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REFERENCE
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3.1 Launch date


The official reference works from Paramount and Pocket state quite firmly that the Enterprise was launched in 2245. (Gene Roddenberry wanted his ship to be "a ship with some history".) There is absolutely no need to alter this date. So we don't.

3.2 Command history

Here's where things get interesting as regards the Federation's most famous vessel. Ironically, the "history" of the Enterprise can only be regarded complete if we are including the animated series as canon. In the episode "The Counter-Clock incident", it is established that the ship's first commander was Robert April, and that he commanded a five-year mission after the ship's departure from spacedock. "The Cage", the original pilot episode, establishes Chris Pike's tenure in command, whilst "The Menagerie" states that he also commanded the ship for ten years. Kirk says that he inherited the ship from Pike in that same episode, and "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (stardate 1312) places Kirk's first year of five in 2266.

Placing all of this in temporal context:

2245: Enterprise launched from Spacedock. Year of shakedown and testing of systems under the auspices of Captain Robert April.

2246-2250: First five-year mission under April's command.

2251: Mission evaluation Standard upgrades and refits. Command assigned to Captain Chris Pike.

2252-2256: First five-year mission under Pike's command. (Includes the events of "The Cage" [2255].)

2257: Mission evaluation. Standard upgrades and refits.

2258-2262: Second five-year mission under Pike's command.

2263-2264: Two-year mission extension to the second five-year mission granted by Starfleet Command.

2265: Mission evaluation. Standard upgrades and refits. Command assigned to James T. Kirk.

2266-2270:
First five-year mission under Kirk's command (TOS and TAS).

2271-2272: Two-year mission extension to the five-year mission (four episodes of the animated series).

2273-2275: Enterprise in Spacedock undergoing major refit. Kirk promoted to CEO, Starfleet Operations. Command assigned to Will Decker.

2275: Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
The Logic of Star Trek: Part 3
The Enterprise NCC-1701
< Back to the Logic of Star Trek page [Click]
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