In 2271, Hull number 2000 is put forward in answer to Starfleet Proposal 342334 for the latest model of heavy cruiser design that will form the backbone of Starfleet's multi-platform fleet going into the 24th century. Specific mission parameters are carried forward from the original Constitution-class concept and enhanced to reflect in the changes in the nature of interstellar relations, the increases in distance along and outside of the Federation frontier, the increase in mission duration as a result, and the need for cutting-edge technology for sensors, passive (shields) and active (weapons) defences, diplomatic and scientific capability, etc.

It is decided early on to mate this project with the highly promising Transwarp Project currently under parallel research programs at the Vulcan Science Academy and networked universities on Earth, Hamal and Deneb Kaitos. After almost losing the newly refitted NCC 1701 U.S.S. Enterprise down a wormhole when her engines went into antimatter imbalance, the Transwarp Project uses the data gathered by the ship’s computers during this incident to enhance their research.

Transwarp drive was to be Starfleet's attempt to allow a starship to travel far faster than had even been predicted before. New engineering advances allowed the designing of a warp core reactor with over 10 000 times the power of the Constitution-class equivalent. Soon it became apparent that NX 2000 was to be the testbed for more than just new sensor systems and new engines. By the time the spaceframe was under construction in the late 2270s, nearly every starship system to be installed in her was to be new and experimental.

NX 2000, U.S.S. Excelsior, was launched on Stardate 8095.5 (Earth Calender Year 2284) from the San Francisco Orbital Yards. Excelsior entered her period of testing, which would last for 6 years. Capable of warp speed, the ship would have to be fuelled with antimatter to go to warp and she will be limited to thrusters and impulse for easily half of the fitting-out period. At present, she has only 20% of her internal volume fully completed. Though control systems are in place, weapons, science sensors, crew quarters and such like have still to be installed.

Every possible test was carried out by the Research and Development team onboard NX 2000. Her computer was tested for speed and number of systems it could run autonomously. The Artificial Intelligence installed in the computers was of a whole new generation and Excelsior was the first starship that could fly herself. Excelsior was assigned the best that Starfleet could offer her: Captain Styles, the captain who had more test hours than any other at that time, now currently the Head of Starfleet Research and Development. Commander Richard Hawkins was the Chief Engineer and Transwarp specialist, briefly replaced by the more field-experienced Captain Montgomery Scott for a brief period in 2285, Hawkins oversaw the engines of Excelsior until the completion of the testing phase in 2287. The Transwarp project never achieved it's aim of attaining speeds of over Warp 10, however it did directly lead to a new generation of warp drive engines. In 2290 the Excelsior was given her NCC designation and command was handed over to Captain Hikaru Sulu.

Excelsior class starships take approximately five years to construct from keel to fully operational starships. There is approximately an eighteen month - two year gap between delivery dates. As the older ships come in for Service Life Extension Program (SLEP), they are upgraded to the standards of the latest ships, virtually eliminating differences. There are only a few Federation facilities constructing vessels of this type including: San Francisco orbital fleet yards, Clyde fleet yards in Glasgow on Earth, Dalian fleet yards in China on Earth, Ishikawajima Harima in Yokohama on Earth, Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia on Earth, Cha'ka Fleet yards on Andor and Utopia Planitia fleet yards. Delivery dates for the vessels are as follows:

Registry Number	Starship Name	Delivery date	Notes
2000	Excelsior	2284	Prototype
2039	Arizona	2285	Star Trek: Lexington
2541	Hood	2287	As seen in ILM images from TNG: Encounter at Farpoint.
2542	Yorktown	2288
2543	Vanguard	2289
2544	Repulse	2290
2545	Renown	2291
2573	Roosevelt	2292
1701-B	Enterprise	2293	Prototype 17th Generation starship [designated Generation 16+]
6212	Albion	2295	First 17th Generation starship
6213	Bulwark	2296
13958	Okinawa	2297	First vessel of Production batch 2.
14124	Roma	2298	named for the Italian WW2 battleship.
14221	Farragut	2299	Registry taken from Memory Beta.
14232	Berlin	2301
14427	Lexington	2303
14455	Vikramaditya	2304	Named for the Indian aircraft carrier.
14598	Fearless	2305
14660	Ulyanovsk	2306	named for the Russian city and Soviet aircraft carrier design.
14771	Raviraj	2306	Named for the Sri Lankan human rights lawyer 1962 - 2006.
14816	La Fayette	2307	Named for the French stealth frigate.
14881	Graf Zeppelin	2308	Named for the airship designer and German aircraft carrier.
14934	Tecumseh	2309
14957	Victorious	2309	named for the British aircraft carrier and Trident submarine.
18253	Potemkin	2310	Named for Constitution class NCC 1657. First vessel of Production batch 3.
18309	Essex	2310	Named for Constitution class NCC 1697
18334	Richelieu	2311	Named for the French WW2 battleship and seventeenth-century statesman Cardinal de Richelieu.
18386	Endeavour	2312	Rachel Garrett's first assignment after graduation in 2315. LE: "Wells of Souls."
18401	Mumbai	2314
18444	Tiger	2316	Named for the battlecruiser HMS Tiger, alleged to be even more beautiful than Hood.
18562	Eagle	2318	Named for Constitution class NCC 1685
18618	Invincible	2320	Named for the Falklands War veteran aircraft carrier.
18669	Washington	2322	Named for BB-56, the North Carolina class battleship.
18709	Oriskany	2324	Named for Essex class CV 34.
18673	Paris	2326
18704	Varyag	2326	Named for the former Soviet aircraft carrier.
18733	Canberra	2327	Named for the capital city of Australia and P & O liner from the Falklands war.
18991	Iron Duke	2328	Named for Admiral Sir John Jellicoe's flagship at Jutland and Type 23 'Duke' class frigate.
18997	Mandela	2330	Named for the former President of South Africa.
34099	Livingston	2331	First vessel of Production batch 4.
38602	Yamato	2332
38603	Musashi	2332
38804	Karachi	2333
38860	Kongo	2335
38907	Intrepid	2337
38997	Malinche	2337
40512	Gorkon	2339
42111	Fredrickson	2340
42136	Cairo	2340
42285	Charleston	2341
42296	Hood	2341
42451	Righteous	2341
42562	Ark Royal	2342
42768	Lakota	2343
42857	Grissom	2343
42995	Al-Batani	2344
43305	Valley Forge	2345
50446	Crazy Horse	2347
52043	Melbourne	2349	This NCC number is a compromise, given the 62xxx registry is blatantly for a Nebula class vessel.

Author's Notes:

Firstly, may I thank Scottish Andy for his history of the Excelsior class and NCC number commissioning date generator program which has helped to put dates to these starships. These have been spaced out in a few places to give a fluid lineage and additional ships have been added in the 18000 range for when the Constitution class are retired. Note: this is not an exhaustive list, plus names and registries can change without warning due to canon details emerging or story requirements.

Figures for the size and construction times for the Excelsior class have been devised from the equivalent data for the U.S. Navy Nimitz class nuclear aircraft carriers [vessels of approximate size to the Excelsior class]. The gap in NCC numbers with Albion shows the change from 16^th to 17^th generation starship technologies. From the figures quoted, the eventual full size of the Excelsior class will be around 50 hulls, the last being in the NCC 43xxx range such as U.S.S. Valley Forge [a vessel still in service at the time of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]. Obviously should any canon sources contradict these fleet numbers, this page will be updated.

Thanks to Curt Danhauser for his Excelsior enthusiasm and Bridge station guidance.