Since the introduction of the USS Enterprise onStar Trek: The Original Series,Star Trek’s most iconic ship has become one of the most recognizable spaceships in popular culture. ThroughoutStar Trek’simpressive timeline, numerous ships have held the name Enterprise, but the franchise has revealed a lot more about some ships than others.Star Trekcreator Gene Roddenberry got the name Enterprise from two real-world ships that bore that name — a World War II aircraft carrier and a Cold War-era nuclear aircraft carrier.
The first warp 5 starship to be launched by Earth was named Enterprise and eventually led to the founding of the United Federation of Planets, thanks to Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and his crew. Since then, many Starfleet vessels have been called Enterprise, and these ships often served as the Federation’s flagship. Because of this,the Enterprise remains one of Starfleet’s most famous ships,no matter which century it’s in.Every version of the Enterprisehas had its fair share of history-making adventures, but how do the starships Enterprise stack up against one another?
12USS Enterprise-J
Star Trek: Enterprise
The USS Enterprise-J only made a brief appearance inStar Trek: Enterprise,when thetime-traveling agent Daniels (Matt Winston)took Captain Archer to the 26th century. A Universe-class starship,the Enterprise-J proved vital in the fight against the Sphere-Builders,who wished to colonize the Milky Way galaxy.
Due to budgetary reasons, the exterior of the Enterprise-J was only seen on a display screen in the background of a scene.
To show Archer how important he was to the galaxy’s future,Daniels took him to an observation deck on board the Enterprise-J,where he witnessed the Battle of Procyon V. This battle saw the Federation force the Sphere-Builders back into their trans-dimensional realm, and Daniels pointed out that the Federation would cease to exist without Archer.
11USS Enterprise-F
Star Trek: Picard
The seventh Starfleet vessel to bear the name Enterprise, the USS Enterprise-F, appeared briefly in the finalseason ofStar Trek: Picard.The ship was scheduled for an early decommissioning in 2401and was under the command of Admiral Elizabeth Shelby (Elizabeth Dennehy) during the Frontier Day celebration of that year.
The Enterprise-F was an Odyssey-class starship and 12 other ships of this class were also present at Frontier Day.
As part of a Borg/Changeling plot to destroy Starfleet,the Borg assimilated all of the ships at the Frontier Day celebration,including the Enterprise-F. Aboard the rebuilt Enterprise-D, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his reunitedStar Trek: The Next Generationcrew thwarted the Borg, saving the Enterprise-F from destruction.
10USS Enterprise-B
Star Trek Generations
The Excelsior-class USS Enterprise-B made its debut in the opening scenes ofStar Trek Generations,under the command of Captain John Harriman (Alan Ruck).James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Montgomery Scott (James Doohan), and Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) attended the ship’s maiden voyageas honored guests. Although this journey was mostly for publicity, the Enterprise-B was soon pulled into an impromptu rescue mission.
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The Enterprise responded to a distress call from two Federation transport ships carrying El-Aurian refugees and wound up trapped in an energy distortion known as the Nexus. Although the ship managed to escape the Nexus,Captain Kirk was presumed to have been killed due to a hull breach.In reality,Kirk had been pulled into the Nexus realm, where he later encountered Captain Picard.
9USS Enterprise-C
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3, Episode 15 — “Yesterday’s Enterprise”
The one and only appearance of the USS Enterprise-C was in the celebratedStar Trek: The Next Generationepisode, “Yesterday’s Enterprise.” Under the command ofCaptain Rachel Garrett (Tricia O’Neil),the Ambassador-class Enterprise-C proved vital in repairing the Federation’s relationship with the Klingon Empire.In 2344, the Enterprise-C responded to a distress call from a Klingon outpost and engaged the four Romulan warbirds that had nearly destroyed it.
The actions of Captain Garrett and her crew prevented a decades-long war.
During the battle, the Enterprise-C was pulled into a temporal rift and emerged in 2366. Upon emerging from the rift, the Enterprise-C encounteredan altered USS Enterprise-D, which was locked in a devastating war with the Klingons. Captain Picard and his crew eventually realized that the Enterprise-C had to travel back to its own time to restore the proper timeline.Although the journey would mean certain destruction, Captain Garrett agreed to return, and the actions of her crew prevented a decades-long war.
8USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness, & Star Trek Beyond
WithStar Trek(2009), J.J. Abrams helped introduce a whole new generation toStar Trek,and the success of the film and its sequels proved that viewers were still interested in the franchise. But this reboot would not have worked without its own version of the Starship Enterprise. Launched in 2258,this Constitution-class starship served as the flagship of the Federationand became the first Federation starship to embark on a 5-year mission of exploration to deep space.
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Because of the differences in the Kelvin timeline, this Enterprise launched under the command of Captain Christoper Pike (Bruce Greenwood) beforeKirk (Chris Pine) took over at the end ofStar Trek(2009).Throughout the three Kelvin timeline films, the Enterprise battled thevillainous Romulan Nero (Eric Bana)and went up against Khan Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch), before being destroyed in an attack by Swarm ships commanded by Krall (Idris Elba).
7USS Enterprise-G
InStar Trek: Picardseason 3, Admiral Picard and Captain William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) commandeered the USS Titan-A to rescue Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden).This mission quickly turned into a battle to save Starfleet itself,after Picard and his friends uncovered a Changeling/Borg plot to attack the Federation. Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick) and his crew aboard the Titan proved vital in this fight, as Shaw sacrificed his life to stop the Borg.
USS Titan-A was also referred to as Neo-Constitution-class.
After Admiral Picard and his crew saved the day aboard the rebuilt Enterprise-D,Starfleet rechristened the Titan, a Constitution III-class vessel, as the USS Enterprise-G.Star Trek: Picardseason 3 endswith Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) in command of the Enterprise, setting off on what is sure to be an interesting adventure. Although this feels like the perfect setup for a new series, the proposed spin-off,Star Trek: Legacy,hasn’t made it off the ground.
6USS Enterprise-A
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, & Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
After Captain Kirk’s original USS Enterprise was destroyed inStar Trek: The Search for Spock, Starfleet commissioned the Constitution II-class USS Enterprise-A. Kirk had recently been demoted from an admiral to a captain andwas given command of the Enterprise-A in 2286,at the end ofStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home. During one of the ship’s first major missions,Spock’s Vulcan half-brother Sybok(Laurence Luckinbill) commandeered the understaffed and unready Enterprise-A for his quest to find the mythical Vulcan planet of Sha Ka Ree.
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As seen inStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country,the Enterprise-A embarked on its final voyage in 2293, just before it was due to be decommissioned. The ship acted as an escort for Klingon chancellor Gorkon (David Warner) during early peace talks between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.A group of Starfleet, Klingon, and Romulan conspirators implicated the Enterprise in the assassination of Gorkon,although Spock helped clear Kirk’s name and uncover the conspiracy. In the end, Kirk and his Enterprise crew helped prevent another assassination attempt and ensured the peace talks went on as scheduled.
5USS Enterprise-E
Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, & Star Trek: Nemesis
The Sovereign-class USS Enterprise-E was launched in 2372, with Captain Picard in command and most of the Enterprise-D crew resuming their former positions. About a year after the ship’s launch,Picard and his crew traveled back in time aboard the Enterprise to the year 2063.After ensuring the Borg did not prevent Zefram Cochrane’s (James Cromwell) historical first warp flight, the Enterprise returned to its own time.
By 2375, the Enterprise-E was mostly involved in missions of diplomacy, until Captain Picard and his crew disobeyed orders to help the Ba’ku people.
As part of this mission to save the Ba’ku,the Enterprise-E navigated a dangerous area of space known as the Briar Patch and engaged two Son’a battle cruisers.The Enterprise underwent a significant refit between 2375 and 2379,before embarking on a mission to Romulus to meet the new Praetor, Shinzon (Tom Hardy). After a battle with Shinzon, the Enterprise returned to spacedock for repair at theend ofStar Trek: Nemesis, after which it continued to go on missions for several more years.
4USS Enterprise Refit (NCC-1701)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, & Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
In the early 2270s, Captain Kirk’s Enterprise underwent a major refit, as it was upgraded from a Constitution-class ship to a Constitution II-class.This refit saw nearly everything about the Enterprise altered and upgraded,from the warp core assembly to the weapons systems to the bridge. After Kirk was promoted to rear admiral, he personally suggestedCaptain Will Decker (Stephen Collins)be the one to succeed him. Before Decker embarked on any missions with the upgraded Enterprise, however, Kirk took back command to investigate and ultimately stop the V’ger probe.
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By 2285, the Enterprise was no longer in active service and instead served as a training vessel under the command of Spock (Leonard Nimoy).Spock deferred his command to Admiral Kirk when the Enterprise was called to combat KhanNoonien Singh(Ricardo Montalbán). InStar Trek III: The Search for Spock,Kirk and his crew stole the Enterprise, which was due to be decommissioned anyway, and traveled to the Genesis planet to retrieve Spock’s body. Kirk self-destructed the Enterprise to keep it from being captued by the Klingons.
3Enterprise NX-01
The Enterprise NX-01 commanded by Captain Jonathan Archer played a vital role in establishing the United Federation of Planets, making it one of the most important ships in Starfleet history. As the first NX starship for the United Earth Starfleet,the Enterprise established Earth as a major power on an interstellar scale.Like many of the other ships to bear the name Enterprise, the NX-01 was part of numerous missions of first contact, asCaptain Archer and his crewbecame the first humans to officially explore the galaxy in a significant way.
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Throughout his time in command of the Enterprise, Archer worked with the Starfleet Command Council and the Vulcan High Command, laying the groundwork for the future Federation. None of this would have been possible without the Enterprise. While the NX-01 was a vessel meant for exploration, the ship also participated in numerous battles and even went on a 10-month mission in the Delphic Expanse in search of the Xindi.The Enterprise NX-01 was retired in 2161 to make room for more advanced shipsand eventually came to rest at the Fleet Museum at Athan Prime.
