Starship U.S.S. Enterprise

The name is legendary. Her crew – The finest ever assembled. Over the centuries, the U.S.S. Enterprise has been synonymous with heroics, adventure, and honor. Its lineage is linked with a select group of souls that have protected countries, planets, and the galaxy.
The Federation Starship Enterprise has carried its name from one ship to another from the days of Captain Jonathan Archer to the 24th century’s great explorer Captain Jean-Luc Picard. However, before the days of Starfleet and first contact with the Vulcans, the name “Enterprise” had already earned accolades of praise in its line of navel vessels for the United States of America.
The first American vessel to bare the name Enterprise was in service from 1775-77. She run aground along with two other ships and was burned to prevent capture from the British army. The most decorated ship of World War II was the Yorktown-class aircraft carrier U.S.S. Enterprise (CV-6), also known as the “Big E”. This was the seventh ship to bare the name, as it went on to become one of the most celebrated vessels in navel history; a status shared only with the U.S.S. Constitution from the War of American Independence.
The “Big E” was decommissioned in 1947, but its glorious heritage was transplanted on board the world’s first nuclear powered carrier (Enterprise CVN-65) commissioned in 1961. Another first in Enterprise’s history was the Space Shuttle used for flight simulations in 1977. Although the shuttle never made it into space, it was vital in the development of NASA’s early shuttle program.
Billions of people perished during World War III in the mid 21st century. Despite this atrocity, Zefram Cochrane discovered warp drive technology. This opened the human race to other species in the galaxy, namely the Vulcans. This was the birth of Strafleet and Earth’s exploration of deep space.
The first warp-five starship was the Enterprise (NX-01) launched in 2151 commanded by Jonathan Archer. The NX-01 was instrumental in demonstrating humanity’s capacity for intergalactic exploration and evolution as a specie. Before this, Vulcans generally remained skeptical of humanity’s readiness to deepen their understanding of alien cultures, spatial anomalies, and the danger of space travel in general. Enterprise NX-01 was decommissioned in 2161 shortly after the signing of the United Federation of Planets.
U.S.S. Enterprise, Constitution-class,registry NCC-1701 was launched in 2245 under the command of Robert April, followed by Christopher Pike. The youngest Starship Captain, James T. Kirk would take the center seat in 2264. His tenure would mark Enterprise’s historic five-year mission.
This ship would undergo many renovations, but the most significant upgrade would be the refit completed in 2271. Essentially this was an entirely new vessel comparatively speaking. Although Captain Willard Decker was to assume command at this point, Admiral Kirk temporarily downgraded Decker to Executive Officer for the maiden voyage of the refitted vessel. This was necessary in order to confront the threat of the mysterious cloud (V’ger) that was threatening Earth at the time.
Enterprise was reassigned as a training vessel under the command of Captain Spock years after the V’ger incident. Once again, Admiral Kirk took the captain’s seat in an emergency situation in 2285. An explosive space battle with Khan Noonien Singh ensued resulting in the death of Captain Spock, who had sacrificed himself to save the ship.
Despite Enterprise’s narrow escape from Khan, the ship had been badly damaged. Starfleet had ordered for her to be decommissioned upon returning to spacedock. Instead, Kirk and crew stole the Enterprise, which upon this series of events met its ultimate fate with the order for auto self-destruct over the planet Genesis in 2285. This was a result of an unexpected confrontation with the Klingons, while attempting to retrieve Spock’s body for his resurrection. At this point Kirk and crew had put their careers and lives in jeopardy, disobeying direct orders from their superiors.
All charges against the senior crew of the late Starship Enterprise were dropped. This was a direct result of their heroic response to the “Probe Incident”. The only consequence of their actions was directed solely at Admiral Kirk. He was demoted to Captain, but awarded the newly commissioned Enterprise 1701-A in 2286.
Enterprise-A played a vital role in the events leading up to the Khitomer Accord in 2293. After thwarting General Chang’s conspiracy to bring the Federation and Klingon Empire to the brink of war, Enterprise-A was decommissioned.
That same year the Excelsior-class starship Enterprise-B was launched under the command of John Harriman. Its maiden voyage witnessed the presumed death of one of its guests on board, Captain Kirk. A distress call caught the new Enterprise by surprise as it was not adequately equipped to handle a crisis. A spatial anomaly known as “the nexus” struck the engineering hull where Kirk had been present. Kirk’s efforts in engineering saved the ship; Starfleet’s greatest captain was lost however.
The Ambassador-class Enterprise-C was placed under the command Captain Rachel Garrett in 2332. In 2344 the ship was destroyed while defending a Klingon outpost from four Romulan Warbirds.
Former captain of the U.S.S. Stargazer, Jean-Luc Picard was offered the newest starship to bare the name, Enterprise-D in 2363. The Galaxy-class starship was pivotal in Federation politics and deep space exploration in its day. Enterprise-D also played a key role in many conflicts with the deadly Borg.
The ship was capable of saucer separation, which was used to evacuate on board families during an emergency. As the saucer section carried non-essential personnel and family members in these situations, the stardrive section went into combat commanded by the crew on board the battle bridge.
Enterprise-D's stardrive section was destroyed by a warp core breach as a result of an attack from a renegade Klingon vessel. The separated saucer section was knocked out of orbit and crash landed on Veridian III. All hands survived the crash, but this was the end of the sixth starship to bare the name; Only seven years after her launch.
Sovereign-class Enterprise-E was launched the following year in 2372. Captain Picard was given command of the most advanced starship in the fleet. In 2379 the ship was engaged in battle with Shinzon's vessel the Scimitar. In the midst of this conflict the Enterprise rammed its adversary's ship head on, as a last ditch attempt to protect Earth. This left the saucer section severely crumpled. However, the Enterprise was victorious, was repaired, and returned to active duty.
It is evident throughout the centuries that the Starship Enterprise has a dual purpose. It's primary mission is to explore strange new worlds, but also can serve as a military vessel when needed. The captains and crews have changed time and time again, but the name "Enterprise" carries a long and proud legacy of valiant service and exploration. The ship is iconic for these reasons and more. We are indebted to the sacrafices that all crews of the Enterprise have made to preserve peace throughout the galaxy.