U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701

The U.S.S. Enterprise(NCC-1701), like her twelve sister ships* in Starfleet Command is primarily a scientific and research vessel of deep space exploration of the 23rd century. What is the USS Enterprise 1701's primary mission objective?

 Why seeking out new life forms on new civilisations, boldly contacting aliens who have discovered the basics governing warp technology key to achieving interstellar warp travel and what will the United Federation of Planets do? They'll send out Kirk's flagship to wellcome the fledglings into the club.


Owner/Creator Paramount Pictures and/or CBS Studios

In over forty years of meeting new lifeforms, the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 has upgraded with at least two refits during her much watched five year missions(2265-2270). Kirk's ship has engaged in scores of first contacts, military conflicts and time-travel. She has defended earth from the Klingons, Romulans, a Planet Killer, and the Alien Space Probe. Under command of Captain James Tiberius Kirk, the Enterprise NCC-1701 was destroyed in 2285 in a bid to outwit Commander Kruge and his klingon bird of prey.

Science Officer Spock is always on the lookout for subspace anomolies, spatial disturbances, hostile energy lifeform readings and with sensors scanning at maximum to locate accurate planetary positions, Spock's analysis is strategic to pinpointing starship dangers in a matter of seconds on the ship's approach to a new star system. The USS Enterprise's Science Station provides Captain Kirk with enough military intelligence to blast potential enemy starships to smithereens but lets not forget Chief Engineer Scotty.

When the USS Enterprise 1701 took a mighty, helluva walloping from Romulan enemy fire, Scottys first on the Captain's case about the structural integrity of the ship and his precious warp engines. "The ship is packing quite a walloping, she can't take much more of this. She'll blow up in four hours." In the eyes of Commander Kruge's Lieutenant Commander, the USS Enterprise 1701 was a formidable "battlecruiser" capable of defeating her enemies but its really Scotty's engineering "Miracle Worker" touch keeping her together. In Star Trek's universe, Kirk's constitution-class starship doubles as the flagship of the United Federation of Planets peace-keeping force and as a military heavy cruiser.

While under way, every Federation starship is completely manned at all times. Aboard the USS Enterprise it's no different. Each watch consists of eight hours of normal duty. When yellow alert sounds, a second watch is activated and during red alert, all watches are called to battle stations even if your'e snoozing soundly in your bunkbed.

Each of the USS Enterprise NCC 1701's 23 decks is equipped to handle its own gravity. When the ship jumps to warp, Anti-acceleration/deceleration inertial dampeners prevent the crew from leaving strawberry stains on the walls from rapid acceleration.

The Enterprise is equipped with shuttlecraft for ship to planet away missions. In crises situations with the ship is under attack or when Captain Kirk is cheating the jaws of death (Doomsday Machine) Trekkies can always rely on the transporter pad malfunctioning. Just when its needed most! Fortunately for Chief Engineer Scotty, the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC - 1701 has two well known shuttlecraft.

During special missions, the "Galileo" and "Columbus" are called into service to transport crew members/ambassadors/v.i.p's and equipment towards planets or starships when the ships transporter is out of action. They come in handy for covert operations too and have excellent space navigation ability. The seven seater shuttles are equipped with limited warp and impulse drive engines, shields, life support systems, a food replicator and emergency provisions for longer stays on planets.

Constitution-class ships use matter, anti-matter reaction converters regulated by dilithium crystals housed in Main Engineering's warp drive engines which can propel the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 at faster than light warp speed. In the episode "Elaan of Troyius", Scotty used the Dolman's necklace which was stung together with dilithium crystals in order to repair the Enterprise's sabotaged, fused dilithium crystal converter. The Dolmans neckless powered the ship's warp engines with enough energy to shoot off a couple of photon torpedoes at the engaging Klingon ship, badly damaging it and causing it to retreat.

Owner/Creator
Paramount Pictures and/or CBS Studios.

The flagship USS Enterprise is protected by an impressive grid of deflector shields, structural integrity fields, energy forcefields and emergency blast bulkheads that can repel enemy weapons fire and meteorite showers easily.







Starships like Darth Vader's Star Destroyer haven't got an equal chance against the technological might of the Enterprise's phasers and photon torpedoes because Vader's ship, although impressive, only has laser beam technology, cannons and gun turrets capable of making only a few dents in the USS Enterprise's shields. Whose got the most powerful Starship in the Universe? Trekkies do! Thats who! Woo Hoo! But I dare you to prove me wrong! Phasers are more technologically advanced and likely to be hotter that lasers right?

IMAGE CREATOR/OWNER: THE LIGHT WORKS

Tractor beams are the opposite of deflectors which pull space objects as opposed to pushing physical energy away. They are used to take smaller ships in tow or move space debris out of the Enterprise's flight path. At the stern of the USS Enterprise's are the impulse engines and the nacelle propulsion systems which makes safe interplanetary space flight at sublight and warp speed.

Starship primary and secondary systems also includes life support, transporters, deflector shields, starship sensors, structural and inertial systems, forcefields, phasers and photon torpedo tubes, warp core reactor, EPS Power Relay systems,

The USS Enterprise consists of 55 officers of command rank in gold uniforms, 15 communication specialists in red uniforms, 136 medical and scientific research personnel in blue uniforms, 132 engineering specialists and a 88 member security force in Red uniforms who usually meet their maker. In addition to the crews complement of 428, the Enterprise has stateroom accommodation for visiting ambassadors, admirals and V.I.P's

*Constellation NCC-1017, Constitution NCC-1700, Defiant NCC-1764, Eagle NCC-956, Endeavour NCC-1895, Essex NCC-1697, Excalibur NCC-1664, Exeter NCC-1672, Hood NCC-1703, Intrepid NCC-1831, Lexington NCC-1709, Potemkin NCC-1657, Republic NCC-1371 and Yorktown NCC-1717. (Only twelve of these ships were in existence during Kirk's celebrated first five year mission of interstellar exploration.)

One of the technological advances that makes the Constitution class starship possible is the duotronic computer designed by Dr. Richard Daystrom in 2243. In 2268, the Enterprise field tests what Dr. Daystrom hopes will be an even greater invention, the multitronic or M5. Unfortunately Daystrom designed the machine based on his very own memory enigrams which for a moment seemed like one great leap forward for computer science but alas the M5 proved to be more unstable than its creator, Dr. Daystrom who was at a loss to explain its emotional outbursts.

Star Trek depicts a future of bright promise. I hope it stays that way. The USS Enterprise NCC-1701 is a vehicle of peaceful exploration and research resorting to strategic counter measures as a last resort. Starfleet Command represents the "logical" evolution of today's military into a servant of man's quest for knowledge, as well as a the need for a strong defense.

Live Long and Prosper Trekkies and Trekkers!

Starfleet's Star Cadets

The motto of Starfleet Academy is "ex astris, scientia," which means "from the stars, knowledge." To qualify, entrants must first meet the basic requirements to satisfy Starfleet by submitting to a test. If chosen the next step involves completing the entrance exam which is conducted over a three day period at a designated Starfleet Testing facility. The Academy exam itself identifies leadership values in promising candidates eager to prove themselves. Integrity, intelligence, courage, imagination, and determination are core qualities of Starfleet Officers ready for battle but committed to peaceful coexistence in the universe. The entrance exam contains the following tests:

1. Dynamic relationship test.
2. Hyperspace physics test.
3. Psych Test.
4. Other Cultures & Species Test.
5. Carlundrum I.Q Test

In 2364, Relva VII's testing facility is where Wesley Crusher competed to gain admittance to Starfleet but failed the first time. Citizens from outside the United Federation of Planets require a testimonial of good character from one of Starfleet's higher ranking officers before being permitted to take the test. Cadets who excelled in class gained privileges as was the case of the Academy's Red Squad, an elite group, who were entrusted to pilot a starship without supervision. Starfleet has demanding standards and applicants must pay strict attention to its rules and procedures.

Successful entrants are expected to excel with their class at a multitude of mental and physical tests or merit the wrath of the Academy Instructor. Based on earth, the academy is located at the Presidio of San Francisco. Founded in 2161, Starfleet Academy's specific goal focuses on the quest for knowledge and the preparation of its cadets for galactic unknowns especially in the cadets first year.

The freshman year subjects the trainee to athletic disciplines which tests their fitness and reflexes with gym training. Healthcare, universal laws of nature, military defense, conferences, lectures, computer simulations, starship operations all form part of the educational program, Officers learn Federation policy and adhere to strict rules. Starfleets General Orders and Regulations and Starship Operations are mandatory.

After four years, cadets graduate to the worthy position of Starfleet Officers and are promoted to the rank of Ensign. For the first time in their lives excited cadets face the prospect of a really groovy future serving aboard a starship and are looking forward to serving and defending the Federation with their very lives. Space exploration also presents many opportunities to encounter new alien lifeforms and discover strange new worlds. Starfleet will put its officers on the front lines where scientific research, rendering aid, tensions and starship battles will broaden crewmens appreciation and perception of alien races and species in the universe.

Cadets will soon discover Starfleet Academy's curriculum challenging them to their limits with some trainees buckling under pressure in the first year. Starship duty is'nt for everyone. In the following years cadets will choose to concentrate on a particular field of knowledge such as engineering, starship navigation, medical degrees take eight years to complete, piloting, scientific research, stellar cartography, communications, security, with the smartest and uber-intrepid of students setting their sights on a career in Starfleet leading to command of a starship.

The Academy's notorious Kobayashi Maru Training Simulator is the next step for these special breed of command cadets. The Computer Simulation will test their nerves for steel and how they react to fear. Senior Officers will scrutinise the cadets response times, disposition and reactions under pressure to get a mindset on the candidates suitability for command. Captain Kirk (TOS) received a commendation for original thinking for being the only Starfleet cadet to have defeated the Kobayashi Maru Test. Lieutenant Savik accused Admiral Kirk (Wrath of Khan) of cheating when he explained his solution for outwitting the Kobayashi simulator by secretly programming the computer.

Starship Captains are a gutsy, rare breed of fast thinkers, well motivated and used to encountering aliens lifeforms, Astronomical Objects and are responsible for the lives and safety of the crew. Captains, Helmsman, and Navigators exercise evasive manoeuvres deployed by the ships computer or else Bridge Officers advise the captain to activate the ship's defense systems manually in order to combat stealth attacks on starships. Officers are trained in peaceful negotiations, hand to hand defense lessons, survival training, starship navigation, piloting, weapons deployment and starship operations which is key to reactive defense and securing the starship from an aggressive attack. Starship defenses are usually activated when warring ships are detected sending the crew from yellow alert to red alert. The Federation however, is one big happy family but all is never what it seems in space.

Captain Picard is an exceptional leader at finding peaceful solutions for races like the Sheliak Corporate, who were repulsed to find human creatures infesting one of their planets and demanded their immediate removal. Picard's entertaining feats of logic ultimately persuade the Sheliak to cave in to his demands (and made me laugh big style) when he nominates the Grizella who were in a six month hibernation sleep at the time to negotiate as a third party on behalf of the U.S.S. Enterprise 1701-D. Of course, the Sheliak are outraged but Picard severs the communication and gives the unyielding Sheliak time to reconsider. Three weeks to evacuate the human creatures or six months, which do you think they chose?

It has been known for Captain James T. Kirk (TOS) to directly order Chekov to blow the U.S.S. Enterprise's enemy ships into smithereens. The captain's defense strategies for cheating death are legendary throughout the galaxy featuring the destruction of the U.S.S. Enterprise 1701 using her auto destruct system to prevent the ship from being captured by Commander Kruge's boarding party. (The Search for Spock.) Starfleet command cadets have a strong desire to win and Kirk never likes to lose. He doesn't believe in the no-win scenario and has on several occasions ordered Mr Spock , Sulu and Mr Scott to warp the U.S.S. Enterprise 1701 out of danger. Its on record Kirk was unsuccessful in maintaining long term relationships with an unspecified amount of women. Due to the perks of command scantily clad women boldly seduced the captain inside and outside of his ships quarters which has forevermore earned him the reputation as a space stud.

The United Federation of Planets charts over 8,000 light years of galactic space with a membership of over 150 planets and over 1,000 semi-automated colonies. Starfleet uses military force as a last resort because it belongs to a peaceful Federation of deep space exploration, however it has trained its graduates to defend Citizens of the Federation and render aid under the most severe conditions.

The Prime Directive (also known as General Order 1) is a basic component of Federation Policy which forbids Starfleet operatives and starships from interfering with the natural evolution of any society or civilisation. This directive is more important than the protection of spaceships or members of Starfleet. Losses are tolerated as long as they are necessary in order to observe this directive." Despite this, Starfleet Captains are skilled in interstellar Combat strategies and defensive maneuvers should an inevitable conflict with an adversary arise. Its interesting to note Starfleet sanctioned the invasion of the planet Organia in essence breaking its own Prime Directive.

Live Long and Prosper Trekkies and Trekkers!