Star Trek: Every Starfleet Starship Class Ranked Worst To Best

Designed by Nilo Rodis for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, The Excelsior class has been one of the mainstays in Star Trek since its first appearance. It followed on from the design of Matt Jefferies Constitution class, though the neck was shortened to give the ship a slightly sturdier look. The nacelles were brought in closer to the engineering hull as the ship was an experimental design.

It was meant to be the first Starfleet vessel that could achieve transwarp. The experiment was both a failure and a success. While the super-speeds of the Borg and slipstream drives would be many years away, there was a redefinition of what the Warp Scales are in the years after the Excelsior's launch.

The design remained in Starfleet well into the 24th century and saw heavy use during the Dominion War. It became a design for the Enterprise-B, though this was a refit design, only seen once again as the USS Lakota in Deep Space Nine. Its sleek and elegant design, along with its longevity, ensures the popularity of this class of ship in all of Star Trek.