Enterprise

Enterprise is a fictional spaceship which appeared in the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise. It had the in-universe registration of NX-01 and appeared earlier in the franchise timeline than any Starfleet ship named Enterprise. The producers of the series had originally intended to use an Akira-class starship as seen in Star Trek: First Contact (1996), but production designer Herman Zimmerman talked them into using a design with greater influence from Star Trek: The Original Series. Doug Drexler designed the exterior of the vessel, eventually arriving at the final design after also suggesting a Daedalus-class starship with a sphere-shaped primary hull, and a ship more reminiscent of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) complete with secondary hull. These ideas were turned down by the producers, who instead pushed for the final version as seen. Drexler also proposed a refit design, which may have been used if the series continued into a fifth season. The interior of the ship was designed by a number of staff members, but primarily by Zimmerman. He took inspiration from the fast attack submarines of the United States Navy as well as considering the previous vessels named Enterprise in the franchise. In the series itself, the ship was first seen in the pilot episode “Broken Bow” and was seen throughout the series undergoing various upgrades. Its missions included an initial period of deep space exploration and a mission into the Delphic Expanse following the Xindi attack on Earth; it was also instrumental in the formation of the Coalition of Planets with the Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarites. The final appearance occurred in “These Are The Voyages…”, where the ship is seen en route to the signing of the Federation charter and the decommissioning of the ship. Enterprise has appeared in several non-canon novels, which describe both its actions in the Romulan War and the vessel’s final fate as a museum ship in orbit of Pluto. A model of the NX-01 was seen on screen in the 2013 film Star Trek Into Darkness, and it has appeared in the video game Star Trek: Encounters. There was a negative fan reaction to the design, but television critics were mostly positive, calling the design “a sort of retro-futurism”. Several Enterprise toys and models have been released, including versions by Art Asylum, Diamond Select Toys and QMx.