Trekipedia

Ambassador class

The design of the Ambassador class, which entered service in 2325, was closely related to the Constitution class and formed the basis for the design of later vessels like the Nebula and Galaxy classes. Measuring 526 meters in length, the Ambassador class boasted six Type-8 phasers and one photon torpedo launcher. The Ambassador class had two shuttlebays: a main shuttlebay located at the rear of the engineering hull, and a secondary shuttlebay on the primary hull just above the point where it met the interconnecting dorsal. The sensor systems were concentrated in a sensor dome on the underside of the saucer directly below the main bridge, and in pallets mounted on deck 2, with the main deflector providing long range scans. Transporter emitters were located on the saucer section, and on the flanges that supported and formed the base of the nacelle pylons. The ships also featured a similar design of escape pod later used on Galaxy class vessels.^[2]

For the time, the Ambassador class was a very maneuverable ship that could outperform equivalently sized Romulan vessels. The layout of the bridge was highly reminiscent of the design that was used on the earlier Constitution class refits and the Excelsior class; it was built on two tiers that were separated by a broken rail, and the captain’s chair was isolated in the center of the room, allowing the captain to survey the bridge and issue commands without distractions.^[2]

The conn and ops positions were directly in front of the main viewer. These consoles were positioned to swing into place, and were of a design first introduced in the Excelsior class. If necessary, tactical controls could be assigned to one of these stations. Other stations were situated around the edge of the bridge on the upper platform. The Ambassador class proved to be a successful design, and several were still in use in the late 24th century.^[2]