Star Trek: Why was the Enterprise renamed?

• Kirk’s Enterprise became the Enterprise-D in Star Trek: The Next Century.
• Originally, however, Captain Picard’s ship was to be titled Enterprise-7.
• Why was the way of numbering the spaceships changed? And why is the spaceship even called what it is called?

In “Star Trek: Picard,” Patrick Stewart returns as the captain who commanded arguably the longest-running Enterprise: the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D. No other generation of starship has been shown present and in service for so long, not even Kirk’s Enterprise.

But did you know that the Enterprise-D was actually supposed to be called USS Enterprise NCC-1701-7? We explain to you why in the end a “numbering” with letters was chosen. But first, let’s explain why the spaceship is called what it’s called in the first place.

Originally, “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry wanted to name his spaceship “Yorktown,” but he was so excited about the actual ship Enterprise that he wanted to name his spaceship Enterprise. The registration number NCC-1701 came from the fact that NC was one of the USA’s international aircraft registration codes.

Soviet aircraft used a C for their registration codes. Because Roddenberry believed that the US and Soviet Union would work together to explore space, the registration codes were combined: NCC. Also, it means “Naval Construction Contract”.

Numbers like 3, 6, 8, and 9 weren’t used because they’re perceived differently from different angles and could cause confusion, so the Enterprise’s registration number was made up of different numbers: 1701.

So Kirk’s spaceship in “Starship Enterprise” was named USS Enterprise NCC-1701. In “Starship Enterprise – The Next Century”, about 78 years later, it turned to the fifth generation of the spaceship, the Enterprise NCC-1701-D!

In the first pitches, the spacecraft was still called Enterprise NCC-1701-7. However, this was changed after the Enterprise was registered as Enterprise-A in the movie Star Trek IV: Back to the Present. The “numbering” for “The Next Century” was also promptly adjusted.

As already noticed, D is a lower generation than 7. Actually, Picard’s Enterprise should be the Enterprise-G, but in the “Star Trek” chronology the Enterprise-D fits better. In Star Trek: Picard Season 3 we may see the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-F!