Summary

Star Trek ’s USS Enterprise is most famous for its voyagers under Captain James T. Kirk ( William Shatner ) , but it ’s unclear how many five - class missionary work it in reality completed . As the flagship of the United Federation of Planets , the entire lifespan of the Constitution Class USS Enterprise NCC-1701 was spent on extended five - class missionsthat saw the vessel explore the galaxy in a host of exciting adventures . Several Captains commanded the ship during its service , and new serial likeStar Trek : Strange New Worldshave throw off fresh light on the Enterprise ’s five - yr missions .

First commissioned under the command of Captain Robert April ( Adrian Holmes ) in the yr 2245 , theStarship Enterprise went on successive five - year missionary post throughout the remainder of the 23rd centuryuntil her destruction in 2285 during the case ofStar Trek III : The Search for Spock . Whileevery Captain of the Enterpriseis memorable in their own way , James T. Kirk ’s time in bidding was the most well - documented , with many outcome of the tenures of Captains Christopher Pike ( Anson Mount ) and Robert April being a mystery until very recently . Even through retrofit and command changes , the USS Enterprise stay on the pinnacle of Starfleet excellency and its legacy was continue by successive spaceship that birth its name .

The Federation flagship , the USS Enterprise , has a farsighted , fabled history , and each version of the classic Star Trek spacecraft has its own unique look .

A composite image of two versions of the Enterprise flying in space from Star Trek

Captain Robert April’s USS Enterprise Five-Year Mission

One Five-Year Mission Between 2245 and 2250

Captain Robert April was the original name Gene Roddenberry picked when he first conceivedStar Trekand his starship was called the USS Yorktown before the name Enterprise was chosen .

dominate the USS Enterprise from 2245 through 2250 , Robert April committed several falling out of General Order One , an other form ofStarfleet ’s Prime Directive , such as his determination in 2246 to warn the Perricans , a pre - warp culture , about an impendent revelatory meteor strike . Two years by and by , Captain April divvy up Federation technology with another pre - warp civilization to solve a catastrophic drought on the satellite Na’rel . In 2250,April was promoted to Fleet Admiralwhere he continue to work his way up the ladder before finally have his years invert in the strange outcome of theStar Trek : The Animated Seriesepisode " The Counter - Clock Incident . "

The older Robert April was voiced by Scotty actor James Doohan inStar Trek : The Animated Series .

Captain Pike and Kirk in Star Trek

Captain Christopher Pike’s Five-Year Missions

Three Five-Year Missions Between 2250 and 2265

Captain Christopher Pike commanded the USS Enterprise from 2250 through 2265 , when he was succeeded by James T. Kirk . Star Trek : Strange New Worldstakes lieu in the first year of his third and final five - year delegacy , as Pike grappling hook with the foreknowledge of his tragical fortune . Notable events from Pike ’s late five - year mission let in the disastrous trip to Rigel VII , the fateful mission to Talos IV , depicted inStar Trek ’s original pilot"The Cage " , and being kept out ofStar Trek : Discovery ’s Klingon War .

Strange New Worldshas revealed that Pike and Kirk crossed paths more on a regular basis than antecedently accept .

Captain Pike ’s third five - class mission inStar Trek : Strange New Worldshas force him to face his tragic future and his past failures on Rigel VII . When he was last seen inStar Trek : Strange New Worlds ' time of year 2 finale , Pike was staring down a potential state of war with the Gorn Hegemony . It ’s unclear how Pike ’s five - year military mission will cease , but it ’s known that he will finally pass over the USS Enterprise to Kirk in 2265.Strange New Worldshas revealed that Pike and Kirk crossed paths more on a regular basis than antecedently assumed , creating the possibility that Pike could become a wise man to the future Captain Kirk .

Robin Curtis and Kirstie Alley as Lt. Saavik in Star Trek.

Why was Christopher Pike replaced by James Kirk as Captain of the Enterprise in Star Trek : The Original Series ? It ’s a complicated query .

Captain Kirk’s Five-Year Missions

Two Five-Year Missions Between 2265 and 2280

Captain James T. Kirk needs piffling instauration to even the least initiated among theStar Trekfandom , and his first five - year military mission is the clobber of legend , as chronicled in the events ofStar Trek : The Original Series . After taking over bid of the USS Enterprise from Captain Pike in 2265,Kirk spend the next five old age embarking on a plethora of exciting adventuresand did a circumstances to change the perception of what a Starfleet maitre d' could be . ClassicStar Trek : TOSepisodes like " Balance of Terror " and " The Doomsday Machine " were fine examples of Kirk ’s leadership style , and no Enterprise captain has matched his brashness before or since .

Captain James T. Kirk is the young Captain of the USS Enterprise .

Star Trek : The Original Seriesgetting canceledin 1969 bring an abrupt ending to Kirk ’s five - year mission , which continued off - screen . Kirk ’s unbelievable five - year mission leave in his advancement to Admiral to become Chief of Starfleet Operations . Picking up a few long time after Kirk ’s initial five - twelvemonth delegacy ended , Star Trek : The Motion Picture ’s timeline is a minute dingy , but the celluloid takes topographic point sometime in the former 2270s and the V’Ger crisis kicked off Kirk ’s 2nd five - year mission by placing the Admiral back in the Starship Enterprise ’s snapper can .

The Enterprise flies over earth from Star Trek

The jump forrard to 2385 inStar Trek II : The Wrath of Khandenied fans the prospect to see Kirk ’s go-ahead ’s mysterious second five - year mission . When Kirk ’s sequel five - year commission ended around 2275 - 2280 , command was turned over to Captain Spock ( Leonard Nimoy ) , and the Starship Enterprise was for the most part used for training purpose . The eventualdestruction of the USS EnterpriseinStar Trek III : The Search For Spockwas the ending of the line for the legendary Constitution Class spaceship . Five - twelvemonth missions retain to be the average in Starfleet well into the 24th century , but by the events ofStar Trek : The Next Generationin 2364,the USS Enterprise - D had been upgraded to an " ongoing delegacy " status .

USS Enterprise Captain

Number of Five - Year Missions

James T. Kirk steers a spaceship in Star Trek (2009)

Captain Robert April

1 ( 2245 - 2250 )

Captain Christopher Pike

Star Trek: The Original Series

3 ( 2250 - 2265 )

skipper James T. Kirk

2 ( 2265 - 2270 ) , ( 2270s )

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Captain James T. Kirk ( Kelvin Timeline )

1 ( 2260 - 2263 ) ( incomplete )

Kirk’s Five-Year Mission In The Kelvin Timeline

One Five-Year Mission Between 2260 and 2263

The alternate Kelvin Timeline is the mount of the trilogy ofJ.J. Abrams’Star Trekmoviesthat re-introduce the classic characters in a new way . When the Romulan Nero ( Eric Bana ) travel from the yr 2387 to the year 2233 to stop the eventual supernova of Romulus ’s sun inStar Trek(2009 ) , he created a splinter realness that has since been called the Kelvin Timeline . Among the changes brought about by the Kelvin Timeline was James T. Kirk ( Chris Pine ) produce up without a beginner , which put him onan speed trajectory to the USS Enterprise ’s Captain ’s chair compared to his Prime Universe similitude .

InStar Trek ’s Kelvin Timeline , theUSS Enterprise was launched in 2258 as fight down to the 2245 date of the Prime Timeline . The Kelvin Timeline ’s Captain Christopher Pike ( Bruce Greenwood ) therefore never got to command the Starship Enterprise on a five - twelvemonth commission . Injured by Nero , Pike handed bid of the Enterprise to Kirk in the very same twelvemonth . Despite this , it would be another two days before Kirk would enter upon his five - year mission thanks to the encompassing damage because of confrontations with Nero and Khan Noonien - Singh ( Benedict Cumberbatch ) .

Technically speaking , Chris Pine ’s Captain Kirk never fill out his five - year mission .

Kirk ’s five - year missionary post therefore began in 2260 at theend ofStar Trek Into Darkness . By 2263 , however , the vernal Enterprise Captain was frustrated with the banality of Starfleet ’s five - year mission , until the events ofStar Trek Beyondgave him a renewed sensation of use . Technically speaking , Chris Pine ’s Captain Kirk never completed his five - year mission inStar Trek , as the Enterprise was destroyed at the start ofStar Trek Beyond . However , the holdup in realizingStar Trek 4mean that Kirk and the work party could have completed two more five - year missions by the time the long - delayed motion-picture show finally hits theaters .

All episodes ofStar Trek : The Original Series , Star Trek : Strange New Worlds , and J.J. Abrams’Star Trekmovies are usable to stream on Paramount+ .