for the B-52s are now being installed across the fleet.

[@jimdanielson272]

B-52 runs engines 58 years😅

[@HappyHands.]

The Excelsior class was a ship everyone was suppose to hate.. but it turned out to be a beautiful design anyway

[@diogocatalano9557]

She has some ridiculous parts ( the secundary hull) and some beautiful aspects (the primary hull) at the same time. IN my opinion of course.

[@classicgalactica5879]

I always thought that the Excelsior looked pregnant. There was a reason why in 1986 toward the end of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home when Enterprise A appeared, the entire audience was on it's feet simultaneously, cheering whistling and clapping. It was almost like being in a stadium. Back in the day at least, the Excelsior received very little love.

[@davfree9732]

I never liked the neckbeard on that thing. It's a good design in some respects... But when you compare it to the Connie it's lacks dramatic presence and poise. If the Connie is an angel, then the Excelsior is an angel that got into a traffic accident and in the reconstructive surgery they... "Did their best." A good ship in the background, and it's workhorse reputation is earned as it appears to value function over form... But I just can't 'love' it like the TOS or TMP Connie or the Galaxy.

[@richardvinsen2385]

I’ve always thought it looks like an 80s era cruise ship with nacelles stuck on top. Just like I’ve always thought the Enterprise bridge in TNG looks like the lobby of a 1980: Marriott.

[@CaneMcKeyton]

My headcanon has been that the transwarp experiment eventually did work. It's just what was yesterday's transwarp is today's regular warp drive. Also it gives a good reason why Starfleet recalculated the warp scale between TOS and TNG

[@Lorem_ipsum_dolor_sit_amet]

In my mind, ST3 transwarp just meant being able to go from 0 to warp factor whatever without any acceleration period. Like I always thought in ENT, TOS and TMP, starships had to accelerate from warp 1 to warp 2 to warp 3 etc, or from one warp threshold to the next. In ST3, when the Excelsior is preparing to pursue the Enterprise, the Excelsior's helmsman says "all speeds available through transwarp". So from TNG onwards, all starships have "transwarp" and didn't need a long acceleration curve, or at least that's how it was in my mind.

[@agquad]

​@@Lorem_ipsum_dolor_sit_amet This was exactly what I thought, down to the letter! I mean, the term itself implies "all-warp" anyways, and it would have fulfilled, story-wise, the Excelsior's mission of catching up with the Enterprise in The Search for Spock by bypassing her acceleration curve instantaneously. I'm reminded of the warp drive scene from The Motion Picture where Sulu spends a full minute accelerating to warp seven; transwarp would probably have gone into development soon after the V'Ger crisis for Starfleet to be able to more quickly intercept potential threats against its space.

[@slyguythreeonetwonine3172]

That is in my opinion the way it was considered back during the TNG era while things were still in production. I can not speak at all for if anything has been tweaked with since then though. But pretty much what you said. It worked, and it adjusted the scale and some whatever time frame since it's called warp, or in my head cannon always was called warp simply out of tradition. It's a Space Navy after all.

[@DarkseedAlpha]

There's Tuvok, posing as a human officer and honing the infiltration techniques he will later use on the Maquis. Playing a real long game.

[@2down4up]

He also played a baddie trying to steal the fuel from the enterprise in S6 E18 Starship Mine.

[@vic5015]

Tim Russ was well-known to the producers long before neong cast as Tuvok. It was just a matter of finding the right parts for him. I saw a different Trek video on a different channel that pointed out how the producers seem to have a list of actors who impressed them in auditions but just weren't right fir that part. Sort of a "let's keep this guy in mind for potential future roles" list. And that's not even counting actors like Jeffrey Combs, Tony Todd, Suzue Plakson, Susan Gibbey, Diana Muldaur, Robert Duncan McNeil, and others who've had multiple roles across Trek series over the years.

[@levisvarela3735]

dont forget wolf and weyung

[@cosmicquestion9184]

It could've been Tuvok, or perhaps there are 2 Voks.

[@robertsartino7664]

Tuvok did serve on the Excelsior during his first service in starfleet under Captain Sulu during the events of the undiscovered country if you ever watched Star Trek Voyager.

[@petemartinez3017]

I love how general Chang has his eye patch bolted to his skull.

[@ghfdt368]

I love how the excelsior class ended up becoming the backbone of the federation fleet along with the miranda class for almost a century after its launch. Goes to show it may have had a bumpy start but was certainly a capable and versatile class to be in service so long.

[@juliajuanafernandaalvarez1456]

True but it has been in service for to long. During the Dominion War and Borg incidents it really showed how old and outdated they were. Even a heavily modified refit like the USS Lakota wasn´t better than the much smaller Defiant and that was already the strongest the Exselsior Class got. Both the Borg and Dominion showed Starfleet that they need new ships. I think ships like the USS Archimedes and Obena Class in general make much more sense than just constantly upgrading the original Exselsior.

[@vic5015]

To me it also shows Starfleet's limitations as a military. That's like a military still primarily using WWII-era equipment. Not many would.

[@sockshandle]

@@vic5015 to be fair the federation was being rather pacifistic and starfleet was for a good while before the borg arrived not so much a military arm of the government but rather a exploration arm of the government

[@johnossendorf9979]

Kinda like the B-52 in some ways. It entered service in 1955, the latest versions which were delivered in 1961 have been upgraded many times over the years are expected to serve in to the 2050s.

[@MGRracing]

@@johnossendorf9979 The RAF VULCAN bomber looks like a spaceship compared to the B-52 .

[@kaltenstein7718]

I still think the Transwarp Experiment was in fact a complete success. Remember how TNG uses a different Warp-Scale than TOS with equivalent Warp speeds being faster than the ones in TOS? What they called a "Transwarp Drive" in STIII was later just rebranded as a new warp scale for easier handling with Transwarp Drive being reserved for even more advanced technologies like the Borg conduits or Quantum Slipstream.

[@MULHATTON1851]

In the original series the episode called "The Naked Time" the Enterprise was travelling so fast Sulu said the Velocity Gauge was "Off the Scale" and that the Chronometers were running "Backward" until they put on the brakes and travelled 3 days into the past. Kirk called it a "Time Warp". It was caused by Imploding the Warp Drive. Warp Drive Implosion. Spock had an "Inter-Mix Formulae" based on a "Theoretical relationship between Time & Anti-Matter". The Anti-matter needed to be injected into the Warp Core in a "Cold State" which would cause it to "Implode" and hurl the Starship through a "Time Warp" & "Backward in Time." Wonder how fast they were travelling? "Warp- 1,000,000?" They even said they might "Risk it again someday". They did travel back in Time in "The Voyage Home" where they flew around the sun in a Hyperbolic "Slingshot" trajectory using a stolen Klingon War Bird, but appearantly they never again used the "Implosion Drive Time Warp" with any other ship.

[@jkdbuck7670]

Stealing the Enterprise was not only a great scene but had a great soundtrack. We miss you, Mr. Horner.

[@keithmorse7665]

Yes movies back then were grander than those of today. I remember seeing Gone With The Wind (before my time) on TV and thought the musical score was way better back then. However there seems to be a lack of any musical scale in today's films. Such a shame.

[@nicholasmaude6906]

Horner was great but Goldsmith was better.

[@OverTheFence555]

You weren't even born when the Excelsior first appeared? Hah! You don't know what you missed. It was an awesome moment seeing this majestic ship make it's debut in Star Trek 3. Great review of her none the less.

[@jmorv8866]

Right like back in the day when these ships were real models being filmed, rather than CGI. :)

[@philb9015]

Indeed. The Star Trek VI version of the ship is my all time favorite starfleet vessel.

[@sallensmae]

Love the vid - but I wish that you’d keep images of the variants on screen when discussing and describing the refits in detail. Seeing the OG or Enterprise B refit when discussing the other variants is a bit distracting.

[@mateo_sid]

ok, so i'm not only one extremly bothered by this :)

[@weaponeer8582]

In the movie adaptation novels, Sulu was supposed to get command of the Excelsior but lost command due to the Khan/Genesis incident. It was one reason why he threw in with Kirk in stealing the Enterprise in TSFS.

[@jeremylindemann5117]

He does take command of the excelsior in ST6 though.

[@thedevilsadvocate6204]

Correct me if I'm wrong.....but Didn't an Excelcior Class Save the Enterprise? "Oh, Myyyyyyy"

[@QuantaSolace]

Funny enough, I was never a fan of the Excelsior class when I was younger. Now, it's one of my favorite classic designs. I love the Excelsior 2 class. My biggest gripe is how exposed the bridge is after all this time. If the Defiant can have a protected bridge, then so can every Fed ship. That was the same gripe I have with the Neo Constitution.

[@MULHATTON1851]

The Defiant also had a "Cloaking Device". Every Federation Ship should have one, and in one original episode Kirk & Spock & Starfleet Command conspire to steal one from the Romulans, but then never installed them in the Fleet.

[@MD_Builds]

Always loved the Excelsior, Found it really elegant in design. Like a luxury yacht

[@Peterski]

This! It's exactly what it looks like. Definitely my favourite starship design.

[@control_the_pet_population]

From the profile, the Excelsior is gorgeous, if the ship was a fashion model then the profile would be it's "good side"... Although I think it gets a bit dodgy when they film it from other angles. From a dead-on front view, it starts looking bloated... like it should be a cargo hauler next to the Constitution... Then from the top down view it somehow looks too elongated and insubstantial. I don't mean this as some harsh criticism, I'm not a designer but even I can understand that the Federation design language is a tough nut to crack. Relatively flat and spindly struts connecting to comparatively thick and rounded saucers and cylinders... there is a lot going on... and overall I do love the Excelsior. But somehow they just got lucky with the proportions of the 1960s original, as it seems to look decent at most angles... where the Galaxy and Excelsior start looking a tad awkward the further you move away from the standard "left-to-right pan across the screen while orbiting the planet" shots.

[@2020Max1]

All Trek ships are like "luxury yachts" compared to the functional practicality that a real starship would be.

[@donnyposey5179]

Indeed!

[@control_the_pet_population]

@@2020Max1 Nah... I think that's a bit of a shortsighted way of looking at it. Luxury ocean liners were a thing as soon as reliable technology and cheap fuel allowed them to exist and make sense to operate... I don't see why luxury star liners would evolve any differently. I suppose if you were looking at Starfleet from a purely military perspective, where a ship meant only to wage war would be practical above all else... but that's never really been the Star Trek mythos. They are peaceful explorers first... Energy is their bitch, they can travel at many times the speed of light... they are way beyond the extra few spacedollars it would take to turn a practical ship into one with a ton of luxuries and creature comforts.

[@TrentonBennett]

The original Master Systems Display the extra saucer impulse engines were ORIGINALLY meant to be shuttle bays. However, Doug Drexler had to change the MSD to show them as impulse engines when ILM at the last minute decided to make them impulse engines. In a way I can understand why they changed them to impulse engines but they should have kept them as shuttle bays. You can find the original MSD for the Enterprise-B with said configuration of the extra saucer "impulse engines". It took me some work to find it but never the less I did find it.

[@Revan2908]

Yeah, I always thought they looked quite a bit like those shuttle bays/escape pods on the _Miranda_ class.

[@1locust1]

I had hoped that a new Trek series centered around Captain Sulu and the Excelsior would be produced. 26:52 TOS Unification part one? I think that should be Next Gen.

[@raphaelrae8186]

This is by far the ballsiest narration I've ever heard!

[@livingchutoy5422]

Like to think the "Moustache" was outfitted with additional sensor arrays and possibly additional labs or storage bays. As for the Transwarp drive. Scotty sabotaged it leading to it's failures. Scotty's actions lead to a number of questions, from Starfleet engineers, that had them rethinking how Transwarp actually works and leading to them improving standard warp drive and changing the scale. Just my thought on it.

[@davidluna4653]

It was mentioned in the pod flight out to the Enterprise in Wrath of Khan. Sulu was to take command a few weeks after the training cruise. The scene was edited and the dialog was removed.

[@Revan2908]

Which explains why Sulu starts to open his mouth again to speak again as soon as that particular scene transitions.

[@aeonjoey3d]

love your commentary - only complaint is that the naration often doesn't match the visuals, it's okay to replay the same clips over and over again especially when they're relevant, e.g. the 2nd half of the Excelsior 2 narration about specific secondary hull details - you showed the NX-2000 the entire time.

[@TrekCentral]

Thanks for the feedback! We've since implemented a new editing strategy since this video. The aim is to improve the content going out rn :) - Jack

[@scifibri2376]

I love how you anticipate your audience's objections to things you say in advance and address them immediately. I do this in my life as well. Often when writing something I would anticipate a reader's objection or rebuhtle in advance and address it in my writing. I love the snarky humorous way you anticipate our objections i.e. when you said "Calm down I'll explain" and later on "It was 1984 I wasn't born yet" LOL! Subscribing now!

[@MisterWileyOne]

Think of this class as the P-51 Mustang of the Trek universe. Initially a good vessel saddled with a poor/non-functioning prototype engines. When fitted with a Merlin, it was transformed into the backbone of the army air corps. In this case, when fitted with standard warp engines, it became the highlight of the fleet.

[@juliajuanafernandaalvarez1456]

I absolutly loved the USS Archimedes. It is such a good looking ship. It keeps all the great designs of the original Exselsior Class and giving it newer touches like the elongated primary haul, Sovereign style nacelles, etc. The Archimedes and Obena Class in general looks very modern and capable. I honestly have to say it´s my favourite Exselsior design and it makes more sense to me to create a new sub class like the Obena rather than just constantly upgrading the original Exselsior Class.

[@keithmorse7665]

If it isn't broke why fix it?

[@davidcunningham7330]

"....ribbed for her ...." I almost fell off my chair laughing!

[@shoreknightseer3152]

The Excelsior is my 3rd favorite ship design, right behind TMP Enterprise and the Miranda. I know it was done for cost issues, but I was always kinda taken out by Next Generation's use of ships that would be a century old, while in The Search for Spock, they said the Enterprise wouldn't be refit because she was 25 years old..

[@stevec5465]

The upgraded Lakota in DS9. Older , good size ship with latest weapons and defenses.

[@LgiovanniF]

The ship wasn't being decomissioned in Undiscovered country, the crew where.

[@shoreknightseer3152]

@@LgiovanniF that was a different ship, the 1701-A

[@LgiovanniF]

@@shoreknightseer3152 Ah I was misled by how I read it.

[@vishnu79]

Something else to keep in mind is that the refit Constitution Class has a terrible weakness, in that her engineering hull did not have the room to fit a vertical warp core in it, so Starfleet compromised and ran the warp core up through the neck. On the large studio model, the blue-ish sections of hull plating are supposed to represent a more heavily armored section of hulll plating to cover the warp core, and the torpedo bays and magazines, both of which are located in the neck. I can't remember where, but one commentator mentioned that if the Enterprise had had time to charge her ready torpedo's warheads and load them into the launch tubes, Khan's attack would have destroyed her, as the warhead on the starboard launch tube would have detonated, and taken the warp core with it.

[@pex_the_unalivedrunk6785]

Long story short....the Excelsior class would have gotten a lot more recognition if George Takei had his own spin-off as Captain Sulu...oh idk, couldn't have aired it in the 1990s or it would have been hard to keep it on the same network and compete with the TNG spin-offs.

[@captnrobvious47]

I'm a simple man. I see a Trek video about the Excelsior, I fave it before I even watch the whole video because the Excelsior, in all the flavors under the rainbow, is my favorite starship ever!

[@beakwooda.k.aadregallus8788]

Well, Crazy Horse is actually the ship I'm always flying on Star Trek Online, also an excelsior class, but it's the Crazy Horse B, since the in-game current events are at the year 2409.

[@liontone]

Star Trek V, the Enterprise showed “transwarp” drive on its console. Excelsior was a success, and it’s tech was integrated into ships with a new warp scale (first onscreen in TNG). Ex. In the same film. Enterprise reached the center of the galaxy very quickly. Star Trek VI, the Enterprise reached the edge of Klingon/Federation space extremely quick. Sulu was in another quadrant, and reached Enterprise before it was destroyed.

[@liontone]

@@JoeWaylo I know the history. What I’m saying is that there is enough onscreen evidence to support the notion) that Excelsior was indeed a success, and introduced a new warp scale that is used in TNG. TNG uses “Warp” as a term, but it’s speed are accepted to be faster than TOS speeds.

[@elbruces]

So... Voyager never happened because Starfleet ships could zip around the galaxy quickly?

[@liontone]

@@elbruces No, but it’s common knowledge that warp speeds were faster in TNGs era, than TOS’s era. Warp 5 in TNG is not the same as Warp 5 in TOS. Excelsior was the step forward.

[@elbruces]

@@liontone The entire "Voyager" show couldn't have happened if what you say was true.

[@ErzengelDesLichtes]

@@elbruces Why? Excelsior transwarp took 70 years to traverse the galaxy, the TOS warp would have taken hundreds of years. How does that make Voyager “not happen”?

[@marcuspacheco3815]

Who else feels like USS vengeance deserves a nod in any excelsior video. I mean does everyone else feel like the vengeance is the Kelvin timeline excelsior? Or is that just me? It has enhanced warp capabilities, more firepower, it's bigger but retains the same shape as the Enterprise. It's experimental

[@thunderboltcougar5626]

"Me .. too" - Smith Matrix reloaded

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

"By God, that's a big ship." -- Leonard McCoy

[@pillepolle3122]

They should have named the class "Workhorse" because thats what the Excelsiour class is.

[@pangaeawriter8766]

The Excelsior remains, to this day, one of my favorite Trek designs. The so-called balsa-wood nacelle pylons seemed more structurally sound to me than the Constitution-class style. Apparently, Starfleet shared my opinion for a time, considering the similar pylons on the Ambassador and Galaxy class designs.

[@20JK10]

You'll have to wait until Tuesday to find out what the moustache is for.

[@benjennium]

There's a reason we have both a USS Lakota AND a USS Crazy Horse. Might want to google that and then prepare your apology.

[@CaptainM792]

Don’t forget the USS Cheyenne

[@pops55650]

Thanks for making me feel old, I was a senior in high school in 1984

[@matthewdoyle3628]

Transwarp drive was a failure and associated with the Excelsior Class because she was the test bed used to try and develop that technology. But the Excelsior Class herself was a very good design, over 125 years the class has been in service.

[@theodoremccarthy4438]

I always assumed the ridged neck could mitigate sub-space compression and drive stress. This would contribute to the vessel’s long life span as it meant major hull components would last longer. We never see it on any other design because improvements in structural integrity fields made the design obsolete in the next generation of heavy cruisers.

[@asraarradon4115]

I always assumed it was some kind of spaced armor to set off torpedoes at a distance, while providing enough empty space for the explosion to fill before reaching the vulnerable connection between the primary and secondary hulls.

[@thebaccathatchews]

Per Wikipedia: Crazy Horse (Lakota: Tȟašúŋke Witkó,[2] IPA: [tχaˈʃʊ̃kɛ witˈkɔ], lit. ''His-Horse-Is-Crazy''; c. 1840 - September 5, 1877)[3] was a Lakota war leader of the Oglala band in the 19th century. He took up arms against the United States federal government to fight against encroachment by white American settlers on Native American territory and to preserve the traditional way of life of the Lakota people. His participation in several famous battles of the Black Hills War on the northern Great Plains, among them the Fetterman Fight in 1866, in which he acted as a decoy, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, in which he led a war party to victory, earned him great respect from both his enemies and his own people.

[@montithered4741]

⁠ From what I’ve seen from beta canon, the NX-2000 was much larger than the Constitution class because the NX-2000 had to hold a much larger warp core, TWO larger duotronic computer cores, and a transporter array directly tied into both the warp core and computer cores. Personally, I think the ship was over-designed because as soon as the transwarp tech was removed, she immediately set a new bar for federation ships. I also think there is an aspect of nostalgia for Excelsior ships. So many were constructed and served for so long, the crews and citizens of the federation and starfleet grew up with the class. I see it as a vote of confidence for the Excelsior class that admirals, captains, and veteran crews still wanted to serve on Excelsior even as newer ships entered service.

[@AngelofDeath1431]

Nice presentation, HOWEVER, it would have been a better show if you had included side-by-side comparison pictures of each iteration of the ships. Having said that, I like the perpetual sustainability of this vessel. And, as you included the refit Miranda class ships, well done in that regard as well.

[@AndorRadnai]

This really is my favourite ship… It looks like an American car from the 50s and 60s. With its ribbed neck, two tone paint and sharp edges… but it’s still an incredibly elegant silhouette long, slender and tapering. It’s relatively straightforward, but so wonderful. If it could have tail fins and copious amounts of chrome, it would! I especially enjoy the Enterprise B style engineering hull.

[@randybentley2633]

As someone who saw ST:3 TSfS in theaters as a kid, I thought that there was no way that they could make a design that could top the good ole Dame that was the Connie but I was pleasantly surprised at the sheer grandure of The Great Experiment. It seemed only fitting that that Ship would go to Sulu but I think they missed a chance in his best bud and camping partner not being his XO. I'm glad that they've kept the design alive and in new skin for generations to come.

[@Exaris79]

It's likely that Scotty still hasn't returned the transwarp coil for the Excelsior. Remember that in season6&7 of Voyager, Janeway actively attacked Borg ships so that they can steal an undamaged transwarp coil the size of a coffee mug. Scotty probably took something critical to the Excelsior's transwarp coil to get it operational.

[@randybentley2633]

@@Exaris79, no doubt about it, but certainly someone else in the project could figure out what happened and rectify it...

[@laurentecrivain6944]

@@Exaris79- He didn't take the transwarp coil. He simple took a few components from the transwarp computer that were small enough to fit in his pocket.

[@davidknodle5062]

They should have sent the miracle worker Scottie to repair the ship since he took the parts that made the transwarp engine fail.

[@kineuhansen8629]

such a shame we wont be seen a model of Excelsior 2 Class anytime soon and other versions in xl edition

[@Penfold101]

4:25 “Khan yourself!” 🤔 I mean, I can see some advantages…🤷‍♂️

[@SuperBuddy19]

The Excelsior class is good. It certainly is a reliable ship class since it is used for a long time.

[@Exaris79]

Always thought that the Excelsior's TransWarp project was successful privately but publicly Starfleet didn't want their enemies to be aware that Starfleet had already beaten them in transwarp. IMO, Scotty or Spock could had made the Kelvan's modifications to the Excelsior's warp engines to successfully travel by transwarp. It's just that the Excelsior class was developed to be more efficient in using those modifications compared to other starship designs. That might had been the Kelvan's cost for the Federation letting them have a colony inside their territory. It's likely that Starfleet Command took Captain Kirk's advice to MirrorVerse's Intendant Spock about expanding too fast&not having the resources to secure their own borders. With the prospect of war between the Klingons&Romulans, Starfleet didn't want to give those empires any idea that the Federation already has a tactical advantage over them especially with the Genesis Project being on the forefront of the news. Starfleet now has a tactical&strategic advantage with the development of transwarp&protomatter weapons. This might be the reason why Starfleet had mass produced the Excelsior class to have the numbers to protect the Federation's territory. So secretly Starfleet continued their research without the assistance of Scotty&Spock. There's probably a secret transwarp engine modification for each of the Enterprise starship since the Ent-B but the data needs to be collated and compiled so that the mods are specific for each class of starships. Also it's possible that Sulu's aware of this secret Kelvan mod to his ship but didn't had a situation for the need of using it.

[@iancowan3527]

Lol... The big come away gained from this video... your a kid to me! Live long and prosper, you've got years of catching up to do! I'm a Model 073-73'... Which is a striking fact I was born on the 73rd day of 1973... Thank the Julian Calendar for that insight...

[@TrekCentral]

I don’t think Adam, our voice presenter, is a kid. But I’m sure he’d appreciate being called young these days haha 😉😂 - Jack

[@kaidenshepard8446]

Ah, the Excelsior class, at the ending of the Undiscovered Country and the Enterprise and Excelsior side side by side and then as they parted, it's like the one generation passing the reigns to the next one, with the new ships and technology, as the parents/grandparents, do what they do and disobey rules from command and go off on their jollies, going second star from the right and straight on till morning. Ironic as it was this was the trek movie I first watched, and it was at my granparents house on a Sunday afternoon... Anyway, lol, the Excelsior is a good ship, more than capable of surpassing lifetimes of even the flagships of the Federation it seems as well, a tried and tested design that the engineers know works for a majority of mission profile, from exploration, to the choice of ship for Admiral's to have as their vessels, all the way down to cargo duty, this class definitely fits the multi-purpose starship role. Admittedly I did like the experiment's bridge - I iliked the seating with the different alert levels as well shown underneath them, before we got the bridge that is familiar to when Sulu takes command of the vessel in it's NCC days. The Excelsior's neck looks much more capable of sustaining damage than those we see on the Enterprise 1701 and 1701-A, which with a decent amount of phaser power I am sure could be cut right off, which I was surprised hadn't happened to the Enterprise in The Wrath Of Khan, a sure weakness in construction, the Excelsior is like that bulked up bodybuilder with massive neck muscles.

[@williammitchell4417]

O

[@williammitchell4417]

Indeed it was a sort of passing or the baton moment in the Undiscovered Country

[@insomniacbritgaming1632]

I love Excelsior... "ahhhh, the games afoot dah" ST:VI will always have the best depiction, "target that explosion and fire"

[@RCINFORMER]

The protrusions are the first early evolution into the Galaxy class ship. The "D" model Enterprise protrusions are the fully evolved version of the secondary hull.

[@jacobfoster9185]

17:44 😂 the sound affects for the ship sputtering before

[@samharper4289]

I don't care what anyone says, the best Star Trek ship designs were the Constitution class refit, Miranda class and Excelsior class! Beautiful starships! Just my opinion! 😉

[@cooper10182]

120 years isn't bad, the US B-52 bomber was designed to last 50+ years and most of the US Carriers are 30+ years already

[@gregwunderlich4253]

Curly: Hey Moe! I finally figured out why we can't get any water from these pipes! Moe: Okay, you wise-apple... Why can't we get water from these pipes? Curly: Because they're full of wires! This is the joke that the electrician told me as he handed me the bill. Of course I paid the man immediately.

[@marleymcleay9228]

Correction. The Miranda class has only seen 14,899 refits!

[@stewartmcminn7773]

It's had 8 new broom heads and 6 new handles

[@marleymcleay9228]

@@stewartmcminn7773 thats evolution for ya!

[@iCaveDave]

Long live mrs Badcrumble.

[@scifibri2376]

I love Star Trek both in terms of its look and evolution of its ships and technology development and its story structure enriched with philosophy & ethical questions. It is the historical parallels I appreciate and the references made that help keep me engaged in the franchise over the decades. The what-if scenarios, social commentary and mind puzzles of how to creatively troubleshoot their various problems they encounter adds to the layer of intrigue already present in other forms. However as much as I love Star Trek and the characters and their often complicated relationships to one another I can never memorize the different classification of ships but I do admire the attention to detail that goes into the universe building of Star Trek and the Trek historians that take the time to learn pretty much every facet of all things Star Trek!

[@jackochainsaw]

I think the Excelsior Class is one of the best looking.

[@treyhelms5282]

Very cool to hear about all that lore. Thank you. I’ve always liked the Excelsior class. Thought transwarp was a failure, but Excelsior class was huge success. I look on Excelsior and defiant as two times Starfleet decided to get serious building a radically different tough ship. Whereas the Akira and steam runner and other classes meant to fight the Borg, or more based off of the explorer type ships.

[@newyorkerinvegas]

The Excelsior Class has been and ever shall be, one of the best.

[@braziliangizmo]

" That is a big ship " ," Aye , but not as big as her Captain ..... " , " My apologizes , I was overwhelmed by nostalgia ..... " , " Live Long and Prosper , Peace and Long Life " 🖖

[@georgewalker4529]

Less than 2k to get to 100k!! Better get that Defiant video done!! Thanks for everything! Great job!!

[@TrekCentral]

❤️❤️❤️

[@Twominutedevotions]

My favorite ship. I love it more than any other Trek ship.

[@SwankyKitteh82]

120 years... *Laughs in B'Rel!*

[@thesovereign4218]

The Obena class from lower Decks is actually much larger than the Excelsior.

[@TheChancellor212]

And, as we saw in the third episode of S3, the Excelsior class ships are also still in service.

[@juliajuanafernandaalvarez1456]

@@TheChancellor212 Yeah and it even was the USS Hood which we already saw in TNG.

[@thomashill6347]

Thank you Lieutenant Adam for this interesting look at this wonderful ship class, I hope we get to see your review on the USS Defiant

[@retluoc]

I didn't watch this video, but from the title, I'm guessing the main point was about the transwarp drive. If Scotty hadn't sabotaged it...who knows. It would have been great for humans to develop that on our own, but somehow they just gave up after that. (But I did love in Star Trek 3 where the screen said "good morning captain" 🤣) However, the Excelsior class was a stunning success. It lasted for decades and was even seen in several episodes in the Next Generation.

[@lexacutable]

Nice overview, but.. there's large sections of the video where the voiceover is talking about some ship feature and the video is showing something totally different, even a different class of ship, making it difficult to follow along with what's being said. Would be really helpful to have the video and script match up somewhat. The subtitles are often out of sync too.

[@timjerrom7173]

Always liked, the original as the Di-Cast miniature's nacells would not break off as easy as the Enterprises ones "still have it from when I was a child" Nice one Lt. Adam 🖖LLAP.

[@matthewbowen5841]

Funny that, since the Excelsior class lasted for a century and a quarter at least, that the two most famous ones were noooot quiiite ready when featured. I really like the mustache bumps as well as the Enterprise B's 90s teal color scheme. Teal Body Glove windsuit, teal Ford Probe, teal swooshes in your wallpaper, teal Enterprise B. Ah, 1994.

[@batkinson001]

a great video. the B is my 2nd favourite Enterprise, next to the D. Just got the eaglemoss model (regular, not XL) in the mail today.

[@Cyber_Horse_Studios87]

For its time, the excelsior class was a very LOOOOONG style of ship. In both longevity AND it’s length.

[@treyhelms5282]

Given how much Excelsior class ships showed up in TNG and DS9 episodes, the Excelsior class was a very successful design, like the Mirandas.

[@Colin_]

It was often chosen by Admirals to be their own flagship.

[@wxcellstormchasing7619]

Don't fold the star charts. I didn't Well there's a crease right thru the neutral zone, roll the star charts.

[@Veritas1980-Chill]

its called a swagger stick :D

[@Daginni1]

I like to believe the Enterprise B was recovered and rechristened to the USS Lakota after its crew was wiped out by a illness. Ship was still useful, just a tarnished history and Starfleet covered it with a fresh name and coat of paint.

[@vic5015]

Then why didn't Starfleet do that with USS Lantree in Unmatural Sekection? Why have Worf destroy a potentially still useful starship?

[@jeffphillips1832]

Did they ever add warp drives or torpedo launchers to the saucer section, or wise up and hide the bridge in a less obvious location?

[@VAMobMember]

If the Excelsior failed why did they change the Warp Speed Scale?

[@keithmorse7665]

It didn't really fail. Rather it was sabotaged by Scotty. Once they corrected that oversight it succeeded.

[@aer0planejelly911]

I remember thinking that they were trying to evoke cruise ships with the design. The theme from Love Boat played in my head every time that damn ship turned up.

[@EMcKelvyF]

I love the Excelsior. I was a big fan of the Starfleet Command series, she came stock with 2 fighter squadrons which I always loved, from a Star Wars aspect that made the Excelsior superior to other Federation starships.

[@GrendelMTL]

Defiant breakdown got my sub 😅🤷‍♂

[@MaverickBlue42]

I always thought saucers WERE plates...what do you set your cup of coffee or tea on? And a simple in-universe explanation for the Obena class would be that they salvaged some of the wrecks from the dominion war where the engineering hull wasn't too far gone and strapped on a new saucer and nacelles. Quicker and easier than building a whole ship from the ground up(just build a modern saucer that mates up the same mechanically), and Starfleet is always swapping out the nacelles over time, almost like swapping your oil filter when you do an oil change on your car....

[@ToallpointsWest]

I cannot wait to see more of the excelsior 2 class!

[@bryanstoke3381]

I didn’t know the difference in the shielding, piss off, haters, and thank you, dude👍😂

[@michaeldemarco9950]

My guess is that, after a few Excelsiors were built in the late 2380s, the E-B signaled a refit design including lessens learned from the earlier ships. Later, all 12 or 13 original multi-mission Excelsiors shared the refit design, all the way through to their replacement in the 2320s by the Ambassador Class. Following the launch of the Ambassador Ckass multi-mission flagships, the Excelsior design found renewed life in the 2330-40s, as a much more numerous, decontented version which took up the roll as backbone of the fleet.

[@lanceheaps581]

Yeah I agree Excelsior and I am guessing 3-5 sister ships were built in the 2380s. Enterprise B was the first of probably a dozen Block 2 Excelsiors built in the 2390s. I would guess there were a dozen Block 3s built in the 2300s, and a dozen Block 4s built in the 2310s. Probably a half dozen Block 4s Excelsiors built in the 2320s. 45-50 Excelsiors built in total. Which explains why so many are still around in the 2360s and 2370s.

[@therealuziduke5853]

My fav, and yes I am old enough to have seen Star Trek 3 before Generations.

[@JeremyFath]

Nice video young ones. I hope you live to live to see a probe reach Alpha Centauri. I know of no better wish for a Sci-Fi fan of our era.

[@secretyoutubers5510]

I think the Lower Decker's in Lower decks have the best view out the window next to 10 forward on the Galaxy class Enterprise D.

[@starbase218]

NCC-2000 is probably my favourite starship design. Plus it was in TUC.

[@michaeldemarco9950]

It seems to me that the Enterprise-B type refit would be applied to the few ships preceding her (including the Excelsior herself), and built into the multi-mission Excelsior-class ships to follow. These dozen ships remained the flagship class until replaced by the Ambassador Class in the 2320-2340s. With the retirement of the original multi mission-class Excelsiors, its space frame design was repurposed for the much more numerous general-purpose Excelsiors, with the original Mk I design, in the 2330-2340s.

[@Digikidthevoiceofreason]

The WARP DRIVE was a failure. The ship itself was a huge success.

[@Big_Loo]

It's been theorized that the bulges on the Enterprise-B were a cloaking device. The ship being commissioned before the Treaty of Algeron, and being the most advanced ship, and flagship, would make sense. It would also make sense to lise them on kater ships, since The Federation wasn't allowed to have cloaking devices any more.

[@4thdoctor284]

Those 2 flair outs added to the engineering hull actually damaged the Excelsior model and couldn't be removed without creating an ungodly mess of the model

[@jacobfoster9185]

1:03 an ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL shot of the Miranda class

[@wingolauchsiknimat]

The excelsior has always been one of my favorite classes

[@MeatbagTheMighty]

I don't mind the ribs on the neck. . . .Call me biased, I guess! Bit odd for them to be above the mustache, but I'm willing to get over my humano-centric biological expectations! lmao I have to admit that as a kid who began watching Trek in the TNG era, I always imagined the ribs were designed as a cushion for docking and separating the saucer section, and would kinda flex and bounce as the parts were split and reattached!

[@garyheighway7635]

I always thought it was a pretty cool ship but my all-time favorite will always be the reliant. But as usual another great video.👍

[@TrekCentral]

Thanks for watching! Hmm, perhaps we should do a Reliant video soon ;) - Jack