Constitution Class Starship
U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701
U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701
Illustrator: Monte R. Johnjulio
Copyright: 2010
Summary:
HISTORY OF SHIPS NAMED ENTERPRISE
1938-2379 A.D.
ENTERPRISE IS ONE OF THE MOST STORIED AND REVERED NAMES IN THE ANNALS OF NAVAL HISTORY, WITH BOTH OCEAN-GOING VESSELS AND SPACECRAFT SHARING IN THE GLORY. PREDATING HUMANITY'S STAR FARING ABILITY, THE NAME ENTERPRISE WAS USED BY BOTH THE BRITISH AND AMERICAN NAVIES OF OLD EARTH. ENTERPRISE 01-6 WAS THE MOST DECORATED VESSEL IN THE AMERICAN NAVY HISTORY, EARNING 21 BATTLE STARS (AWARDED FOR PARTICIPATION IN NAVAL BATTLES) IN THE GLOBAL CONFLICT CALLED WORLD WAR TWO. DESIGNATED AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER, ENTERPRISE CV-6 WAS THE ONLY FLEET CARRIER TO SURVIVE THE WAR FROM BEGINNING TO END AND AT ONE POINT, IN LATE 1942 AD, WAS THE ONLY OPERATIONAL AMERICAN CARRIER IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER. SHE WAS ALSO THE ONLY FOREIGN SHIP TO BE AWARDED THE BRITISH ADMIRALTY STAR IN THE THEN 400+ YEAR HISTORY OF THAT AWARD. SHE WAS DECOMMISSIONED AND FINALLY SOLD FOR SCRAP 15 YEARS AFTER THE WAR'S CONCLUSION.
THE NEXT VESSEL TO CARRY THE NAME ENTERPRISE WAS ALSO A U.S. NAVAL AIRCRAFT CARRIER, CVN-65. LAUNCHED IN 1960 AD, SHE WAS THE FIRST NUCLEAR FISSION POWERED AIRCRAFT CARRIER AND PARTICIPATED IN MOST AMERICAN CONFLICTS FROM THE VIETNAM WAR TO THE EUGENICS WAR. THOUGH NOT AMASSING THE BATTLE RECORD OF HER PREDECESSOR, CVN-65 DID MEET A MORE NOBLE END THAN CV-6'5 SCRAPPING. DURING THE BATTLE OF ARABIA AND STRIPPED OF HER PROTECTIVE SCREENING SHIPS DURING THE FIGHT, ENTERPRISE LAUNCHED ATTACKS WHICH STOPPED ENEMY FORCES WHICH WERE SLASHING THROUGH THE MIDDLE EAST TOWARDS EUROPE. AFTER A 26 HOUR BATTLE IN WHICH CVN-65 LAUNCHED OVER 450 AIRCRAFT SORTIES, ENTERPRISE WAS FINALLY OVERWHELMED AND SUNK THOUGH IT TOOK 12 OF THE ERA'S BEST ANTI-SHIP MISSILES TO DO IT. SHE KEPT FIGHTING TO THE END, HOWEVER, STILL LAUNCHING AIRCRAFT AS SHE SETTLED BY THE KEEL. SHE WAS RAISED IN 2088 AND IS NOW A NAVAL MUSEUM ON PERMANENT STATION IN PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII STILL LISTED AS AN ACTIVE, COMMISSIONED VESSEL IN THE NORTH AMERICAN NAVY.
SIXTEEN YEARS AFTER CVN-65 WAS COMMISSIONED, THE UNITED STATES SPACE AGENCY NASA BEGAN A PROGRAM OF RE-USABLE SPACECRAFT CALL SPACE SHUTTLES. THE FIRST SHUTTLE WAS NAMED ENTERPRISE BY THE U.S. PRESIDENT GERALD FORD. MUCH TO THE DISMAY OF THOSE WHO HAD PROTESTED FOR THE NAME ENTERPRISE TO BE USED, STS-001 NEVER FLEW IN SPACE BUT W/IS INSTEAD USED AS A TEST-BED VEHICLE TO DETERMINE ITS AERODYNAMIC FUGHT CHARACTERISTICS. SHE IS OJRRENTLY ON MUSEUM DISPLAY IN PARIS, FRANCE.
THE NEXT VEHICLE NAMED ENTERPRISE COMMISSIONED IN 2161 WAS THE FIRST TRUE STARSHIP EMPLOYED BY EARTH'S STARFLEET. DESIGNATED NX-01, THIS ENTERPRISE WAS THE FIRST EARTH STARSHIP CAPABLE OF SUSTAINED WARP-5 SPEEDS. THOUGH SLOW AND PRIMITIVE BY THE STANDARDS OF TODAY'S STARSHIPS, NX-0l SPEARHEADED HUMANITY'S SECOND EXPLORATORY WAVE INTO OUR GALAXY. NO LONGER LIMITED TO STARSHIPS WITH BETWEEN-THE-STARS TRAVEL TIMES OF YEARS, ENTERPRISE NX-0l, AND THE SHIPS THAT FOLLOWED, EXPANDED THE HUMAN SPHERE OF INFLUENCE TO ENCOMPASS MILLIONS OF CUBIC LIGHT-YEARS OF SPACE.
THE SECOND STARSHIP TO BEAR THE NAME U.S.S. ENTERPRISE WAS THE CONSTITUTION CLASS SHIP NCC-1701, PROBABLY THE MOST FAMOUS STARSHIP IN THE HISTORY OF SPACE EXPLORATION. COMMANDED BY SOME OF THE MOST RECOGNIZED NAMES IN STARFLEET HISTORY, NAMES SUCH AS APRIL, PIKE, SPOCK AND KIRK, THIS ENTERPRISE SET SUCH A HIGH STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE THAT SHIPS AND CREWS ARE STILL JUDGED BY IT OVER A CENTURY AFTER ITS BIRTH.
ENTERPRISE 1701 LED THE THIRD GREAT EXPLORATORY WAVE AND, WITH OTHER SHIPS OF THE SAME CLASS, EXPLORED THOUSANDS OF NEW WORLDS. THE BATTLE RECORD OF THIS ENTERPRISE IS UNSURPASSED BY ANY SHIP BEFORE OR SINCE AND IT IS UNLIKEL Y THAT IT EVER WILL BE. EVEN WITH THE INTENSITY OF THE RECENT DOMINION WARS, THE 1701 AMASSED FOUR TIMES THE NUMBER OF BATTLE STARS THAN THE NEXT CLOSEST SHIP. SHE ALSO HOLDS THE RECORD FOR MOST FIRST CONTACTS, MOST UGHT YEARS TRAVELED, MOST SPACE-FRAME HOURS AND IS THE ONLY STARSHIP TO COMPLETE FIVE, 5-YEAR TOURS OF DUTY. WHILE TODAY'S STARSHIPS ARE BEING BUILT WITH LONGER MISSION TIMES AND RANGE IN MIND (THE RESULTS OF WHICH WILL BE THE EVENTUAL BREAKING OF MANY OF ENTERPRISE'S RECORDS) IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT SHE BEGAN SETTING THESE RECORDS NEARLY 100 YEARS AGO! 1701 WAS REFIT SEVERAL TIMES AND SPENT ITS L/IST YEARS AS A STARFLEET RESERVE TRAINING VESSEL HOWEVER, AS IS SO OFTEN THE CASE WITH SHIPS NAMED ENTERPRISE, SHE HAD ONE L/IST FIGHT LEFT IN HER. ON AN UNAUTHORIZED MISSION, SHE ENCOUNTERED A KLINGON BIRD-OF-PREY WHICH HAD PREVIOUSLY DESTROYED THE FEDERATION SCENCE VESSEL GRISSOM. A BATTLE ENSUED AND ENTERPRISE, ALREADY CARRYING MAJOR DAMAGE FROM A PREVIOUS BATTLE AND ALMOST NO CREW, WAS MORTALLY WOUNDED BY THE KLINGONS IN THEIR QUEST TO OBTAIN INFORMATION ON THE GENESIS PROJECT. THOUGH THE BATTLE WEARY ENTERPRISE WAS DESTROYED, SET TO SELF-DESTRUCT BY HER SENIOR OFFICERS, THE CONFLICT RESULTED IN THE CAPTURE OF THE BIRD-OF-PREY AND THE THWARTING OF THE KLINGON'S MISSION.
THE THIRD STARSHIP ENTERPRISE, NCC-1701-A, WAS ACTUALLY A REFIT OF THE CONSTITUTION CLASS STARSHIP YORKTOWN, COMMAND OF WHICH WAS AWARDED TO THE FAMOUS (OR SOME MIGHT SAY, INFAMOUS) CAPTAIN JAMES T. KIRK. AFTER HAVING SERVED FOR AN9THER FIVE-YEAR TOUR, SHE BECAME A VICTIM OF TIME, HER AGING SPACEFRAME DEEMED TO OLD TO REMAIN ON ACTIVE DUTY. SHE WAS PLACED IN MOTHBALLS AT THE ANTARES NAVAL SHIPYARDS AND REMAINED THERE FOR NEARLY 20 YEARS BEFORE BEING SCRAPPED. IRONICALLY, HOWEVER, MUCH OF HER RECYCLED MASS WAS USED DURING THE CONSTRUCTION OF ENTERPRISE NCC-1701-C.
THE NEXT ENTERPRISE WAS THE EXCELSIOR CLASS STARSHIP NCC-1701-B. THOUGH SHE NEVER ATTAINED THE GLORIOUS STATURE OF HER PREDECESSORS, ENTERPRISE-B RANKED THIRD IN TOTAL NUMBER OF CLASS-M WORLDS CHARTED AND SEVENTH OVERALL IN THE NUMBER OF FIRST CONTACTS. THERE ARE FEW SHIPS WHICH MATCH HER IN THE IDEALS OF THE U.F.P. AND ITS GOALS OF EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY
THE FIFTH STARSHIP TO BEAR THE NAME WAS THE AMBASSADOR CLASS SHIP NCC-170I-C. THIS CLASS OF SHIPS HAD EARNED THE UNFORTUNATE KNICK-NAME OF "TOMBSTONE CLASS" DUE TO NAGGING DEVELOP PROBLEMS IN HER WARP ENGINE AND POWER SYSTEMS AND THE CATASTROPHIC NON-COMBAT LOSSES OF THREE OUT OF THE FIRST FIVE SHIPS OF THAT CLASS. COMMANDED BY THE ONLY CAPTAIN SHE EVER HAD, RACHAEL GARRET, ENTERPRISE-C SERVED AS A SHIP OF THE UNE FOR FOUR YEARS, ENGAGING IN NUMEROUS BORDER SKIRMISHES WITH ROMULAN FORCES. SHE WENT MISSING NEAR THE KHITOMER SYSTEM, HER FINAL FATE STILL UNKNOWN TO THIS DAY.
THE NEXT ENTERPRISE WAS THE Constitution Class STARSHIP NCC-1701. ONE OF THE LARGEST STARSHIPS EVER EMPLOYED BY STARFLEET, SHE VALIANTLY UPHELD THE TRADITION OF GREATNESS OF SHIPS NAMED ENTERPRISE IN HER SHORT BGHT YEARS OF EXISTENCE. COMMANDED BY JEAN LUC PICARD FOR HER ENTIRE UFE, HER GREATEST MOMENT UNDOUBTEDLY CAME WHEN SHE SINGLE-HANDEDLY DEFEATED A MARAUDING BORG CUBE THAT HAD PREVIOUSLY DESTROYED A STARFLEET ARMADA OF 40 SHIPS. (ONE OF THOSE FORTY SHIPS, U.S.S. EUROPA, SURVIVED THE BATTLE BUT WAS SO BADLY DAMAGED THAT IT HAD TO BE SCRAPPED). THIS WOULD NOT BE THE L/IST TIME THAT THE NAMES PICARD AND ENTERPRISE WOULD BE INVOLVED WITH THE BORG. ENTERPRISE-D W/IS DESTROYED DURING A FORCED LANDING ON THE VERIDIAN III AFTER ENGAGING IN BATTLE WITH A KLINGON VESSEL COINCIDENTALLY, THIS WAS THE SECOND ENTERPRISE WHO'S DESTRUCTION INVOLVED A BIRD-OF-PREY.
THE SEVENTH AND LATEST VESSEL TO BEAR THE NAME ENTERPRISE IS THE SOVEREIGN CLASS NCC-1701-E. USS ENTERPRISE-D, THIS VESSEL IS ONE OF TREMENDOUS SIZE, POWER AND ARMAMENT, ALL OF WHICH WAS PUT TO GOOD USE ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AFTER HER COMMISSIONING AND SHAKE-DOWN CRUISE. SHE IS UNDER THE COMMAND OF CAPTAIN JEAN LUC PICARD, WHO IS ONLY THE SECOND MAN TO COMMAND TWO SEPARATE SHIPS OF THE SAME NAME (THE OTHER BEING JAMES T. KIRK). ONLY MONTHS AFTER BECOMING A SHIP OF THE UNE A VESSEL NAMED ENTERPRISE WAS AGAIN BATTLING THE BORG IN EARTH-SPACE. THOUGH ORDERED TO MAINTAIN STATION AT THE ROMULAN BORDER, PICARD INSTEAD VIOLATED ORDERS AND BROUGHT ENTERPRISE HOME AS ANOTHER STARFLEET ARMADA ENGAGED A BORG CUBE. THE SECOND MAJOR FLEET ENGAGEMENT AGAINST THE BORG WAS GOING ALMOST AS BADLY AS THE FIRST ONE HAD AT WOLF 359 WHEN ENTERPRISE ARRIVED IN THE THICK OF THE BATTLE.
USING HIS PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE OF BEING ASSIMILATED INTO THE BORG COLLECTIVE, PICARD DETERMINED THE BORG CUBE'S VULNERABLE POINT AND WAS ABLE TO LEAD THE FLEET IN THE DESTRUCTION OF THE INVADING ENEMY. THE BATTLE, HOWEVER, DID NOT END THERE. HAVING BEEN DEFEATED, THE BORG LAUNCHED A SMALLER VESSEL TO CONTINUE THE ASSAULT ON EARTH. USING A TIME-TRAVEUNG TECHNOLOGY, THE BORG MOVED BACKWARDS IN TIME TO ATTACK EARTH DURING A MORE VULNERABLE TIME IN IT'S PAST. ENTERPRISE, CAUGHT IN THE TEMPORAL WAKE OF THE BORG SHIP, WAS ABLE TO FOLLOW THEM BACK INTO THE LATE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY AND DEFEAT THBR PLAN TO STOP ZEPHRAM COCHRAN'S FIRST WARP-DRIVE FUGHT. ENTERPRISE-E ALSO WAS INVOLVED IN STOPPING THE UNLAWFUL ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE BAKKU PEOPLE FROM THEIR WORLD SO THAT THE UNUSUAL RESOURCES OF THEIR PLANET COULD BE EXPLOITED. DURING THE INODENT, ENTERPRISE-E ENGAGED A SUPERIOR NUMBER OF S'ONA SPACECRAFT ARMED WITH EXTREMELY Y DANGEROUS AND UNPREDICTABLE SUB-SPACE WEAPONRY.
MANY COMMON THREADS RUN THROUGH THE HISTORY OF THE SPACECRAFT NAMED ENTERPRISE. EACH OF THE SHIPS, EVEN THE OLD NASA SPACE SHUTTLE, HAVE BEEN DESIGNATED AS MULTI-MISSION VEHICLES CAPABLE OF PERFORMING A VARIETY OF TASKS. ADDITIONALLY, All OF THEM WERE CREATED FOR EXTENDED AUTONOMOUS OPERATIONS. IN THE EARLY YEARS OF STARFLEET AND THE FEDERATION, STARSHIPS WOULD OFTEN OPERATE AT DISTANCES THAT PLACED OTHER VESSELS MONTHS AWAY AT MAXIMUM SPEED. EVEN WITH SUB-SPACE COMMUNICATIONS, SHIPS COULD BE OUT OF TOUCH WITH THEIR COMMAND BASE FOR WEEKS AT A TIME, OR LONGER. THIS NECESSITATED THAT THESE SHIPS BE ABLE TO PERFORM ANY FUNCTION THAT COULD ARISE. AS SHIPS BECOME MORE SPECIALIZED TO PERFORM DEDICATED TASKS, THE ROLE OF MULTI-MISSION SHIPS WOULD SEEM TO BE SUPERFLUOUS. HOWEVER, EVERY TIME THE MULTI-MISSION TYPE IS BBNG PHASED OUT, ANOTHER SITUATION ARISES THAT REQUIRES THE MISSION FLEXIBILITY INHERENT TO THAT TYPE OF VESSEL WHEN ONE LOOKS AT ALL THE TASKS A MULTI-MISSION STARSHIP MUST BE CAPABLE OF PERFORMING, FRONT-UNE WARSHIP, DEEP SPACE EXPLORER AND SCENCE VESSEL, JUST TO NAME A FEW, IT IS OBVIOUS WHY THESE SHIPS ARE SO EXPENSIVE TO OPERATE. HISTORY AND EXPERIENCE, HOWEVER, HAVE SHOWN THAT THE MULTI-MISSION STARSHIPS SUCH AS ENTERPRISE AND HER PREDECESSORS WILL ALWAYS HAVE A LEADING ROLE IN THE STARFLEET.
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