Star Trek: Interesting facts about the iconic USS Enterprise

The USS Enterprise has been a constant and prominent presence through Star Trek: The Original Series and many of the subsequent spinoffs. The Enterprise was the Federation starship that Captain James T. Kirk used in the original series to travel through the galaxy with his crew. The legendary spaceship was the core setting for the series that aired from 1966 to 1969. It was built to operate a five-year mission for intergalactic exploration and upholding peace.

While the Original Series was cancelled after its three-season run, the show gained a cult following over the years, resulting in the Star Trek universe's expansion with movies, comics, animated series, and spinoff shows. The USS Enterprise became one of the most recognisable pop culture symbol.

The famous words from the opening monologue by William Shatner, who portrayed the role of Captain Kirk in Star Trek, proudly speak of the vessel’s mission and quest.

‘Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before!’

While we will eventually witness new space vessels in the Star Trek franchise, Trekkies consider the Starship Enterprise from The Original Series to be the most esteemed. The model that was used to film Star Trek: The Original Series was donated by Paramount Studios to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in 1974.

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Interesting facts about the USS Enterprise from the Stark Trek: The Original Series

1) Gene Roddenberry’s Vision

The creator of the iconic show was very specific when it came to the appearance and the features of the space vessel that will ultimately become the home to the crew of the USS Enterprise. He initially wanted a spaceship big enough to fit about 200 members.

It was imperative for Roddenberry that the spaceship does not look like anything anyone has seen before. Several designs for the vessels were rejected in the process. He even went through numerous literature and available images of space models to come up with precise ideas. He envisioned a flying saucer vessel with no trail of smoke or other typical spaceship elements. The Enterprise was capable to travel at multiples of speed of light and therefore he visualised two engines held out from the central hull to imply superior speed of the star ship.

2) Matt Jefferies’ design

Walter Matt Jefferies was the principal designer for Star Trek. As an army veteran, Jefferies had first-hand experience on the necessity of practicality while designing a combat vehicle. He used his expertise to design the USS Enterprise both outside and inside.

Following Roddenberry’s vision for the starship, Jefferies was able to create an innovative and futuristic vessel for the franchise and not to forget, on a rather tight budget. He was also a key designer behind some of the important elements to the outer part of the spaceship such as the flying sauce, the cylindrical secondary hull and two nacelles for Warp speed.

Producers of the series, Desilu Studios, hired Richard C. Datin to make the model of the spaceship in 1964. He made a 33-inch model using solid wood under The Howard Anderson Company. The actual setting to film the series was then build using the same idea. It was regularly altered and upgraded to fit to the requirements of each episode.

Regarding the design, Jefferies told in the 1968 book called The Making of Stark Trek, per The Smithsonian Magazine

‘We didn’t want the Enterprise to look like something currently planned for our space program. We knew that by the time the show got on the air, this type of thing would be old hat. We had to go further than even the most advanced space scientists were thinking.’

3) All In The Name

The illustrious vessel in the Star Trek universe was originally not referred to as the USS Enterprise. While serving in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II, Roddenberry came upon the aircraft carriers in service called the USS Yorktown and the USS Enterprise. The USS Enterprise was one of the last surviving ships from the war. While the Star Trek vessel was initially named Yorktown, he changed it to Enterprise later.

USS in the name is often referred to as Uniter Star Ship, United Space Ship, or United States Ship. The NCC-1701 registration has been part of several speculations over the years. One simple explanation is that NCC stands for ‘Naval Construction Code.’. It is also suggested that Jefferies also got the code from his army days, wherein the letters stood for the US civil aircraft. It is presumed that the Enterprise was the first vessel of Starfleet’s 17th design and therefore came with the number 1701. The designer also found the number easy to recall.

4) The Bridge and other elements

The bridge was the heart of the spaceship, and it was crucial that the design showcased both practicality and a tactical approach. It is where the ship’s top officials gathered to strategize, and carry out ideas regarding defensive system control and security. The command chair for the captain was placed in the center of the bridge to ensure maximum control over the crew and an unhindered view of the viewscreen. The captain’s chair also came with its own features, including controls for the ship. On the wall of the bridge is a large master-system monitor with all relevant information and data about the spaceship.

The Enterprise had many interior sets, such as the corridors, shuttle bay, sickbay, recreation room, officers’ quarters, and even theater, among others. In an emergency situation, the Enterprise has the capability of ‘saucer separation’ if the crew requires an escape. The ships also come with weaponry to send warning shots.

5) The Captains

While USS Enterprise is widely known as Captain Kirk’s ship, he was not the only one to have had the honor to lead the crew in this celebrated vessel. In the original series, Christopher Pike preceded Captain Kirk. The character was portrayed by Jeffrey Hunter in the original series. He has appeared in the initial pilot of the show titled The Cage as well as the two-parter The Menagerie. When the pilot did not take off, the character was replaced with Captain Kirk, played by William Shatner. However, the character did go on to appear in subsequent spinoff shows and movies.

When Roddenberry first came up with the idea of Star Trek, Robert April was a name that was frequently referred to as the captain of the ship. Though Captain Pike eventually became the first captain during the starship’s first-year mission, Trekkies got to see Captain April in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: The Animated Series.

The three seasons of the much-celebrated show Star Trek: The Original Series are available on Netflix.

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