SCIENCE DEPARTMENT OPS

	The Enterprise is equipped to support a number of research teams 
whose assignments are designed to take advantage of the fact that the ship 
is a mobile research platform whose assignments will take it through a very 
large volume of space. Such secondary research missions typically include 
stellar mapping and observation projects, planetary surveys, interstellar 
medium studies, cultural and lifeform studies.

	These secondary mission teams must necessarily focus their work on 
stars and planets near primary mission sites, but the broad operating range 
of the Enterprise makes this an extraordinary opportunity to study a large 
number of celestial objects. As with other investigation teams, secondary 
research projects are generally developed by Starfleet researchers or 
affiliated university and industrial scientists, and assigned to the Enterprise 
for either short-term or ongoing investigations.

	The Galaxy class starship in extended mission configuration includes 
facilities to support approximately twenty specialized mission teams, 
depending on team sizes and types of investigations being conducted. These 
facilities include living accommodations for up to 225 people, as well as 
nonspecialized laboratory and work spaces that can be configured for 
specific investigator requirements. Additionally, some forty sensor pallet 
assignments on the lateral arrays are reserved for mission-specific 
instrumentation, which can be installed and modified as needed. Similarly, 
some fifteen instrument mounting positions within the long-range array 
cluster are available for mission-specific investigations.

	Each individual department or investigation team is responsible for 
the operation of its own observations and experiments. Because secondary 
mission investigations are by definition subordinate to primary mission 
requirements, these teams must remain flexible in their operations. 
Nonetheless, each department or team is responsible for providing a regular 
update of operational preferences to the Operations Manager so that daily 
mission profiles can be designed to satisfy as many departmental needs as 
possible.  Æ