Copernicus Class
The Copernicus-class station is an outpost designed by Starfleet for deployment along the Federation's frontiers. With a configurable design, the Copernicus is capable of serving a variety of roles depending on the area and Starfleet's needs. As such, it can provide an effective platform for scientific research and exploration missions beyond Federation borders, or support and facilitate local diplomacy and commerce, or act as a defensive outpost in regions expecting only mid-level hostilities, depending on its deployment configuration. A relatively modern design, it is a fairly common sight on less-fortified borders.
Mission Parameters
Copernicus-class stations are built with six configurable modules, which allow each starbase to be constructed with capabilities and facilities to support the needs of its deployment. While there are many modules of different types, some being exceptionally mission-specific, Starfleet usually builds the Copernicus to fit one of the following mission profiles: research facility, trade and diplomatic outpost, or border patrol hub.
Research Facility
A Copernicus contains basic scientific facilities in its main hull, but with the modules can boast extensive research and laboratory space. These stations are usually built near regions of unexplored space or stellar phenomena where Starfleet expects years of possible study. With the modules, the laboratories available can be hyper-specialised to support whatever research priority the station needs to meet. It is also not uncommon for at least one module to be a dedicated auxiliary craft bay, able to support additional runabouts or shuttles if the station expects to perform more survey work. These are often some of the loneliest assignments on a Copernicus, the station more likely to be built on quieter frontiers far from busy Federation territory, as they are hardy and support themselves and their mission well. Starships may visit en route to the regions the starbase is studying, but with the Copernicus's limited capacity to support the larger vessels of exploration, these stop-offs are usually for brief shore leave or to exchange research data. This gives these stations a focused, collegial atmosphere, with a large crew of dedicated science officers.
Trade and Diplomatic Outpost
Layout and Design
The Copernicus-class has a central hull not dissimilar in shape to the 'mushroom' of the Spacedock Class and other Federation starbases. Much smaller in size, it has fewer curves and more stark lines of support struts to maximise space. Protruding from the upper dome and the bottom of the hull are six modular 'pads' - three from the upper, three from the lower. These are circular segments each with a landing pad that can hold a large runabout. The central hull has a standard configuration containing all essential station operations, key facilities, crew quarters and civilian housing. The pad modules give the Copernicus its versatility, as different configurations of modules are available to allow each Copernicus to be constructed with a different mission profile.
Central Hull
The dorsal section of the main hull houses large antennae farms, facilitating powerful communications systems that can keep these sometimes-distant starbases in contact with the rest of the Federation and act as a communications relay hub for nearby ships or outposts. Shield generators are nestled above them, flush with the dorsal stem of the hull, to provide protection for the whole station. The station's two fusion generators, providing the whole of the facility's power, are housed directly above this spire.
The lower section of the main hull contains the primary computer cores and the majority of the station's facilities for its permanent population, particularly its Starfleet crew. This includes enough scientific laboratory space, medical facilities, cargo space, and other equipment to support general operations - specialised or additional equipment and facilities are contained in the modular pods, depending on the Copernicus' mission profile. Most housing, including visitor housing, is at the very top of this section, closest to the recreational facilities above.
The topmost decks of the upper hull form a narrower ring, which is dedicated to space to support visitors, including limited guest quarters but especially the majority of the station's recreational and social spaces. The promenade stretches across two decks and runs the circumference of the upper hull, and in many places directly overlooks the docking bay doors to allow up-close sights of starships arriving and departing.
At the topmost level is the Operations division, generally referred to as Ops. This includes not only the central command and control facilities for the entire station, but offices for senior staff, meeting space, and other essential facilities to support key Starfleet personnel.
Modules
The modules on Copernicus-class stations are usually two to six decks in height, though by the 25th century most bases are deployed with the larger pads. Circular in shape, they are attached to the station by limb-like connectors, into which are built all passageways and turbolifts, passenger and cargo, to facilitate travel between them. Such transitions are normally seamless, with the modules acting as an easily-accessible wing of the station. Once a station has been built, it is rare for these modules to be changed or removed, as the process is highly-intensive; they are designed to enable different configurations of station upon deployment, rather than ongoing flexibility.
Docking Facilities
Much of the space in the upper hull section is given over to the interior docking space, which has room for several small starship ships no bigger than 200 metres in width, such as Reliants and Steamrunners. Four large docking doors grant access. Additional facilities for ship maintenance and support are also located here. With multiple doors for access and egress of several ships at once, this can also act as a launching bay for the station's smaller auxiliary craft, such as its shuttles and workerbees.
The station's six runabouts, however, are housed in the six module pads. Each includes a single interior bay for any craft up to the size of a New Atlantic-class runabout, with bay doors immediately above for a vertical launch to conserve space. These pads are normally reserved for Starfleet ships or visitors on special business, as they are normally in proximity to the specialist facilities of the modular pads. It is common for the runabouts with a mission-specific configuration to be assigned to the relevant module - runabouts configured for medical transport at a medical pad, those configured for scientific surveys at the science pad, and so forth. This makes the use of these landing facilities for mission operations, not general station or visitor business, a matter of practicality as much as security.