No Authentic Star Ships, Called Enterprise

Yet

The USS Enterprise, NCC-1701

Designated, OV-101 for Orbiter Vehicle 101;  (displayed below), the vehicle was rolled out of Rockwell's Air Force Plant 42, Site 1 in the Palmdale California assembly facility on Sept. 17, 1976.  It was constructed without engines or a functional heat shield, and was therefore not capable of spaceflight. Technically she was named in honor of the Starship Enterprise (shown above) featured on the television show Star Trek resulting from a write-in campaign by Trekkies to then President Gerald Ford requesting that he make it so, as Captain John Luc Picard said numerous times in the Star Trek’s first sequel, Next Generation. In any event President Ford did just that by overriding NASA’s objections.

                                            Enterprise OV-101

Since the real Enterprise (OV-101) was originally built as a test vehicle; not unlike her name sake the fictional USS Enterprise, NCC-1701, she never really had the opportunity to experienced the final frontier either. This is probably just as well because when you consider the terrible fate of both Challenger and Columbia shuttle crafts, as a Star Trek fan I expect it’s rewarding in some small way to know that the Enterprise has been enjoying the full benefits of retirement since November 18, 1985, at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.

Beyond both Star Fleet’s and NASA’s ships / crafts, there have been several ships that have been known or named Enterprise; one of the first was a little more than 200 years ago: A 24-gun frigate (depiction shown below) of the British Royal Navy which was originally a member of the French naval fleet called L'Entreprise that was captured in May 1705 and renamed HMS Enterprise is one early example.

                              HMS Enterprise from 1705 to 1707

The most famous aircraft carrier during WWII was the USS Enterprise (CV-6), commonly referred to as the “Big E,” (shown below) and was the seventh U.S. Navy ship to bear the name. She took part in more battles of WW II against Japan than all other US ships of the day.

 Commissioned in 1938 ... Decommissioned in 1947

                   

And more recently there is USS Enterprise (CVN-65); the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the eighth US naval vessel to bear the name. Like her predecessor of World War II fame, she is nicknamed the “Big E” and due to her nuclear powered capabilities she is often referred to as E = mc² by crew members.  She was commissioned in 1961 and is scheduled for retirement in 2013, at which time she will have served for 51 uninterrupted years.       

                             The Enterprise in 1964         

                                                          

Perhaps at some point in the near future, yet another ship, that will this time be capable of flight into space, become a reality.  However, during the interim, which will hopefully be temporary indeed, those of us who long for the speedy arrival of such a date, will continue to fill that void with re-runs of Star Trek as well as its many sequels.

Sources ...                                                                                    
http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/enterprise.html   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Enterprise_(NCC-1701)           http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Enterprise                             http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Enterprise_(CVN-65)