The Borg long-range tactical vessel, commonly referred to by the Federation as a Borg sphere, was a sphere-shaped starship used by the Borg Collective during the late 24th century.
Technical data
The size and capabilities of Borg spheres appear to vary, based on observations made in various encounters with the Federation throughout the 2370s, as suggested by its designation as a "long-range tactical vessel", as well as its use as an auxiliary craft capable of being launched from a Borg cube.
The variant launched from the Cube was considerably weaker than the Cube, and could be destroyed by a Template:ShipClass starship with relative ease using quantum torpedoes. (Star Trek: First Contact)
This variant was also observed to have time travel capabilities. On one such occasion, a Borg sphere traveled back to the year 2063, in order to prevent the historical event on Earth, known as First Contact. (Star Trek: First Contact)
In 2153, a team of scientists found a remaining section of the Borg sphere from 2063 in the Arctic Circle. (ENT: "Regeneration")
In the case of the variation referred to by the Borg drone "One", long-range tactical vessels, have transwarp capability and ablative hull armor. They were also equipped with a tractor beam. (VOY: "Drone")
In 2375, the crew of the USS Voyager successfully retrieved a Borg transwarp coil from a damaged Sphere, as part of Operation Fort Knox. (VOY: "Dark Frontier")
Design
A sphere has no visible living quarters, engineering section or propulsion systems.
Ships of the Class
- Designated
- Undesignated
Appendices
Appearances
- Star Trek: First Contact
- VOY:
- "Drone"
- "Dark Frontier"
- "Think Tank" (display graphic)
- "Survival Instinct"
- "Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy"
- "Child's Play"
- "Unimatrix Zero, Part II"
- "Endgame"
- ENT: "Regeneration" (debris)
Background
The physical model created by ILM was actually painted dark indigo, despite its dark gray appearance on screen. That this model's appearance is similar to the Death Star from the Star Wars films is not just coincidence. ILM did all of the effects and modeling for Star Wars. However, designers of the Borg sphere did make a conscious effort to make the sphere different from the Death Star in order to avoid too many comparisons. The schematic of a sphere shown in VOY: "Dark Frontier" depicts the most striking resemblance.
The official size comparison chart from Star Trek: First Contact defined the size of the vessel as being 1500 feet (457 m) in diameter, however, according to the size of the debris field, as referenced in "Regeneration", the radius was calculated at "about 600 meters in diameter."