USS ENTERPRISE (NCC-1701)

The 'USS ''Enterprise'', (NCC-1701)' is a fictional starship in the television series '', which chronicles the vessel's mission "to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before" under the command of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner). The ship also appears in the first three Star Trek films.

Contents

Origin and design

Depiction

Cultural impact

References

External links

Origin and design

Art Director Matt Jefferies designed the original ''Enterprise''. The first miniature built for the pilot episode "The Cage" was an unlit and approximately 3 feet (91.4 cm) long. It was modified during the course of the series to match the changes eventually made to the larger miniature, and appears on-set in "Requiem for Methuselah". The second miniature built for the first pilot measures 11 feet 2 inches (3.4 m) long and was built by Richard Datin. Initially, the model was static and had no electronics. For the second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", various details were altered, and the window ports and running lights were internally illuminated, except on the port side of the model, which was left unfinished. When the series was picked up and went into production, the model was altered yet again. These alterations included the addition of translucent domes and blinking lights at the forward ends of the engine nacelles, smaller round domes at the stern end of the engine nacelles, a shorter bridge dome, and a smaller deflector/sensor dish. Save for re-used footage from the two pilot episodes, this was the appearance of the ship throughout the series. The larger model, restored by Ed Miarecki in 1992, is in a display case on the lower level of the National Air and Space Museum's gift shop. The smaller model was presented to Gene Roddenberry after the series' cancellation. It was later loaned to someone who did not return it and its present status is unknown.
Another model of the original ''Enterprise'' seen on screen was Greg Jein's, built for the '' episode "Trials and Tribble-ations." Jein's model was built to be exactly half the size of the larger of the two original models, and later appeared in the 1998 Star Trek wall calendar. In addition, a CGI model of the ship makes a brief cameo at the end of the final episode of '', "These Are the Voyages...", and another CG version was created for the remastered episodes of the original ''Star Trek'' series that began airing in syndication in September 2006 (the model was then revised, with more accurate detail added, in November 2006).
The ''Enterprise'' as it appears in the first three ''Star Trek'' films was designed by Mike Minor, Joe Jennings, Andrew Probert, Douglas Trumbull, and Harold Michaelson, all based on conceptual sketches done by Matt Jeffries for the never-filmed '' TV series. The 8-foot-long (152 cm) model was re-used as the USS ''Enterprise''-A in the fourth, fifth, and sixth Star Trek movies.
Foundation Imaging built a CGI model of the ship for the "Director's Cut" DVD release of '' to add footage envisioned by director Robert Wise during the 1970s filming but never shot because of budget and time constraints. This CGI model appears at the end of the "wormhole" sequence, when the "Ilia Probe" stops outside the hull of the bridge before entering, and just prior to the scene when V'Ger creates a bridge between its command center and the ''Enterprise''.

Depiction

Commissioned in 2245,^[1] the USS ''Enterprise'' is the first United Federation of Planets starship to bear the name "Enterprise". During the show's run, the ship's dedication plaque lists it as "Starship Class"; Star Trek Expanded Universe literature often refers to the ship as ''Constitution'' class, and its ''Constitution''-class status was confirmed in dialog in the '' episode "The Naked Now".
'' and novels by Diane Carey state that Robert April was the ''Enterprise's first commanding officer. Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) commanded the ''Enterprise'' for a decade, and Pike is the commanding officer in the original ''Star Trek'' pilot, "The Cage". Throughout the ''Star Trek'' television series, Captain Kirk commands the ship on a five-year mission of exploration. The ship appears in every ''Star Trek'' episode.
The ''Enterprise'' undergoes a refit overseen by its new commanding officer, Willard Decker (Stephen Collins), prior to the events in ''The Motion Picture''; Decker describes the refit vessel to Admiral Kirk, who assumes command of the ship to confront the V'Ger probe, as "an almost entirely new ''Enterprise''". Star Trek novels depict another exploratory mission under Kirk's command between the events of the first and second films.
Spock (Leonard Nimoy) commands the ''Enterprise'', serving as a training ship, at the beginning of ''; Kirk assumes command when the ship is called to investigate problems with Project Genesis. The USS ''Reliant'', hijacked by Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán), inflicts substantial damage to the ''Enterprise''; Spock sacrifices his life in order to save the ship. Shortly after returning to spacedock at the beginning of '', the ''Enterprise'' is ordered decommissioned. Kirk leads his officers in stealing the ship in an attempt to restore Spock's life, and Kirk destroys the ''Enterprise'' to prevent its capture by Klingons.
'' opens with Kirk and his officers agreeing to return to Earth to face punishment for their actions in the previous film. En route, they travel back in time to stop a probe threatening to destroy Earth. Upon the success of their mission and return to the 23rd century, most of the charges against the crew are dismissed; Kirk is punished with a reduction in rank to captain and given command of the ''Enterprise'''s successor, the USS ''Enterprise'', NCC-1701-A.

Cultural impact

Construction on the first Space Shuttle began on June 4, 1974. Designated OV-101, it was originally planned to be named ''Constitution''. However, a write-in campaign caused it to be renamed after the ''Enterprise''. The Space Shuttle Enterprise was used as a test vehicle and was never refitted to become a space vehicle.
According to ''The Making of Star Trek'', by Stephen Whitfield and Gene Roddenberry, the bridge design of the NCC-1701 was once considered for use by the real-life United States Navy, because of the efficiency of its style and layout.
The original series-era ''Enterprise'' appears on a commemorative stamp released by the United States Postal Service.
The ''Enterprise'' appears briefly in the background of the ''Battlestar Galactica'' pilot miniseries, produced by former Star Trek writer and producer Ronald D. Moore. George Takei, who played ''Enterprise'' helmsman Hikaru Sulu, later played a character in ''Heroes'' whose license plate is "NCC 1701". In the movie '', Commander Buck Murdoch, played by William Shatner, looks through a periscope in the lunar control room and sees stock footage of the ''Enterprise'' from the original series.

References

1. Enterprise, U.S.S.

External links