Starfleet standard general use probes, are divided into nine classes, arranged according to sensor types, power, and performance ratings. Probes are automated spacecraft used to gather information remotely and feed that information back to a ship. Probes are often used for tasks that star ships are not suited to handle or to minimize the risk to the ship when gathering information. These tasks might include:
Collecting information in environments that are too small for starships to examine.
Collecting information in environments that are too dangerous for starship to examine.
Extreme long-term deep space exploration.
A microprobe is a type of probe carried aboard Federation starships, that are used in cases where conventional probes are too large to be effective.
Class 1 Probe
Function
Basic Stellar Phenomenon Sensor Probe
Range
200,000 km
Speed
0.5c
Engine
Vectored deuterium micro-fusion propulsion
Sensors
Full EM/Subspace and interstellar chemistry pallet for in-space applications
Telemetry
12,500 channels at 12 Megawatts
Class 2 Probe
Function
Enhanced Stellar Phenomenon Sensor Probe
Range
400,000 km
Speed
0.65c
Engine
Vectored deuterium micro-fusion propulsion, with extended deuterium fuel supply
Sensors
Full EM/Subspace and interstellar chemistry pallet for in-space applications. Enhanced long-range particle and field detectors and imaging system.
Telemetry
15,650 channels at 20 Megawatts
Class 3 Probe
Function
Planetary Sensor Probe
Range
1,200,000 km
Speed
0.65c
Engine
Vectored deuterium micro-fusion propulsion
Sensors
Terrestrial and gas giant sensor pallet with material sample and return capability, and an on-board chemical analysis sub-module. Limited SIF hull reinforcement. Full range of terrestrial soft landing to subsurface penetration missions. Gas giant atmosphere missions survivable to 450 bar pressure. Limited terrestrial loiter time.
Telemetry
13,250 channels at approximately 15 Megawatts
Class 4 Probe
Function
Stellar Encounter Probe
Range
3,500,000 km
Speed
0.60c
Engine
Vectored deuterium micro-fusion propulsion supplemented with continuum driver coil, and an extended maneuvering deuterium supply
Sensors
Triply redundant stellar fields and particles detectors, stellar atmosphere analysis suite. Six ejectable and survivable radiation flux sub-probes. Deployable for non-stellar energy phenomena
Telemetry
9,780 channels at 65 Megawatts
Class 5 Probe
Function
Reconnaissance Probe
Range
43,000,000,000 km
Speed
Warp 2
Engine
Dual-mode matter / antimatter engine. Extended duration at sub-light, and limited duration at warp
Sensors
Extended passive data-gathering and recording systems, with full autonomous mission execution and return system. Planetary atmosphere entry and soft landing capability. Low observability coatings and hull materials. Can be modified for tactical applications with addition of custom sensor countermeasure package
Telemetry
6,320 channels at 2.5 Megawatts
Class 6 Probe
Function
Long Range Probe, Comm. Relay, Emergency Beacon
Range
43,000,000,000 km
Speed
0.8c
Engine
Microfusion engine with high output MHD power tap
Sensors
Standard pallet. Extended deuterium supply for transceiver power generation and planetary orbit plane changes
Telemetry
9,270 channel RF and subspace transceiver operation at 350 Megawatts peak radiated power. 360 omni antenna coverage, 0.0001 arc-second high-gain antenna pointing resolution
Class 7 Probe
Function
Remote Cultural Study Probe
Range
450,000,000 km
Speed
Warp 1.5
Engine
Dual-mode matter / antimatter engine
Sensors
Passive data gathering system plus subspace transceiver. Applicable to civilizations up to technology level III. Low observability coatings and hull materials
Maximum Loiter Time
3.5 months. Low-impact molecular destruct package tied to anti-tamper detectors.
Telemetry
1.050 channels at 0.5 Megawatts
Class 8 Probe
Function
Warp Capable Probe
Range
120 light years
Speed
Warp 9
Engine
Matter / antimatter warp field sustainer engine. Duration 6.5 hours at warp 9. MHD power supply tap for sensors and subspace transceiver
Sensors
Standard pallet plus mission-specific modules. Applications vary from galactic particles and fields research to early-warning reconnaissance missions
Telemetry
4,550 channels at 300 Megawatts
Class 9 Probe
Function
Long Range Warp Probe
Range
760 light years
Speed
Warp 9
Engine
Matter / antimatter warp field sustainer engine. Duration 12 hours at warp 9. Extended fuel supply for Warp 8 maximum flight duration of fourteen days
Sensors
Standard pallet plus mission-specific modules. Limited payload capacity. Isolinear memory storage of 3,400 kiloquads. Fifty-channel transponder echo. Typical application is emergency log-message capsule on homing trajectory to nearest starbase or known Starfleet vessel position
