[NCC-73515]

The Jellyfish reminds me of


Yes, the Kelvin was near the Klingon border.

[Launchpad1986]

I'm thinking long range/survey ship, headed back to earth as Kirk birthplace Riverside Iowa ( 2weeks early labor or something )

Then they get back on the Kelvin, head to Tarsus IV

The reason I say Long Range/Survey as I noticed family was on board the Kelvin.

But to specific class, I'd take it as Kelvin class unless other information arrives (deleted parts in dvd/blu-ray release)

[NCC-73515]

It's in the dossier...

[Yagami Crewman]

She WAS near the Klingon border but then we would expect SOME frontier colonies out there. And one source of the tension between the two powers. All Starfleet ships have SOME ability to conduct limited scientific research but the huge number of shuttles and the fact that Winona was on board led me to think colony ship.

[kevin]

I think she was a generic use multi-purpose starship probably built in decent numbers and ready and capable for a variety of missions including exploration, transport, offenxe/defence and the like.

In other words - a normal ship.

[jtrek79]

Originally Posted by NCC-73515

The Jellyfish reminds me of


Yes, the Kelvin was near the Klingon border.

the neutral zone?

[NCC-73515]

It was used primarily as a survey vessel, so perhaps we saw a secondary mission
When was the Klingon neutral zone established?

[horatio]

Originally Posted by Yagami Crewman

She WAS near the Klingon border but then we would expect SOME frontier colonies out there. And one source of the tension between the two powers. All Starfleet ships have SOME ability to conduct limited scientific research but the huge number of shuttles and the fact that Winona was on board led me to think colony ship.

But colonies near Klingon space? That sounds like a fairly adventurous endeavour and you might spend more time on zapping Klingon raiders than building your colony or working on the fields.

Survey ship is more natural if she operates near the borders.

[Yagami Crewman]

Originally Posted by horatio

But colonies near Klingon space? That sounds like a fairly adventurous endeavour and you might spend more time on zapping Klingon raiders than building your colony or working on the fields.

Survey ship is more natural if she operates near the borders.

Unfortunately in American history, that sort of behavior was NOT at all uncommon in the 19th century US expansion. All the Indian wars, the Mexican war, and nearly a war with Great Britain over the Oregon territory occurred for exactly such reasons. Again it would be a major reason why Klingons (Like Kor: "You've hemmed us in! Strangled our trade! Cut off vital supplies! You've been asking for war!) would be antagonistic to the Federation at this time.

As to the survey mission, it occurs to me that there are different types of survey:

Deep Space Survey: A ship with the best long range sensors and science gear like Equinox or Voyager.

Planetary Survey: A ship with more refined short ranged sensors and plenty of shuttles to dispatch ground survey parties and equipment over a wide stretch of the planet. IE: The USS Kelvin

[vanvideo]

It was an incredibly bad-*** starship, the only ship that could contain the pure awesomeness of Cpt. Robau!