I think this page should be on J class starship, as labelling it a freighter might not reflect all the class’s uses, The Menagerie and Burning Dreams both refer to it as a starship rather than specifying freighter. Also based on the appearance of the ship in Mudd’s Women, if it’s even the same class as the 22nd century freighter it might just be used as the front section without the cargo sections always attached. --8of5 13:18, 15 January 2008 (UTC)

Article split?Edit

Captain's Log: Pike establishes the appearance of a J-class starship: it's a large vessel, seen here:


It resembles neither the 22nd century J class freighter:

Nor the 23rd century Class J cargo ship:

The Menagerie and Captain's Log: Pike refer to a "Class J starship," Mudd's Women refers to a "Class J cargo ship," and ENT refers to a "J-class." I think the three should be given separate articles. --Archimedean 22:36, September 13, 2010 (UTC)

I'm not so sure -- what if "class j" is a weight class that describes all three ships? -- Captain MKB 01:14, September 14, 2010 (UTC)

It might be. In Captain's Log: Pike, Pike says "I haven't been on one of these old Class J's for a while," which might mean an old starship of Class J weight. That's a good point. --Archimedean 01:39, September 14, 2010 (UTC)

If the Aurora is a Class J, it couldn't be weight. The Essex is quite large, and is certainly much larger than the Aurora. In Mudd's Women, Spock calls Mudd's ship "a small, class J cargo ship," which might fit with the Aurora. Or Mudd's ship might only be small for a Class J, if the Aurora isn't one. Even if the Aurora is a Class J, it's still possible that Class J is a categorical description of some other kind. --Archimedean 01:49, September 14, 2010 (UTC)

Perhaps it is power output then. The point is that while it is obviously not the designs that are "class J", there is some quality between the ships that puts them in the same class.

On the issue of the comic, I find it sad that they didn't really take any effort to research their work or else they wouldn't have used a new design for a ship that's design has already been suggested, and they chose a name and registry that doesn't quite jibe since there is another Exeter with a different registry in existence at the same time. -- Captain MKB 01:52, September 14, 2010 (UTC)

I'm assuming your last reference to the "Essex" is an error in that up until now we were discussing the "Exeter" -- Captain MKB 01:54, September 14, 2010 (UTC)

Yes, it should have been Exeter.

I like the new design, but wish they had chosen a different name. It's possible that a Class J cargo ship and a Class J starship aren't related, which would allow them leeway. Or it's possible that they just both happen to fit the Class J designation, as you suggested. They might have entirely different class names - like a C-5 Galaxy and a 747. --Archimedean 01:59, September 14, 2010 (UTC)

I'm going to attempt a rewrite of the article that keeps both possibilities in mind. I would appreciate it if you could look it over afterward to ensure it doesn't unduly support either point of view. --Archimedean 02:08, September 14, 2010 (UTC)

I've revised the article, but I now (again) think that the three ship designs should be given separate articles. Whatever "Class J" means, these three ship types are definitely of different classes. I think the subject could be better served by an article for each class and "Class J" - four in total. Three could also work, if each included a note on the designation "Class J." --Archimedean 03:26, September 14, 2010 (UTC)

I agree I think making this page a simple disambiguation page for the three different starship class articles would now be preferable. The Enterprise and TOS remastered designs were similar enough one could imagine the latter might be a refit of the former, but the new design throws a spanner in the works so I think treating each design as a separate entity would be the best way to go about it. The Class J as a category for a type of starship is a cute idea, but we have no evidence to back it up. --8of5 16:09, September 14, 2010 (UTC)

I've split the articles and made J class starship a disambiguation page. --Archimedean 04:16, September 16, 2010 (UTC)

AuroraEdit

Michael Okuda said that the Aurora "is based on Mudd’s freighter, with bigger engines and cool windows." link. Wouldn't this suggest that it's not a Class J? --Archimedean 01:12, September 14, 2010 (UTC)

It would suggest it but not establish it. -- Captain MKB 01:14, September 14, 2010 (UTC)

Does anything establish that it is? --Archimedean 01:36, September 14, 2010 (UTC)

No, not that I know of. -- Captain MKB 01:40, September 14, 2010 (UTC)

Then I think the Aurora should be noted as a possible Class J, with explanation of the differences in the models. --Archimedean 01:43, September 14, 2010 (UTC)