Star Trek features many iconic ships, but it really all comes back to the USS Enterprise, which was destroyed on the screen more than once. More frequent than not, Star Trek revolves around the adventures of the flagship of Starfleet, whether you are the captain of Enterprise Kirk, Pike or Picard. If Star Trek has a non-human protagonist, are the various iterations of the USS Enterprise.
In a typical Star Trek episode, the show’s focal spacecraft is needed to withstand significant forces, often requiring emergency repairs. At the Star Trek: the original series, Star Trek: the next generation, and Star Trek: Enterprise, several iterations of the USS Enterprise served as the flagship of the series. Unfortunately, ships called Enterprise tend to experience explosive terminations. Most of the time, the Enterprise falls into a blaze of glory, a sign that things have taken a truly terrible turn.
Not every Enterprise has suffered a fiery end in Star Trek – some of them were simply disabled after long runs – but each of them has a story worth telling and has successfully crossed the final frontier in the name of the Federation’s idealism.
Enterprise NX-01
The first starship to bear the name of Enterprise, the NX-01 was directed by Captain Jonathan Archer in the 22nd century and was the first spacecraft on Earth to explore the depths of deep space. This ship received its share in the blows, but in fact it is one of the few ships called Enterprise to survive the passage relatively unscathed. According to the controversial Star Trek: Enterprise At the end of the “These Are The Voyages” series, the NX-01 was retired in 2161 to make way for more advanced starships.
Company NCC-1701
The ship first seen in Star Trek: the original series had a long and hectic life. Commissioned in 2245, he saw several captains, most notably Christopher Pike and James Kirk, and boldly went where no one had gone before for decades. The ship underwent two renovations during its 40 years of service, including the elegant and iconic look introduced in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
After the ship was decommissioned after the events of Star Trek II: Khan’s Wrath, Kirk and his crew stole the ship in Star Trek III: the search for Spock in order to return to the planet Genesis and revive his late Vulcan crewmate. Along the way, Kirk and friends came into conflict with some Klingons with the intention of unlocking the destructive power of the planet Genesis. After the ship suffered serious damage – and the Klingons executed Kirk’s son – the Enterprise’s self-destruction was activated when Kirk and the crew escaped to the planet Genesis and the Klingons boarded the ship. The strategy worked – the Klingons were defeated and Kirk and his crew survived to fight another day and save Spock – but the cost was high.
Company NCC-1701 (Kelvin timeline)
The Kelvin Enterprise timeline may be the most abused of all Federation ships called Enterprise. He received heavy fire from the Romulan mining ship deployed at the time commanded by the crazed Nero, and suffered serious damage from the USS Vengeance, a ship controlled by Section 31 with the intention of killing Khan and any witnesses to his participation in his scheme.
The Enterprise survived both encounters, but quickly fell Star Trek Beyond, wiped out by the Swarm ships under the command of the mysterious Krall. The ship’s destroyed hull crashed onto Krall’s planet when a young Captain Kirk faced his greatest challenge yet.
Company NCC-1701-A
After some time travel antics to save the Earth in the classic Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Kirk and his crew receive a new Constitution-class starship, Enterprise-A. Visually identical to the refurbished Enterprise, the ship spends most of the Star Trek V: the final frontier defective, much to Scotty’s chagrin. The ship receives a more serious farewell in the final FOR% S cast movie, Star Trek VI: the unknown country, where after a pitched battle with a group of Klingons who oppose making peace with the Federation, the damaged ship is sent back to base to be deactivated.
Company NCC-1701-B
Excelsior-class Enterprise-B was launched in 2293 under Captain John Harriman. The only adventure the public saw from the ship was the first, the inaugural cruise with Captain Kirk, Scotty and Chekov as special guests. The ship was eventually called for emergency action, forced to rescue a group of El-Aurian refugees fleeing the Borg after the destruction of their planet. Captain Kirk would apparently die during this adventure, although in fact he was sucked into an alternate reality energy tape known as the Nexus.
Little is known about the fate of Enterprise-B other than its maiden voyage, but it has been said that it served for many years with distinction in the associated novels before being deactivated.
Company NCC-1701-C
The Ambassador Enterprise-C class was commanded by Captain Rachel Garrett. The beautiful ship traveled infamously through a wormhole and ended two decades in its own future in the classic stone cold Star Trek: the next generation episode “Yesterday’s company.” The Enterprise-C was destined to rescue a Klingon ship under attack by Romulans, but when it was displaced in time, it radically altered the timeline, creating a reality where Picard and the crew were involved in a brutal war with the Klingons.
Instead of staying in the new reality, Enterprise-C went back to its own time – with Tasha Yar in tow – to sacrifice itself and set the timeline back to what it should be.
Company NCC-1701-D
The iconic flagship of the Federation presented in Star Trek: the next generation, the Galaxy Enterprise-D class was the crown jewel of Starfleet in the mid-24th century. The huge and powerful ship took over everything from diplomatic missions to Borg attacks under the supervision of Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
Enterprise-D died prematurely in Star Trek: Generations, the first film to feature the cast of TNG. After kidnapping Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge, dishonest Klingons Lursa and B’Etor found a way to penetrate the Enterprise’s shields, stunning the ship’s crew and inflicting serious damage before the Enterprise could destroy the Klingon ship. Despite the victory, much damage was suffered by the Enterprise; the crew evacuated to the hard disk section just before the disk section exploded, sending the disk into the atmosphere of a nearby planet. Most of the crew survived the forced landing, but that was the end of the line for Enterprise-D.
Many fans were shocked to see Enterprise-D come to such a sudden end, but there was a practical reason for its destruction; the main bridge for Enterprise-D was a standing set that had been living in the studio for the previous eight years during TNG’s television season. The set had to be hit to make way for the bridge for the next TV show, Star Trek: Voyager. So, in a way, Voyager destroyed the Enterprise.
Company NCC-1701-E
The Sovereign-class Enterprise-E was designed as a warship, specifically to face the threat of the Borg, which it did with style in Star Trek: first contact. The ship took a beating during the three films in which it appeared, mainly in Star Trek: Nemesis, where the Romulan Praetor Shinzon ship is rammed, breaking the front of the disk section.
The Enterprise-E was never destroyed on the screen – with many fans waiting for it to make an appearance in Star Trek: Picard – but went through a major makeover after the battle with Shinzon. If Enterprise-E appears again in Star Trek, it may look a little different.
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