| Engineering Department The engineering department is commanded by the chief engineering officer (CENG). The department is responsible for the repair, maintenance, and functioning of the ship's physical components. All engineering officers report to the chief engineering officer. |
| Engineering Engineering is responsible for the following, Power Generation Systems, Utility and Auxiliary Systems, Environmental Systems and ship board emergency equipment to include fire suppression, structure integrity force field application, lifeboat service, and emergency space hardware. Engineering works in concert with all departments to maintain the balance between demands and resources of a power fed supply system. The Operations Officer is instrumental in allocating resources and personal to insure emergency demands do not exceed engineering capability. Engineering is link directly with all department heads via the Operations Console on the bridge. The Commanding officer or the Executive Officer has priority in the distribution of power to primary ship systems. Ship systems are broken down into two categories, Type I and Type II. The type I are Warp power, Main impulse power, tactical and long range sensor arrays, Deflector systems, phaser banks, torpedo launchers, battle bridge, shuttle bays, emergency environmental systems, lifeboats, and isolation doors and force fields. Type II is the systems that make up the daily operations of the ship to include Transporter, replicator, Holodeck suites, science sensors and labs, and Non-Emergency Medical facilities. Power Generation Systems There are three power generation systems that propel the vessel at various speeds for various purposes. They are Warp, Impulse and Thrusters. These are power systems. They provide power for propulsion and for the type I and type II subsystems on the ship. Warp Propulsion System If you want to be an engineer this is the place to read. The Warp System is the most complex piece of equipment aboard a vessel. It came about when a new technology was developed that replaced propulsion dependent on explosive exhaust reaction products. It was dubbed �warp� because that is precisely how it works on energy in the warp core. The warp core is made up of two rectangles with the tips pointed at each other. Matter is �squeezed� from the upper magnetic constrictors while antimatter is injected from below by the antimatter reactor injector. Both streams land at exactly the same coordinates within the reaction chamber. Layers of field energy exert a controlled amount of force against the next outermost field. That cumulative force is known as asymmetrical peristaltic manipulation. That force is captured in the field coils and energize then stored in slush tanks to be distributed into the electro plasma system (EPS) which routes the energy to the systems on the ship. There are two distinct reaction modes. The first is a high level of energy channeled to the EPS for standard fusion reaction for ship functions The second mode makes full use of the dilithium causing a partial suspension of the reaction, creating the critical pulse frequency that is sent to the warp engine nacelles. Both of these modes operate simultaneously while the ship speeds at warp. Warp speed is velocity times the speed of light. Warp 1 is warp to the first power times the speed of light and so on up to Warp 9 which is 9 to the 9th times the speed of light. The amount of energy required to obtain warp is measured in cochranes. The Eugene�s Limit states that warp stress will increase up to but never reaching a value that corresponds with Warp Factor 10. At Warp 10 the energy value would be infinite and unattainable by a warp core on a star ship. This is due to the energy field layers rising to unattainable frequencies that exceeds a flight system�s ability to control trajectory as mentioned in the limits imposed by Planck Time. It is not within the capability of science for an object to occupy all points in the universe simultaneously without some rather nasty reactions from the objects that were already there first. Even with the restrictions Warp 9 is faster than anything we have yet to achieve and on par with what �Q� can fast ball a ship at which has been calculated at Warp 9.9999999996. Impulse Drive The impulse drive is a fusion-powered engine which propels the ship at sublight speeds and powers auxiliary and utility systems on the ship. There are at least two impulse engines on a ship, one for the battle section and one for the saucer section. Both must be operation to obtain speeds of � and full impulse. The fuel supply for the Impulse systems is contained within the primary deuterium tanks in the battle and 32 aux cryo tanks in the saucer section. For overthrust during emergency flight a small amount of antimatter can be injected into the impulse reactor chamber for short periods of time to increase power generation. There are no transfer capabilities of antimatter between the two vehicles. Thrusters Thrusters are maintained on line with both the warp and impulse drive or online separately by activating the �power on panel� in engineering, Operations, or Helm. The thrusters are 6 sets of two fusion generators which provide bursts of plasma stream to make slight course and bearing adjustments during flight. The thruster nozzles are located port and starboard, aft and forward, nose and rear hemisphere. Utility and Auxiliary Systems The major components of the Utility and Auxiliary Systems are the tractor, transporter, replicator, turbo-elevator(TL) waste disposal and holodeck. All 5 of these systems network off the EPS. Major power is supplied from the warp power conduits and the main impulse engines to run the fusion generators. A secondary power distribution systems provides electrical power for the specialized requirements. Environmental Systems The least complex system aboard the ship is the environmental and life support system. This key element to crew survival has multiple redundancy to eliminate atmospheric deprivation from forces beyond crew control. The system is comprised of atmospheric, gravitational, and life support networks which are all interconnected with fail-safe ship wide breathable atmospheric conditions. In the event of a hull breech temporary support structure modules seal into place while emergency force fields for that section come on line. Emergency doors activate open and stay open while forced heated atmosphere is pumped inside via the Jefferies tube vented system for 30 minutes. Shipboard Emergency Equipment As mention in the environmental section, force fields and hull breech inhibitors are activated via the main computer when data is provided by the environmental Systems monitors. Onboard sensors record the locations of all personnel and alert Operations and Security of any anomalous activity. Changes of atmosphere more than 20 degrees triggers sensor relays to begin inputting data into Engineering at .5 seconds after initial change. Location and activity information is recorded for post-incident analysis. Fire Suppression When there is combustion onboard monitoring sensor immediately notify Operations, engineering , and security. A relatively small fire is contained in a force field generated automatically by computer. The field seals the fire off from the atmospheric oxygen supply causing it to be rapidly extinguished. Crewmen should remain at least 3 feet from the fire to avoid exposure to the force field. Large fires require the activation of section isolation doors and force fields to limit the possible spread of the fire. Extinguishing fields can be supplemented with hand held fire equipment located in each section. In extreme emergencies, the sections can be vented to the vacuum of space. This would be fatal to any crew in those sections. Evacuation of the section is accomplished prior with one exception. The Commanding Officer certifies that the fire posses an imminent danger to the entire ship and the crew and orders the section to be venting. Structure Integrity Force Field Application Force field generators for the SIF are located in two places on the ship, within the first 10 decks and within the last ten decks the precise location depends on ship class. Two parallel triphase waveguide conduit networks distribute the field energy to the SIF conductivity elements built into the ship framework. Crossover relays between saucer and engineering section permit the field generator in one hull to feed the entire ship if necessary. Lifeboat Service In the event of a catastrophic emergency ejectable lifeboats are designed to meet the short-term survival needs of six people for the eighty six days. A lifeboat can combine with other lifeboats after ejection, to augment survivability. Lifeboats are equipped with subspace radio signaling for location and recovery and can maneuver independently at below impulse using thrusters. A critical feature on the lifeboat design, is the in-line twin hatches, allowing it to dock with other lifeboats to form large clusters. Light weight environmental suites are stored with portable survival packs for planet side operations. Additionally, from the hundreds ejected about eighty are specialized with two additional docking ports to increase the packing density and integrity of the gaggle. The communications systems and automatic distress beacons are the key to recovery. It is the responsibility of engineering to make sure those who can escape are recovered. Emergency Space Hardware There are instances when something outside the hull requires maintenance, something important enough to be fixed before arriving at a star base or a repair facility. This usually requires the use of EVA pressure suits. The suit is self-contained with a tether devise capable of attaching to ceramic and alloy material. It comes with multiple attachments for specialized tools and has a thermal micrometeroid covering consists of layered jacket silica excelerine to prevent puncture and thermal decompression. It is designed to last 16 hours under strenuous work conditions without recycling the sarium-krellide cells. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, a confrontation is won by the ship that has the fewest major systems in total failure. Many times that comes down to the skill and creativity of the Engineering Department and the Chief Engineer. Manual written by: Fleet Captain Jaccob Adder Ref: Star Trek the Next Generation Manual Star Trek Deep Space Nine Manual |
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