Introduced in the 2290s as the replacement design for the Hermes and Saladin classes of starship, the Apollo class frigate has been rapidly introduced in large numbers for spacelane policing and limited scientific study missions. Due to the similarity between much of the component parts of the apollo class and other classes of starship already in service, the Apollo was rapidly prototyped, tested and entered into service.

The typical mission duration of the Apollo class frigate is 3 years. The Commanding Officer usually holds the rank of Commander. The crew compliment of an Apollo class is usually around 115 personnel. The frigates of Starfleet make up a sizeable portion of the fleet, along with Oberth class science vessels.

The Apollo class is now beginning a cycle of production, designed to replace the aging Saladin class starships in their frontline exploratory roles. Apollo class starships do not have the full range and capabilities of an Excelsior class starship, but they can hold their own against far larger starships in the modern universe.

The Nirophia Corridor has a handful of these frigates in the systems. Amongst this selection are the starships Cerberus, Chimaera, Electra and Achilles. These ships supplement the mission of the Sheffield and lend a hand where needed. These are not diplomatic starships and have few of the luxuries of larger starships such as the Excelsior class.

Apollo class frigate specifics:

Primary Hull:

01 Main Bridge, Ready Room

02 Executive Deck - First and Second Officers offices and Briefing room, main deflector array

03 Senior Crew Quarters, Junior Crew Quarters, Crew Quarters,

04 Main deck - Sickbay, Transporter Room, Officers Quarters, Quartermasters office, Main Impulse Drive, Deuterium Tanks,Main Engineering

05 Torpedo bays

06 Ventral sensor arrays

Length: 210 metres

Beam: xx metres

Height: xx metres

Crew: 115 [15 officers, 100 enlisted]

Cruising Warp 7 [OCU]

Max Warp 11 [OCU]

Maximum Speed: Warp 9.2 for 12 hours (new scale)

Armament: 21 triple type-7 phaser banks; 4 photon torpedo launchers

Defences: Deflector shields

Apollo class [Note: not an exhaustive list.]

Name	Starship Registry	Notes	Author's Notes
Apollo	9000	Prototype.
Achilles	11771
Abderus		Companion of Hercules
Aegis		Shield of Zeus
Aeolus	42041	King of the Winds
Agamemnon	11638	King of Argos
Ajax	11574	Cortin Zweller's first assignment in 2327.	TNG "Tapestry"
Amazon	11
Andromeda	11
Antaeus	11	Wrestler slain by Hercules
Aphrodite	11
Arachne	11
Arethusa	11	Nymph changed to fountain
Artemis	11	Diana the Huntress
Aurora	11	Eos
Avalon	11	Isle where King Arthur is laid to rest
Bacchantes	11
Callisto	11	Arcadian nymph
Cassandra	11	Daughter of Priam
Cassiope	11	Mother of Andromeda
Castor	11
Centaur	42043		DS9
Cerberus
Cerynitis	11	A sacred stag
Chalybes	11	Race of iron forgers
Charybdis	11667
Chimaera
Chloris	11	Flower goddess
Clement	12537		TNG "Lower Decks"
Cyclops	11
Cygnus	11
Deianira	11	Wife of Hercules
Diomede	11
Dionysus	11	Bacchus
Electra	11	Daughter of Oceanus
Epeus	11	Maker of the Trojan Horse
Eurydice	11
Gage	11672	Lost at Wolf 359.	DS9 "Emissary"
Galatea	11	Statue of Pygmalion
Gorgon	11
Hector	11	Champion of Troy
Hephaestus	11	Vulcan
Hercules	11
Hermione	11	Daughter of Menelaus
Hippolyte	11	Queen of the Amazons
Icarus	11
Iolaus	11	Nephew of Hercules
Ixion	11
Jason	11	Destroyed by the Dominion
Leander	11	named for a class of RN frigates.
Medusa	11
Menelaus	11	King of Sparta
Minotaur	11
Nestor	11
Olympia	11
Pandora	11
Persephone	11
Perseus	11
Pholus	11	A centaur
Polyphemus	11	Companion of Hercules
Scylla	11	named for the Daughter of Minos
Sphinx	11
Syrinx	11	Nymph turned into reed.
Thor	11
Wells

Author's Notes:

The designation Apollo class for this particular Star Trek model is conjecture from the era that the model is from and the obvious design gap. U.S.S. Centaur, as shown in DS9 episode 'A Time To Stand' featured this kit-bash of the Excelsior and Miranda class models. The DS9 Technical Manual did not give a starship class designation, but many fans including Nick and myself both consider this to be the Apollo class that have starship registries in the 11000-range. Starships from this class include: Achilles, Ajax, Clement, Gage, T'Pau and Agamemnon. Many names are taken from mythology which, in conjunction with the registry numbers from around the Excelsior period, make the Centaur as NCC 43042 compelling as Apollo class.

One of the greatest debates about the Centaur is the size. The DS9TM states 381 metres which makes her Excelsior saucer sized hull and nacelles with an impossibly big bridge and torpedo pod, not to mention top windows that would be three decks in length(!). A smaller size which is compatible with the dorsal windows, bridge and torpedo pod is the alternative chosen here - 210 metres as opposed to 381.

Stephen L.'s fantastic website was one of the strongest sources of reason for the scale of the ship. Although Stephen himself goes for the 381 metres long argument, the size of the bridge, torpedo pod and windows on the dorsal do not add up - or scale up - at all.