Excelsior

The defining Starfleet ship at the start of the story, and the most visible symbol of the Federation for more than 30 years, the Excelsior-class explorers have ranged far and done much, acting as both the velvet glove and the mailed fist of the Federation. The base Excelsior was rendered obsolete by the development of the Excelsior-A, which in turn has been replaced in production by the Ambassador, but the basic Excelsior hull has proved a good base to build on and will likely to serve for decades to come with additional refits as Starfleet's defining garrison ship and task force leader. All existing Excelsior-class ships, except for USS Stargazer which is missing in action, have been refit to the Excelsior-A standard.