Constitution class starship (Star Trek)
Encyclopedia
In the fictional Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...

 universe, the Constitution class is a Starfleet
Starfleet
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet or the Federation Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory, peacekeeping and military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets . It is the principal means by which the Federation conducts its exploration, defense, diplomacy and research...

 starship type that began service in the mid-23rd century.

Depiction

In the original television series
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...

, ships of this class support multiple exploratory, diplomatic, and — when needed — adversarial missions.

Dimensions and Armament

Approximately 947 feet (289 m) total), 417 feet (127 m) wide overall (Primary Hull), the Constitution-class design consists of a saucerlike, eight-deck-thick primary hull, separable from and dorsally connected to a cylindrical secondary hull, from which spring angled pylons supporting the vessel's engines in two cylindrical engine nacelle
Nacelle
The nacelle is a cover housing that holds engines, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. In some cases—for instance in the typical "Farman" type "pusher" aircraft, or the World War II-era P-38 Lightning—an aircraft's cockpit may also be housed in a nacelle, which essentially fills the...

s. Each nacelle is 504 feet (154 m) long, 60 feet (18 m) in diameter. The pods operate via controlled fusion of matter and antimatter, creating the power necessary to propel the ship at FTL
Faster-than-light
Faster-than-light communications and travel refer to the propagation of information or matter faster than the speed of light....

 (faster-than-light) speeds. The Enterprise is heavily armed with offensive weaponry, the combined arsenal is powerful enough to destroy the entire surface of a planet (Star Trek, "A Taste of Armageddon"). The weapons include multiple forward and rear mounted photon torpedo launchers and phaser banks, of which there are five: Primary, Starboard, Port, Rear, and Midship. The Rear phaser and Rear torpedo launcher were depicted in the Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...

 episode, "In a Mirror Darkly". Phasers derive their power directly from the Warp Engines. The class also possesses defensive energy shielding
Shields (Star Trek)
In the Star Trek fictional universe, shields refer to a 23rd and 24th century technology that protects starships, space stations, and planets from damage by natural hazard or enemy attack...

, which can successfully absorb a quantity of power equivalent to 90 photon torpedoes. All of the weapons on the Primary Hull are on the underside of the "saucer".

The separation of primary and secondary hulls was a rare event in the 23rd century, undertaken in emergencies; led from an auxiliary bridge, the secondary hull and nacelles retain FTL
Faster-than-light
Faster-than-light communications and travel refer to the propagation of information or matter faster than the speed of light....

 warp capabilities, while the main bridge and primary saucer are relegated to sublight propulsion from aft-mounted impulse engines (Star Trek, "The Apple"). Most of the ship's weapons are localised to the Primary Hull. This contrasts with the more routine saucer separation of the later Galaxy class starships, often employed as a combat tactical maneuver, whose secondary hull is commanded from a dedicated 'battle bridge'.

Refit

The Constitution-Class Refit, as seen in Star Trek: The Motion Picture through Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country.

Dimensions and Armament

The Constitution-Class Refit has a similar configuration to the original, however, the pylons supporting the engine nacelle
Nacelle
The nacelle is a cover housing that holds engines, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. In some cases—for instance in the typical "Farman" type "pusher" aircraft, or the World War II-era P-38 Lightning—an aircraft's cockpit may also be housed in a nacelle, which essentially fills the...

s are backswept. The nacells have also changed, being more rectangular.

The photon torpedo launchers are now visible. There are two forward mounted torpedo tubes, resting at the base of the pylon that supports the primary hull. There are six depicted phaser banks on the primary hull, three above, three below. (similar to the Primary, Starboard, Port, and Rear phaser configuration of the original) Rear phasers are never observed, but are implied in several reference books. The phasers fire in a rythmic, pulsating pattern. ( Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn)

Other Information

Constitution-class was the only major ship class seen in the original series. Other Starfleet capital ship types include the Miranda class of the live-action films, and the older design of Bonaventure, seen in the animated episode "The Time Trap".

Though now understood as such, the class was never named Constitution in the original series; Enterprises bridge dedication plaque declares her a 'Starship' class vessel, and it was also referred to as a "Starship" in the episode " The Enterprise Incident". The designation "Constitution-Class" debuted in 1975 in Franz Joseph Schnaubelt's Star Fleet Technical Manual. Its subsequent usage in show creator Gene Roddenberry's novelization of the first film cemented its usage in Trek fandom thereafter. (His novel also set K't'inga as the Klingon class name for the film's refinement of the venerated D7 battlecruiser.) The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Naked Now" tags the original Enterprise as a Constitution class ship, fixing it in canon; a diagram seen in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...

 puts Enterprise A in the Constitution-class as well.

The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...

 episode "Relics" puts a Constitution-class vessel in the Starfleet museum.

The novelizations of the second, third, and fourth Star Trek films, written by Vonda N. McIntyre, identified the Enterprise as a "Constellation-class" heavy cruiser. This was overridden by the Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...

 episode "The Battle", in which the USS Stargazer was listed as Constellation-class, rather than Constitution.

Refit

Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...

 showcased the extensive refit which Enterprise experienced after her first five-year mission under James Kirk. (The 1987 reference work Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise
Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise
Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise, written and illustrated by Shane Johnson and published by Pocket Books, is a book describing the post-refit USS Enterprise from the Star Trek fictional universe. It is written from the viewpoint of the ship's chief engineer, Montgomery Scott...

 places the refit in another class: in author Shane Johnson
Shane Johnson (author)
Shane Johnson is an American author best known for the novel Ice. He has written several critically acclaimed and award-winning books. He has written both Christian fiction and science fiction....

's interviews with one of the film's main designers, Andrew Probert
Andrew Probert
Andrew Probert is an artist who is best known for designing the USS Enterprise for Star Trek: The Motion Picture and the Enterprise-D for Star Trek: The Next Generation....

 suggested the ship was the first of a new Enterprise class.) However, in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...

, Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott
Montgomery Scott
Montgomery "Scotty" Scott is a Scottish engineer in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by James Doohan in the original Star Trek series, Scotty also appears in the animated Star Trek series, seven Star Trek movies, the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Relics", and in numerous...

 is seen looking over a layout of the Enterprise-A, and the title shows it as a "Constitution Class Starship".

Star Fleet Technical Manual

According to Franz Joseph Schnaubelt's
Franz Joseph (artist)
Franz Joseph was an artist and author loosely associated with the 1960’s American television show Star Trek. Joseph is perhaps best known for his 1973 Star Trek Blueprints , to date the only set of blueprints of the original Starship Enterprise ever officially endorsed by...

 1975 Star Fleet Technical Manual, the ships of the Constitution-class are as follows. Season one of the remastered original episodes added USS Defiant; corrections to the others' registries occurred later.
  • NCC-1017 Constellation
  • NCC-1371 Republic
  • NCC-1631 Intrepid
  • NCC-1664 Excalibur
  • NCC-1672 Exeter
  • NCC-1700 Constitution
  • NCC-1701 Enterprise
  • NCC-1702 Farragut
  • NCC-1704 Yorktown
  • NCC-1707 Hood
  • NCC-1709 Lexington
  • NCC-1711 Potemkin
  • NCC-1764 Defiant


These registry numbers do not completely correspond to the numbers in the Technical Manual (The Excalibur, for example, was NCC-1705), but were changed later for undetermined reasons.

Encyclopedia list

The fictional Constitution-class ship list used internally at Paramount has been derived from the list of fan Greg Jein
Greg Jein
Greg Jein is a model designer who creates miniatures for use in the special effects portions of many films and TV shows. He has been doing so since the 1970s.-References:...

, first published in 1975; it derives ship registries by matching codes from a wall display in "Court Martial"
Court Martial (TOS episode)
"Court Martial" is an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. It is a first season episode, #20, production #15, and was aired on February 2, 1967. It was written by Don M. Mankiewicz, and Stephen W...

 with known ship names in reverse alphabetical order. Jein's list forms the basis for the list appearing in the Star Trek Encyclopedia.

Name Registry Status Notes
USS Constellation NCC-1017 on screen Destroyed in "The Doomsday Machine" TOS. Commanded by Commodore Matthew Decker. The ship's registry was created in an AMT Enterprise model kitbash by rearranging its decals' 1701 registry.
USS Constitution NCC-1700 freeze frame Likely the class leader. Recent technical manuals date its launch to 2244. Its registry appears on a wall display in "Court Martial
Court Martial (TOS episode)
"Court Martial" is an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. It is a first season episode, #20, production #15, and was aired on February 2, 1967. It was written by Don M. Mankiewicz, and Stephen W...

" TOS. Both Joseph and Jein make this the Constitution.
USS Defiant NCC-1764 on screen Disappears into a rift in space in "The Tholian Web" TOS. In the mirror universe
Mirror Universe (Star Trek)
The Mirror Universe is a fictional parallel universe in which the plots of several Star Trek television episodes take place...

, it reappears 100 years in the past in "In a Mirror, Darkly" ENT.
USS Eagle NCC-956 freeze frame
USS Endeavour NCC-1895 freeze frame
USS Enterprise
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
The USS Enterprise, NCC-1701, is a fictional starship in the Star Trek media franchise. The original Star Trek series depicts her crew's mission "to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before" under the command of Captain James...

NCC-1701 on screen Her celebrated five-year mission under James T. Kirk
James T. Kirk
James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...

 forms the basis of Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...

. Recent technical manuals date its launch to 2245. Refitted before the first film
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...

 and destroyed in the third
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is a 1984 motion picture released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the third feature based on the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the center of a three-film story arc that begins with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and concludes with Star Trek IV:...

, when Kirk carries out a self-destruct
Self-destruct
A self-destruct is a mechanism which causes a device to destroy itself under a predefined set of circumstances.Self-destruct mechanisms are also found on devices and systems where malfunction could endanger large numbers of people...

 to avoid her capture by Klingon
Klingon
Klingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...

s.
ISS Enterprise NCC-1701 on screen The Imperial Star Ship Enterprise, part of the mirror universe, is seen in the original series
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...

 episode "Mirror, Mirror"
Mirror, Mirror (TOS episode)
"Mirror, Mirror" is an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. It is a second-season episode, #33, production #39, and was broadcast for the first time on October 6, 1967, and repeated on April 12, 1968. It was written by Jerome Bixby and directed by Marc Daniels...

 under parallel James T. Kirk, who took command after killing former parallel captain Christopher Pike
Christopher Pike (Star Trek)
Christopher Pike is a character in the Star Trek franchise. He was portrayed by Jeffrey Hunter in the original Star Trek pilot episode, "The Cage", as captain of the USS Enterprise. The pilot was rejected, and the character was dropped during development of the second pilot when Hunter decided that...

.
USS Enterprise
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A)
The USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-A is a starship in the fourth, fifth, and sixth Star Trek films.-Origin and design:The Enterprise-A used the same shooting model as the preceding NCC-1701...

NCC-1701-A on screen The refit Constitution-class second Enterprise, which noncanon sources often cite as a renaming of either Yorktown or Ti-Ho -- the latter according to Mr Scott's Guide to the Enterprise. The crew of Enterprise-A under Kirk
James T. Kirk
James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...

 are ordered home for decommissioning following the Khitomer Conference in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...

. Kirk's final log entry flags this as the final Enterprise cruise under his command.
USS Essex NCC-1697 noncanon
USS Excalibur NCC-1664 on screen Destroyed in episode "The Ultimate Computer". (The registry wasn't seen in the original episode but appeared in the remastered version.)
USS Exeter NCC-1672 on screen Commanded by Capt Ronald Tracey. Found in orbit around Omega IV with a dead crew (episode "The Omega Glory
The Omega Glory (TOS episode)
"The Omega Glory" is a second season episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, first broadcast March 1, 1968 and repeated July 26, 1968. It is episode #52, production #54, written by Gene Roddenberry, and directed by Vincent McEveety...

"). Exeters later adventures figure in a series of fan-made shorts in Starship Exeter
Starship Exeter
Starship Exeter is a Star Trek fan film project, one of the earliest of the semi-professional fan film projects that have become an increasingly common fixture of the internet video scene. Although fan films have been produced for almost as long as there have been film fans, they were generally few...

. (The registry wasn't seen in the original episode but appeared in the remastered version.)
USS Farragut NCC-1647 presumed Constitution class; registry noncanon Commanded by Capt Garrovick; Kirk's first starship post. See episode "Obsession". Farraguts later adventures appear in two fan shorts as "Starship Farragut". Trek Encyclopedia puts it in the Constitution class though it wasn't seen on-screen, and provides this registry. Jein uses this, but not from the Court Martial list.
USS Hood NCC-1703 on screen Damaged in episode "The Ultimate Computer". (The registry wasn't seen in the original episode but appeared in the remastered version.)
USS Intrepid NCC-1631 on screen All-Vulcan crew. Destroyed in "The Immunity Syndrome". Trek Encyclopedia put it in the Constitution class though it wasn't seen on screen during the series' original run. Registry from Jein's list in the Encyclopedia gives NCC-1831. (Earlier versions of his list give this as NCC-1631.)
USS Lexington NCC-1709 on screen Damaged in "The Ultimate Computer". Commanded by Commodore Robert Wesley.
USS Potemkin NCC-1657 registry noncanon Damaged in episode "The Ultimate Computer".
USS Republic NCC-1371 presumed Constitution class; registry canon Kirk served aboard her early in his career. Trek Encyclopedia puts it in the Constitution class though it wasn't seen on screen. The registry was given however.
USS Yorktown NCC-1717 on screen Disabled by an alien probe in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a 1986 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fourth feature film based on the Star Trek science fiction television series and completes the story arc begun in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and continued in Star Trek III: The...

; registry in debate. Though Gene Roddenberry
Gene Roddenberry
Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry was an American television screenwriter, producer and futurist, best known for creating the American science fiction series Star Trek. Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up in Los Angeles, California where his father worked as a police officer...

, as reported in the Trek Encyclopedia
The Star Trek Encyclopedia
The Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future is an encyclopedia of all the in-universe information from the Star Trek live-action television series and films. The Encyclopedia was written by Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda, with Debbie Mirek, and illustrated by Doug Drexler...

 and next-gen Tech Manual
Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Technical Manual is a paperback reference guide detailing the inner and other workings of the fictional Federation starship Enterprise-D and other aspects of technology that appeared in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.Authored by Rick Sternbach...

, held that Yorktown was rechristened NCC-1701-A Enterprise following the Probe crisis of the fourth film, instead Mr Scott's Guide said Enterprise-A was, from the keel up, a new ship (labeled Enterprise class in the guide and FASA's Star Trek Tactical Combat Simulator), inspired by Mr Scott's refit of the original Enterprise, USS Ti-Ho, in tribute to Kirk and crew for saving Earth in the fourth film (debate continues). The Ti-Ho was also rumored to be a smaller test bed for TransWarp drive, which turned out to be a failure, as it caused biological issues as seen in Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...

. In Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...

, Scotty is seen reviewing a layout of the Enterprise-A. The title reads to be "Constitution Class Starship."


Although NCC-1710 USS Kongo is listed on a computer readout in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...

, in The Making of Star Trek, and the original Tech Manual contains the same registry, the ship is not listed in the 1999 Encyclopedia—and Jein's 1975 essay proposed "NCC-1732". (His original list also offers NCC-1868 Hornet, NCC-1866 Lafayette, NCC-1865 Tashik-Sotra and NCC-1623 Valiant).

External links

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