Image is an approximation of the exterior of the class.

Summarized History

   The Explorer-class began as part of “Project Explorer” in 343 EoD with the intent of building an interstellar space craft capable of reaching Warp 3 and sustaining a crew for up to two years without the use of suspended animation. The prototype of the class entered UFAR Starfleet service in 370 EoD as A.R.V. Explorer, bearing registry number ISV-01. The second ship of the class was commissioned as ARV Voyager in 374 EoD and was assigned as the “flagship” for Starbase 2. Explorer and Voyager each served the Union for 30 years before being decommissioned.

   Explorer-class ships remained in service following the introduction of the Warp 4-capable Alexandrus-class star cruisers in 390 EoD. Technological upgrades allowed several ships of this class to serve for 50 years. A total of 30 vessels of this class would serve the Union with the last ship of the class, ARV Republic, ISV-30, serving 40 years between 400 and 440 EoD. The decommissioning of the Republic marked the retirement of the Explorer-class, just two years after the commissioning of the Union's first Warp 5-capable ship class, known as the Union-class.

   Eventhough Explorer-class ships are retired from Starfleet service, ten of these ships have been transferred to either the Union's Cargo Service or to public research institutions for their use with reduced scanning and tactical capabilities while seven ex-Explorer-class ships have been placed in reserve and two, ARV Explorer and ARV Opportunity (ISV-05) became the inaugural ship's of the Union's, later United Republic's, Historical Space Museum in 435 EoD.

General Specifications