Star Trek: Every Version Of The Starship Enterprise

Summary

• The history of the USS Enterprise is rich, with each version representing the top-of-the-line starship for its era in the Star Trek franchise.
• From the primitive XCV 330 to the futuristic Enterprise-G, the iconic ship symbolizes diplomacy, heroism, and exploration in the universe.
• Captain Kirk, Captain Picard, and Captain Seven of Nine all left their mark on the Enterprise, showcasing its enduring legacy in the Star Trek universe.

There have been many versions of Star Trek‘s signature starship, the USS Enterprise, and here’s every vessel to bear the iconic name. Home to some of the most exciting adventures in the Star Trek franchise’s illustrious history, the Starship Enterprise is also one of the most recognizable ships in science fiction, even though it has gone through a lot of changes since its debut in Star Trek: The Original Series. Generally maintaining its signature saucer and nacelles look, the specifications of each version of the Enterprise have seen it grow and change with each major refit — still, it’s always been the United Federation of Planets’ flagship no matter what era it flew in.

The USS Enterprise first appeared in Star Trek: The Original Series but was already a veteran of the Federation fleet by the time Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew went on their historic five-year mission. The history of Starfleet is inextricably tied to the Enterprise, and each show makes it clear that she’s the top of the line. Going as far back as the events of Star Trek: Enterprise, the titular vessel was the first to attempt deep space exploration during the prequel series. However, small clues alluded to the fact that an Enterprise was always a part of space travel, long before Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) first donned his uniform.

12 Pre-Federation Enterprises & Enterprise NX-01

Star Trek: Enterprise

Excluding the real-life space shuttle launched by NASA in 1977, the oldest known example of a space-faring ship to bear the name Enterprise was briefly hinted at during Star Trek: Enterprise. In Star Trek: Enterprise season 2, episode 24, “First Flight,” a painting of the USS Enterprise XCV 330 showed a probe-like vessel with a long tube body that was surrounded by massive orbiting rings. Far from the most powerful Starfleet ship, the XCV 330’s design was primitive even by Enterprise-era standards, and little has been revealed in canon about the specifications or history of the vessel.

Launched in the year 2150, the Enterprise NX-01 was Captained by Jonathan Archer until the year 2161, and was the setting for the series Star Trek: Enterprise. The hull of the NX-01 consisted of a massive saucer section that tapered off into two nacelles that were in line with the saucer and gave the ship a sleeker profile compared to later incarnations of the Enterprise. The first Earth starship capable of reaching Warp 5, the NX-01 Enterprise was the top of the line for its era, which was crucial to Earth making the necessary alliances to form the United Federation of Planets.

11 USS Enterprise NCC-1701

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

After the formation of the United Federation of Planets, the Enterprise NX-01 was scuttled because it was woefully behind the times compared to the superior technology of the Vulcans. As such, the Enterprise name sat dormant until the creation of the Constitution Class starship when the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 was launched in 2245. The USS Enterprise was first commanded by Captain Robert April (Adrian Holmes), under whom Commander Christopher Pike served as the ship’s Number One. Pike assumed command of the Enterprise five years later and led the Federation flagship for almost 15 years.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds depicts the final five-year mission of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) before he cedes the Captain’s chair to James T. Kirk (William Shatner). Due to the real-world changes in television production, Pike’s Enterprise has some subtle differences from Kirk’s starship in Star Trek: The Original Series. The nacelles are a slightly more vibrant red, while the exterior of the ship seems better lit than its successor. It’s also been noted that Pike’s Enterprise is bigger than Kirk’s, suggesting that a refit takes place between Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: The Original Series.

10 USS Enterprise NCC-1701 (With Refit)

Star Trek: The Original Series through Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

Captain Kirk’s two five-year missions between 2265 and 2280 are the stuff of Starfleet legend. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ season 1 finale confirmed that, without Captain James T. Kirk, the Federation would have become involved in a brutal war with the Romulan Star Empire. Twenty years after the starship first launched, Kirk’s Enterprise showed no signs of its age as it conducted its two five-year missions, battling Romulans, Klingons, and encountering innumerable strange stellar phenomena.

Much larger than its predecessor, the NX-01, the Enterprise NCC-1701 also sported a massive saucer section and nacelles but featured a secondary hull that sat below the saucer for a less aerodynamic design. Various refits throughout its lifetime updated the look of the ship, and by the events of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the Enterprise had an updated interior. The eventual self-destruction of the vessel, enacted by Admiral Kirk in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, sent the Enterprise out in a blaze of glory afrer 40 years of service.

After Kirk, two other men Captained the USS Enterprise NCC-1701: Captain Willard Decker (Stephen Collins) and Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy).

9 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home through Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Following the total destruction of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 in Star Trek: The Search for Spock, Admiral Kirk was demoted back to Captain and given a new USS Enterprise in the form of the newly commissioned NCC-1701-A in 2286. Almost identical in look and technical specifications to its predecessor, the Enterprise-A was beset with technical problems, as seen during the events of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.

James T. Kirk was the only person to captain the USS Enterprise-A in its seven-year service period, and the vessel was decommissioned in 2293 after Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Star Trek: Picard season 3 revealed Kirk’s Enterprise-A as one of the exhibits at the Fleet Museum on Anthan Prime in the early 25th century.

8 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-B

Star Trek Generations

The Constitution Class NCC-1701 and 1701-A Enterprises were the top of the line during their tenures, but the emergence of the Excelsior Class starship in Star Trek: The Search for Spock showed that the Constitution Class had become a Starfleet dinosaur. In Star Trek Generations, the Excelsior Class USS Enterprise NCC-1701-B was launched in 2293, led by Captain John Harriman (Alan Ruck).

The USS Enterprise-B’s saucer section was flattened and the neck between the two hulls was removed for a more streamlined look. After the apparent death of Captain Kirk during its first flight, the rest of the history of the NCC-1701-B was only captured in non-canon stories. Still, her impressive 36-year service period almost surpassed that of the original NCC-1701 in length.

7 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-C

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Despite only appearing in Star Trek: The Next Generation, season 3, episode 15, “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-C is nevertheless one of the most important incarnations of the ship. The Enterprise-C was destroyed in 2344 while defending the Klingon outpost Narendra III during an attack by the Romulans.

The USS Enterprise-C was an Ambassador Class starship that replaced the streamlined look of the NCC-1701-B with a longer neck, and the NCC-1701-C featured a tubular secondary hull that was reminiscent of its predecessors. Commanded by Captain Rachel Garrett (Tricia O’Neil), the Enterprise-C was the only Enterprise captained by a woman until Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) took over command of the USS Enterprise-G in Star Trek: Picard’s season 3 finale. While little is known about the Enterprise-C, its service was integral in the Federation forging an alliance with the Klingons.

6 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D

Star Trek: The Next Generation

The Enterprise grew in scale with each subsequent redesign, and the USS Enterprise 1701-D joined Starfleet as the largest vessel to ever sport the name, dwarfing the familiar and classic NCC-1701 model. The most notable starship from Starfleet’s impressive Galaxy Class, the Enterprise-D was commissioned in 2363 and served as the setting for the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Commanded by Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) during its eight years in deep space, the enhanced technology of the Enterprise-D allowed her to be a formidable force in the galaxy and a TNG character all her own.

The oval design of the Enterprise’s removable saucer section was in stark contrast to the circular design of previous ships, and the secondary hull dropped the tubular structure in favor of a flattened and wide look. The D was eventually destroyed during the events of Star Trek Generations, and yet her sub-decade tenure was packed with more important events than many of the previous Enterprises combined. Commodore Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) lovingly restored the USS Enterprise-D, and the ship saved the galaxy one last time in Star Trek: Picard season 3, before coming to rest in a place of pride at the Fleet Museum.

5 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E

Star Trek: First Contact through Star Trek: Nemesis

Though previous starship classes lasted for generations, the upgrades of the post-Star Trek: The Next Generation era saw a new class every few years. To replace the USS Enterprise-D following Star Trek: Generations, the Sovereign class USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E was commissioned under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in 2372. Sent back in time to defeat the Borg during the events of Star Trek: First Contact, the Enterprise-E minimized the lower hull and brought the nacelles in line with the saucer for a narrow body that matched the warlike tone of post-TNG Star Trek.

Captain Picard’s USS Enterprise-E largely avoided Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s Dominion War, with Jean-Luc noting his frustration at this in Star Trek: Insurrection. However, the Enterprise did find itself on the fringes of the conflict during Insurrection when they confronted the So’na – manufacturers of the ketracel white used to control the Jem’Hadar. Picard left the Enterprise-E to lead a rescue armada to assist with the evacuation of Romulus during the supernova disaster. Picard was succeeded by Captain Worf (Michael Dorn), but what happened to the Enterprise-E under Worf’s command remains a mystery.

4 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-F

Star Trek: Picard

The Odyssey Class USS Enterprise NCC-1701-F was launched in 2386 and was slated for early decommissioning as part of Starfleet’s Frontier Day celebrations in 2401. Not much is known about the starship, beyond the fact that several Captains commanded the ship over its 15 years of service.

The USS Enterprise-F originated in the
Star Trek Online
video game and was made canon by
Star Trek: Picard
season 3 production designer Dave Blass.

The Enterprise-F’s final ceremonial flight on Frontier Day 2401 was commanded by Admiral Elizabeth Shelby (Elizabeth Dennehy), before her tragic death at the hands of the Borg. As Picard and the crew of the restored Enterprise-D destroyed the Borg signal, severing the connection to the assimilated Starfleet, it’s likely that the Enterprise-F is now stored at the Fleet Museum after the end of Star Trek: Picard season 3.

3 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-G

Star Trek: Picard

Star Trek: Picard season 3 brought the story of the Enterprise full circle, by restoring it to Constitution Class status. In 2402, the Constitution III Class/Neo-Constituion Class USS Enterprise NCC-1701-G launched, having undergone an extensive refit. The refit turned the USS Titan-A into the Enterprise-G, out of respect for Admiral Picard and the crew’s heroic actions during the Borg and Changeling attack during the final episodes of Picard season 3.

The USS Enterprise-G is commanded by Captain Seven of Nine, who is joined by First Officer Commander Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd), as well as Ensign Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), son of legendary Enterprise Captain, Jean-Luc Picard. With a roster like that, it’s clear the name Enterprise will continue to be associated with diplomacy, heroism, and exploration long into Star Trek‘s future.

2 USS Enterprise-J

Star Trek: Enterprise

In Star Trek: Enterprise season 3, episode 18, “Azati Prime,” Temporal Agent Daniels (Matt Winston) takes Captain Archer 400 years into the future to visit the USS Enterprise-J. Archer had been preparing to embark on a suicide mission to destroy the Xindi weapon, and Daniels hopes to change his mind. Daniels shows Archer evidence that Xindi officers are serving on the Enterprise-J, but Archer refuses to believe that humans and Xindi could ever work together.

Suitably futuristic looking, the USS Enterprise-J features a large, flat saucer section with proportionately smaller nacelles than any previous Enterprise. As Daniels and Archer have their discussion on board the Enterprise-J, an image of the exterior of the ship can be seen on a viewscreen. Likely due to time and budget constraints, a fully-rendered exterior shot of the Enterprise-J never appears on screen.

The Enterprise-J was designed by Acadamy Award-winning visual effects artist, Doug Drexler, who reportedly had a very limited amount of time to work on the design. A more detailed image of the ship appeared in the 2005
Star Trek: Ships of the Line
calendar.

1 32nd Century USS Enterprise

Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery never showed the 32nd-century USS Enterprise, although the show did imply that some version of the ship was still in service. Throughout its colorful history, the Enterprise has remained one of Starfleet’s most important starships, and it would be somewhat surprising if this wasn’t true in the 32nd century. While it would have been cool to see what 32nd-century upgrades the Enterprise had acquired, Discovery did offer a glimpse of another ship named Enterprise.

Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) stumbled upon a wormhole containing the 23rd century ISS Enterprise, which had traveled from the Mirror Universe. This ship embodied the hope inspired by ships named Enterprise, as it not only allowed Burnham to escape the wormhole unscathed, but also saved a shipful of refugees fleeing the brutal Mirror Universe. From Star Trek’s (and Starfleet’s) very beginnings to its distant future, the USS Enterprise remains one of the most famous and influential starships of all time.