USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) is a fictional starship in the fictional Star Trek universe that serves as both the main setting of the original Star Trek television series, as well as the primary transportation method for the show's characters. The Enterprise has been depicted in four network television series, six feature films, many books, and much fan-created media. The original Star Trek series (1966-1969) features a voice-over by Enterprise captain, James T. Kirk (William Shatner), which describes the mission of the Enterprise as "to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before".
The Enterprise is a Constitution class Heavy Cruiser that serves as a part of Starfleet, which is the United Federation of Planets' space-borne peace-keeping force. It is capable of Interstellar travel and serves intermittently as both a patrol craft and as a deep-space exploration vessel. The ship's components were built at the Starfleet Division of the San Francisco Navy Yards and assembled in orbit.
The NCC-1701 appears in the first three Star Trek films in a refitted configuration. The original starship was destroyed in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and from then on was replaced with an identical starship, the NCC-1701-A. The 2009 Star Trek film, which takes place in an alternate timeline, features a re-conceptualization of the original Enterprise. The Enterprise is seen in the final scene of the Star Trek: Discovery first-season finale, with Captain Christopher Pike being mentioned in the same scene.
Video USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
Origin and design
Original configuration
Star Trek art director Matt Jefferies was the primary designer of the original Starship Enterprise. Jefferies' experience with aviation led to his Enterprise designs being imbued with what he called "aircraft logic". The final interior plans of the Enterprise were designed by Franz Joseph in 1974, with approval from both Gene Roddenberry and Paramount Pictures, six years after Star Trek had been cancelled. The plans heavily referenced both episodes of Star Trek and Matt Jefferies' design.
The ship's "NCC-1701" registry number stemmed from "NC" being one of the international aircraft registration codes assigned to the United States; the second "C" was added as Soviet aircraft used "CCCC" and Matt Jeffries combined the two as he believed a venture into space would be a joint operation by the United States and Russia. According to The Making of Star Trek, "NCC" is the Starfleet abbreviation for "Naval Construction Contract", comparable to what the U.S. Navy would call a hull number. The "1701" was chosen to avoid any possible ambiguity; according to Jefferies, the numbers 3, 6, 8, and 9 are "too easily confused". Other sources cite it as a reference to the house across the street from where Roddenberry grew up, while another account gives it as the street address of Linwood Dunn. Jefferies' own sketches provide the explanation that it was his 17th cruiser design with the first serial number of that series: 1701. The Making of Star Trek explains that "USS" should mean "United Space Ship" and that "Enterprise is a member of the Starship Class". The ship's class was officially changed to Constitution Class with the release of Franz Joseph's Star Fleet Technical Manual in 1975, even though all previous references identify it as Starship Class.
The first miniature built for the pilot episode "The Cage" (1965) was unlit and approximately 33 inches (0.8 m) long, commonly referred to as "the three foot model". This model was constructed almost entirely of wood and was made by Richard C. Datin in his shop. It was eventually modified during the course of the series to match the changes made to the larger model before and after shooting of the second pilot, and appears on-set in "Requiem for Methuselah" (1969) after some damage sustained in storage had been partially repaired. The second miniature built for the original pilot measures 11 feet 2 inches (3.4 m) long and was built by a small crew of model makers (Volmer Jensen, Mel Keys and Vernon Sion) supervised by Richard C. Datin, working out of Jensen's model shop in Burbank, California (although the larger base components were subcontracted to a shop with a large lathe). It was initially filmed by both Howard A. Anderson and Linwood G. Dunn at Dunn's Film Effects of Hollywood facility, who also re-filmed later more-elaborate models of the ship, generating a variety of stock footage that was used in later episodes.
Initially, the models were static and had no electronics. For the second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (1966), various details of the 11-foot model were altered, and the starboard window ports and running lights were internally illuminated. 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 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, except for some detail added to nacelles for shots used in "The Trouble with Tribbles".
Two small (3') models were also made for the episode "Catspaw", one embedded in a block of lucite, bringing the total number of models used to represent Enterprise during the original series to four.
While the three-foot model was lost during construction of a new model (the refurbished version seen in the first movie), the 11 feet (3.4 m) model has undergone a historic restoration, having previously been displayed in the Gift Shop downstairs at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., and was unveiled in its new display position in the lobby of the Milestones of Flight Hall at NASM's 40th anniversary celebration on July 1, 2016, which also roughly coincides with Star Trek's 50th anniversary.
Greg Jein created a model of the original Enterprise for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Trials and Tribble-ations" (1996). 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 appearance at the end of the final episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, "These Are the Voyages..." (2005), and another CGI version was created for remastered episodes of the original Star Trek, based on the model in the Smithsonian.
Refit configuration
The refitted Enterprise that appears in the first three Star Trek films was initially designed by Matt Jefferies, based on an early design he had made of a hypothetical Enterprise refit for the original Star Trek, and reworked for the scrapped Star Trek: Phase II TV series. While Andrew Probert and Richard Taylor often take credit for the design, the changes they actually made compared to Jefferies' original designs largely amount to minor detail alterations.
Michael Minor, Gene Roddenberry, Joe Jennings, Douglas Trumbull, Harold Michaelson, and Jim Dow contributed in part to the final look of Enterprise, while Jim Dow was in charge of building the model and created all the molds and structural processes. Paul Olsen painted the distinct "Aztec" paint scheme to provide an additional level of detail for the film screen, and to suggest the notion of interlocking panels providing tensile strength to the hull. The 8-foot (2.4 m) model was re-used as the USS Enterprise-A in the fourth, fifth, and sixth Star Trek films. Foundation Imaging created a CGI model of the ship for the "Director's Edition" release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture to add footage envisioned but never shot by director Robert Wise.
2009 reboot
Enterprise was redesigned for the 2009 Star Trek film. Director J. J. Abrams wanted Enterprise to have a "hot rod" look while retaining the traditional shape, but otherwise afforded Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) "tremendous" leeway in creating the ship. Perhaps the most notable change was in the large engine nacelles, seen attached to the main body. The change applied a sleeker finish and shape to the otherwise simple nacelles of the previous ship. Concept artist Ryan Church's initial designs were modeled and refined by set designer Joseph Hiura. This design was then given to ILM for further refinement and developed into photo-realistic models by Alex Jaeger's team. ILM's Roger Guyett recalled the original Enterprise being "very static", and added moving components to the film's model. ILM retained subtle geometric forms and patterns to allude to the original Enterprise. The computer model's digital paint recreates the appearance of "interference paint", which contains small particles of mica to alter the apparent color, used on the first three films' model. The initial redesign of Enterprise was notably larger than the original Enterprise and was projected to be 367 meters length and between 170 and 180 meters wide but the final version used in the films was upscaled to be at least 700 meters length and 330-350 meters wide.
Maps USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
Depiction
Built between 2243 and 2245 in the original Star Trek timeline, Starfleet commissioned the Enterprise in 2245. In Star Trek, the ship's dedication plaque lists it as "Starship Class"; however, with the release of Franz Joseph's Star Fleet Technical Manual in 1975, the ship was renamed "Constitution class", even though all previous references identify it as "Starship Class". This is confirmed by episode dialogue in "Relics", a Next Generation episode which refers to the vessel as a "Constitution class" starship.
Star Trek: The Animated Series states that Robert April is Enterprise's first commanding officer. After April, Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) commands Enterprise for about a decade, and Pike is the commanding officer in the (originally un-aired) pilot "The Cage". Throughout the first Star Trek television series, Captain James T. Kirk commands the ship on a five-year mission of exploration. Before the events of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), Enterprise undergoes an 18-month refit overseen by its new commanding officer, Willard Decker (Stephen Collins). In early scenes of the film, Decker describes the refit to Admiral Kirk as "an almost totally new Enterprise". Star Trek novels and the semi-official fan-produced internet series Star Trek: New Voyages (and the abortive planned TV series Star Trek: Phase II) depict a second five-year exploratory mission under Kirk's command between the events of the first and second films.
Spock (Leonard Nimoy) commands Enterprise, serving as a training ship, at the beginning of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), but Kirk assumes command when the ship investigates problems with Project Genesis. USS Reliant, hijacked by Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán), inflicts substantial damage to Enterprise; Spock sacrifices his life to save the ship. Shortly after returning to spacedock at the beginning of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Enterprise is marked for decommissioning. Kirk leads his officers in stealing the ship in an attempt to restore Spock's life. In the process, they are attacked by Klingons inflicting mortal damage on the ship; to even the odds and gain a tactical advantage, Kirk is forced to destroy Enterprise by activating its self-destruct system.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) opens with Kirk and his officers agreeing to return to Earth to face judgment for their actions in the previous film. En route (in the Klingon vessel they had commandeered), 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, the charges against the crew are dismissed. Admiral Kirk is "punished" with a demotion in rank to captain and is given command of Enterprise's successor, USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-A.
In the 2009 film Star Trek, Enterprise makes its first appearance in an altered timeline while it is still under construction in a planetside yard in Riverside, Iowa in 2255. Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) commands Enterprise on its maiden voyage in 2258 to respond to a distress call from Vulcan although command later shifts to Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto) and, by film's conclusion, Kirk (Chris Pine) is promoted to captain and receives command of the Federation's flagship as his first assignment out of the academy. This version of the ship, like the movies it appeared in, was controversial for being a radical departure from the original. The re-imagined Enterprise appears in both 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness and 2016's Star Trek Beyond, where it is destroyed.
The Enterprise is seen in the final scene of the Star Trek: Discovery first-season finale, with Captain Christopher Pike being mentioned in the same scene, suggesting their presence in the second season.
Scientific and cultural impact
The Starship Enterprise, and by extension, Star Trek as a franchise, has had considerable scientific and cultural impact.
Science
- The Enterprise's command bridge design was considered for use by the United States Navy due to the efficiency of its style and layout, and has been emulated in functional Bridge designs. More precisely, the layout of task stations caused the Navy to rethink the division of labor for managing rapidly changing information: the helmsman focuses on immediate steering requirements, navigator plans helmsman's next actions, the captain plans strategy while looking over the shoulders of both. Without visual distraction, the captain is told from behind about engine status, weapons status, and fleet communications. The design has also been emulated for Combat Information Centers and Ship's Mission Centers.
- NASA created a webpage dedicated to Star Trek's technology.
- The ship's hull design was tested at hypersonic velocity by using the University of Queensland's Super-Orbital Expansion Tube using Holographic interferometry, and found that at Mach 5 speed, the bow shocks pass comfortably outside the other sections of the vehicle without experiencing "shock-shock" interactions (where one shock wave hits another directly in front of the body of the aircraft, which can be catastrophic for structural integrity).
- At least one website has been created that proposes a functional spacecraft with a layout similar to the Enterprise could be constructed and used as a fully functioning interplanetary craft, and could - according to the author - be built with current technology in as little as twenty years from the time of his writing.
Culture
- In 1968, a write-in campaign caused the owners of Star Trek, the first television series to depict the Starship Enterprise, to reverse their decision to cancel the show after its second season.
- In 1976, another write-in campaign led to the first space shuttle being named Enterprise rather than Constitution.
- In 1974, the Smithsonian accepted the donation of the primary model of the Starship Enterprise used in filming the original series, for display at its National Air and Space Museum - the first and only artifact at the nation's most visited museum that depicts a fictional craft.
- The original Enterprise appears on a commemorative stamp released by the United States Postal Service.
- The Canadian town of Vulcan, Alberta, created a 31-foot model starship inspired by Star Trek's Enterprise.
- The operations aboard Enterprise have been used as an analogy for practices in human resources management.
- In 2009, Virgin Galactic named its first commercial spaceship VSS Enterprise in honor of the Star Trek vessel.
Minutiae
The Enterprise was originally going to be named Yorktown (as seen in series creator Gene Roddenberry's first outline drafts of the series).
References
External links
- USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
- USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) (alternate reality) at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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