Excelsior-Class
What is Excelsior-Class?
History of Excelsior-Class
The Excelsior-class was a type of Federation starship used by Starfleet between the late 23rd and late 24th centuries. It was the backbone of Starfleet for over a century, making it one of the most long-serving starship designs and one of the fleet's most recognizable ships. The Excelsior-class was initially constructed during the early 2280s at Starfleet's San Francisco Fleet Yards orbiting Earth. Starfleet had high hopes for the first ship of this class, the prototype USS Excelsior, which was equipped with transwarp drive, and was regarded as that century's "Great Experiment." Despite the failure of the "Great Experiment," Starfleet forged ahead with employing the Excelsior design. After remaining in the Spacedock One until at least 2287, the prototype Excelsior was subsequently recommissioned for active service by 2290. In 2293, the fate of the Excelsior design was sealed when Starfleet passed on the name of a legacy. The launch of the USS Enterprise-B opened the door for the Excelsior-class to become one of the most widely used designs in all of Starfleet, lasting well into the late 24th century. Once fully integrated into the fleet, the Excelsior's sister ships were used for a variety of mission profiles, ranging from deep space exploration and terraforming missions, to patrol duty, to courier and transport runs. The Excelsior-class was also frequently used by the Starfleet flag officers for use as a personal flagship. The Excelsior-class was present in several major Federation engagements, including the Borg invasion of 2366-2367, where it participated at the Battle of Wolf 359, as well as the engagement against the Borg sphere that entered the Sol system in 2378. They were also present in numerous Dominion War battles, seeing action during Operation Return, the First and Second Battles of Chin'toka, and the Battle of Cardassia. Many Excelsior-class vessels were stationed on the front lines near Deep Space 9 during the war. The Excelsior-class remained in service into the 2380s. By 2401, a numbered successor class, the Excelsior II-class, was in service.
