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The DY-100 class was an early design of Earth pre-warp vessels that were in operation during the late 20th century.

History[]

These pre-warp vessels were especially designed for interplanetary travel. They had simple nuclear-powered engines and were equipped with artificial gravity. They utilized transistors as components. DY-100 ships were launched into orbit with booster rockets. In the 1990s, this class of spaceship was considered to be one of the Earth's most advanced at the time.

At least some of the DY-100 ships were sleeper ships. In those, a crew of at least 85 could be placed into suspended animation inside life support canisters prior to liftoff. The life support of the ship was turned off for the journey. The use of suspended animation was necessary up to approximately 2018, as it took years to travel from planet to planet in the Solar system prior to that.

The production of DY-100 class ships began before 1996 and ended some time before the year 2000. A later generation of the class, the DY-500, was similar in configuration and some 23rd century Humans had trouble telling them apart, as did Captain James T. Kirk in 2267, before being corrected by Spock. (TOS: "Space Seed")

A model of a DY-100 appeared on a window sill of the office where Rain Robinson worked, at the Griffith Observatory in California in 1996. She also had a photograph of the launch of a DY-100 attached with tape to a cabinet. (VOY: "Future's End") A photograph of the same DY-100 launch was in the 602 Club, along with many other space achievements, like the NX-Alpha, the Phoenix, and the USS Enterprise (XCV 330). (ENT: "First Flight")

Ships commissioned[]

Appendices[]

Appearances[]

Background information[]

In the original script of "Space Seed", dated 26 October 1966, this class was called "CZ-100" and almost perpetuated into the final script. [1] In effect, author James Blish, forced to work from non-final script drafts at the time, had to adhere to the "CZ-100" designation in a 1968 novelization of the episode, which he wrote, indicating that the class change had been a late decision.

Doug Drexler with DY-100 class

Doug Drexler, an advocate for the DY-100 class appearing in ENT, holding a copy cast of the actual studio model

Probably not all of the DY-100 ships were sleeper ships, as the crew of the Enterprise was surprised to discover the Botany Bay to be one. That contradicts a bit with the computer display of VOY: "Drone", where the image of the ship is specifically labelled "DY-100 Sleeper Ship" (though the graphic might specifically refer to the Botany Bay).

The art department of Star Trek: Enterprise tried to convince the producers of that series to include the DY-100 class in the show. However, the producers refused to do so, believing this class looked too similar to a pencil. [2]

It is stated in the reference book Star Trek Chronology (1st ed., p. 18) that significant improvements in sub-light propulsion technology led to abandoning of DY-100 ships.

The original version of "The Ultimate Computer" re-used footage of the DY-100 class studio model to represent the Federation freighter Woden. When the episode was remastered, the Woden was retconned as an Antares-type.

Studio models[]

see: DY-100 class model

Apocrypha[]

In a short story in the 1977 Enterprise Log 4 comic book an unnamed DY-100 class ship was depicted with the registry number FWB 52. The ship was part of a fleet of DY-100 class ships that were used to colonize planets in the Sol system. [3]

In Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology, it is stated that DY-100 was the first mass-produced spaceship of Earth. This production began in 1996. There were cargo, fuel and passenger containers the ship could carry. In the standard configuration, it was used between Earth and Luna. In an uprated mode, it was able to take man to Mars. A journey to Mars, when the suspended animation was used, took 937 days. In the Spaceflight Chronology(pp. 15, 18-19), timeline specifications are given of an SS Copernicus of the DY-100 class. It served from 1995 to 2020. Specifications were length 100 meters, weight 2.72 million kilograms, ship's complement 22, and chemical/fission propulsion. Only the overall shape is similar to the Botany Bay. The Copernicus is probably intended to be the prototype of the class. Unlike the Botany Bay, the Copernicus had a built-in engine pack of six chemical boosters for lift-off. There is a discrepancy with the text and graphics, as the graphics show only four boosters.

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