U.S.S. al-Haytham
Updated: Apr 21, 2023
U.S.S. AL-HAYTHAM
Nova Class Science Vessel
Starfleet Registry
NCC 83255
GENERAL INFORMATION
CLASS | Nova (Quasar Variant) | DESIGNATION | Science Vessel |
REFIT TIME | ​ | RESUPPLY TIME | ​ |
DIMENSIONS
LENGTH | 165 metres | BEAM | 109.94 metres |
HEIGHT | 40.62 metres | DECKS | 10 |
MASS | 147,000 tons | CARGO CAPACITY | ​ |
COMPLEMENT
CREW | 100 | CIVILIANS | ​ |
MISSION CRITICAL | 5 | EVAC. CAPACITY | ​ |
AUXILIARY CRAFT
2 work bees (Alpha, Beta) | 2 shuttlecraft (Bohr, Tesla) |
1 Waverider atmospheric operations shuttle (USS Paul Dirac) | ​ |
ARMAMENTS
SHIELDING | Class 9 Regenerative bubble shielding system |
ENERGY WEAPONS | 11 type-X phaser arrays |
PROJECTILES | 2 fore torpedo launchers 1 aft torpedo launchers |
HULL | Type-1 Ablative Armor |
PROPULSION
ENGINE CONFIGURATION | ​ |
CRUISING SPEED | Warp 8 | MAXIMUM CAPACITY | Warp 9 |
SCIENCE SYSTEMS
SENSORS | ​ |
NAVIGATIONAL DEFLECTOR | FSQ deflector system |
PROBE COMPLEMENT | ​ |
"The seeker after the truth is not one who studies the writings of the ancients and, following his natural disposition, puts his trust in them, but rather the one who suspects his faith in them and questions what he gathers from them, the one who submits to argument and demonstration, and not to the sayings of a human being whose nature is fraught with all kinds of imperfection and deficiency. Thus the duty of the man who investigates the writings of scientists, if learning the truth is his goal, is to make himself an enemy of all that he reads, and, applying his mind to the core and margins of its content, attack it from every side. He should also suspect himself as he performs his critical examination of it, so that he may avoid falling into either prejudice or leniency."
It was in the spirit of these words that the USS al-Haytham was launched, not to regurgitate the past knowledge of space, but to question and discover. This Quasar class ship was named in the honour of the man who spoke these words, Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥasan ibn al-Ḥasan ibn al-Haytham, more better known as Ibn al-Haytham
The Nova class of starships had been around for a while when the al-Haytham was launched and thus, a number of improvements were made to the design. The vessel was equipped to carry more crew members, and thus the average was upped from 80 to 100 although the ship could still be piloted with a crew complement of no more than 5.
Two more decks were added to cater for the new crew members. These new decks allowed for the original sickbay to be converted into a better equipped med bay and two smaller sick bays were added. In addition to these additions, science and technology labs were installed to give the scientists on board more equipment to carry out more detailed experiments and tests.
The Quasar class ships were shorter than their Nova class counterparts and thus were able to move quicker and more stealthily. This pushed the average cruising speed to warp 7 with a maximum cruising speed closer to warp 9. This also meant that the ship could go on longer missions, able to run for 3 and a half years without resupply and on emergency power for 4.
In 2410, the al Haytham went through a full refit which increased her defensive and offensive capabilities so that she was on par with other vessels of her size. She could thus hold out in a fight on her own whilst waiting for reinforcements, or for enough time to be able to make her escape.
During most of the Iconian War, the al-Haytham continued her scientific duties. However, as the tide turned in favour of the Iconians, the al-Haytham was drafted as a medical ship. Command was transferred to an able Vulcan science officer, Captain V'Lala and she would remain in command for the rest of the war to the present day.
After the war, the al-Haytham received a new crew compliment, a mixture of war veterans and fresh faces from the academy and she resumed her scientific duties. A couple of months into 2416, whilst on investigation, an experiment into a new substance went wrong and the al-Haytham was almost totally destroyed. She limped back to drydock where she underwent a long repair.
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