The History Of The Starship Enterprise Explaine
It takes more than mirror dimensions, jumps through time, and crash landings to stop the Enterprise's legacy. The Federation flagship's history goes deeper than you may realize.
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00:00It takes more than mirror dimensions, jumps through time, and crash landings to stop the
00:05Enterprise's legacy. The Federation flagship's history goes deeper than you may realize.
00:11There have been ships named the Enterprise as far back as the early 1700s, such as the British
00:17Royal Navy's HMS Enterprise. In the United States, the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier
00:23was the USS Enterprise, which became a key location in Star Trek IV, The Voyage Home.
00:28The Space Shuttle Enterprise was the first spacefaring ship to bear the name,
00:32both in Star Trek and in the real world. Of course, the real one was named after the
00:37starship in the series, thanks to a letter-writing campaign from fans.
00:40With the registry of XCV-330, the first deep-space starship to go by the name Enterprise is seen in
00:47a series of images in Star Trek The Motion Picture, as well as in Captain Forrest's office
00:52on Star Trek Enterprise. The only physical representation of the vessel so far is in J.J.
00:57Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness, where a model of the early Enterprise appears on the desk of
01:02Admiral Marcus. Though little is known about this pre-Federation starship, we do know that it was
01:08based on an unused design from series artist Matt Jeffries before he settled on the Enterprise used
01:13in the 1966 TV series. Before the launch of Star Trek Enterprise in 2001, fans had always believed
01:21that Kirk's Constitution-class Enterprise was the first Starfleet vessel to go by that name.
01:26But in a major retcon, the series introduced Starfleet's first flagship,
01:31the NX-01, proudly bearing the name on its hull.
01:34Earth's first-ever Warp 5 starship engine was designed by Henry Archer, a protégé of the
01:39original warp drive creator, Zevram Cochrane. But there were many doubts about moving forward
01:44during the engine's development. Were it not for the efforts of Henry's son, Jonathan Archer,
01:49and former rival pilot A.G. Robinson, it may have been scrapped altogether. Jonathan would later
01:54become the ship's first captain. Launched in 2151 on a mission to deliver an injured Klingon
02:00back to his people, the NX-01 lacked most of the advanced technology fans are familiar with
02:05from other shows, like energy shields, photon torpedoes, and tractor beams. Despite this,
02:11the ship still managed to become legendary. It served as the forefront of the Zindi War,
02:17paving the way for the Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites to eventually form the United Federation
02:22of Planets. According to the series finale, this Enterprise was decommissioned in 2161
02:28and placed into a fleet museum. The original USS Enterprise may not be the first one to exist
02:33chronologically in Star Trek canon, but it is the most famous. Its groundbreaking design by
02:38Matt Jefferies combined classic sci-fi tropes to form an instantly recognizable silhouette.
02:44It was aboard the original that Trek fans first learned about phasers, photon torpedoes,
02:49and transporters. But interestingly, when it was initially developed by series creator
02:54Gene Roddenberry, it was designed to be a ship with a history, with James T. Kirk being its
02:59third captain. For three years on Star Trek, the ship traveled to strange new worlds,
03:04seeking new life and new civilizations. While much of its design may seem dated today,
03:10the starship lives on in the hearts and minds of Trekkies. So much so that it was lovingly
03:15recreated in episodes of other Star Trek series, though it would see a new look when Star Trek
03:20warped to the movies.
03:22Thanks to reruns in the 1970s renewing the series' popularity, a revival of Star Trek was
03:28launched in theaters. With a bigger budget and a bigger screen, a new design for the starship
03:33Enterprise was in order. After some radically different concepts were considered, an updated
03:38version of the original was chosen, with some streamlined shapes and a lot more detail. In fact,
03:43the remodel of the Enterprise serves as a major plot point in Star Trek The Motion Picture.
03:48The film opens after an 18-month retrofit, where the starship was reconstructed from nearly the
03:53ground up. As a result, new captain William Decker objects to Kirk's reassignment to the
03:58captain's chair because of his unfamiliarity with many of the new systems.
04:02"'Admiral, this is an almost totally new Enterprise. You don't know her a tenth as
04:07well as I do. That's why you're staying aboard."
04:09Sure enough, his lack of knowledge does wind up causing problems during the refitted Enterprise's
04:14first mission. Eventually, this updated starship became a fan favorite in its own right. But while
04:19Kirk was forced to destroy it to stop a gang of marauding Klingons in Star Trek III The Search
04:24for Spock, it was replaced with the USS Enterprise A, first seen in the final moments of the 1986
04:30film Star Trek IV The Voyage Home. The Enterprise A is nearly identical to its predecessor,
04:36save for some interiors, and it began a longstanding tradition of tacking on an
04:41alphabetic suffix to new starships in the line.
04:44The next Enterprise fans saw was the Enterprise D, which debuted just a year later in Star Trek
04:50The Next Generation. We would hear nothing about Enterprise B until the cast of The Next Generation
04:55moved to the big screen themselves in 1994's Star Trek Generations.
05:00I was out saving the galaxy when your grandfather was in diapers.
05:04Besides which, I think the galaxy owes me one.
05:06Star Trek Generations opens with the first flight of Enterprise B. A state-of-the-art
05:11starship of the same class as the Excelsior in Star Trek III, this new Enterprise was captained
05:17by John Harriman. Though its first mission was originally planned as little more than a trip
05:21around the solar system, it got forced into a rescue effort when a strange phenomenon threatened
05:26a nearby ship. Swinging into action, Captain Kirk saves the day, sacrificing himself to save the
05:32endangered ship. Though a lot of other media has explored the further adventures of Captain
05:36Harriman and the Enterprise B, including its helmswoman, Domora, the daughter of Captain
05:41Sulu, we have yet to learn more about it on screen.
05:44The Enterprise C is only seen once, in the third season of Star Trek The Next Generation.
05:50In the acclaimed episode, Yesterday's Enterprise, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the Enterprise D
05:55encounter a rift in space through which the Enterprise C emerges, having traveled forward
06:0122 years and altering history. In this diverged timeline, the Federation is on the losing end of
06:07a decades-long war with the Klingons, and the disappearance of the Enterprise C is a big reason
06:12why. As it turns out, the Enterprise C, under the command of Captain Rachel Garrett, came to the
06:17aid of a Klingon outpost that was under attack. Eventually, this action led to peace with the
06:22Federation. Ultimately, after Garrett is killed in the divergent timeline, Enterprise C returns
06:27to the past to fulfill its destiny and restore history. Despite history recording the loss of
06:32all hands, we learn that survivors from the Enterprise C were taken prisoner on Romulus.
06:37This included an alternate version of Tasha Yar from Enterprise D, who would eventually give birth
06:43to the villainous Commander Sela. Like its predecessor, what we learn in this episode
06:48is all we officially know of that ship.
06:51The Enterprise D of Star Trek The Next Generation was designed by Andrew Probert,
06:56a protege of Star Wars concept designer Ralph McQuarrie. McQuarrie had been hired to conceptualize
07:01the new Enterprise for the first Star Trek movie, and recommended Probert to join the film's design
07:06team. Probert sketched up an early idea for a new ship that later formed the basis for the Enterprise
07:11D. Nearly twice as large as Kirk's classic Enterprise, this 24th century galaxy-class
07:17starship could go much faster, and had a new feature that allowed the saucer to separate from
07:22the body of the ship during a crisis. The Enterprise D was outfitted with plenty of
07:26new technology, too, with its holodecks becoming a Star Trek staple. It was the first starship to
07:32house an entire community on board, even including schools. Incredibly, this Enterprise also had a
07:38group of hyper-intelligent dolphins that helped steer the ship, though this section is only briefly
07:43mentioned and never seen.
07:45"-But, listen. Have you had a chance to see the dolphins yet? This is something you really don't want to see."
07:52Commanded by Captain Picard, the Federation flagship is seen through all seven seasons
07:57of The Next Generation, along with Star Trek Generations. However, in the climax of the movie,
08:02the Enterprise D crashes on Veridian 3, sustaining catastrophic damage.
08:07Star Trek The Next Generation saw a few dramatic changes during its first move to cinemas with Star
08:13Trek Generations, but for its follow-up, Star Trek First Contact, they were given a facelift.
08:18In addition to an entirely new uniform design, Picard and his crew received the USS Enterprise
08:24E. This sovereign-class vessel marked a departure from the smooth design of other TNG starships
08:30in favor of a more militant, angular ship. Created by illustrator John Eaves,
08:35who would also contribute designs for Star Trek Picard and Star Trek Discovery,
08:40the Enterprise E possessed cutting-edge weapons like quantum torpedoes. It even went toe-to-toe
08:45with the Borg on its first adventure. Enterprise E remained the hero of the rest of The Next
08:51Generation films and was eventually consigned to diplomatic duties during the Dominion War,
08:55as seen on Deep Space Nine. During its time in the movies, the crew of the Enterprise E largely
09:00remained the same as on The Next Generation, and while we know its service continued for
09:05some years beyond that, its further adventures have never been explored officially.
09:10When Star Trek Picard premiered in 2020, it was the first time we'd seen the franchise dip its
09:16toe into the events that followed its final TNG feature film. Many had high hopes of seeing a new
09:21starship Enterprise, though the first two seasons of the series didn't give audiences that gift.
09:27However, Trekkies finally got what they were hoping for in the third trailer for the show's
09:32third season — a first look at the all-new Odyssey-class starship, the USS Enterprise F.
09:38"...I now prefer pacifism to combat. Or I'm gonna die."
09:43The direct successor to Picard's Enterprise seen in the films,
09:47this new flagship is the first Enterprise to voyage in the 25th century. While its appearance
09:52brought applause from fans, it's not actually the first time we've seen it. It was first introduced
09:58in 2012 as a playable starship in a Star Trek Online mission titled The Odyssey Class. The
10:04design for the starship came from Floridian concept artist and sculptor Adam Isle, and was the winner
10:09of a fan contest in July of 2012. A natural evolution of the Sovereign-class, it's a heavy
10:15cruiser that, in the game, was developed to be the most powerful starship in Starfleet.
10:20Now the design is the latest successor in the Enterprise legacy on screen.
10:25In the season one finale of Star Trek Discovery, fans got a jaw-dropping surprise with the arrival
10:30of the classic Enterprise, commanded by Captain Pike, James T. Kirk's immediate predecessor. But
10:36the Discovery version of the iconic starship was updated for modern audiences. Eventually,
10:41Captain Pike, Mr. Spock, and Number One got their own spinoff in Star Trek Strange New Worlds,
10:46set aboard this refurbished Enterprise. Canonically, it's the same Enterprise that
10:50was commanded by Kirk in the original Star Trek, but this time, its differences are not the result
10:55of a refit or maintenance overhaul. According to news site Trek Movie, producers felt it was
11:00important to update the design to keep up with audience expectations in the 2020s.
11:04Mixing retro-futurism with 1960s interior design, they managed to reinvigorate the original
11:11Enterprise. The biggest changes include its swept-back nacelle pylons and the physical
11:16windows on the bridge, a feature first seen in the J.J. Abrams films. While just about every aspect
11:22of the ship has been updated, set designers and artists made sure to evoke Kirk's original in
11:27many ways. Although it's divisive among some fans for its many changes, this new sleeker
11:33ship is now the face of the 23rd century Enterprise. In 2009's Star Trek, the Enterprise
11:40got a facelift when J.J. Abrams rebooted the franchise on the big screen. The film brought
11:44the series back to its roots, showing us an alternate timeline where a younger Star Trek crew
11:49first set foot on a newly remodeled Starship Enterprise. Redesigned from the ground up by
11:54concept artist Ryan Church, the ship has been dubbed the J.J. Prize by fans. It kept the
12:00traditional silhouette, but with bigger, smoother curves and bulbous warp nacelles. It's also much
12:06more technologically advanced, featuring a clear glass viewscreen on the bridge that allows the
12:10crew to look directly into space. This major departure from previous Starship designs has
12:16since become standard, carrying over into new ships in the Prime timeline, past and future.
12:21Though it's initially captained by Christopher Pike, Kirk would sit in the captain's chair by
12:25the end of the first film and again in its two sequels. In service through Star Trek Beyond,
12:31the ship was damaged beyond repair by the villain Kral and replaced by a new Enterprise A,
12:36which is seen only briefly in the film's final moments.
12:40Given its nature as science fiction, Star Trek has glimpsed into its own future
12:44more than once, showing us a few Enterprises outside of the main timelines. Some exist far
12:50off into a future we may never see on screen, while some exist in now-erased alternate futures.
12:56In the Star Trek The Next Generation finale, for example, we're introduced to a then-future
13:00version of the Enterprise-D with a radical refit, boasting three nacelles and a new,
13:06massive phaser weapon under the saucer. But the most notable future Enterprise
13:11might be one we only got a brief look at in an episode of Star Trek Enterprise.
13:16During the Zindi War storyline, Captain Archer was pulled into the far future and onto the USS
13:21Enterprise J, a ship carrying on the Enterprise legacy 400 years into Archer's future. According
13:28to the time-traveling Agent Daniels, this ship was part of a battle that drove a malevolent race
13:33called the Sphere Builders back to their own realm. In this future, the Enterprise J even
13:38had members of the Zindi among its crew. Though little else is officially known about the Enterprise
13:43J, the starship eventually made its way into the Star Trek online game and has its own model
13:48produced by Eaglemoss. With Star Trek Discovery now set in the 32nd century, we may get to see
13:55newer versions of the Enterprise even further into the future.
13:59From the past to the present and the far future, we've seen Enterprises of all kinds. But there
14:05are even stranger versions of the Federation flagship that have been the focus of several
14:10adventures. These variant vessels usually originate in bizarre alternate realities and
14:15parallel dimensions, and they have a long history themselves. The first one appeared way back in the
14:21acclaimed 1967 episode Mirror Mirror, which saw the ISS Enterprise under the command of a tyrannical
14:27Captain Kirk.
14:28"...there's a whole galaxy gone crazy. What kind of a uniform is this? Where's your beard? What's
14:32going on? Where's my personal guard?"
14:34"...I can answer none of your questions at this time."
14:37That same Mirror universe was revisited in a 2005 two-part episode of Star Trek Enterprise,
14:42which saw a variant of the NX-01 under the command of Maximilian Forrest. Forrest is usurped by his
14:49first officer, Jonathan Archer, who, after taking over the ship, gets caught in a power struggle
14:54with the Vulcan T'Pol. Another time-ravaged alternate future, NX-01, was also seen in the
14:59Enterprise episode E-squared. Though the next generation never ventured into the Mirror universe,
15:04we did witness untold numbers of Enterprises from other parallel universes in the episode Parallels,
15:10one of which had been decimated by the Borg.