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Earth Ship Classes

Pre-Warp Ships & Probes Warp Ships Stations Shuttles Probes Uncertain Class Unknown Class

Pre-Warp Ships & Probes

Note NASA spacecrafts that could be seen in the series and movies are not included here. There would be no point in restricting this database to an arbitrary selection of real spaceships.

Ares

General description

The Ares missions were launched around 2030 by the International Space Agency (ISA), with the objective of manned exploration of Mars. The Ares spaceship consisted of a command module with a re-entry capsule, a habitat module, and an ion drive module. Furthermore, it was equipped with a transspectral imager, a high gain antenna and large photovoltaic panels.

Known ships

Ares IV

Annotations

The Ares IV (VOY: "One Small Step") is obviously the fourth mission within a project of manned exploration of Mars. We can't tell if the three previous spaceships looked the same, although this seems very plausible. We also don't know if the project was terminated after the disappearance of Ares IV in 2032, or if there were further missions.
Ares is the Greek name of Mars, the god of war. A mission patch in the Fact Files that was possibly visible inside the ship and some websites call the spaceship "Aries", which is definitely wrong.

Class specifications

Length: 46m
Mass: 92t

Birdseye type

General description

The Birdseye is a cryo-satellite probably from the 21st century, intended to conserve persons who have died of incurable diseases, in the hope of reviving and curing them some day.

Known probes

Birdseye

Annotations

The Birdseye appeared in TNG: "The Neutral Zone" where it was, for some reason, found many light years away from Earth, although it definitely has no warp and not even impulse propulsion. Although Clare Raymond, who was aboard the Birdseye, died as soon as 1994, there is no evidence that the quite large satellite is that old too. It may have been built years later which would alleviate the problematic history of early space travel a little bit. I think the technology level is about the same as of the DY-100.
A major error is that the Birdseye seems to have artificial gravity. While we could claim that gravity generators were beamed over prior to the Enterprise away team, the whole angular and upside-up interior of the satellite looked like it was built to accommodate a crew in 1g gravity which doesn't make sense.
The Raymonds' family tree briefly shown on a display establishes that Clare Raymond was born in 1982 and died in 2035. However, this is overridden by the spoken dialogue which repeatedly puts the deaths of the three rescued humans in the late 20th century.
The name of the satellite sounds like it is a plug for Birds Eye frozen foods.

Class specifications

Cryo-satellite

DY-100

Launch configuration

General description

The DY-100 is a class of nuclear-powered early interplanetary spaceships. During the flight the crew has to stay in suspended animation, which is why this type of vessel is dubbed a "sleeper ship".
Article: Spaceflight and 21st Century Earth History
Article: NASA References in Star Trek
Gallery: Pre-Federation Earth Vessels

Known ships

SS Botany Bay

Annotations

This ship type is a real bitch to explain, considering how often Earth's history has been retconned in Star Trek. When the Botany Bay appeared in TOS: "Space Seed" (1967), Roddenberry was apparently very optimistic of how soon interplanetary flights would be feasible. It may have seemed long enough a time until 1996. But we neither had cryogenic chambers in 1996 nor suited engines for manned interplanetary flights - and we definitely didn't have genetic engineering for more than 30 years (considering Khan's age). Not to mention the gravity generators aboard the Botany Bay. The Ares IV, 40 after the DY-100, is an incredibly less advanced ship, obviously the first program to explore Mars, while ships like the DY-100 must have been under way in interplanetary space for decades.
The DY-100 appeared as a desktop model in Rain Robinson's office (1996) in VOY: "Future's End", where it had booster rockets attached to suggest that the whole ship was launched from Earth's surface. This is a bit schizophrenic, since the Eugenics Wars that should have been going on at that time, seemingly didn't exist. Even if only the Middle East had been affected by the war and it was not palpable in America's every-day life, at least the Voyager crew should have mentioned it. Something like this: "1996? Wasn't that when the terrible Eugenics Wars were going on?". Finally, in DS9: "Doctor Bashir, I Presume" it is mentioned that the Eugenics Wars took place only two hundred years before the episode. This is just more evidence that the DY-100 shouldn't be from the year 1996.
One clear homage to the DY-100 is the DY-500 from TNG: "Up the Long Ladder", although the latter must have been equipped with warp drive and was in use 120 years after the DY-100. The similarity of these two ships from very different technological eras is implausible, in particular since neither the DY-100 looks like any other early sublight ship, nor the DY-500 like any other Earth warp ship. The completely isolated design lineage even aggravates the problem of rationalizing the DY-100 design.
TOS: "Space Seed" also states that sleeper ships would become obsolete due to advances in propulsion until 2018. It obviously complicates the matter still more if there are even more advanced ships only 22 years later.
I don't mention the launch date of 1996 of the DY-100 in my "official" text, although it was clearly stated in the TOS episode. It was my theory and has been confirmed in canon in the meantime that the Eugenics Wars are the same as WW III, and that this took place some time before 2050. This way the DY-100 and the technology of its time would be allowed to be more advanced than the Ares IV and the Charybdis from TNG: "The Royale" (2037). It would also reduce the lifespan of DY-class ships and help to rationalize the similarity of DY-100 and DY-500. Finally, it would explain the absence of a major war in 1996, and the Star Trek timeline could still be (mostly) identical to our real-world history (which I think is an important point considering that Star Trek is about showing our future and not the future of a parallel Earth).
A CGI model of the Botany Bay was created for the remastered TOS episode, realistically weathered but faithfully following the lines of the original. According to Mike Okuda, "You can't see it in this image, but the top of the 'conning tower' now has a tiny circular docking port, very similar to those used on the real-life International Space Station. The docking port was added at the suggestion of a former NASA engineer who noted that a spacecraft built in 1996 would probably have included such equipment to dock at the station." (startrek.com)

Class specifications

Length: 104m
Passenger capacity: 84

Nomad

General description

The probe Nomad was developed by Jackson Roykirk and launched in 2002, to seek out alien life. It later collided with an alien probe named Tan Ru, thereby forming a new, enormously powerful device.
Gallery: Pre-Federation Earth Vessels

Known probes

Probe 2002-45b Nomad MK-15c

Annotations

Nomad appeared in TOS: "The Changeling". Note that the above schematic shows the original configuration of the probe, as it was launched from Earth. It was briefly shown in the episode and could also be seen as a model in Mayweather's quarters in ENT: "Dead Stop" and at the NASA exhibition in PIC: "Two of One". A building named for Nomad's creator Jackson Roykirk could be seen in PIC: "Watcher".
Nomad's appearance after the collision has very little, if anything, in common with the original configuration. Aside from that, it is of course exceedingly unlikely that two probes with incompatible technologies could merge to one and that this new probe could even emerge to such a powerful device.

Class specifications

Height: 1.5m (after collision)
Launched in 2002

OV-165 type

General description

This vehicle is obviously a Space Shuttle successor for use in Earth's orbit.
Gallery: Pre-Federation Earth Vessels

Known ships

(Name unknown) OV-165

Annotations

The ship can be seen in the opening credits of Enterprise where it just un-docks from the ISS. Many years later, it is also visible at the NASA exhibition in PIC: "Two of One".
Its concept resembles the X-30 NASP, the X-33 Venture Star and similar projects to develop a more economic Space Shuttle replacement. Considering that at the time the series was produced, the development was still in an early phase, it is plausible that we don't see something like the exact Venture Star but a refined and more futuristic ship in Enterprise.

Class specifications

None available

Shango X-1 type

General description

Shango X-1 is the spacecraft used for the Europa Mission in 2024. The mission was instrumental in the early exploration of the Sol system.

Known ships

Shango X-1 Type

Annotations

We only see the spacecraft from the outside in the form of an artistic depiction on billboards in PIC season 2. The launch system can be seen in PIC: "Farewell".
The design of Shango was created by Felix Barthel for a short film a few years prior to PIC season 2.
It appears that the spacecraft to Europa is assembled in and is launched from Earth's orbit, although in "Farewell" the launch vehicle is referred to as Shango. The Shango carries five astronauts on a three- to four-year journey to Europa.

Class specifications

None available

Voyager	General description Voyager was a series of probes intended to explore the outer planets of the Sol system from the 1970s to the 1990s. One of them, Voyager VI, fell into a wormhole, and was later transformed into an enormous sentient entity to return to Earth.	Known probes Voyager VI
	Annotations "Voyager 1 and 2, actual space probes launched by NASA in the 1970s, were among the first to explore Jupiter, Saturn, and the outer Sol System. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which managed the Voyager project, provided technical assistance during the making of 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture' that included construction blueprints of the actual Voyager probes" (Star Trek Encyclopedia II). It is not a big problem that, in the Star Trek Universe, the Voyager program continued after Voyager 2. I only wonder why not simply the existing probes Voyager 1 or 2 were featured in the movie.	Class specifications None available

Warp Ships

Name prefixes
ECS: Earth Cargo Ship

Conestoga

General description

The Conestoga is a colony ship that was built after the discovery of the inhabitable planet Terra Nova some 20 light years from Earth. The ship was designed to be dismantled to form the basis of the new colony.
Gallery: Pre-Federation Earth Vessels

Known ships

SS Conestoga
No further ships

Annotations

The Conestoga could be seen on a screen in ENT: "Terra Nova". It fits well into the design lineage, since it resembles the Phoenix and the conjectural Valiant. On the other hand, it is hardly believable that a large ship for a long-term mission could be planned and built only four years after Cochrane's primitive Phoenix for which he had been collecting all kinds of scarce materials for years. It was made clear in the episode that the Vulcans didn't help build the Conestoga.
Considering that no further attempt was made in the following years to colonize planets, the Conestoga is obviously a singular design.

Class specifications

Colony ship
Speed: Warp 1.3 (average)
Launched in 2067

DY-500

General description

The DY-500 is a further development of the DY-100. The ships are now equipped with warp drive.

Known ships

SS Hokule'a (DY-500-B)
HMS Lord Nelson (DY-500-C)
SS Mariposa NAR-7678

Annotations

The DY-500 design appeared on an Okudagram in TNG: "Up the Long Ladder" and is therefore canon.
The DY-500 class was first mentioned as early as in TOS: "Space Seed", when Kirk mistakenly identified the much older DY-100 as such a vessel. At the time when the TNG season 2 episode was produced, early spaceflight history was not yet screwed up to the degree as it is today. But even back then the tip of the hat to Khan's DY-100 was not fitting, considering that the DY-500 must have been a warp ship and that there are 120 years and several technical generations between the two ships. It is just not plausible that an early sublight freighter and a warp-driven colony ship look so much alike. But most of all I wonder why the DY-500 has no visible warp nacelles, as opposed to all other Earth warp ships.
The Hokule'a and the Lord Nelson are listed in TNG: "Up the Long Ladder" too, just like many ships of unknown class. The second column of the list is clearly labeled as "ship type", and not "registry". The registry NAR-7678 of the Mariposa is not even given in the list, but only on the separate display. Thus, DY-500-B and DY-500-C are most likely variants of the DY-500 class, and not individual registries.

Class specifications

None available

Enterprise type

General description

This is a ship type of unknown origin and purpose, with an annular warp drive. The only obvious fact is that one ship of this class must have been named "Enterprise".
Article: Enterprise Lineages on Display

Known ships

USS Enterprise XCV 330

Annotations

This ship is based on an old design by Matt Jefferies, one of his first ideas for the original Enterprise from 1964. The concept was also considered for a non-Trek series that Gene Roddenberry planned around 1970. Lincoln Enterprises, a company owned by Roddenberry, sold blueprints of the vessel since the late 1960s. Upon his request a backlit depiction of this vessel was included to a display on the recreation deck of the USS Enterprise in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", together with other ships named Enterprise that Decker shows to the Ilia probe. In the 602 Club in ENT: "First Flight" and in Forrest's office in ENT: "Home" we can see a reproduction of this image from the same angle. Considering that it is shown there as a tribute to test pilots, the ship may still exist in the Star Trek Universe. The Star Trek Encyclopedia II depicts a new rendition of the ship from a different angle.
A model of the ship can be seen in Admiral Marcus's office in "Star Trek Into Darkness", alongside other planes and space vehicles from the real world and from Star Trek.
The strange ring structure was originally supposed to simulate gravity (much like in "2001: A Space Odyssey"). Anyway, with the assumption that it is an annular warp drive, it still doesn't fit into the Federation design lineage. The ship, however, looks akin to the Vulcan Surak class. It is possible that humans acquired one or more Vulcan ships, which would explain the name "Enterprise". It is also possible that it is a prototype ship built by humans, inspired by Vulcan technology. If this is so, the project was apparently a dead end, considering that all known later Federation starship designs have the familiar nacelles again.
The non-canon Space Flight Chronology states that the USS Enterprise, Declaration class, is a 300m long starliner for 800 passengers. As Paul Cargile pointed out some time ago, this is complete bogus. At 300m, the inhabitable section would be smaller than the Defiant, and imagine 800 people in there on a long interstellar journey! In the book the ship looks somewhat different and is a tad more detailed than the versions that appeared on screen.
Rick Sternbach said about the design at TrekBBS: "My only exposure to that design was back in 1978 when I was on ST:TMP. The script called for a few ships called Enterprise to be exhibited in the Rec Room. Gene Roddenberry asked me to stop by his office, where he gave me a copy of the painting of the ship, printed as a poster. He asked me to make that design one of the five or so ships in the Rec Room alcove. So who was I to say no? ... As to how that ship fits into Trek history, I really don't have anything intelligent to say. I don't know much about it, never speculated about uh, specs, and have no real opinion about whether it was a civvie vessel or a Federation vessel or just what it was. I also have no additional drawings or even the poster I worked from in 1978. You'll all have to carry on as best you can to shoehorn it into the lore."
The name and registry is "USS Enterprise XCV 330". As the ship must have been launched prior to the foundation of the Federation (more precisely any time before 2143, the year of "First Flight"), "USS" may stand for "United States Ship".
The ship's patch was designed by Mike Okuda for "First Flight" but isn't visible in the episode.

Class specifications

None available

Freighter	General description This appears to be an ore freighter. It is not known whether the vessel is actually warp-capable. Article: Redresses of the Batris Article: The Antares Class(es)	Known ships No name given
	Annotations The CGI of the Norkova type (as seen in VOY: "Author, Author") was just recognizable in Moon's orbit in ENT: "Demons". We could imagine it is a similar looking but older type of the vessel.	Class specifications None available

Intrepid type

General description

This class of Earth Starfleet starships is equipped with warp drive and phase cannons.
Gallery: Pre-Federation Earth Vessels

Known ships

Intrepid

Annotations

The Intrepid (aka unnamed class I) appeared in ENT: "The Expanse", where it was one of the three Earth vessels that intercepted the Klingon BoP. Class I has a tapered saucer, a small engineering hull (rather an assembly similar to NX-01, only more compact). There are fins sticking out far from the nacelles. A blue impulse exhaust is faintly visible in the rear view. The second appearance of the Intrepid is twelve years later in the possible future of "Twilight", where the ship loses one nacelle in a battle with the Xindi.
According to Rob Bonchune, this ship type was just referred to as "half-saucer" by the VFX team. They were not aware that in ENT: "Twilight" one ship of this type was clearly identified as "Intrepid" in the dialogue. Most likely there were no labels on the model.
Large renders of the official CGI model by Rob Bonchune are posted at Four Mad Men.

Class specifications

Length: 165m

J Class

General description

The J class is an older and smaller type of interstellar freighter than the Y class. The ship may quickly separate from its cargo pods and is equipped with two plasma cannons. Ships of the J class are as old as 50 years around 2152.
Gallery: Pre-Federation Earth Vessels

Known stations

ECS Horizon

Annotations

Ensign Mayweather was born aboard the ECS Horizon (ENT: "Fortunate Son"). The ship could be seen in ENT: "Horizon". Its design closely follows a sketch that was supposedly one option for the Y-class freighter.
Although in "Fortunate Son" the J class is explicitly mentioned to be smaller than the Y class, its cargo capacity of 30 kilotons is larger. Maybe the Fortunate was not fully loaded. The schematic diagram from the Star Trek Communicator has an x-scale that may be in meters. The ship would be 230m long then, which seems to be a fitting figure. The y-scale is quite different, though, and may indicate that both scales are arbitrary.

Class specifications

Length: 230m
Cargo capacity: 30 kilotons

Neptune

General description

This class of survey ships is older and slower than the NX class.

Known ships

No name given

Annotations

Tucker mentioned the Neptune class in a state of emotional stress in ENT: "Singularity" (these ships are using the same model of the captain's chair as Enterprise). But it is obvious that the ship class must exist.
The designation doesn't fit into the newly established scheme of simple letters. On the other hand, it is still possible that "NX" is only a preliminary class name and that simple letters are only used for civilian ships. Thus, Starfleet ships may already be named after the lead ship.
It is well possible that the Neptune class is one of the two unnamed ship designs of the pre-NX era.

Class specifications

Survey ship
Speed: approx. Warp 2

NX Class

NX Class refit

General description

Enterprise is a prototype vessel of Earth Starfleet equipped with the first human-built propulsion system to achieve Warp 5. The starship was conceived by Henry Archer, with the support of Zefram Cochrane, and it took more than 30 years until it could finally be commissioned. Its hull is made of duranium. Enterprise sports phase cannons and torpedoes, protection is achieved through polarized hull plating. A transporting device is available, but transport of personnel is restricted to states of emergency. Enterprise has a shuttle drop bay and a grappler, a mechanical device to tow smaller vessels. Some ships of the class received an upgrade with a new secondary hull.
Article: A Close Look at 22nd Century Technology
Article: A Close Look at Enterprise NX-01
Gallery: NX Class

Known ships

Enterprise NX-01
Columbia NX-02

Annotations

It is mentioned in ENT: "Fortunate Son" that Enterprise is of the NX class and that three more are on the way. One of them is Columbia NX-02, which is launched in 2154, as seen in ENT: "Affliction". Columbia is different in a couple of details, most obviously the more angular deflector dish.
Rob Bonchune of Foundation Imaging tells us (thanks to Phelps at the Flare Forums): "The Enterprise length has been set at 225 meters. Width of the primary hull: 136 meters. The dimensions and specifics where given to us by Doug Drexler/Star Trek art department. Doug built the prototype." With a saucer as large as that of the NCC-1701 there should be plenty of room for each of the 82 crew members (NCC-1701: 430).
I won't bother making up in-universe reasons why the Enterprise NX-01 top view looks almost like the 200 years newer Akira class, with even many details being the same. It makes no sense for design features to look identical, if they are not supposed to be the same size and technology level and to have the same functions. Even if we claim that the Akira were intentionally designed with a "retro look", is Starfleet suddenly like a manufacturer trying to sell more cars by letting them look like classics?
The registry NX-01 is incompatible with the NX-01-A of the "USS Dauntless" in VOY: "Hope and Fear". Maybe Arturis, who imitated the look and feel of a Starfleet ship otherwise perfectly, made an error here. The Voyager crew should have wondered why in the world Starfleet would name a ship "Dauntless", but re-use the registry NX-01, as if it were a homage to Enterprise. On the other hand, if the ships are of the NX class, there may be an NY class too, their registries beginning with NY-01. This is different from the way Federation Starfleet ships are numbered, and it could be a coincidence that experimental ships like the Excelsior or Defiant have NX registries too.
ENT: "Terra Nova" mentions "both shuttlecraft". So a ship which is equipped with an experimental transporter only (that people are afraid to use) has no more than two shuttles with 12 seats altogether? What happens if a shuttle is urgently needed, but one is on the way, and the other one is in repair? How can bulky cargo and supplies be transferred to the ship if it can't dock anywhere?
The new top speed of Warp 5.06 of Enterprise, thanks to new injectors, was mentioned in ENT: "Babel One". With Warp 5 being 125c, this is about 3.5% faster. In ENT: "Affliction" Archer tells Mayweather to got to Warp 5.2. As he previously ordered "maximum warp", we may conclude that Warp 5.2 exceeds the maximum specified speed.
Although they were only seen on the purportedly more advanced Mirror Universe version, "our" Enterprise has escape pods too. They were mentioned when Malcolm and Trip thought the ship had been destroyed in ENT: "Shuttlepod One".
The refit of the NX class was designed by Doug Drexler. It never appeared on Star Trek Enterprise but can finally be seen on screen as one of the models of young Jean-Luc in PIC: "Hide and Seek". At this time it seems likely that, rather than being just a kitbash, the refit really exists in-universe. The ultimate confirmation is the appearance of Enterprise NX-01 in its refitted configuration at the Fleet Museum in PIC: "The Bounty" (now with prefix "USS" according to the museum file). The design is listed as pre-Federation, although the refit must have taken place after 2161.

Class specifications

Length: 225m
Deck count: 7
Speed: Warp 4.5 (cruise), Warp 5.06 (max.)
Crew complement: 82
First commissioned in 2151

NX prototype

General description

This two-seated type of vessel was used to test the Warp 5 engine to be built for the NX class. NX-Alpha, the first of the prototypes, was piloted by A.G. Robinson. It broke apart after Robinson had reached Warp 2.2. Briefly after that, Jonathan Archer and Robinson achieved Warp 2.5 with NX-Beta on an unauthorized flight. After the ships had been grounded and after extensive simulations, the Vulcans confirmed that the engine would work. Eight months later, Duval broke the Warp 3 barrier on NX-Delta.
Gallery: Pre-Federation Earth Vessels

Known ships

NX-Alpha
NX-Beta
NX-Delta

Annotations

NX-Alpha, NX-Beta and NX-Delta were shown or mentioned in ENT: "First Flight". It would be logical to assume that there was also an NX-Gamma. Whilst NX-Alpha and NX-Beta look identical and have the same specs, it is possible that the design of the two later built prototypes was modified to reach Warp 3.
The launch date was not mentioned, but can be inferred from other statements in the episode itself and in ENT: "Unexpected". See in the timeline.
The NX prototypes use the cockpit mock-up and the interior set of Cochrane's Phoenix.

Class specifications

Warp 3 prototype
Speed: Warp 2.5 (Beta), Warp 3 (Delta)
Length: approx. 20m
Launched in 2143

Orpheus type	General description The surface complex of the mining colony of Terra Prime leader Paxton may act as a starship capable of a short warp leap. It is equipped with a partially retractable landing gear. Gallery: Pre-Federation Earth Vessels	Known ships Orpheus No further ships
	Annotations We could see this somewhat unrealistic type of starship in ENT: "Demons" and "Terra Prime". It remains a mystery how Paxton was able to refit the complex on the busy Moon without anyone noticing.	Class specifications None available

Phoenix

Launch configuration

General description

The Phoenix is the first ship built by humans to go faster than light. The Phoenix was launched by Zefram Cochrane's team from an old missile base in Montana, mounted onto a Titan intercontinental missile to reach orbit.
Article: From the Bonaventure to the Phoenix
Gallery: Pre-Federation Earth Vessels

Known ships

Phoenix
Probably no further ships

Annotations

There is no mention in "Star Trek: First Contact" how the Phoenix and her crew could safely return to Earth after the warp flight. Captain Picard's statement that he knows the ship from the Smithsonian, while touching the lower hull, implies that it was the whole thing, and not only the crew module.
The launch vehicle is a Titan V rocket, but actually a Titan II, the largest ICBM of the USA, was filmed. Mike Okuda tells us: "I had a couple of sets of lettering made up for the set, to label the ship as a "Titan V" vehicle. This was not only because the Titan II wouldn't have had the power to carry the Phoenix into space, but also because the prop rocket motors seen in the missile silo scenes were clearly different from a Titan II. (Under the terms of international treaty, the Air Force has removed the rocket engines from the missile.) I picked Titan V because the Air Force officer assigned to the film told me that there were no plans for the Air Force to build a vehicle by that name, but I wanted to keep the legacy of the Titan name. I think there's at least one set of lettering that's visible - if not legible - in the film. This one was a set of small white letters near the base of the vehicle."

Class specifications

Warp ship prototype
Length: 35m (launch), 20m (warp ship)
Speed: Warp 1
Launched in 2063

Sarajevo type	General description This is another Earth starship type with largely unknown specifications. The warp engines seem to be wrapped around a rounded triangular main hull.	Known ships Sarajevo
	Annotations The ship type shows up for the first time in a fleet of Earth and some Vulcan ships at the end of ENT: "Storm Front, part II". It may be a kitbash of various CG parts. The particular ship named Sarajevo appeared in ENT: "Daedalus". It was not labeled according to Rob Bonchune. But John Eaves's sketch identifies it as "NC-27", so presumably it is a ship of the NC class.	Class specifications Length: approx. 200m

Transport

Moon shuttle variant

General description

This type of transport ship is used to carry research teams to arctic regions of Earth, among other possible purposes. It is normally unarmed.
Gallery: Pre-Federation Earth Vessels

Known ships

Arctic One

Annotations

The transport appeared in ENT: "Regeneration", "Twilight" and "Storm Front, Part II". The original top speed of Warp 1.4 was boosted by the Borg to Warp 3.9 when leaving Earth and finally to Warp 4.8, using technology from their ship. It is curious that the ship in its original configuration is supposed to have warp drive at all, considering that it doesn't look like that and that it wouldn't need it for polar expeditions on Earth. Why would such a ship drag along all the heavy and dangerous technology? On the other hand, it would be much less likely that the Borg could build a warp drive from scratch, with only a few pieces of Borg technology. It is possible that someone noticed the plausibility problem and inserted Trip's comment that the transport has warp drive to the script, and the CGI wasn't modified to reflect this.
We can also see the design in "Demons", here an apparent variant without the skids and with a gray hull.

Class specifications

Transport
Speed: Warp 1.4 (max.)
Length: approx. 50m

Unknown warp ship

General description

This is obviously a warp ship of Earth registry predating Enterprise NX-01.
Gallery: Pre-Federation Earth Vessels

Known ships

No name given

Annotations

The starship shows up in the opening credits of Enterprise just before the NX-01. With its old-style rocket engines it is obviously supposed to be less advanced than Enterprise. The ship was built by Rob Bonchune. He did not add any details to the fore section of the vessels, knowing that it would be only shown from behind. Some time later the design was made into the "warp delta" ship (unnamed class II) below.
The design was referred to as "SS Emmette" behind the scenes.

Class specifications

None available

Unnamed class II

General description

This class of Earth Starfleet ships is equipped with warp drive and phase cannons.
Gallery: Pre-Federation Earth Vessels

Known ships

No name given

Annotations

The ship class II first appeared in ENT: "The Expanse". There were two ships of class II among the three Earth vessels that attacked the Klingon BoP. One ship of class I is called Intrepid (see above). Class II consists of a triangular main hull, to whose outer edges the nacelles are attached. One ship of this class reappeared in ENT: "Twilight".
VFX artist Rob Bonchune confirmed that the unnamed class II was made from the same basic mesh as the above unknown warp ship from the opening credits. The overall shape seems to be similar, but class II it is missing the large impulse exhausts. Also, the nacelle struts seem to sweep up in a steeper angle on the class II. The two designs may be related in-universe, though.

Class specifications

None available

Valiant

General description

The Valiant was the first human starship to leave our galaxy as early as 2065.

Known ships

Valiant

Annotations

The Valiant's emergency beacon was found in TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before". It was mentioned in the episode that the beacon was launched "almost 200 years ago", while the ship itself departed "over 200 years ago". This leads to the approximate date of 2065, 200 years prior to the episode. Since it's very unlikely that a fully-fledged warp ship is launched only two years after Cochrane's flight (the same problem as with the Conestoga launched in 2067), it would better be several years later.
While the date is already very implausible, it is absolutely inexplicable how a ship with little more than Warp 1 (see the specifications of the Conestoga) could ever reach the edge of the Milky Way which, even in "vertical" direction, would be many hundred light years from Earth. Maybe the Valiant fell into a wormhole or was abducted by aliens? It is mentioned in the episode that the ship was swept off-course by a magnetic storm. This is anything but sufficient as an explanation, but may be a start.
Caution: The above side view is based upon a depiction in the Star Trek Encyclopedia I and the Omnipedia. It has been removed in later editions for the obvious reason that the ship design was never on screen and is therefore not really canon. Since the design would fit in the lineage very nicely, I nevertheless accept it. The UESPA markings are conjectural. They match the ones on the contemporary Friendship One. The actual model, built by Greg Jein, is labeled "ADC-11031".

Class specifications

First commissioned in 2065

Y Class	General description The Y class is a modular freighter carrying up to eight large cargo containers. In 2151, this type of ship has already been in service for some decades. Y-class ships are typically armed with a low-yield plasma cannon. Gallery: Pre-Federation Earth Vessels	Known ships ECS Fortunate
	Annotations The registry of the Fortunate from ENT: "Fortunate Son" could be ECS2801. This number can be found on signs next to the doors of the cargo containers.	Class specifications Length: approx. 270m (only main body) Speed: Warp 1.8 Crew complement: 23 Cargo capacity: 20 kilotons

Stations

3-fingered drydock	General description This is another drydock besides the Warp Five Complex. Gallery: Pre-Federation Earth Vessels	Known stations No further name given
	Annotations While Enterprise was in the five-fingered Warp Five Complex (see below) in ENT: "The Expanse", the three-fingered drydock was visible as the construction site of NX-02 in the same episode. It later appeared in "Home" and "Affliction"/"Divergence". The three-fingered dock is a slight variant of the Warp Five Complex. The shapes of the lights inside the dock are different, and the fingers are wider. The tower on one side is missing.	Class specifications Length: approx. 300m None available

Warp Five Complex	General description Enterprise was assembled in the Warp Five Complex, a drydock orbiting Earth.	Known stations No further name given
	Annotations The Warp Five Complex (or better, the orbital part thereof) could be seen in ENT: "Broken Bow" and when Enterprise was being repaired and refitted in "The Expanse". The construction is not unlike the later drydocks in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" or "Star Trek: Generations".	Class specifications Length: approx. 320m Opened in 2119

Yosemite III type	General description Yosemite III is an unarmed research station.	Known stations No further name given
	Annotations Yosemite III as seen in ENT: "Countdown" is obviously a re-use of the MIDAS Array. There is one modification, however: Some sort of antenna dish (made of a dome of the K7 station?) was added in the center of model.	Class specifications Crew complement: 30-40

Shuttles

Inspection pod

General description

The inspection pod is a small two-seated spacecraft used in Earth's orbit.
Gallery: Pre-Federation Earth Vessels

Known shuttles

Orbital 6

Annotations

The inspection pod in ENT: "Broken Bow" seems to be a lot like the travel pod in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". Such a type of vehicle (there are probably bigger ones too) even makes a lot more sense in the early era, considering that the transporter is not yet a regular device, and somehow people have to board a ship or station without many complications. In this respect a travel pod able to use a docking port is much more practical than a shuttle that has to be tractored in and launched through a large door or hatch.
The design of the inspection pod is clearly influenced by Cochrane's Phoenix, to allow the re-use of the interior.
In ENT: "Shuttlepod One" we see that one such pod is stored aboard Enterprise. It egresses through one of the cargo doors at the bottom.

Class specifications

Length: 3.3m
Passenger capacity: 2

NX-Alpha escape pod	General description The prototypes of the NX class are equipped with single-seated escape pods.	Known shuttles No name given
	Annotations Most likely NX-Beta is equipped with such an escape pod just like NX-Alpha.	Class specifications Seats: 1

Planetary transport	General description Nothing is known about this large ship or airplane.	Known shuttles No name given
	Annotations The Zeppelin-like ship or airplane seen at the beginning of ENT: "Home" is most likely designed for atmospheric flight because of its aerodynamic shape. It is plausible that in the pre-transporter age intercontinental transport predominantly relies on airplanes like this one.	Class specifications None available

Shuttlepod

SF Command version

General description

The shuttle type used on Enterprise has six seats, retractable winglets, impulse engines, maneuvering thrusters and plasma cannons. There are doors on the port and the starboard side, as well as a docking hatch at the top.
Gallery: Pre-Federation Earth Vessels

Known shuttles

Enterprise Pod 1
Enterprise Pod 2
NC-05 Starfleet Command

Annotations

The more streamlined shape of the shuttles compared to TOS makes sense, considering that the blocky TOS shuttle may have to use forcefields to reduce air friction. The little wings, on the other hand, don't seem to be very practical for atmospheric re-entry, but they are obviously extended just after the shuttle has left the shuttlebay.
The same type of shuttle, with blue decoration, is used by Starfleet Command (ENT: "Regeneration", "Home").

Class specifications

Length: approx. 6.8m
Passenger capacity: 6
Speed: 0.25 impulse

Various shuttles, seen in San Francisco in ENT: "Shockwave"

Archer saw two shuttles (or hovercars) of different types through his apartment window.

Probes

Friendship	General description Friendship One is a long-range warp-driven probe to contact alien civilizations. It was launched by the UESPA (United Earth Space Probe Agency). Gallery: Pre-Federation Earth Vessels	Known probes UESPA-1 Friendship One
	Annotations The CGI model bears an arrowhead emblem and the registry UESPA-1, which don't quite get along with one another. Read more about the UESPA/Starfleet emblem and the UESPA.	Class specifications Launched in 2067

Sensor probe	General description Enterprise NX-01 has a number of sensor probes that allow closer examination of objects and phenomena.	Known probes No name given
	Annotations A sensor probe could be seen in ENT: "Sleeping Dogs". It was crushed when it descended too far in the atmosphere of a gas giant.	Class specifications None available

Subspace amplifier	General description To facilitate communication with Earth, Enterprise drops a number of subspace amplifiers.	Known probes Echo 1..3
	Annotations The launch of the first amplifier could be witnessed in ENT: "Silent Enemy", ironically after Enterprise had already established real-time communication with Earth in "Fortunate Son".	Class specifications None available

Recorder marker	General description The Valiant, the first ship to leave our galaxy, carries at least one of these beacons.	Known buoys No name given
	Annotations The USS Enterprise NCC-1701 picked up the signal from the beacon which was still working after 200 years. The device was beamed aboard, and the Valiant's logs were analyzed (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before").	Class specifications Launched in 2065

Uncertain Class

The following types are uncertain because they were either seen just as models, because they existed only in uncertain timelines or because they are not necessarily Earth ships.

Archer's model ship	General description This small two-seated ship is equipped with a warp drive and has been conceived prior to 2121.	Known ships No name given
	Annotations We don't really know if this ship only exists in young Jonathan's fantasy or if it is an existing spacecraft. The aerodynamic shape and the black bottom of the vessel, like on the present-day Space Shuttle, suggest that it is designed for atmospheric re-entry. Note that Archer's model is not identical to the warp ship in the credits (see above), as it has horizontal pylons and rectangular impulse engines.	Class specifications Length: approx. 12m

Bonaventure

General description

We only know the ship's name and that it was involved in the "discovery of the Space Warp".
Article: From the Bonaventure to the Phoenix

Known ships

Bonaventure C1-21

Annotations

This vessel was originally unnamed and was supposed to represent Zefram Cochrane's first warp ship in the Star Trek Chronology. The book was published before the Phoenix was developed for "First Contact". The name "Phoenix" shows up in the second edition. The previous depiction was removed, complying with the new canon facts from "First Contact".
The vessel initially shows up on screen on a wall chart in Jake's class room on Deep Space 9, well before "First Contact". It is depicted along with ship classes that represent the then five Enterprises. The description of the early vessel reads: "Bonaventure - Discovery of the Space Warp", because at this time it is still intended to be the first warp ship. This may need to be interpreted differently today. The name is a homage to the TAS Bonaventure, in spite of its radically different design.
A desktop model of the design, built by Greg Jein, is visible in two episodes, most notably in DS9: "Cardassians". The nacelles are barely recognizable here. The miniature still has the orange/gray color scheme as in the book.

Class specifications

None available

Early space ship II	General description This could be another vessel from the age of Earth's early space exploration.	Known ships No name given
	Annotations The model of the Malcorian warp ship could be seen in Ensign Picard's quarters in TNG: "Tapestry". Evidently Picard's miniature can't be the Malcorian ship, as it is decades before the first attempt of first contact with that civilization. So the similarity must be coincidental. We may conveniently suppose it's another early Earth ship, probably without warp propulsion as there are no obvious warp engines.	Class specifications None available

Earth "survivor fleet ", heading for Ceti Alpha V in ENT: "Twilight"

This fleet in the intermediate timeline seems to consist of 15 ships, of which 14 can be identified. The Hazari attack ship definitely doesn't belong here. All other vessels are designs previously seen in the series that could be ships of Earth or of friendly civilizations.

Earth "welcome fleet ", greeting Enterprise NX-01 in ENT: "Stormfront II"

This fleet seems to consist of at least 14 ships, of which most can be identified. As already in "Twilight", the Hazari ship could be a Rigelian scout. Another anachronistic vessel is the Steamrunner that clearly doesn't belong into the 22nd century.

SATCOM	General description This satellite type is part of a communications network maintained by Henry Starling's Chronowerx.	Known satellites SATCOM 47
	Annotations Since VOY: "Future's End", considering the conclusion of the episode, apparently shows a parallel timeline with different technology, this satellite type either doesn't exist or is maintained by some other well-known computer company...	Class specifications None available

Unnamed shuttle type	General description The actual origin of this small unarmed ship is unknown. Article: Redresses of the Mazarite Shuttle	Known shuttles No name given
	Annotations The shuttle used by the Augments in ENT: "Borderland" to lure the Klingons into a trap is listed here just because the Augments are of human origin. The color is grayish brown, unlike on the Denobulan or Mazarite version of the shuttle, which may have been done to imply that it is indeed an Earth vessel.	Class specifications None available

Unknown Class

SS Buckaroo Banzai BBI-993, commanded by Captain John Whorfin, launched in 2137 on a mission to Planet 10 (DIM 8) in the Ficus Sector, listed on an Okudagram in TNG: "Up the Long Ladder"

Charybdis, a NASA spaceship launched in 2037, in the third attempt to explore beyond Earth's solar system (TNG: "The Royale")

Although the ISA (International Space Agency) launched the Ares mission a few years earlier, NASA must obviously still exist as a national organization in 2037. The shoulder patch seen in the episode is identical to that of Apollo 17, only without the word "Apollo". Even the names of the Apollo crew members are readable on a close look. So almost no work went into the mission patch, whereas ironically the US flag just above it was given exactly 52 barely recognizable stars as mentioned in the dialogue, just in case someone decided to count them (while the basic arrangement of the flag is wrong).

ECS Constellation, obviously another cargo ship that has been attacked by aliens (ENT: "Horizon")

The Constellation was not explicitly mentioned to be another ECS vessel, but it seemed very likely that Earth vessels are trading threat information as in the episode.

Jacob, probable name of a starship sent to investigate the whereabouts of the Charybdis some time after 2037 (TNG: "The Royale")

An Okudagram in the episode mentions a "followup mission Jacob". We may assume that the mission name is identical to the ship name.

Jupiter Station, mentioned in ENT: "Silent Enemy"

This facility obviously exists as early as 2151. My guess is that is not yet the "staggered saucer design" the station will have 200 years later.

HMS New Zealand DY-732(N), commanded by Captain Bob Lederman, launched in 2135 on a diplomatic mission to Alderaan in the Ficus Sector , listed on an Okudagram in TNG: "Up the Long Ladder"

ECS North Star, freighter, destroyed some time prior to 2151 (ENT: "Fortunate Son")

Saratoga, Starfleet ship, previous posting of Crewman Taylor, mentioned in ENT: "The Forgotten"

SS Seattle NAR-18834, commanded by Captain Wendy Neuss, launched in 2120 on a ADR looping mission to the Ficus Sector, listed on an Okudagram in TNG: "Up the Long Ladder"

Strangely, the registry is exactly the same as of the SS Vico, of TNG: "Hero Worship", three seasons later. The registries were both on displays and not simply made up. It is either an incredible coincidence (1/10000 for a 5-digit number!), or an in-joke, or the available reproduction of the chart from "Up The Long Ladder" is incorrect. But why would anyone get exactly this one registry from anywhere else? The double registry remains a total mystery. We might explain it in a way that the old SS Seattle was renamed to Vico some time, but if the Vico is an Oberth class, the class would be in production for over 230 years!

Republic, Starfleet ship, from where Capt. Hernandez recruited her chef as mentioned in ENT: "Affliction"

Shenandoah, Starfleet ship, mentioned in ENT: "Silent Enemy"

Some fans claim this ship should be another NX class, but this is only bad speculation. With "three more ships on the drawing board" at the time of the episode, it is unlikely that any of them would already have a captain. Moreover, ENT: "The Expanse" implies that NX-02 was still nameless, and we know that this ship is named Columbia since "E²", so the Shenandoah would have to be an NX-class ship with a still less advanced construction status.

Ticonderoga, cargo ship, lost with all hands, probably destroyed by the Romulan marauder as mentioned in ENT: "The Aenar"

This is possibly another ECS vessel.

SS Tomobiki RT-2203, commanded by Captain Peter Lauritson, launched in 2119 on a deep space exploration mission to the Ficus Sector, listed on an Okudagram in TNG: "Up the Long Ladder"

SS Urusei Yatsura DY-430, commanded by Captain David Glink, launched in 2146 on a nebula survey project to the Ficus Sector, listed on an Okudagram in TNG: "Up the Long Ladder"

VK Velikan DY-1200, commanded by Captain Gene Roddenberry, launched in 2160 on a mission to explore strange new worlds in the Ficus Sector, listed on an Okudagram in TNG: "Up the Long Ladder"

VK Yuri Gagarin DY-732, commanded by Captain Winrich Kolbe, launched in 2105 on a colonization mission to the Ficus Sector, listed on an Okudagram in TNG: "Up the Long Ladder"

The list from TNG: "Up the Long Ladder" is full of in-jokes, and the diversity of name prefixes as well as of the registries is confusing. I think we can incorporate these ships without major problems, though. Maybe there were still several different (national) institutions responsible for the ships. At least the NAR numbers for civilian ships seem to have survived until the 24th century. The DY designations clearly point to ships of the DY classes (of which DY-100 and DY-500 are canon). DY most likely denotes the class here, while they have something like an NAR registry. The real problem is rather why there is apparently not a single (Earth or Federation) Starfleet ships among the vessels exploring the Ficus Sector, although Starfleet is always shown as the dominant research institution.

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