Enterprise (NX-01)

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For the mirror universe counterpart, see ISS Enterprise.
Enterprise
Class: NX class
Registry: NX-01
Affiliation: Earth Starfleet/United Earth
Status: Decommissioned (2161)

One of the most important starships in interstellar history, Enterprise (NX-01) was the first NX class starship, launched by the Earth Starfleet in 2151. Enterprise established United Earth as a legitimate interstellar power and caused a wholesale revolution in Alpha and Beta Quadrant politics, paving the way for the creation of the United Federation of Planets.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Development

Enterprise's launch
Enterprise's launch

In 2063, the Human engineer Zefram Cochrane unlocked the door to the stars for Humanity by his invention of warp drive. His prototype warp-capable craft, the Phoenix, just exceeded warp 1, the speed of light.

However, the sheer vastness of interstellar space made even this incredible speed insufficient for interstellar travel. To put this in perspective, at warp 1, the speed of light, it would still take over four years to travel from Earth to Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to Sol, Earth's sun.

Further development of warp drive was necessary for deep space exploration well out of Earth's solar system. This was done at the Warp Five Complex in Bozeman, Montana by several engineers, such as Henry Archer and Cochrane himself. Over the next hundred years, development continued until Humanity's first warp engine capable of warp 5 was created. This engine was capable of speeds that finally made interstellar travel in reasonable periods possible, i.e. in days, weeks or months instead of years.

Thus Humanity was ready to build its first true starship. Work on this began and, in 2151, Enterprise was completed.

Aside from its warp 5 engine, Enterprise was also the first Earth vessel to be equipped with a transporter rated for transporting biological organisms. However, the machine malfunctioned a number of times, (ENT: "Strange New World", "Vanishing Point") and the preferred method of travel was still the shuttlepod unless all other options were exhausted. After trips in the pod, it was standard procedure for returning crew and passengers to utilize the decontamination chamber.

The ship was not as advanced in all areas, however. Unlike the Vulcan ships of its day, it did not possess tractor beams, merely grapplers.

Enterprise had a standard crew complement of 83 Humans, with the addition of a Vulcan and a Denobulan; approximately a third of the crew was female. (ENT: "E²")

[edit] Launch and early missions

Enterprise in Klingon space
Enterprise in Klingon space

Enterprise was launched from the Warp Five Complex on April 12, 2151 under the command of Captain Jonathan Archer. The launch occurred three weeks ahead of schedule because of the need for Earth to return Klaang, a Klingon, to his homeworld of Qo'noS. The early launch was strongly protested by Vulcan Ambassador Soval, who believed Humanity was not ready to explore space. He did manage to wrangle a concession from Starfleet, forcing Archer to allow the placement of Sub-Commander T'Pol on his vessel in exchange for Vulcan star charts. (ENT: "Broken Bow")

The early launch of Enterprise meant that it left spacedock somewhat unprepared: its spatial torpedoes were uncalibrated, and its phase cannons had not even been installed. The spatial torpedoes were calibrated in the heat of battle in May of 2151; (ENT: "Fight or Flight") the ship only survived because of the intervention of the Axanar. The phase cannons were not installed until September of 2151 while Enterprise battled an unknown enemy. (ENT: "Silent Enemy")

[edit] Brief cancellation and missions afterward

Enterprise at Paraagan II
Enterprise at Paraagan II

In March of 2152, the ship's mission was canceled when one of its shuttlepods appeared to have ignited the tetrazine gas within the atmosphere of Paraagan II, killing 3,600 innocent colonists. It was this event, plus its actions at other planets including P'Jem and Tandar Prime, that caused the Starfleet Command Council to recall Enterprise to Earth. Ambassador Soval recommended that Earth wait another ten to twenty years before trying another deep space exploration mission. Archer was able to convince the Starfleet Command Council and the Vulcan High Command to allow Enterprise to continue, particularly when it was revealed that the accident had been triggered by outside forces. (ENT: "Shockwave", "Shockwave, Part II")

In April of 2152, Enterprise suffered severe damage after an encounter in a Romulan minefield. (ENT: "Minefield") Fortunately, the ship was directed by a passing Tellarite vessel to an automated repair facility, though Enterprise was forced to destroy the facility to escape unscathed. (ENT: "Dead Stop") A plasma injector nevertheless failed shortly thereafter, necessitating a trip to the Kreetassan homeworld. (ENT: "A Night in Sickbay")

[edit] Search for the Xindi superweapon

Enterprise enters the Expanse
Enterprise enters the Expanse

After the Xindi attack on Earth in March of 2153, Enterprise was recalled home. Arriving on April 24th, Enterprise was refitted and upgraded with the new photonic torpedoes, enhanced hull plating, a universal translator update, and a new command center, and was relaunched on a new mission to the Delphic Expanse to search for the Xindi superweapon. Enterprise also took on board a detachment of MACOs for this mission. (ENT: "The Expanse")

The search for the Xindi was long and perilous, taking almost a year. Enterprise was in severe danger much of the time in the Expanse due to the presence of spatial anomalies generated by the spheres. (ENT: "Anomaly") It was discovered that insulating with trellium-D could protect the ship from the anomalies, but unfortunately trellium is hazardous to Vulcan neural pathways, and Captain Archer refused to let Sub-Commander T'Pol leave the ship. Hence, the shielding could not be used. (ENT: "Impulse")

In February of 2154, Enterprise determined the location of the Xindi weapon and arrived in the Azati Prime system. (ENT: "Azati Prime") There, the ship suffered severe damage due to multiple attacking Xindi ships. The primary warp coil was destroyed, damage that required drastic actions on the part of Captain Archer to repair. (ENT: "Damage") Enterprise might have endured even more damage in the Delphic Expanse if not for the intervention of an alternate future version of Enterprise, when the second ship traveled 117 years into the past when attempting to use a subspace corridor. (ENT: "E²")

Enterprise damaged in the Delphic Expanse
Enterprise damaged in the Delphic Expanse

Enterprise accomplished its mission to destroy the Xindi weapon successfully, though Captain Archer was presumed dead. The ship was returned to Earth by a Xindi-Aquatic cruiser following the end of the mission, though it made a slight detour to an alternate version of 1944 with the help of Daniels. During this mission, Archer rejoined the ship after stopping Vosk's attempt to return to his own time, and subsequently bringing an end to the Temporal Cold War that had for so long plagued Enterprise's mission. (ENT: "Zero Hour", "Storm Front", "Storm Front, Part II")

See also: Search for the Xindi superweapon

[edit] After returning home

The crew of Enterprise were hailed as heroes upon returning to Earth, especially Captain Archer, for whom several schools were named. Modifications to the ship included a new captain's chair, an upgrade to the transporter, and repainted door panels. (ENT: "Home")

In May of 2154, a group of rogue Augments stole a Klingon Bird-of-Prey and killed its entire crew. The Klingons threatened Earth with war unless the Augments were apprehended. After a debriefing and a refit, Enterprise was relaunched with Arik Soong on board to try to hunt down the Augments on the border of the Orion Syndicate. After several brief firefights with Orion interceptors, the Augments found Enterprise and took Soong aboard their ship and set course to Cold Station 12. Enterprise pursued but failed to stop Soong from taking thousands of unborn Augment embryos. Soong headed to the Briar Patch; however, the Augments turned on him and headed to a Klingon colony and attempted to release several types of pathogens into the atmosphere. Enterprise arrived in time to stop the Augments, destroying them and their Bird-of-Prey. (ENT: "Borderland", "Cold Station 12", "The Augments")

Enterprise at warp
Enterprise at warp

When the Earth embassy on Vulcan was bombed, Enterprise was ordered to the system. The Vulcan High Command postulated that the Syrrannites had been behind the bombing. The crew discovered a bomb still in the wreckage of the embassy and confirmed the DNA was that of a well-known Syrrannite, T'Pau, but was later discovered to be faked. Archer and T'Pol went on a quest to find T'Pau in The Forge, leaving the Enterprise in command of Trip Tucker. After challenging V'Las's evidence on the bombing, Ambassador Soval was thrown out of the High Command and decided to stay with the Humans. Enterprise was ordered to leave the system, and refused to do so with its captain still on the planet, causing a skirmish with the Vulcans. Soval informed acting Captain Tucker the Vulcans were preparing to attack Andoria. Enterprise warned the Andorians, and the two fleets of Vulcan and Andoria met and engaged with Enterprise fighting on the side of the Andorians. The Vulcans called off the attack after only a short time due to political changes back on their homeworld. The discovery of the ancient texts of Surak caused the dismissal of the High Command, and Starfleet activity was no longer to be regulated by the Vulcans. (ENT: "The Forge", "Awakening", "Kir'Shara")

Some time after the Vulcan Reformation, Emory Erickson performed a major overhaul of the transporter in an experiment on Enterprise, boosting the transporter range to more than 40,000 kilometers. The upgrade replaced the old transporter control pedestal with a much more advanced control system. (ENT: "Daedalus")

Later in 2154, two officers were contaminated with a silicon-based virus which had been beamed aboard Enterprise. As a result, a part of Enterprise had to be sealed off in quarantine. (ENT: "Observer Effect")

In November of 2154, Enterprise carried a Tellarite delegation, including Ambassador Gral, to Babel. On the way there, the starship received a distress call from the Andorian warship Kumari. The warship had been attacked by an unknown vessel, although Andorian Commander Shran blamed the Tellarites for the destruction of his ship. Eventually, the crew of Enterprise learned that the Kumari had been attacked by a prototype Romulan drone-ship which was able to disguise itself as other vessels. Gral and Shran eventually managed to work out their differences, and Enterprise rendezvoused with a Tellarite transport ship which returned Gral and his delegation to Tellar Prime. Enterprise continued to Andor, where Captain Archer and Commander Shran encountered the Aenar, a blind race of telepaths. A member of the Aenar, Jhamel, returned to Enterprise with Archer and Shran and assisted in the destruction of the drone-ships which the Romulans had launched from Remus. Again, the starship journeyed to Andor, where Shran and Jhamel left the ship. (ENT: "Babel One", "United", "The Aenar")

Enterprise (top) and Columbia attempt a risky personnel transfer
Enterprise (top) and Columbia attempt a risky personnel transfer

Enterprise returned to Earth on November 27, 2154. While there, Chief Engineer Charles Tucker transferred to the new NX-class starship Columbia. On Earth, Doctor Phlox was assaulted and captured by Rigelians. Enterprise followed the warp trail of a Rigelian freighter which had left Earth two hours after Phlox's abduction. The starship arrived at the freighter's coordinates, although the Rigelian craft had been seriously damaged and only wreckage remained. As Enterprise's crew attempted to determine the identity of the freighter's destroyer, a Klingon vessel attacked the starship. An away team from the Klingon craft beamed aboard and sabotaged Enterprise's systems. Although the Klingons returned to their ship, Enterprise was unable to follow due to sabotage. (ENT: "Affliction") In the end, Enterprise was repaired thanks to a risky maneuver on the part of Columbia, when Tucker was sent back to his old ship. After this, the crew were able to save the Klingon race with the help of Phlox. The Klingon race was left with flat foreheads like Humans, with no cranial ridges, a state from which it took almost a century for them to recover. (ENT: "Divergence")

Enterprise flies above Earth
Enterprise flies above Earth

A few days later, an Orion man came to present an offer to Archer: he would allow Starfleet use of a planet he discovered. Starfleet would do the mining operations and he would get 10% of the shares. To seal the deal, three Orion slave girls were given as a gift to Captain Archer. The girls seduced the crew and controlled the men. Tucker, the only one not affected, was able to foil their plans. The Orion man came to drag the Enterprise to the Orion Syndicate because they wanted Archer's head, whether or not it was attached to his body. The Enterprise stopped him by sending a shock through the deflector and disabling the Orion ship. (ENT: "Bound")

Enterprise was also present with Earth's leadership announced new trade relations with Vulcan, Andor, Tellar, and Coridan. The Enterprise crew were hailed as heroes laying the ground work for that alliance, a precursor to the formation of the UFP. It was during this conference the Crew was instrumental in thwarting the militant Terra Prime organization, preventing efforts to eject all non-Humans after Terra Prime hijacked the Mars verteron array.

[edit] Retirement

Enterprise was retired in 2161 to make way for new, more advanced starships. It was placed in a Federation museum where it still remained in the 24th century. (ENT: "These Are the Voyages...")

It is unknown how or if Enterprise participated in the Earth-Romulan War.

[edit] Achievements

The mission patch of Enterprise
The mission patch of Enterprise

This exploration was not entirely into unknown territory, as the ship was aided by the Vulcan star charts. However, it participated in several historically significant events, such as the discovery of the Temporal Cold War, (ENT: "Broken Bow") the return to Terra Nova, (ENT: "Terra Nova") continued involvement in Vulcan/Andorian hostilities, (ENT: "The Andorian Incident", et al.) the destruction of the colony on Paraagan II, (ENT: "Shockwave") the first Human encounter with a non-corporeal lifeform, (ENT: "The Crossing") the discovery of a lost Human tribe in the Delphic Expanse, (ENT: "North Star") the race to stop the Xindi superweapon, (ENT: "The Expanse", et al.) the Augment Crisis, (ENT: "Borderland", et al.) the Vulcan Reformation (ENT: "The Forge", et al.) and the formation of the first alliance with the Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarites. (ENT: "Babel One")

Enterprise also made Earth's first contact with numerous species, including:

[edit] Command crew

Enterprise's dedication plaque, located to the left of the bridge turbolift
Enterprise's dedication plaque, located to the left of the bridge turbolift

[edit] See also

[edit] Alternate timelines

[edit] 2153 through 2165

Enterprise, severely damaged
Enterprise, severely damaged

In one alternate timeline, Captain Archer's brain was infected with interspatial parasites in October of 2153. These parasites caused him to develop anterograde amnesia, and led to him being relieved of command. Sub-Commander T'Pol received a field commission from Starfleet, becoming the ship's new captain. She continued the search for the Xindi superweapon.

In 2154 Enterprise learned the weapon was being built at Azati Prime. But as they drew close, the ship was attacked by two Xindi-Reptilian vessels. The ship suffered substantial damage: thirteen crew members died, including Travis Mayweather, and twenty-three were injured. In addition, the starboard nacelle was out of commission, limiting the ship to warp 1.7. By the time Enterprise reached Azati Prime at that speed, the weapon had been launched. They were able to follow it back to Earth through a subspace vortex, but their efforts were in vain and Earth was destroyed.

In 2155, Enterprise led one of several convoys of survivors to Ceti Alpha V, where Humanity hoped to resettle to escape the wrath of the Xindi. When the ship arrived there in 2156, T'Pol turned command over to Commander Tucker; the ship's new responsibility was to patrol the Ceti Alpha system. The ship was upgraded with shields provided by General Shran of the Andorian Imperial Guard.

The bridge explodes shortly before Enterprise does
The bridge explodes shortly before Enterprise does

In 2165, Enterprise was attacked by Xindi forces that had finally located Ceti Alpha, just as Archer and T'Pol had returned to the ship to attempt a treatment that would cure Archer. During the treatment, it was discovered that destruction of the parasites in the present erased them in the past; curing Archer of the parasites would change history so that he was never infected. In a desperate bid to change the timeline and save Earth, Archer and T'Pol vaporized the ship in a subspace implosion, thus preventing the parasites in Archer's brain from ever having infected him, creating a new timeline. (ENT: "Twilight")

[edit] 2037

Alternate Enterprise (NX-01)
Alternate Enterprise (NX-01)

In a different alternate timeline, the ship's trip through a subspace corridor from the Kovaalan nebula to the Xindi Council planet in February 2154 would have sent it to the year 2037. The particle wake from a damaged impulse manifold caused the corridor to shift in time. Unable to return to the present, Captain Archer decided to wait in the Delphic Expanse until the ship could stop the Xindi destroyer/probe from attacking Earth.

To survive for all that time, Enterprise forged alliances with other species, trading its advanced technology for food and supplies. The ship even acquired alien crewmembers, such as Archer's wife Esilia; his great-granddaughter remained a member of the crew. With time, the ship acquired advances from other races as well. By 2154, its atmosphere processors had been doubled in efficiency, it acquired an isomagnetic collector from the Ikaarans, and it had had a tractor beam installed. In addition, Haradin traders provided the technology to upgrade the plasma injectors and allow the ship to reach warp 6.9 for a brief time, but the ship's injectors were too old to take the stress, and so they couldn't use the technology. The ship had been repeatedly detected by Xindi tracking stations, but the readings were never confirmed.

By 2153 all of the original crew had died except for T'Pol, now more in touch with her emotions than she had been in the past. Lorian was in command of the ship, Karyn Archer was executive officer and pilot, and Greer was tactical officer. Enterprise tried to stop the Xindi probe from being launched at Earth, but Lorian gave the order to ram it too late, and the probe departed. In 2154, Enterprise rendezvoused with the Enterprise of that time period just before it entered the corridor.

Lorian provided Archer with the Haradin specifications, but the future T'Pol intervened, showing that performing the upgrade was too dangerous. She suggested Enterprise upgrade its impulse manifold to reduce particle wake, but Lorian refused to let Archer carry out the plan; he stole the 2154 ship's injectors to use them himself. The two Enterprises deadlocked in space battle, and Lorian eventually relented and agreed to follow Archer's plan; Archer's Enterprise made it safely through the corridor.

The fate of Lorian's Enterprise is unknown. It may have been destroyed by the Kovaalans it was fighting at last sight, it may have escaped, or it may have been erased from history by allowing the 2154 Enterprise to make it through the corridor. (ENT: "E²")

[edit] Mirror universe

[edit] Appendices

[edit] Background

  • The prefix NX was formerly used for aircraft registered in the United States as experimental. Also see Registry.
  • Throughout the series, the ship was mostly referred to as simply "Enterprise", rather than "the Enterprise," possibly because of the USS Voyager simply being called "Voyager" throughout that particular series, as well.
A drawing of the Enterprise
A drawing of the Enterprise
  • Though it was said to be inspired by the USS Defiant, the NX-01 looks very similar to the Akira-class, first shown in Star Trek: First Contact. Indeed many Star Trek fans say that the NX-01 is nothing but "an upside-down Akira-class." Some other, more negative, comments, refer to the NX-01 as the Akira-prise.
  • It is possible that Zefram Cochrane was the one who named it "Enterprise", naming it after the Enterprise that came from the future and helped him.
  • A drawing of the Enterprise hung in the row of paintings in Archer's ready room.

[edit] Apocrypha

  • Enterprise is featured in the first few levels of the Star Trek: Encounters video game. Its levels are based off of the third season of Enterprise, and involve the search and destruction of the Xindi superweapon, as well as defeating the plans of the Sphere Builders. In addition, Enterprise appears in the game's last level when a temporal anomaly appears near Earth. When the anomaly causes the USS Enterprise-E to vanish, Enterprise is left alone to battle a fleet of Dominion warships. In the end, Enterprise NX-01 joins forces with the Enterprise-A, Enterprise-E, the USS Defiant, and USS Voyager to defeat a combined Xindi, Klingon, Romulan, Dominion, and Borg fleet.

[edit] External link

Starships named Enterprise
Earth: USS Enterprise (XCV 330) • Enterprise (NX-01)
UFP: NCC-1701 • NCC-1701-A • NCC-1701-B • NCC-1701-C • NCC-1701-D • NCC-1701-E • NCC-1701-J
Mirror universe: ISS Enterprise (NX-01) • ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
NX-class starships
NX prototypes: NX-Alpha • NX-Beta • NX-Delta
Commissioned ships: Columbia • Enterprise
Mirror universe: ISS Avenger • ISS Enterprise
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