Columbia (Star Trek)

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In the Star Trek fictional universe, there have been three space vessels named Columbia.

1 Columbia (NX-02)
2 SS Columbia
3 USS Columbia (NCC-621)
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Columbia (NX-02)

Columbia

First appearance	Home
Last appearance	Bound
Launched	2154
References	Home
General Characteristics
Class	NX
Registry	NX-02
Armaments	Pulsed phase cannons Photonic torpedoes
Defences	Polarized hull plating

The Columbia (NX-02) is a 22nd century Earth Starfleet NX class starship featured in several episodes of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise.

[edit] History

Construction of the vessel began in 2151 after the launch of Enterprise (Ent: "Fortunate Son") and is shown on screen for the first time, albeit without a name, in the second season's "The Expanse". The vessel receives its moniker in the following season's "E²". The naming of Starfleet's first two NX class ships as Enterprise and Columbia follows NASA's pattern of giving the same names to its first two space shuttles.

The ship's first commanding officer is Captain Erika Hernandez (Ent: "Home"). The vessel, which has improved weapons and hull plating compared to its older sister ship, was launched in late 2154, after numerous construction-related delays.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

When Klingon sabotage prevents Enterprise from dropping out of warp, forcing it to travel at dangerously high speeds in order to avoid catastrophic engine failure, Commander Trip Tucker makes a risky maneuver by traveling along a tether from Columbia to Enterprise while both vessels were travelling at warp. Tucker subsequently receives temporary reassignment to Columbia in order to assist in repairing major damage experienced due to the Klingon incident (Ent: "Affliction" and "Divergence").

Tucker's transfer to Columbia is brief, and he eventually requests and receives transfer back to Enterprise (Ent: "Bound"). Columbia does not appear again in canon.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Apocrypha

According to the licensed, but non-canonical, 2006 book Ships of the Line, which draws material from a series of Star Trek calendars published beginning in 2000, the Columbia somehow crashed in the Gamma Quadrant. Its wreckage remained undisturbed until the early months of the Dominion War in the 24th century.^[1]

[edit] Legacy

The ship was named after the real life Space Shuttle Columbia, which had been destroyed a few months before the Enterprise episode "E²" aired.^[2]

[edit] SS Columbia

The SS Columbia was a 23rd century Federation survey vessel that crashed on planet Talos IV circa 2236. Under expedition leader Dr. Theodore Haskins, it had been surveying the Talos Star Group for the American Continent Institute. The only survivor of the crash was an adult woman named Vina. In 2254, the USS Enterprise under the command of Captain Christopher Pike responded to a distress signal purportedly sent from the Columbia. In reality, the signal was a ruse by the Talosians to lure a suitable mate for Vina to the planet, in order to repopulate it (TOS "The Cage").

[edit] USS Columbia (NCC-621)

The USS Columbia, registry number NCC-621, was a 23rd century Federation starship. Circa 2273, it was ordered by Starfleet Commodore Probert to rendezvous with the USS Revere. This order was relayed by station Epsilon IX shortly before the station's destruction by V'Ger (Star Trek: The Motion Picture). It is conjectured that reference to the USS Columbia in the Star Trek: The Motion Picture dialogue is drawn from The Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual by Franz Joseph.