Summary
Star Trek’s 23rd century is a key period in the franchise’s internal history. Some of Starfleet’s most notable figures, such as Kirk, Spock, Burnham, and Pike, operated during this time, and the choices they made had repercussions for centuries to come. This is undoubtedly why modern iterations ofStar Trekcontinue to return to a century first realized inThe Original Series.
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Yet the Starfleet of any era is nothing withoutits incredible vessels. The challenges of the 23rd century required a range of different starship designs, from quasi-warships to experimental testbeds. Some of these proved enduring enough to continue in service for decades to come.
8USS Archer
Presumably named after pioneering space explorer Jonathan Archer, theUSS Archeris a single-nacelle starship that plays a prominent role in the first episode ofStrange New Worlds.Under the command of Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn), the starship visits Kiley 297 in the hope ofmaking first contactwith the planet’s inhabitants.
Although the mission does not go according to plan, theArcher’s voyage to Kiley 297 does lead to the planet choosing to join the Federation. Had it not been for the starship’s involvement, the hostilities between various factions on the planet’s surface might have resulted in the complete destruction of the Kiley species.
7USS Cabot
The most iconic aspect ofthe furry Tribbles(their excessive breeding) is introduced aboard a humbleMagee-class starship, the USSCabot, in theShort Treksepisode “The Trouble With Edward.”
The newly promoted Captain Lucero takes theCabotto assist a famine-stricken planet near the Klingon frontier. Despite the good intentions of a scientist working aboard the vessel, plans to engineer the Tribbles into a foodstuff run amok thanks to ill-advised genetic tweaking. The disc-shapedCabotmay be a Federation footnote, but its impact is felt across the galaxy for centuries to come.
6USS Defiant
“The Tholian Web” is an episode ofThe Original Seriesnotable for introducing two things toStar Trek’s lore: the titular Tholians and the surprisingly prolific USSDefiant. Not to be confused withDeep Space Nine’s hero ship, the originalConstitution-class USSDefiantencountered by Kirk’sEnterprise.Kirk and his crew are powerless to intervene as theDefiantslips through an interphasic rift and is presumably lost.
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Despite its apparent destruction, the adventures of theDefiantcontinue. The rift takes the starship into the Mirror Universe and back in time, where it is discovered by the Mirror versions ofStar Trek: Enterprise’s heroes. A power struggle over the advanced starship ensues, the impact of which is still being felt by the time of the USSDiscovery’s visit to the Mirror Universe in 2257.
5USS Shenzhou
The loss of the short-lived USSShenzhouinStar Trek: Discovery’s pilot episode is perhaps unsurprising: after all, the show isStar Trek: Discovery, notStar Trek: Shenzhou. However, despite its limited screen time, theShenzhou(named in honor of the real-world Chinese space program) plays a significant role in theStar Trekuniverse.
TheShenzhouis the first Starfleet vessel to enter the Klingon trap that escalates into the Battle of the Binary Stars. The actions of several of its crew members (particularlyfirst officer Michael Burnham) are instrumental in causing the Federation–Klingon War. Although the conflict is relatively short, diplomatic relations between the two powers would take decades to normalize.
4USS Reliant
ThroughoutThe Original Series, vessels in the Federation Starfleet were consistently depicted asConstitution-class vessels, matching the design of Kirk’sEnterprise.Star Trek’s shift to the big screen allowed for the development of new designs, the first of which (theMiranda-class) is used forThe Wrath of Khan’s USSReliant.
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TheReliantis hijacked bythe superhuman Khanand his followers while on a survey mission. Khan is able to use the ship to lure Kirk and theEnterpriseinto a trap, where he hopes to have his revenge on the captain.Reliantgains the upper hand in the ships' initial engagement, earning a place in the history books as a ship that nearly bested Kirk.
3USS Excelsior
TheExcelsior-class starship is, at first, something of a joke in theStar Trekuniverse. Introduced inStar Trek III: The Search for Spock, it is meant to represent a new generation of starship design, far beyond the agingEnterprise. However, when Kirk and friends steal theEnterprise, an attempt by theExcelsiorto capture the ship ends in failure, as its experimental transwarp drive has malfunctioned.
Despite this upset, theExcelsioris able to redeem itself in subsequent stories.Under the command of Captain Sulu, it comes to the aid of the strickenEnterprise-A inStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, saving the vessel from certain destruction. It even appears on the smaller screen inVoyagerandPicard.
2USS Discovery
The USSDiscoveryis amongStar Trek’s most divisive starships, due in part to its canon-busting method of propulsion. In addition to its conventional warp drive, the ship utilizesa top-secret spore drive, capable of teleporting the ship instantly around the galaxy. Many fans have asked why the USSVoyagernever tried this tech while stranded in the Delta Quadrant, while some consider it anachronistic for the 23rd century.
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Controversy aside, theCrossfield-class starship has a storied history. It plays a key role in the Federation Klingon War, voyages to the Mirror Universe, and then travels hundreds of years into the future, where it continues to serve the Federation’s interests. The USSDiscoverymay be an unorthodox design, but its contributions toStar Trek’s lore are clear to see.
1USS Enterprise
Of all the vessels in Starfleet service, theEnterprisestands out. This is not only true in the real world, where even casual viewers are likely to recognize the ship, but also in terms of theStar Treksaga.TheConstitution-classUSSEnterpriseis the first Federation vessel to bear the name (theEnterpriseNX-01 predates the state) and boldly goes where no starship has gone before.
As legendary as the starship itself are the men and women who served aboard her: Kirk, Spock, Pike, and Uhura, to name but a few. TheEnterpriseis the Federation’s key asset throughoutThe Original Seriesand the earlyStar Trekmovies, and its appearances in recent shows are more than simply pandering—they are the continuation of an epic legacy.
