How many five-year missions does Star Trek Enterprise have?

Star Trek's iconic flagship, the U.S.S. Enterprise, is best known for its time under Captain Kirk, but how many five-year missions has she flown?

The Federation's flagship, the U.S.S. Enterprise is best known for its time in the original Star Trek series under Captain James Kirk, but there has been confusion over how many five-year missions she actually flew. This was true throughout the life of the U.S.S., although the Federation would eventually abandon its rigid structure. Enterprise 1701 embarked on an extensive five-year mission that saw the ship explore the galaxy on a series of exciting adventures. Several officers commanded the ship while in service, and new series like Star Trek: Discovery have helped fill gaps in Star Trek lore that were only hinted at.

The Enterprise first entered service in 2246 under the command of Captain Robert April, serving five years of continuous missions throughout the remainder of the 23rd century, until her appearance in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock in 2285. was destroyed in. While each of the Enterprise's captains has been memorable in his own way, Kirk's time in command is the most well-documented, and many events during the tenures of Captains Pike and April have remained a mystery for decades. . Even through refits and order changes, the Enterprise remains the pinnacle of Starfleet excellence because it The whole existence, even if brought back to life in later series, will continue to be so.

Captain April & Pike's Five-Year Missions

While Captain Christopher Pike's life was further fleshed out in Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Captain Robert April's tenure remains largely unknown. Serving for just five years before relinquishing leadership, April was the original Star Trek Enterprise captain, though his service was unremarkable. In command from 2246 to 2250, April relinquished the position to Pike, who was his first mate. April is promoted to Admiral, where he continues to work his way up the ladder, eventually turning his age in the strange events of the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "Counterclockwise Events."

Pike is best known to fans for his role in the Star Trek: The Original series "The Menagerie", but until recently, little was known about his three tours as Enterprise captain. Pike led from 2250 to 2265 when James Kirk took over. Pike's doomed fate is best known from "Zoo," but Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has gone a long way in solving many of Star Trek's problems Pike character. His latest adventure on the show takes place in the final year of his second five-year stint, and there's still a lot to love about the character as he heads into his final five-year tour.

Captain Kirk's Five-Year Missions

Captain James T. Kirk Needs little introduction, even to the most unfamiliar of Star Trek fans, his first five-year mission is legendary content chronicled in the events of the original series. After taking over from Pike in 2265, Kirk spent the next five years on plenty of exciting adventures, and did a lot to change the way people think of Starfleet captains. Classic episodes like "The Balance of Terror" and "The Doomsday Machine" exemplify Kirk's leadership style, and no Enterprise captain before or since has matched his recklessness.

Starting with the infamous odd-numbered Star Trek movie curse, Star Trek: The Movie was a blunder for the franchise, but did do one thing right by putting Kirk back in his rightful role as captain things. The film's timeline is a bit murky a few years after Kirk's original five-year mission ends, but it definitely takes place in Kirk's second five-year mission began in the early 2270s. Kirk's elusive second episode has been featured widely in novels such as Shell Game and Spock's World, but the actual events have yet to be confirmed in the film or TV show.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan's flash-forward prevents fans from seeing Kirk's mysterious second mission, and the eventual destruction of the US Navy. The Enterprise in 2285 was the end of this legendary ship. Kirk's second mission ended sometime around 2275-2280, with command handed over to Captain Spock, and the ship was used primarily for training purposes, as seen in Wrath of the Khan. Five-year missions remained the norm for Starfleet well into the 24th century, but with the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 2364, Enterprise-D was upgraded to "persistent mission" status.

Kirk's Five-Year Mission In The Kelvin Timeline

The controversial Kelvin timeline is the setting for the J.J. Trilogy. Abrams' Star Trek movies reintroduced classic characters in a whole new way. Obviously the movies are separate from the original universe, but the Kelvin timeline doesn't take place like obviously. The timeline change is not only physical, but actually moves events forward and puts Kelvin Kirk on an earlier trajectory than his main cosmic counterpart. Pike's history has also been turned upside down, with his entire second and third five-year missions being replaced by Kirk's first.

When Nero traveled from 2387 to 2233 to stop the final supernova explosion of the Romulus Sun in Star Trek 2009, he created a split universe, which has since become known as the Kelvin timeline. This change also changed the lives of famous Enterprise crew members and set characters like Kirk on entirely different paths. Thus, Star Trek's Kelvin timeline movie sees Kirk begin his five-year mission in 2255, rather than 2265 in the original universe. The sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness, takes place at the end of Kirk's five-year mission in the Kelvin timeline, around the year 2259. In 2263, they were almost three years into their five-year mission. Since Abrams' first film takes place in 2255, it can Let's say the five-year mission Kirk mentioned is actually his second mission as Enterprise captain. Kelvin Kirk was able to command two five-year missions back to back, unlike his main antagonist in the Star Trek universe, who relinquished control before quickly taking it back. Kirk's story in the Kelvin timeline isn't fully written yet, nor is it known how many five-year missions he'll command.

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