U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701

File:enterprise 1701-tos-61.jpg

U.S.S. Enterprise

U.S.S. Enterprise

Perhaps the most famous spacecraft in the history of space exploration, the Constitution class Starship Enterprise was launched in 2245 from the San Francisco Fleet Yards orbiting Earth. The Enterprise was first commanded by Captain Robert April, who was later succeeded by his first officer, Christopher Pike, in 2253. During Pike's command, the Enterprise had a crew complement of 203, though it was unclear if this figure included Pike himself. According to Ensign Tyler, the ship's power was "enough to blast half a continent." Superbly equipped for research in deep space, the Enterprise had 14 science labs. The ship achieved legendary status during the first five-year mission under its third captain, James T. Kirk, from 2265 to 2270.

U.S.S. Enterprise, refit

The Enterprise was refit several times during its lifetime, most notably from 2270 to 2273, when the ship was virtually rebuilt from the inside out. On Stardate 7523.2 — April 7, 2270 — the Enterprise returned to Earth orbit following her last, historic five-year mission. Although the decision had been made three months earlier to decommission and scrap the Enterprise, the ship had come to be seen as a symbol of Starfleet and the Federation. This public opinion drove a motion in the Federation Council that led to the reversal of Starfleet's plans. The Enterprise, however, was still twenty-five years old; her systems were becoming outdated, and it soon became obvious that only a major refit could keep the ship at the forefront of the fleet, and what began as a simple refit evolved into a redesign of the entire vessel.

Though commanded by Captain Will Decker during the refit, Kirk—who had been promoted to admiral in 2270—took temporary command of the vessel during the V'ger incident of 2273; Decker was lost during the mission, and Kirk took command of the Enterprise for another five-year mission. Eventually, Kirk retired and the ship became a training vessel at Starfleet Academy under Captain Spock in 2284. In 2285, Kirk had returned to duty as commandant of the academy, and took temporary command of the Enterprise while overseeing a cadet cruise when the ship encountered Khan Noonien Singh in the Mutara sector. Spock was killed saving the ship, but the Enterprise was destroyed some time later by Admiral Kirk just prior to its anticipated decommissioning, in order to prevent the it from falling into Klingon hands during a mission to recover the body of Captain Spock.