USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) is the central starship in the fictional Star Trekuniverse, depicted in 6 network television series, 12 feature films, and countless books and fan-created media. The original Star Trek series features a voice-over by Enterprise captain, James T. Kirk (William Shatner), which describes the mission of 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 ship's design "formed the basis for one of sci-fi's most iconic images".[2] A refit version of NCC-1701 appears in the first three Star Trekfilms. The 2009 Star Trek film, which takes place in an alternate timeline,[3] features a re-conceptualization of the original Enterprise. The original (though refitted) starship was destroyed in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

Origin and design
Star Trek art director Matt Jefferies  was the primary designer of the original Enterprise, which was originally named Yorktown in series creator Gene Roddenberry 's first outline drafts of the series. Jefferies' experience with [|aviation] led to his Enterprise designs being imbued with what he called "aircraft logic". However, Jefferies years later confessed to have taken some inspiration and [license|artistic license] from [stove|electric stove] coils.

The ship's "NCC-1701" registry number stemmed from "NC" being one of the international [registration|aircraft registration] codes assigned to the United States; the second "C" was added for differentiation. 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 [Dunn|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 "the Enterprise is a member of the Starship Class".

The first miniature built for the [pilot|pilot] episode "[Cage (Star Trek)|The Cage]" (1965) was unlit and approximately 3 ft 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 "[for Methuselah|Requiem for Methuselah]" (1969). The second miniature built for the original pilot measures 11 ft long and was built by a small crew of model makers (Volmer Jensen, Mel Keys, and Vernon Sion) supervised by [Datin|Richard Datin], working out of Jensen's model shop in Burbank, California. 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 could be used in later episodes.

Initially, the model was static and had no electronics. For the second pilot, "[No Man Has Gone Before|Where No Man Has Gone Before]" (1966), various details 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. The 11 ft model is undergoing restoration,  having previously been displayed in the Gift Shop downstairs at the [Institution|Smithsonian Institution]'s [Air and Space Museum|National Air and Space Museum] in [D.C.|Washington, D.C.]

[Jein|Greg Jein] created a model of the original Enterprise for the [Trek: Deep Space Nine|Star Trek: Deep Space Nine] episode "[and Tribble-ations|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 [imagery|CGI] model of the ship makes a brief [appearance|cameo appearance] at the end of the final episode of [Trek: Enterprise|Star Trek: Enterprise], "[Are the Voyages...|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.

1979 motion picture refit
The "refit"  Enterprise  that appears in the first three Star Trek films was designed by Richard Taylor. [Minor|Michael Minor], Gene Roddenberry,  [Jennings|Joe Jennings] ,  [Probert|Andrew Probert] ,  [Trumbull|Douglas Trumbull] , Harold Michaelson, and Jim Dow contributed in part to the final and finished look of the Enterprise. The ship was based on conceptual sketches done by Jeffries for the scrapped  [Trek: Phase II|Star Trek: Phase II]  TV series. 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 ft  model was re-used as the  [Enterprise (NCC-1701-A)|USS Enterprise-A]  in the fourth, fifth, and sixth Star Trek movies. [Imaging|Foundation Imaging]  created a CGI model of the ship for the "Director's Edition" release of  [Trek: The Motion Picture|Star Trek: The Motion Picture]  to add footage envisaged but never shot by director --< Robert Wise.

2009 Star Trek film
The  Enterprise  was redesigned for the 2009  [Trek (film)|Star Trek]  movie. Director  [J. Abrams|J. J. Abrams]  wanted the  Enterprise  to have a " [rod|hot rod] " look while retaining the traditional shape, but otherwise afforded  [Light & Magic|Industrial Light & Magic]  (ILM) "tremendous" leeway in creating the ship. Concept artist  [Church (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.

Decipitation
Built between 2243 and 2245 in the Star Trek timeline, Starfleet commissioned the USS Enterprise in 2245.[21] In Star Trek, the ship's dedication plaque lists it as "Starship Class"; later Expanded Universe and episode dialogue in "Relics", a Next Generation episode, establish the vessel as a Constitution-class starship. But according to Stephen Whitfield's The Making of Star Trek, "the Enterprise-class starships have been in existence for about forty years" at the time of the original series. The ship's components were built at the Starfleet Division of the San Francisco Navy Yards and assembled in orbit.[7]

Star Trek: The Animated Series states that Robert April is the Enterprise '​s first commanding officer. After April, Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) commands the 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), the Enterpriseundergoes 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 the 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. The USS Reliant, hijacked by Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán), inflicts substantial damage to the 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), the 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 the 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 had they 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 the Enterprise 's successor, the USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-A.

2009 Re-imagining
In the 2009 film  Star Trek, the  Enterprise  makes its first appearance in an altered timeline while it is still under construction in a planetside yard in  [Iowa|Riverside, Iowa]  in 2255. Captain Christopher Pike ( [Greenwood|Bruce Greenwood] ) commands the  Enterprise  on its maiden voyage in 2258 to respond to a distress call from  [(Star Trek planet)|Vulcan]. When Pike is captured, command nominally shifts to Commander Spock ( [Quinto|Zachary Quinto] ) and later to James T. Kirk ( [Pine|Chris Pine] ) when Spock is shown to be emotionally compromised. At the film's conclusion, Kirk is promoted to  [ranks and insignia|captain]  and receives command of the  Enterprise, with Spock as  [officer#Military|first officer]. The re-imagined  Enterprise  appears again in the 2013 sequel,  [Trek Into Darkness|Star Trek Into Darkness]. According to the trailer for the third film in the re-imagining,  [Trek Beyond|Star Trek Beyond], the  Enterprise  will be destroyed by an unknown new enemy.