Star Trek’s Starfleet had no USS Enterprise in active service 20 years beforeStar Trek: The Next Generation, and this has even happened before. The Starship Enterprise is not just the signature vessel ofStar Trek,it’s one of the most recognizable and iconic spaceships in pop culture. Even non-Star Trekfans can identify the saucer and sweeping nacelles of the USS Enterprise and can name its most popular commanders,Captain James T. Kirk(William Shatner) and Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart).
The USS Enterprise is a legacythat spans the full breadth ofStar Trek’s timeline, from Starfleet’s first steps into the galaxy inStar Trek: Enterprise’s 22nd century to the distant 32nd century ofStar Trek: DiscoveryandStar Trek: Starfleet Academy. There are manyversions of the USS Enterprise, and the venerable starship is often identified as the flagship of the United Federation of Planets. YetStar Trek’s history also includes gaps where Starfleet has no Starship Enterprise warping through the galaxy.
Star Trek: Section 31, the first major story set inStar Trek’s early 24th century"lost era,“is also the firstStar Trekmovie not about the crew of the USS Enterprise. While the Enterprise isn’t seen in Michelle Yeoh’sStar Trek streaming movie, it’s likely theUSS Enterprise-B is the Federation flagshipat that time. Meanwhile,Section 31includes Lieutenant Rachel Garrett (Kacey Rohl), who is destined to command the Starship Enterprisebefore Starfleet enters a 20-year gap without the flagship of the Federation.
The USS Enterprise-C Was Destroyed In 2344
Star Trekhas no USS Enterprise in service for 20 years before the start ofStar Trek: The Next Generation. TNGkicks off in 2364 with “Encounter at Farpoint,” which introduces Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the USS Enterprise-D.The Galaxy Class Enterprise-D is brand new whenTNGbegins, and Picard is still assembling his full crew complement, including picking up his new Number One,Commander Will Riker(Jonathan Frakes) at Farpoint Station.
Star Trek: TNG’s 10 Best USS Enterprise-D Bottle Episodes
Some phenomenal episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation were set entirely aboard the USS Enterprise-D.
The USS Enterprise-D replaced the previous starship by that name, the USS Enterprise-C, which was destroyed in 2344. Under the command of Captain Rachel Garrett (Tricia O’Neill), theAmbassador Class Enterprise-C was lost defending a Klingon base against Romulans at Narendra III.InStar Trek: The Next Generation’s season 3 episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise,“Captain Picard’s Enterprise-D met Captain Garrett’s Enterprise-C when the latter was caught in a time loop.
Interestingly, the Enterprise-C was not referred to as the Federation flagship.
Starfleet waited two decades to replace the USS Enterprise after Captain Garrett’s vessel was lost. Interestingly, the Enterprise-C was not referred to as the Federation flagship, which was a distinction given to the USS Enterprise-D inStar Trek: The Next Generation.Star Treklater retconned previous versions of the Enterprise as the Federation flagshipinStar Trek: Strange New Worldsas well as in J.J. Abrams’Star Trekmovies. It’s possible the Enterprise-C was not the Federation flagship, butStar Trek’s retcon could have changed this.
Star Trek Also Has Another Long Gap With No Enterprise
Captain Archer’s NX-01 Was Decommissioned In 2161
Star Trekhad an even longer gap where Starfleet lacked a Starship Enterprise. Captain Jonathan Archer’s (Scott Bakula) Enterprise NX-01 was retconned as the first Starship Enterprise whenStar Trek: Enterprisewas created as a prequel toStar Trek: The Original Series. Archer’s NX-01 traveled the galaxy for 10 years, from 2151 to 2161. At some point afterStar Trek: Enterpriseended with season 4, the NX-01 was refit and rechristened as the USS Enterprise.Starfleet then went 84 years without a Starship Enterprise.
The NX-01 USS Enterprise is on display in the Fleet Museum on Athan Prime as seen inStar Trek: Picardseason 3.
After 2161, there was no known Starship Enterprise commissioned by Starfleet until the Constitution Class USS Enterprise NCC-1701 was built in 2245. The 23rd century’s Starship Enterprise was launched under the command of Captain Robert April (Adrian Holmes), and the center seat was passed to Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter/Anson Mount), and Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner).Star Trek: The Original Seriesnever called the Enterprise the Federation flagship, butStar Trek: Strange New Worldsretconnedthat it was.
What Was Starfleet’s Federation Flagship Without Enterprise?
Other Starships Carried The Federation’s Banner
InStar Trek’s revised canon, presumably each incarnation of the USS Enterprise also serves as the flagship of the United Federation of Planets. However, other starships must have carried the Federation’s banner in the times when there was no Enterprise warping through the galaxy. Online ancillary materials leading up toStar Trek: Picardseason 3 revealed that for a time in the 2290s,the USS Titan commanded by Captain Saavik (Kirstie Alley/Robin Curtis) was the Federation flagship.
There is a USS Enterprise that was never seen inStar Trek: Discovery’s 32nd century, but it was never made clear if Enterprise is the Federation flagship in the distant future, or if that honor went to another vessel like the USS Voyager-J. Captain Michael Burnham’s (Sonequa Martin-Green) USS Discovery oftenactedlike the flagship.
Another starship that could have substituted as the Federation flagship is the USS Excelsior. Dubbed the"Great Experiment,“Excelsior was originally the first starship to have transwarp drive inStar Trek III: The Search for Spock. InStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country,Captain Hikaru Sulu(George Takei) commanded Excelsior. BeforeStar Trek: The Next Generation,Captain Picard led and lost the USS Stargazer. However,Stargazer was never known as the Federation flagship.Picard would not have the honor of being Captain of the Federation flagship until the USS Enterprise-D.
Star Trek’s Next Movie Also May Not Involve The Enterprise
Don’t Expect The Enterprise In Toby Haynes' Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie
Just asStar Trek: Section 31didn’t feature the USS Enterprise, the nextStar Trekmovie reportedly planned for theatrical release also isn’t expected to have a Starship Enterprise. In early 2024,Toby Haynes (Black Mirror"USS Callister”) was announced as the director of anUntitled Star Trek Originprequel movie set"decades before"the 23rd century era of J.J. Abrams’Star Trek.SinceStar Trek: Enterprisetakes place before the Prime and Kelvin timelines diverged, it would be canon in Abrams' saga as well. Further, the USS Enterprise was seen being built in 2255 and launched in 2258 inStar Trek(2009).
AStar Trektheatrical movie with no Starship Enterprise is a big gamble.
The USS Enterprise launches 13 years later inStar Trek’s Kelvin timeline than it does in the Prime timeline. Regardless, if Toby Haynes’Untitled Star Trek Originprequeltakes place"decades before” Star Trek(2009), this would be in that time period where there is no Enterprise after Captain Archer’s voyages. Toby Haynes’Star Trekprequel movie is said to involve the founding of the Federation, which puts it afterStar Trek: Enterprise. AStar Trektheatrical movie with no Starship Enterprise is a big gamble, and it could be an even more signficant story without the Enterprise thanStar Trek: Section 31was.
Star Trek: Enterprise
Cast
Star Trek: Enterprise acts as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, detailing the voyages of the original crew of the Starship Enterprise in the 22nd century, a hundred years before Captain Kirk commanded the ship. Enterprise was the sixth series in the Star Trek franchise overall, and the final series before a twelve-year hiatus until the premiere of Star Trek: Discovery in 2017. The series stars Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer, with an ensemble cast that includes John Billingsley, Jolene Blalock, Dominic Keating, Anthony Montgomery, Linda Park, and Connor Trinneer.
