Miranda class starship

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Miranda class
First appearance	Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Last appearance	"What You Leave Behind"
General Characteristics
Armaments	Photon torpedoes Phaser cannons
Propulsion	Warp drive Impulse engines

The Miranda class starship is a fictional type of starship in the Star Trek universe, first appearing in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan then in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and subsequently in episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The Miranda-class USS Reliant was designed by Joe Jennings and Mike Minor and built by Industrial Light and Magic for Star Trek II. The Reliant is the first Federation starship seen in Star Trek that is not a Constitution-class starship.

The Miranda class is commonly used by Starfleet. The class is in service at least as early as the late 23rd century and is still in service in the late 24th century. Many Miranda-class vessels are seen during the Dominion War and at least two are seen at the Battle of Sector 001 in 2373.

The vessel's basic shape is a hull with a curved, semi-saucer fore and an elongated, rectangular aft; two backward-angled pylons attached to the bottom of the hull hold back-set engines similar to those of the Constitution class refit.

There are three known Miranda class varieties. The original features an arch, commonly referred to as the 'rollbar', rising above the ship, set back along the length of the vessel and attaching at the port and starboard edges of the hull. The rollbar supports a pod for storing and firing photon torpedoes at the center and two phaser cannons near the ends.^[1]

The second type has no such rollbar.^[2]

The third also has no rollbar, but features two unidentified structures attached to the sides of the hull : the second Saratoga was of this type.^[3]

The TNG episode "Cause and Effect" depicts a Soyuz-class vessel, the USS Bozeman. The Star Trek Encyclopedia calls this a "variant" on the Miranda class, and notes that a modified version of the Miranda studio model was used.^[4]

The second DVD within the Director's Cut of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan has an interview with the people who originally designed the Reliant. They mentioned that originally the Reliant was designed to have the warp nacelles above the saucer section, like the Enterprise, but during pre-production one of the Reliant storyboards was displayed upside down. In the end the film production team felt that the nacelles would look much better on the bottom and that casual viewers could better distinguish between the Enterprise and Reliant.

[edit] Known Miranda-class starships

USS Brattain (NCC-21166): The starship Brattain was launched from the 40 Eridani-A Starfleet Construction Yards in 2347. In 2367, the Brattain was commanded by Captain Chantal Zaheva when it disappeared and is discovered in the Tyken's Rift, a spatial phenomenon which absorbs energy coming from a source within it. Most of the crew are found dead.^[5]
USS Helin (NCC-1692): Named for scientist and astronomer Eleanor Helin, the starship Helin was on patrol along the Romulan neutral zone in sector 21290 in 2293 and is listed as one of the ships that could have taken part in an attempt to rescue James T. Kirk and Leonard McCoy from Rura Penthe.^[6]
USS Lantree (NCC-1837): A class 6 supply ship with class 3 defensive armaments and a complement of 26. In 2293, the Lantree carried colony supplies to sector 22858^[6]. Commanded by Captain L. Isao Telaka in 2365, the crew Lantree died of accelerated aging caused by the exposure of genetically-engineered airborne human antibodies to an otherwise innocuous virus. Scuttled by the USS Enterprise to prevent the antibodies from spreading.^[2]
USS Majestic (NCC-31060): Damaged in the 2374 at the Battle of Bajor by a Jem'Hadar battlecruiser.^[7]
USS Nautilus (NCC-31910): Named for the submarine Nautilus. Part of the 2374 invasion of the Chin'toka system and escorted the USS Defiant on its attack run on a Cardassian moon.^[8]
USS Reliant (NCC-1864): Commanded in 2285 by Captain Clark Terrell with Commander Pavel Chekov as his first officer. Searches for uninhabited planets for use in Project Genesis in the Mutara sector. Hijacked by Khan Noonien Singh, who maroons the crew on Ceti Alpha V until they are recovered by the USS Enterprise. Destroyed by the detonation of the Genesis device after fighting the Enterprise in the Mutara Nebula.^[1]
USS Saratoga (NCC-1867): Disabled in 2286 while patrolling sector 5 of the Romulan neutral zone by a probe in search of humpback whales.^[9]
USS Saratoga (NCC-31911): Ship on which Commander Benjamin Sisko serves as first officer during the Battle of Wolf 359. Destroyed by the Borg.^[3]
USS ShirKahr (NCC-31905): Named for the Vulcan city of ShirKahr, the starship ShirKahr is destroyed by a Dominion orbital defense platform during an offensive into the Chin'toka system during the Dominion War in 2374.^[8]
USS Sitak (NCC-31859): The starship Sitak participated in the costly liberation of Deep Space Nine and was destroyed by Dominion forces during the Battle of Bajor in 2374. She was destroyed by a Cardassian Destroyer during the battle while escorting the USS Defiant NX-74205.^[7]
USS Tian An Men (NCC-21832): Named for Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. Part of the Romulan tachyon blockade at the outbreak of the Klingon Civil War in 2368.^[10] Lost in 2373 during the Dominion War along the Cardassian border and presumed destroyed.^[11]
USS Trial (NCC-1948): Part of a six-starship task force led by Admiral Hastur and USS Venture sent to reinforce Deep Space Nine from a Klingon attack fleet in 2372.^[12] The model used was an AMT/Ertl plastic Reliant hastily painted. The name and hull number are rearrangements of the letters and numbers in the kit decals.