Enterprise (NX-01)

Enterprise

The starship Enterprise (NX-01)
First appearance	"Broken Bow"
Launched	April 16, 2151
General characteristics
Class	NX
Registry	NX-01
Maximum speed	Warp 4.5 (cruising speed) Warp 5.06 (maximum speed) 5.2 (emergency)
Armaments	Photonic torpedoes Phase cannons Spatial torpedoes
Defenses	Polarized hull plating
Length	225 meters

The Enterprise (NX-01) is a fictional starship in the science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise. It is commanded by Captain Jonathan Archer.

History

Commissioned in 2151, Enterprise was the first starship of the NX class, with a crew complement of 86. Enterprise was Starfleet's first long-range exploration vessel with a theoretical top speed of warp 5.2 by the fourth to last episode of the 4th season, considerably faster than any other Human vessels of the era.

Captain Archer made first contact with the Suliban, Tholians, Klingons, and Xindi, among others, although few of these encounters were peaceful. Enterprise established Earth's presence in previously uncharted regions of space, bringing together the Andorians and Vulcans—two species who had been on the verge of war for years.

Enterprise was pivotal in defending Earth from a dangerous alliance of five alien races from the planet Xindus known as the Xindi in 2153 through 2154. The ship suffered severe damage several times during the mission and the crew suffered heavy casualties, but managed to return home after an unexpected detour to an alternate version of 1944 in which Nazi Germany had conquered much of the eastern United States ("Storm Front"); although the vessel did not land during that mission, it was brought within tens of meters from the ground in order to help restore the timeline.

Technology

The NX-01 utilizes the dual-nacelle design that was first employed by Zefram Cochrane's Phoenix from the film Star Trek: First Contact.

It was originally armed with pulse cannons, which were only used once during the pilot episode "Broken Bow", and Triton-class spatial torpedoes.^[1] The ship was protected by polarized hull plating.

Later upgrades saw the Enterprise fitted with more powerful weapons, with plasma cannons being replaced by three phase cannons rated for a maximum power output of 500 giga joules and the spatial torpedoes with photonic torpedoes.^[2] These new weapons systems were still in the experimental stage. Unlike vessels in other versions of Star Trek, Enterprise was not equipped with defensive energy shielding (shields were still in development^[3]). Instead, Enterprise added to the defensive power of the (fictional) duranium hull through electromagnetic polarization, a form of reactive armor. This defensive system was upgraded by Starfleet during the NX-01's refit following the Xindi attack on Earth ("The Expanse").

The front of the saucer section is equipped with a "deflector" that protects the ship from space dust and other particles that would otherwise cause significant damage at impulse, or even cruising speeds. A grappling hook was used for purposes more commonly served by a tractor beam in other science fiction series.

The Enterprise carried two shuttlepods named Shuttlepods One and Two. It also had a 22nd century version of Star Trek's signature transporter authorized for biological transportation; however, it was used sparingly in the first two years of the ship's mission due to crew fears over the dangers of its use. The transporter came into more common use during and after the mission to the Delphic Expanse.

Subsequent developments

According to the episode "Fortunate Son", three additional NX class ships were planned as of 2151 after the NX-01. A second warp 5 starship, Columbia (NX-02), was launched in November 2154, commanded by Captain Erika Hernandez, and came to the aid of the NX-01 when it was sabotaged by Klingons in the episode "Divergence".

In the time period following the conclusion of Star Trek: Enterprise and the founding of the United Federation of Planets, development of Warp 7-capable ships rendered the NX class obsolete and, in 2161, Enterprise was decommissioned soon after the signing of the Federation Charter. The reason for the decommissioning of Enterprise was not stated, and it is not known if her sister ship Columbia or the other two planned NX vessels were also retired at the same time.

According to the "Shatnerverse", a Star Trek timeline where Captain James T. Kirk still lives after the events of Star Trek Generations, written by William Shatner and co-written by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, the NX-01 was sent to a museum on Pluto after its decommissioning, upon reminiscence by Captain Picard in Captain's Glory.

Warp 5 limit

Enterprise is unable to maintain its top speed of warp 5 for an extended period of time and normally travels at warp 4.5. The vessel achieved warp 5 for the first time during the first season episode "Fallen Hero". In the fourth season episode "Babel One", Enterprise exceeded Warp 5 for the first time, achieving warp 5.06 thanks to newly-installed injectors; in the later episode "Affliction", a maximum speed of warp 5.2 was achieved.

Alternate timelines

In one alternate timeline seen in the third season episode "Twilight", the Enterprise failed to prevent the Xindi from building a superweapon capable of destroying entire worlds. Earth and all its colonies were destroyed while Starfleet waged a desperate, hopeless war to protect them. The ragtag wagon train of survivors made their final stand on Ceti Alpha V, shepherded by three remaining Starfleet vessels: Enterprise, Intrepid, and Sydney. Enterprise was lost with all hands during the final stand; however, this timeline was negated.

In another alternate timeline seen in the episode "E²", Enterprise encountered an anomaly that threw her back in time more than a century, to the year 2037. Unable to return to Earth, the vessel became a generation ship, eventually falling under the command of Lorian, the son of T'Pol and Charles Tucker III, who eventually intercepted Captain Archer and prevented the NX-01 from being sent back in time.

Mirror Universe

A Mirror Universe version of the NX-01, called the ISS Enterprise, appeared in the fourth season two-parter, "In a Mirror, Darkly". This version of the vessel had different markings, including yellow markings on the dorsal surface of the saucer section, but was essentially identical to the NX-01, with the exception that it was equipped in 2155 by the mirror Charles Tucker III with a cloaking device obtained from the Suliban. In terms of speed, it is not known whether this version of the Enterprise was capable of higher speeds than the normal NX-01, although dialogue suggests that its maximum speed was less than Warp 7. As this Mirror Universe was more hostile, that Enterprise was better armed than the normal one. It was also equipped with a tractor beam.

The ISS Enterprise was under the command of Captain Maximilian Forrest until Commander Jonathan Archer led a mutiny and assumed command of the ship. Forrest, with the help of the mirror T'Pol, soon regained control of the vessel, but it was destroyed by Tholians soon after, along with most of its crew. The only survivors were a limited number of people in escape pods who were not destroyed by the Tholians. The surviving crew, initially led by Archer and later "Empress" Hoshi Sato, subsequently took over the USS Defiant, a United Federation of Planets Starfleet vessel that was transported to the Mirror Universe in the Star Trek (TOS) episode "The Tholian Web".

Appearance in computer games

So far there are three commercial computer games in which the Enterprise (NX-01) is featured: Star Trek Online, which is a MMO available on PC, Star Trek: Legacy, which is available to PC and Xbox 360, and Star Trek: Encounters for PlayStation 2. In addition, there are several models available for Bridge Commander, the Armada Series, Starfleet Command III and there are mods available for Microsoft's Freelancer.

Senior Officers

• Commanding Officer – Captain Jonathan Archer
• First Officer / Science Officer – Sub-Commander T'Pol; she later accepted a Starfleet commission as a Commander
• Chief Engineer/ Second Officer – Commander Charles Tucker III / Commander Kelby
• Chief Medical Officer – Doctor Phlox
• Chief Security and Tactical Officer – Lieutenant Malcolm Reed
• Helm Officer – Ensign Travis Mayweather
• Communications Officer – Ensign Hoshi Sato
• MACO Commander – Major Hayes (2153–54)

References

1. ^ "Minefield". Star Trek: Enterprise.
2. ^ "The Expanse". Star Trek: Enterprise.
3. ^ However, Lieutenant Malcolm Reed was able to build a make-shift shield generator in the episode "Vox Sola" strong enough to hold an alien being in.

External links

• Enterprise (NX-01) at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)

Spacecraft named Enterprise
NASA Space Shuttle (1976–1985) • Virgin Space Ship (2009—) • Star Trek starships (Fictional)