USS Excelsior (Star Trek)

Infobox Fictional Spacecraft
name = "USS Excelsior"

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caption = The "USS Excelsior"
first =
last = Flashback
status = Active (2370)
affiliation = Starfleet
launched = 2285
2290|
class = "Excelsior"
registry = NX-2000
NCC-2000
fighters =
auxcraft = Shuttlecraft
armaments = Photon torpedoes
Phasers
defense = Deflector shields
propulsion = Impulse engines
Warp drive
power =
length =
width =
height =
primeref =The USS "Excelsior" is a starship in the "Star Trek" fictional universe. The "Excelsior" was first seen in the 1984 film, '. It later appeared in the 1986 film, '. It featured more prominently in the 1991 film ', when it was revealed to be under the command of Captain Hikaru Sulu in 2293. It then appeared in "Flashback", a 1996 episode of the TV series ', which revealed that during the events of "Star Trek VI", then-Ensign Tuvok was serving on the "Excelsior", as one of the junior science officers.

The "Excelsior" was the pathfinder, or prototype of its class, as all other ships of the same design are called Excelsior-class ships. Many Excelsior-class ships have been featured in various episodes of the "Star Trek" spinoff series, ' and '. The USS "Enterprise-B", the third Federation Starfleet vessel to bear the name "Enterprise", was an Excelsior-class ship, as established in the 1994 feature film "Star Trek Generations".

History

The USS "Excelsior" (NX-2000) was the first starship of her class and commissioned as a testbed for new technologies by Starfleet Command, hence the name the "Great Experiment". One of these technologies, transwarp drive, was seen as a possible revolution in starship design, with the potential to open up the entire galaxy to exploratory missions due to vastly increased speed. However, the drive failed on "Excelsior's" first mission (the pursuit of the hijacked USS "Enterprise") due to sabotage by Montgomery Scott, who was very briefly appointed chief engineer of the vessel.

By the time she was seen much more extensively in "Star Trek VI", the ship had been reclassified as NCC-2000. Several fan-based "Star Trek" technical guides give details on the reasons for the failure of the transwarp drive. However, there is no canonical reference to the fate of the transwarp program, but given that even 24th century vessels still lacked transwarp, it can be logically assumed that the experiment was a failure. This is mentioned in notes in "The Star Trek Encyclopedia", which is written by "Star Trek" staff. [Okuda, Mike; Okuda, Denise; "The Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future" Second Edition; 1997; Page 520.] The "Excelsior"-class spaceframe proved to be remarkably durable, able to withstand considerable punishment both from the elements and enemy vessels alike (in "Star Trek VI", Excelsior sustains a direct photon torpedo strike to the saucer section, only to have it absorbed by the shields). This accounts for the considerable number of vessels remaining in Starfleet, even several decades later into the era of ' and '.Notable appearances of Excelsior class are shown in DS9 episodes "Paradise Lost" and "For the Uniform".Several Excelsior class ships were also used in battles with The Dominion

A USS "Excelsior" is mentioned in the "TNG" episode "Interface", which searched for the USS "Hera", commanded by the mother of "Enterprise"-D chief engineer Geordi La Forge. It is unknown if it is the same vessel as seen in the "TOS"-era films, and her class is not mentioned.

Production

Producer Harve Bennett originally intended for the "Excelsior" to replace the "Enterprise" after "Star Trek III", possibly as a result of complaints by ILM technicians that the "Enterprise"'s model was too unwieldy. The idea did not prove popular however, and the replacement "Enterprise" was another "Constitution"-class vessel.Fact|date=December 2007 In "Star Trek Generations", however, a new "Enterprise", the NCC-1701-B, was briefly featured, and this was an "Excelsior"-class refit vessel.

Two different bridge sets were seen for "Excelsior". The first set is seen in ' when she departed spacedock in pursuit of the USS "Enterprise", which had just been stolen by Captain Kirk. In this film, only the parts of the bridge that would be seen on screen were actually constructed. For ' a new and complete bridge set was built (actually a re-dress of the "Enterprise"-A bridge). This bridge had a large status panel directly behind the Captain's chair. It also had helm and navigation consoles similar in appearance to the conn and ops consoles on the bridge of a "Galaxy"-class starship.

Other appearances

In the 1980s, DC Comics published a series of comic book stories said to take place between the events of "Star Trek III" and "Star Trek IV". In this storyline (which, like all Trek comic book stories, is not canon), Admiral James T. Kirk is given temporary command of the "Excelsior" following the destruction of the "Enterprise". In the comic book continuity, he loses this command just prior to the events of "Star Trek IV".Fact|date=June 2007

In the video game Star Trek: Shattered Universe, the USS Excelsior travels to the mirror universe and back, under the command of Captain Sulu.

References

External links