CONSTITUTION CLASS STARSHIP (STAR TREK)

In the fictional Star Trek universe, the '''Constitution'' class' is a series of Starfleet vessels first put into service in the mid-23rd century. In the original '' series, ships of this class support multiple roles, generally used for exploration and diplomacy, but also equipped for combat with armaments consisting of at least two photon torpedo launchers, two main phaser banks, and a number of secondary phasers. While it is not widely known, Constitution-class vessels were capable of a saucer separation. Unlike the later Galaxy-class starship though, it was not strictly designed for this and was only meant to be used in the event of grave emergency ("The Apple (TOS episode)"). Once separated, the saucer would have to rely on a battery back-up system and minimal engine power until rescue.
''Constitution''-class ships are the only type of large Starfleet ship seen in the original series. The next type to be introduced in live-action ''Star Trek'' was the ''Miranda'' class. A ship of an older design, the ''Bonaventure'', had been seen in the animated series episode "The Time Trap", which is now considered non-canonical.
The ''Constitution class'' label does not appear in ''The Original Series''; the ''Enterprise'''s dedication plaque indicates it is a "Starship Class" vessel. The ''Constitution''-class label was firmly attached to the ship by fandom in the early 1970s.
The USS ''Enterprise'' underwent an extensive refit after Kirk's five-year mission was completed (as seen in ''). The 1987 reference work ''Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise'' asserts that the refit Enterprise is now of a new "Enterprise-class" (author Shane Johnson based this assertion on interviews with Andrew Probert, one of the primary designers of the movie ''Enterprise'', who explained that the ship was intended to be the first vessel of the ''Enterprise'' class). Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise, , Shane, Johnson, Titan, , ISBN 1-85286-028-6
Dialog in the first-season ''TNG'' episode "The Naked Now" identifies the pre-refit ''Enterprise'' as being ''Constitution'' class. A diagram seen in '' confirms the ''Enterprise''-A is also ''Constitution'' class.
''Constitution''-class ships are not seen in service in the TNG era, set about 100 years after the original series, although the roughly contemperaneous ''Excelsior'' and ''Miranda''-class ships are frequently seen. A planned appearance of a Constitution-class model for the ''USS Stargazer'' was changed, and dialog redubbed to make this a ''Constellation''-class ship instead. The Starfleet museum is said to have a ''Constitution'' class ship. ('': "Relics").
In "Tomorrow is Yesterday", Kirk says that there are "only twelve ships like [the Enterprise] in the fleet".

Contents

Star Fleet Technical Manual

Encyclopedia list

References

External links

Star Fleet Technical Manual

According to the 1975 Star Fleet Technical Manual, the ''Constitution''-class ships are as follows^[1]

Name	Registry
USS ''Constitution''	NCC-1700
USS ''Enterprise''	NCC-1701
USS ''Farragut''	NCC-1702
USS ''Lexington''	NCC-1703
USS ''Yorktown''	NCC-1704
USS ''Excalibur''	NCC-1705
USS ''Exeter''	NCC-1706
USS ''Hood''	NCC-1707
USS ''Intrepid''	NCC-1708
USS ''Valiant''	NCC-1709
USS ''Kongo''	NCC-1710
USS ''Potemkin''	NCC-1711
USS ''Constellation''	NCC-1017
USS ''Republic''	NCC-1371

This makes a total of 14 ''Constitution''-class starships. Of these, ''Farragut'' is established (by the episode "Obsession") to have been destroyed at the time Kirk makes his statement. The ''Constellation'', ''Intrepid'' and the ''Excalibur'' have yet to be destroyed in the first season, making a total of 12 other ''Constitution''-class starships.
The Technical Manual notes that the ''Constellation'', ''Farragut'', ''Intrepid'' and ''Valiant'' have been destroyed, and that replacement ships have been ordered. The replacement Intrepid, named the ''USS Intrepid II'' appears in several novels of the era: this naming convention was not followed in the series. The Technical Manual also provides a list of ships to be of an improved Constitution class type, the ''Bonhomme Richard''-class (including a USS ''Eagle'' NCC-1719, USS ''Essex'' NCC-1727, and USS ''Hornet'' NCC-1714), and a further improved variant, the ''Achernar''-class. None of these types or registry numbers have ever been confirmed on screen, except for the ''Kongo''.
The Technical Manual calls the class the "''Constitution''-class heavy cruiser". It posits the existence of a ''Saladin''-class destroyer and a ''Federation''-class dreadnought.
The Constellation (1017) has a lower registry number than the Constitution (1700). While convention suggests that the lowest registry number belongs to the ship the class is named for, the actual reasons for the 1017 registry number is because in the TV series, the model used for Constellation was constructed from the AMT model kit of the Enterprise. The labels for the Enterprise registry numbers (the only digits available with the kit) were rearranged on the model which was to become Constellation.
Although not considered "canon" as of yet, it is widely accepted by most Star Trek fans that the prefix designation "NCC" refers to the [builders] "NAVAL CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT" for each vessel. Matt Jeffries, art director for Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS), once stated that the call-letters (based on 1960s aircraft designations "NC") didn't have a specific meaning when he designed the Enterprise for the original Desilu production. He would simply suggest that they could possibly mean "Naval and Civilian Craft"; series-creator Gene Roddenberry is said to have designated the NAVAL CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT title, as referenced in one of "The Making of Star Trek" books, which was published by the early 1970s. Meanwhile, "NX" designations are considered to have come about to show "Naval Experimental" vessels, or the first in a new class of ship [see the NX-2000 USS ''Excelsior'' (seen in the third S.T. movie), or the pre-Federation NX-01 ''Enterprise'' (as seen in the fifth S.T. television series)]. These vessels would presumably be re-registered later under the NCC code (as the mid-23rd Century USS Constitution might have first been "NX-1700" and later NCC-1700 after trial-runs were completed). While the 'Naval Construction Contract' designation is not yet considered to be official "canon," as of early 2007, it might be in the future if such designations are ever spoken aloud or referred to in future movies and/or TV shows based on the series.

Encyclopedia list

The list of ''Constitution''-class ships used internally at Paramount has been derived from Greg Jein's fan list, first published in 1975. This matched up registry codes from a wall display in "Court Martial" with known ship names in reverse alphabetical order, to get registries for other ships. The Case of Jonathan Doe Starship Jein, Greg The list given in the ''Star Trek Encyclopedia'' is based on Jein's list.^[2]

Name	Registry	Status	Notes
USS ''Constellation''	NCC-1017[3]	On-screen	Destroyed in ''TOS'': "The Doomsday Machine". The ship was represented by a commercially-available model kit of the ''Enterprise'', with the digits rearranged.
USS ''Constitution''	NCC-1700	Freeze-frame	Likely the class pathfinder. Recent technical manuals date its launch to 2244. Its registry appears on a wall display in "Court Martial" (''TOS''). Both the Joseph and Jein make this the ''Constitution''.[4]
USS ''Defiant''	NCC-1764[5]	On-screen	Disappears into a rift in space in "The Tholian Web". According to ''Ent'': "In a Mirror, Darkly", it reappears 100 years in the past in the Mirror Universe.
USS ''Eagle''	NCC-956Listed on the Operation Retrieve chart in '' Operation Retrieve chart [6]	Freeze-frame
USS ''Endeavour''	NCC-1895[7]	Freeze-frame
USS ''Enterprise''	NCC-1701[3]	On-screen	The ship featured in under the command of James T. Kirk. Recent technical manuals date its launch to 2245. It was refitted before '' and is destroyed in '' when Kirk orders the ship's self-destruction to avoid its capture by Klingons.
ISS ''Enterprise''	NCC-1701[3]	On-screen	The "Imperial Starship" ''Enterprise'' is seen in the episode Mirror, Mirror and is part of the Mirror Universe. It was commanded by James T. Kirk, who rose to command after assassinating the former captain, Christopher Pike.
USS ''Enterprise''	NCC-1701-A[10]	On-screen	The second ''Constitution''-class ''Enterprise''. Non-canon sources generally agree that a renaming of some other ship: the USS ''Yorktown'' is often suggested.2The crew of the ''Enterprise''-A under the command of James T. Kirk are ordered home to be decommissioned following the Khitomer Conference in ''. The final log entry by Kirk states that this would be the the final cruise of the starship Enterprise under his command and that the ''Enterprise''-A would become the care of another crew.
USS ''Essex''[11]	NCC-1697The registry is not seen on screen. Derived from Greg Jein's list by way of Star Trek Encyclopedia.	Non-canon
USS ''Excalibur''One of the Constitution-class ships to be damanged in "The Ultimate Computer"	NCC-1664	Registry non-canon	Destroyed in "The Ultimate Computer"
USS ''Exeter''	NCC-1672[12]	On-screen	Commanded by Captain Ronald Tracey. Found in orbit over Omega IV with its crew dead (''TOS'': "The Omega Glory"). The ''Exeter's later career is the subject of a series of fan-made short films in "Starship Exeter." The registry number was not seen in the original version of the episode, but was finally revealed in the new CGI visual effects for the 40th anniversary "Remastered" version of the episode.
USS ''Farragut''	NCC-1647	Presumed ''Constitution'' class. Registry non-canon.	Commanded by a Captain Garrovick, was James T. Kirk's first starship post. See ''TOS'': "Obsession". Asserted in the ''Star Trek Encyclopedia'' to be of Constitution-class, although it was never seen on screen. Registry from the Star Trek Encyclopedia. Jein gives this number, but not from the "Court Martial" list.2
USS ''Hood''	NCC-1703	Registry non-canon	Damaged in "The Ultimate Computer"
USS ''Intrepid''	NCC-1831	Presumed ''Constitution'' class. Registry non-canon.	Entirely crewed by Vulcans, the ''Intrepid'' is destroyed in "The Immunity Syndrome". Asserted in the ''Star Trek Encyclopedia'' to be of Constitution-class, although it was never seen on screen. Registry number from Jein's list via the Encyclopedia. Earlier versions of Jein's list instead give this as the visually similar NCC-1631.2
USS ''Lexington''	NCC-1709	Registry non-canon.	Damaged in "The Ultimate Computer"
USS ''Republic''	NCC-1371	Presumed ''Constitution'' class. Registry non-canon.	A ship that Kirk served on earlier in his career. Asserted in the ''Star Trek Encyclopedia'' to be of Constitution-class, although it was never seen on screen.2
USS ''Potemkin''	NCC-1657[13]	Registry non-canon.	Damaged in "The Ultimate Computer"
USS ''Yorktown''	NCC-1717	On-screen	The starship ''Yorktown'' is disabled by an alien probe (''). Both ''The Star Trek Encyclopedia'' and the '' assert that Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry suggested that the ''Yorktown'' was rechristened as the USS ''Enterprise'' (NCC-1701-A) following the Probe Crisis.

A USS ''Kongo'', NCC-1710, is listed on a computer readout in ''. The Star Fleet Technical Manual had previously asserted there was a USS Kongo NCC-1710. Jein's 1975 essay had proposed NCC-1732. The ship is not listed in the 1999 edition of the ''Encyclopedia''. Jein's original list also gives ''Hornet'' (NCC-1868), ''Lafayette'' (NCC-1866), ''Tashik-Sotra'' (NCC-1865), and ''Valiant'' (NCC-1623).

References

1. Star Fleet Technical Manual, , Franz, Joseph, Del Ray, 1975, ISBN 0-345-49586-1
2. The Star Trek Encyclopedia, , Mike, Okuda, Pocket Books, 1999, ISBN 0-671-53609-5
3.
4. Court Martial chart
5. The registry is not seen the TOS episode in which the ship appears. It later appears in an ''Enterprise'' episode with the Jein registry. It appeared again later in the remastered version of "The Tholian Web".
6. Jein's original list gave this as NCC-1685.
7. Jein's original list gave this as NCC-1718.
8.
9.
10. First introduced in
11. Not mentioned or seen on screen. Was in production office's list of starship names. Listed in ''Encyclopedia'' as Constitution-class; name also used be the Star Fleet Technical Manual as a member of the ''Bonhomme Richard'' subtype.
12. While the registry is not seen on-screen in the original episode, it was displayed in the newly remastered edition of ''The Omega Glory''.
13. Jein's 1975 essay proposes NCC-1702 for this ship (not derived from the "Court Martial" chart.

External links

★ "Constitution class" at STARTREK.COM