USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) was a Constitution-class starship operated by the Federation Starfleet in the 23rd century. It was most famous for undertaking multiple five year missions of explorations under the command of James T. Kirk in the 2260's and 2270's.

Theft and Destruction
In 2285, the ship was severely damaged during a battle with the commandeered USS Reliant (NCC-1864) and returned to Earth Spacedock to be decommissioned. Later that year, however, Kirk and other members of the Enterprise command crew commandeered the Enterprise in an attempt to retrieve the body of their comrade Captain Spock, who had perished in the battle with the Reliant, but been restored to life by the Genesis Planet. In the course of this retrieval, the Enterprise was further damaged by a Klingon bird-of-prey and ultimately self destructed by Kirk to neutralize Klingon personnel.

The wreckage of the ship fell to the surface of Genesis and was destroyed when the planet further disintegrated itself a short time later. (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)

Legacy
Following the destruction of NCC-1701, Federation President Hiram Roth personally ordered that the Enterprise crew be given another Constitution-class starship and that it be renamed and re-designated as the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A), the only starship name to keep its original registry with a letter suffix. Kirk would command NCC-1701-A (originally the USS Yorktown, NCC-1710) for eight years before retiring and the ship being decommissioned in 2293. (WOG)

Later in that same year, the Excelsior-class USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B) was commissioned and launched, under the command of Captain John Harriman, cementing the tradition that a ship named Enterprise would retain the original 1701 registration number and serve as Starfleet's unofficial flagship. (Star Trek: Generations)

The Enterprise-B would go on to serve for several decades before itself being replaced by NCC-1701-C, part of the first batch of production run vessels of the Ambassador-class, commissioned in 2323 under the command of Captain Rachel Garrett. (TNG: Yesterday's Enterprise)