10.4 Lateral Sensor Arrays

The Enterprise is equipped with the most extensive array of sensor equipment available. The spacecraft exterior incorporates a number of large sensor arrays providing ample instrument positions and optimal three-axis coverage.

Each sensor array is composed of a continuous rack in which are mounted a series of individual sensor instrument pallets. These sensor pallets are modules designed for easy replacement and updating of instrumentation. Approximately two-thirds of all pallet positions are occupied by standard Starfleet science sensor packages, but the remaining positions are available for mission-specific instrumentation. Sensor array pallets provide microwave power feed, optical data net links, cryogenic coolant feeds, and mechanical mounting points. Also provided are four sets of instrumentation steering servo clusters and two data subprocessor computers.

The standard Starfleet science sensor complement consists of a series of six pallets, which include the following devices:

Pallet #1 Wide-angle EM radiation imaging scanner Quark population analysis counter Z-range particulate spectrometry sensor

Pallet #2 High-energy proton spectrometry cluster Gravimetric distortion mapping scanner

Pallet #3 Steerable lifeform analysis instrument cluster

Pallet #4 Active magnetic interferometry scanner Low-frequency EM flux sensor Localized subspace field stress sensor Parametric subspace field stress sensor Hydrogen-filter subspace flux scanner Linear calibration subspace flux sensor

Pallet #5 Variable band optical imaging cluster Virtual aperture graviton flux spectrometer High-resolution graviton flux spectrometer Very low energy graviton spin polarimeter

Pallet #6 Passive imaging gamma interferometry sensor Low-level thermal imaging sensor Fixed angle gamma frequency counter Virtual particle mapping camera

The standard Starfleet sensor complement comprises twenty-four semi-redundant suites of these six standard sensor pallets. These 144 pallets are distributed on the Primary Hull and Secondary Hull lateral arrays. The instrumentation is located to maximize redundant coverage. A total of 284 pallet positions are available on both hulls.

The upper and lower sensor platforms provide coverage in very high and very low vertical elevation zones. These arrays employ a more limited subset of the standard Starfleet instrument package.

In addition to standard Starfleet instruments, missionspecific investigations frequently require nonstandard instruments that can be installed into one or more of the 140 nondedicated sensor pallets. When such devices are relatively small, such installation can be accomplished from service access ports inside the spacecraft.

Installation of larger devices must be accomplished by extravehicular activity. A number of personnel airlocks are located in the sensor strip bays for this purpose. If a device is sufficiently large, or if installation entails replacement of one or more entire sensor pallets, a shuttlepod can be used for extravehicular equipment handling.