Futurism logo

Coolest 'Star Trek' Starships

As recognizable as the characters are, the coolest 'Star Trek' starships are an integral part of the franchise.

By Stephen HamiltonPublished 7 years ago 5 min read
Like

Since the inception of the original show in the 1960s by Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek has become a fabric of sci-fi pop culture, with millions of devoted Trekkies. Many have tuned in to the TV shows and movies that have followed to follow the Enterprise and the crew’s missions in space, the final frontier, and go where no man has gone before. The characters are memorable, the moments are unforgettable, its diehard fans speak the language of Klingon, and the technology, for how it was made 50 years ago, was groundbreaking and extremely imaginative. Then, there are the starships like the Enterprise that are fast, large, and a world within a world that grabs the attention of viewers. Various starships like the Enterprise are seen in the Star Trek universe, and many of them give us a convincing look of what it would be like in open space. Here are a few of the coolest Star Trek starships.

USS Reliant (NCC-1864)

Listed as a Miranda-class starship, this is where Pavel Chekov, the young Russian navigator and tactical officer, served as a first officer in The Wrath Of Khan. Khan, the tyrant marooned 18 years earlier, gets on board and forces Chekov and his commander to attack Captain Kirk, the man who left Khan behind, and the Enterprise. The Genesis Device blows up the ship at the end of the film.

Cardassian Galor Class Cruiser

These films first appeared in The Next Generation and then in Deep Space Nine. They are medium-sized and feature large plasma cannons across the ship’s hull and can also have photon torpedoes. They are effective when the ship is part of a pack rather than a standalone starship.

Klingon Bird-of-Prey

This was first introduced in The Search for Spock and went on to be part of The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. It’s a spread-wing ship capable of engaging in atmospheric, planetary, and warp operations. The ship's main features include a central command chair that looks over all stations, a special room for weapons and engineering, and a corridor to the transporter system.

Borg Cube

As the name states, the ship is cube-shaped. First seen in The Next Generation, it is one of the most astounding ships in the galaxy with hidden features that make identifying their bridge and engineering room difficult. The weaponry can adapt to opponents’ weapons in seconds, which is why their message is, “We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own… Resistance is futile.”

Narada

A Romulan mining ship that is seen in the latest reboot of Star Trek (2009). Nero leads it and the ship was sent back in time by an artificial black hole, as explained by an older Spock to a younger Captain Kirk, who encourages him to provoke the younger Spock into a fight and emotionally compromise him so that Kirk can regain control of the ship.

USS Vengeance

Appearing in Star Trek Into Darkness, it is larger than the Enterprise and heavily armed. It was designed by Khan and it is used to attack the Enterprise before Scotty sabotages it to stop it from destroying the Enterprise.

USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)

Set in The Next Generation series, it is a Galaxy class starship and the fifth to carry the name Enterprise, captained by Jean-Luc Picard. It has saucer separation features, eight transporter rooms, 20 transporter systems, and a number of cargo bays and sickbays. It is armed with 12 Type X rays and three photon torpedo launchers that can fire 10 torpedoes simultaneously and has a shield grid to deflect incoming fire. To add to its all-in-one features, there are labs devoted to everything they encounter.

USS Defiant

Seen in Deep Space Nine and First Contact, it was developed to counter the Borgs with high speed (warp factor of 9.2) and strong weaponry specifically intended for battle. It does not have labs or infirmaries and is limited to how many people it can have as part of its lightweight design. It is listed as 560' long, 440' wide, and 98' high.

Romulan Warbird

They are noted for their signature cloaking technology and are powered by gravity itself, thus unable to shut down their engines and are referred to being a “black hole starship.” The Warbirds are a D’deridex-class with advanced hologram technology.

USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

The original one. Seen in the current release of Star Trek films and the original TV series, the Constitution-class starship has two electromagnetic launch photon torpedo tubes, three dual phaser banks, and a deflector shield grid. In the TV series, it is measured at 289 meters long while the movies measure it 725 meters. According to the timeline, the ship was commissioned in 2245; the 2009 movie shows it still under construction in 2255, three years before it took flight. In the most recent film, Star Trek Beyond, it is destroyed.

Before its known name, Roddenberry called it the Yorktown. NCC is the abbreviation for "Naval Construction Contract;" the 1701 source is disputed, but it is believed to have come from art director Matt Jefferies, who came with the design on his seventeenth draft for the first series, hence the number. The 11' model made for the series was donated to the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. and is currently on display.

What is the coolest Star Trek ship among these listed? It is up for debate amongst the Trekkies and those who are experts in the spacecraft field. Many believe the classic Enterprise is well-balanced while others find the Borg Cube extremely difficult to penetrate because of its maze-like structure. The Romulan Warbirds are quite brilliant in a natural sense while the USS Vengeance is stronger and better armed than the Enterprise despite being in the same class. It is based on preference for which Star Trek starship is the coolest of them all.

star trekscifi tvscifi movielist
Like

About the Creator

Stephen Hamilton

Definitive movie buff. Quickly realized that it was more financially prudent to write about film than trying to beg for millions of dollars to make his own.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.