Starship Enterprise

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Enterprise or USS Enterprise (often referred to as the "Starship Enterprise") are the names of several fictional starships, some of which are the focal point for various television series and films in the Star Trek franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The majority of these vessels share "NCC-1701" as part of their registry, with later ships appending a letter to the registry to differentiate them.

Contents

[edit] History

According to The Star Trek Encyclopedia, the ship's registry number, "NCC-1701"

"was devised by Matt Jefferies, art director of the first Star Trek series. Jefferies, who is a pilot, based NCC on 20th century aircraft registration codes. In such 20th century usage, an "N" first letter refers to an aircraft registered in the USA. A "C" for a second letter refers to a civil aircraft. Jefferies added a second "C", just because he thought it looked better."[1]

The name Enterprise itself comes from a long series of ships. The first was the French frigate L'Entreprise, captured by the British in 1705. The British rechristened the ship HMS Enterprise for use by the Royal Navy. A further nine Royal Navy commissioned warships were to carry the name "Enterprise". The first United States ship to use the name USS Enterprise was a Revolutionary War-era sloop-of-war. The eighth American ship to bear this name was the world's first nuclear aircraft carrier.

To capitalize on the popularity of Star Trek, as well as to honor the actual, historical vessels, NASA named an initial flight-test space shuttle Enterprise.[1] For Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, external shots of the aircraft carrier USS Ranger substituted for the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, at sea during filming.[1] In 1994, the real aircraft carrier Enterprise played host to a Star Trek convention and Star Trek memorabilia can be found throughout the ship. In the movie The Hunt for Red October, Enterprise is referred to by its call sign, "Starbase".

[edit] Pre-Federation era

Two ships predate the United Federation of Planets.

XCV 330
XCV 330

Registry: USS Enterprise (XCV 330)
Class: Declaration[citation needed]
Service: circa 2130s
Captain: Unknown
Drawings of this ship are visible in background images in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek: Enterprise.

NX-01
NX-01

Registry: Enterprise (NX-01)
Class: NX
Service: 2151 – 2161
Captain: Jonathan Archer
The United Earth Starfleet's Enterprise is the main setting of Star Trek: Enterprise.

[edit] The Original Series era

Two ships named USS Enterprise are featured in the original Star Trek television series and the first through sixth Star Trek films.

NCC-1701
NCC-1701

Registry: USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
Class: Constitution
Service: 2245 – 2285, refitted 2271
Captain: Robert April, Christopher Pike, James T. Kirk, Willard Decker, Spock
The Federation Starfleet's first Enterprise is the main setting for Kirk’s historic five-year mission as depicted in the original Star Trek series and The Animated Series (2265–2270). Two-and-a-half years later, the newly refitted Enterprise appears in The Motion Picture, and again in The Wrath of Khan, before being destroyed in The Search for Spock.

[edit] Mirror Universe

A Mirror Universe Enterprise appears in the original Star Trek series episode "Mirror, Mirror". The ship in almost every way appears as an exact duplicate of the Federation starship USS Enterprise. The clearest difference is the nearly omnipresent logo of the Terran Empire – a knife stabbing through a stylized Earth – seen on doors and bulkheads throughout the ship. Some interior locations are darker and filled with punishment and torture devices, such as the agony booth and the mirror James T. Kirk's deadly Tantalus device.

The remastered version of "Mirror, Mirror" includes a CGI version of Enterprise with correct "ISS" markings on the hull and physical differences from USS Enterprise, such as a larger deflector dish and taller bridge.

[edit] TOS movies

NCC-1701-A
NCC-1701-A

Registry: USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A)
Class: Constitution (refit)
Service: 2286 – 2293
Captain: James T. Kirk, Spock
This ship first appears at the end of The Voyage Home, and is the main setting of the films The Final Frontier and The Undiscovered Country. The ship is ordered decommissioned at the end of The Undiscovered Country. Paperwork included with the model kit indicated the ship was mothballed at the Memory Alpha ship museum, and in the novel The Ashes of Eden, by William Shatner, the Enterprise-A is removed from the mothball fleet before being destroyed defending the planet Chal.

[edit] Between TOS and TNG

The Enterprise-B and Enterprise-C and their crews are briefly visible on screen, and are also the subject of several licensed novels published by Pocket Books.

NCC-1701-B
NCC-1701-B

Registry: USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B)
Class: Excelsior upgrade[2]
Service: 2293 – 2320s
Captain: John Harriman
Launched at the start of Star Trek Generations. James T. Kirk goes missing during the ship's maiden voyage. According to the Star Trek novels, Demora Sulu becomes captain, after Harriman.

NCC-1701-C
NCC-1701-C

Registry: USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-C)
Class: Ambassador
Service: 2332[3] – 2344
Captain: Rachel Garrett
This ship plays a major role in the Next Generation episode "Yesterday's Enterprise". According to dialog in the TNG episode "Redemption, Part II", the ship was destroyed attempting to defend the Klingon outpost Narendra III from Romulan attack. Survivors included Tasha Yar, whose alternate timeline version from Yesterday's Enterprise travels with the ship back in time to the battle over Narendra III. The actions of the Enterprise crew became the catalyist for the alliance between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.

[edit] The Next Generation era

Two ships named Enterprise are featured in Star Trek: The Next Generation and four TNG-era films.

NCC-1701-D
NCC-1701-D

Registry: USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)
Class: Galaxy
Service: 2363 – 2371
Captain: Jean-Luc Picard, William Riker, Edward Jellico
The main setting of The Next Generation TV series. This ship is destroyed in the film Generations. In the alternate future featured in the TNG series finale All Good Things..., this Enterprise is shown intact, albeit heavily refitted, in 2395. The refits included a third warp nacelle, new weapons, and a cloaking device.

NCC-1701-E
NCC-1701-E

Registry: USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E)
Class: Sovereign
Service: 2372 – Active (as of 2380)
Captain: Jean-Luc Picard
The main setting for the films: First Contact, Insurrection, and Nemesis.

To film the "saucer ramming" scene in Nemesis, the crew turned the models of both ships upside down, physically rammed them together, and filmed the broken 'debris' in slow-motion.[citation needed]


[edit] Beyond The Next Generation

Registry: USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-F) — The Next Generation novel Imzadi showed an alternate timeline Enterprise-F that was commanded by Commodore Data in the 25th century. War of the Prophets, one of the Millennium trilogy of Star Trek novels by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, also presented an alternate universe Enterprise-F, this time in the 24th century. The ship was described as being like the Defiant on steroids, and was initially commanded by Captain Jean-Luc Picard, then later by Captain Riker until its destruction. As both of these stories involve alternate futures, no version of a starship by this name has been shown in the main timeline.

NCC-1701-J
NCC-1701-J

Registry: USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-J)
Class: Unknown
Service: circa 26th century
Captain: Unknown
The "Azati Prime" episode of Star Trek: Enterprise involves time travel and features a scene in which this Enterprise is briefly shown.

The Enterprise-J operates in one possible version of the 26th century, with a diverse crew that includes Xindi and Klingons. The ship, along with a fleet of other Federation vessels, fights and defeats the Sphere Builders at the Battle of Procyon Five (depicted in the episode "Azati Prime"). Crewman Daniels brings Captain Jonathan Archer forward from the 22nd century so that Archer can witness the battle. Archer subsequently works with the Xindi in the 22nd century to defeat the Sphere Builders earlier in history.

The Enterprise-J is featured in the 2005 Ships of the Line calendar that features images of the various starships seen from Star Trek throughout the years, as well as in the Ships of the Line book released in 2006. The Enterprise-J is also seen in the "Ships of the Line" poster released in the Star Trek Magazine issue #1.

Enterprise’s "G", "H", and "I" have not yet been mentioned in licensed Star Trek fiction. A future Enterprise however is mentioned in the novel Star Trek: Federation, with a female captain.

[edit] Star Trek: Enterprise

ISS Enterprise (NX-01)
ISS Enterprise (NX-01)

The Star Trek: Enterprise episode "In a Mirror, Darkly" features a Mirror Universe ship that in almost every way appears as an exact duplicate of the Enterprise. Differences include the use of a cloaking device captured from the Suliban, escape pods, a tractor beam as opposed to a grappler, a torture booth created by the mirror Doctor Phlox and Malcolm Reed, and different exterior markings. It is commanded by Captain Maximilian Forrest, although for a brief time his first officer, Commander Jonathan Archer, takes command following a mutiny. This Enterprise is destroyed by the Tholians. Commander Jonathan Archer boards the USS Defiant and takes possession of the vessel with the intention of becoming Emperor.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Okuda, Michael & Denise (1994,1997,1999). The Star Trek Encyclopedia. New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-03475-8. 
  2. ^ Enterprise-B, U.S.S.. StarTrek.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
  3. ^ Bick, Ilsa J. (November 2003). Star Trek: The Lost Era: Well of Souls. Pocket Books. ISBN 0-7434-6375-7. 

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Spacecraft named Enterprise
Space Shuttle OV-101 (1976–1985) • VSS (Virgin Space Ship) (2008—)
v • d • e
Star Trek ships named "Enterprise"