Enterprise history

The name Enterprise had a longstanding history as a ship name, starting some time prior to the 18th century and lasting at least into the 26th century.

History[]

Sea-going Earth vessels[]

HMS Enterprize was a noted sailing ship of the British Royal Navy. A galleon, she was active sometime between the 16th century and the early 18th century. (Star Trek: Enterprise opening credits)

A frigate named Enterprise was a noted sailing ship, either of the Royal Navy or of the US Navy. She was active in the late 18th century. (ENT: "United")

A schooner named USS Enterprise was a ship of the US Navy in the late 18th century. (SNW: "Ad Astra per Aspera")

A brig from the age of the sail, USS Enterprise, was used in a 24th century holodeck program. (Star Trek Generations)

The USS Enterprise (CV-6) was an aircraft carrier that served in World War II. (ENT: "Storm Front"; Star Trek: The Motion Picture)

CV-6's successor was the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), which was a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)

HMS Enterprize

Enterprise (frigate)

USS Enterprise (schooner)

USS Enterprise (brig)

USS Enterprise (CV-6)

USS Enterprise (CVN-65)

Earth spacecraft[]

The Space Shuttle air flight test vehicle was the Enterprise (OV-101). Benjamin Sisko kept a desktop model of the Enterprise docked with the International Space Station. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture; DS9: "Inquisition")

The USS Enterprise (XCV 330) was an early spacecraft. (ENT: "First Flight"; Star Trek: The Motion Picture)

The USS Enterprise (NX-01) was the first warp 5 starship to be launched. The prototype of the NX-class, it was launched in 2151 and was decommissioned in 2161. Its relatively short service life can be attributed to the formation of the Federation; its technology was far behind that of some of the founding races, rendering it immediately obsolete. It participated in early first contact missions, the Xindi incident, and several other missions during its illustrious career under Captain Jonathan Archer. (Star Trek: Enterprise) In the late 2150s it was refit and recommissioned as the USS Enterprise.

Enterprise (OV-101)

USS Enterprise (XCV-330)

Enterprise NX-01

United Federation of Planets[]

The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) was a Constitution-class starship that served under five captains from 2245 to 2285, including Robert April, Christopher Pike, Will Decker, and in later years Spock. Its most famous commander was Captain James T. Kirk, whose five-year mission aboard the Enterprise became legendary. The ship was extensively refit and subsequently had encounters with V'ger and Khan Noonien Singh before being destroyed over Genesis. (TAS: "The Counter-Clock Incident"; Star Trek: The Original Series; Star Trek: The Animated Series; Star Trek: The Motion Picture; Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)

The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A) was a Constitution II-class vessel under the command of Captain James T. Kirk. The ship was launched in 2286 and served during the Khitomer Conference prior to its decommissioning in 2293. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home; Star Trek V: The Final Frontier; Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)

The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B) was a refit Excelsior-class starship launched in 2293 under the command of Captain John Harriman. It was noted for rescuing 47 El-Aurians from the Nexus. (Star Trek Generations)

The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-C) was an Ambassador-class starship that served in the early-to-mid 24th century. It was under the command of Captain Rachel Garrett during the ship's destruction in 2344 defending a Klingon outpost against four Romulan Warbirds, which eventually led to closer relations between the Klingon Empire and the Federation. (TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise")

The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) was a Galaxy-class starship that served under three captains from 2363 to 2371, most famously Jean-Luc Picard, who commanded the ship for the majority of its service. The ship was also briefly captained by William T. Riker and Edward Jellico. The Enterprise-D was the Federation flagship and made first contact with over thirty species. It also participated in the Klingon Civil War and was the first starship to visit another galaxy. After being destroyed in the Battle of Veridian III, it was secretly rebuilt over the course of twenty years by Commodore Geordi La Forge and stolen by her former crew in 2401 to fight the Borg before returning to the Fleet Museum in a place of honor between the Enterprise-A and the USS Stargazer. In 2402, the USS Titan-A was rechristened the USS Enterprise-G in honor of the Enterprise-D and her command crew. (Star Trek: The Next Generation; Star Trek Generations; PIC: "Võx", "The Last Generation")

The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) was a Sovereign-class starship launched under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in 2372. The ship participated in the Battle of Sector 001, the crew's insurrection against the forced relocation of the Ba'ku, and was badly damaged in the battle against the Reman Warbird Scimitar at the Battle in the Bassen Rift. In 2384, the Enterprise was one of several starships seriously damaged at the devastating Battle near Gamma Serpentis. By 2401, it was out of service under unknown circumstances that former captain Worf insisted were not his fault. (Star Trek: First Contact; Star Trek: Insurrection; Star Trek Nemesis; PRO: "Supernova, Part 1", "Supernova, Part 2"; PIC: "Võx")

The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-F) was an Odyssey-class starship that participated in the Frontier Day celebrations in 2401 under the temporary command of Fleet Admiral Elizabeth Shelby. The ship had already been slated for early decommissioning, which occurred shortly thereafter. (PIC: "The Next Generation", "Võx", "The Last Generation")

The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-G) was a Constitution III-class starship launched under the command of Captain Seven of Nine in 2402. It was previously the USS Titan-A before being rechristened in honor of the command crew of the Enterprise-D and their heroic actions to save the Federation. (PIC: "The Last Generation")

In 3190, Saru came across a reference in Starfleet records to a starship Enterprise which noted heated plasma while closing on a subspace rift. (DIS: "Stormy Weather")

USS Enterprise

USS Enterprise-A

USS Enterprise-B

USS Enterprise-C

USS Enterprise-D

USS Enterprise-E

USS Enterprise-F

USS Enterprise-G

Alternate timelines and realities[]

In an alternate timeline where Captain Jonathan Archer remained affected by interspatial parasites, Earth was destroyed and Humanity was hunted to near-extinction by the Xindi, leaving the Enterprise NX-01 as one of Humanity's only surviving ships. During the Battle of Ceti Alpha V, the badly damaged Enterprise was destroyed after Archer, T'Pol and Dr. Phlox initiated a subspace implosion to wipe out the parasites in Archer's brain and give him a chance to change the past. (ENT: "Twilight")

In an alternate timeline caused by Christopher Pike changing his fate, the USS Enterprise remained under Pike's command instead of James T. Kirk, leading to unending war with the Romulans following the Neutral Zone Incursion. (SNW: "A Quality of Mercy")

In an alternate timeline created when the time traveling Romulan agent Sera assassinated Khan Noonien Singh in 2022 and prevented the formation of the Federation, the UEF Enterprise was a a starship class Constitution starship in the service of the United Earth Fleet under Captain James T. Kirk in 2259. (SNW: "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow")

In an alternate timeline created when the USS Enterprise-C accidentally traveled to the future rather than being destroyed defending a Klingon outpost, the Federation was at war with the Klingon Empire. The USS Enterprise-D was the first of the Galaxy-class warships and its design was geared for combat. It was likely destroyed by the attack of two Klingon Birds of Prey. (TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise")

At least 285,000 other Galaxy-class USS Enterprise-Ds existed in various quantum realities. The prime Enterprise-D encountered these ships when it was pulled through a quantum fissure in 2370. (TNG: "Parallels")

A purple Enterprise-D was still in service in 2382 in one such quantum dimension, briefly entering the prime universe through a quantum fissure while allegedly battling evil clones of Natasha Yar. (LD: "Fully Dilated")

In the timeline where an anti-time eruption threatened to destroy life on Earth, the Enterprise-D was the personal flagship of Admiral William Riker. It was fitted with a large phaser cannon, cloaking device, and a third nacelle. Starfleet had tried to decommission her, but as an admiral, Riker got to choose his own ship. (TNG: "All Good Things...")

In the Confederation of Earth timeline, the Enterprise-D was instead the CSS World Razer. (PIC: "Penance")

In the alternate timeline in which the Sphere-Builders attempted to invade the prime reality in the 26th century, the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-J) participated in the historic Battle of Procyon V to drive them out. (ENT: "Azati Prime")

Alternate reality[]

In the alternate reality created by a temporal incursion by Nero in 2233, the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) was a Constitution-class starship launched in 2258 as the Federation flagship under the command of Captain Christopher Pike. Under the acting command of Cadet James T. Kirk, the crew was successful in defending Earth from the Narada. A year later, the Enterprise was nearly destroyed by the USS Vengeance, but was later repaired and refitted to embark on Starfleet's first five-year mission in 2260. The Enterprise was ultimately destroyed by Krall and his Swarm ships above Altamid in 2263. (Star Trek; Star Trek Into Darkness; Star Trek Beyond)

The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A) was a Constitution-class starship that was under construction at Starbase Yorktown in 2263 and was launched sometime afterwards following the destruction of the previous starship Enterprise. (Star Trek Beyond)

USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

USS Enterprise-A

Mirror universe[]

The ISS Enterprise (NX-01) was the flagship of the Imperial Starfleet. It was commanded by Captain Maximilian Forrest and was destroyed by Tholians in 2155 during the operation to capture the USS Defiant (NCC-1764). (ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly")

The ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701) was a Constitution-class starship under the commands of Christopher Pike and James T. Kirk. The crew of this ship was one of the first Terran starships to come into contact with people from the prime universe. (TOS: "Mirror, Mirror")

Replicas[]

The USS Enterprise (replica) was at least a partial re-creation of the interior of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) made by the Gideon Council in 2268. (TOS: "The Mark of Gideon")

The USS Enterprise (balloon) was a balloon in the shape of the Constitution-class USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) created by that ship's computer as a decoy in 2270. (TAS: "The Practical Joker")

Legacy[]

The legacy of the ships named Enterprise was honored at various places, including:

• The 602 Club: A painting of USS Enterprise (XCV 330). (ENT: "First Flight")
• The captain's ready room aboard Enterprise NX-01: Drawings of the frigate Enterprise, USS Enterprise (CVN-65), Enterprise (OV-101), and XCV 330. (ENT: "Regeneration", "United", "These Are the Voyages...")
• The captain's ready room aboard the USS Enterprise: Painting of the Enterprise NX-01. (SNW: "The Broken Circle")
• In 2259 of the alternate reality, models of the Enterprise (OV-101), USS Enterprise (XCV-330) and Enterprise (NX-01) were displayed on a desk in Alexander Marcus' office alongside other iconic air and space craft. (Star Trek Into Darkness)
• The recreation room aboard the refit USS Enterprise: Drawings of the brig USS Enterprise, USS Enterprise (CV-6), OV-101, XCV 330, and the pre-refit NCC-1701. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture; The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture)
• The observation lounge aboard the USS Enterprise-D: Models of CVN-65, NCC-1701, USS Enterprise-A, USS Enterprise-B, and USS Enterprise-C. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint")
• The observation lounge aboard the USS Enterprise-E: Models of NCC-1701, NCC-1701-A, NCC-1701-B, NCC-1701-C, NCC-1701-D, and NCC-1701-E. The captain's ready room also contained a model of the NCC-1701-E. (Star Trek: First Contact; Star Trek Nemesis)

Appendices[]

Background information[]

Key ships in real-world history include:

French/British

L'Entreprise (unknown – 1707) 320-ton, 24-gun, sixth-rate frigate – The first known Human ship named Enterprise. She was captured by the British and renamed HMS Enterprize in 1705.

As of 2007, the Royal Navy has had thirteen more ships named Enterprise/Enterprize, of which ten were commissioned and therefore used the prefix "HMS".

American

As of 2019, the United States Navy has had eight vessels named Enterprise, of which six were commissioned and used the prefix USS (United States Ship). A ninth ship bearing the name is currently under construction.

Continental Navy of the United States

• USS Enterprise (1775 – 1777) 70-ton sloop – served on Lake Champlain. (US Navy file)
• Enterprise (1776 – 1777) 25-ton schooner – served in Chesapeake Bay. (US Navy file)

US Navy (sail) One of these ships was the inspiration for the holographic sailing ship in Star Trek Generations:

• USS Enterprise (1799 – 1823) 135-ton schooner – defeated the 14-gun Tripolitan corsair Tripoli in 1801. An 1800 refit upgraded her tonnage to 165, and in 1812 she was re-rigged as a brig. (US Navy file)
• USS Enterprise (1831 – 1844) 194-ton schooner. (US Navy file)

Union Army Balloon Corps

• Enterprise (1861 – 1862) small hydrogen-gas balloon – the first balloon in US military service.

US Navy (powered)

• USS Enterprise (1877 – 1909) 1375-ton barque-rigged screw sloop-of-war. She was the first Enterprise known to use the USS prefix while in actual service. (US Navy file and [pictures)
• Enterprise SP-790 (1917 – 1919) motorboat – non-commissioned, served in the 2nd Naval District during World War I. (US Navy file)
• USS Enterprise CV-6 (1938 – 1947) 19,800-ton Yorktown-class aircraft carrier – the most-decorated World War II ship in US service. (US Navy file and pictures)
• USS Enterprise CVN-65 (1961 – 2012) 85,600-ton Enterprise-class aircraft carrier – the first nuclear powered carrier, and the second such powered surface ship. (US Navy files A, B, C, D, E, and F) The CVN-65 Enterprise was decommissioned in 2013. CVN-65 was also notably played by the USS Ranger CV-61 in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986).
• The Navy later announced that the Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier CVN-80 would be named Enterprise. [1] Construction began on the USS Enterprise in August 2017; it is scheduled to be delivered and commissioned in 2025. [2]

Civilian

• Airship Enterprise (launched 1933) First production nonrigid airship to bear the name Enterprise, served in an advertising capacity on the east coast of the United States until WWII. Airship registration: N-1A. A second Airship Enterprise served the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in the 1980s.
• VSS Enterprise (2014) Virgin Space Ship, the first of the Virgin Galactic fleet. While the US ships above fit the Star Trek timeline, this ship did not. It is in fact named after the Star Trek Enterprise, and space ships in Trek's history were much more advanced by this time. It crashed on 31 October 2014. [3]

Apocrypha[]

In the Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology, the USS Enterprise XCV 330 was stated to be a Declaration-class (β) ship launched in 2123.

Issue #2 of the comic mini-series Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness, set in the alternate reality right before Star Trek Into Darkness, reveals a previous USS Enterprise (β) under the command of that reality's version of Robert April (β) was in service for roughly twenty years before being decommissioned a year before the launch of the new one.

The short story "Iron and Sacrifice" in the anthology Tales from the Captain's Table, describes the Enterprise-B as still being in service beyond 2315.

The Star Trek: The Lost Era novel Well of Souls, notes that the Enterprise-C as being launched in 2332.

In the William Shatner novel The Return, shortly after the destruction the of USS Enterprise-D, the Defiant-class USS Monitor (β) was temporarily placed under the joint command of Ambassador Spock, Captain Kirk, and Captain Picard to attack the Borg central node, the equipment responsible for linking the Borg Collective in its group mind. The ship was temporarily renamed USS Enterprise by her regular captain John Lewinski (β) for the duration of the mission, who noted that it was the least he could do for her new commanders.

In Star Trek Online, the Enterprise-F (which made its initial, non-canon, debut in the game in 2012) is depicted as instead being launched in 2409, later refit to a Yorktown-class (β) in 2410, and still in service as of 2411 under the command of Andorian Captain Va'Kel Shon (β).

In the alternate timeline from the DS9 book trilogy Millennium, following the destruction of the USS Enterprise-E, Starfleet launched the Enterprise-class (β) USS Enterprise-F (β), which Thomas Riker described as being like the USS Defiant to the tenth power. The ship was originally commanded by Jean-Luc Picard, but was given over to William T. Riker after Picard's promotion to admiral. Among Riker's crew were Geordi La Forge, Deanna Troi, Tom Paris, and B'Elanna Torres. The Enterprise-F was lost with all hands in a horrific battle that saw the destruction of Earth. This timeline was aborted thanks to the efforts of Benjamin Sisko and the rest of Deep Space 9's crew.

Several Star Trek: Enterprise tie-in novels mention an Andorian starship named the USS Vo'Rala (β), whose Andorian name translates into English as "Enterprise".

The anthology Star Trek: Enterprise Logs tells the stories of various ships, both space and sea, named Enterprise.

External links[]

• Enterprise history at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• HMS Enterprise at Wikipedia
• USS Enterprise at Wikipedia