See Captain Kirk’s Enterprise Return For The First Time Since Star Trek VI

The NCC-1701-A Enterprise appeared on season 3, episode 6 of Star Trek: Picard and we have the photos.

By Joshua Tyler | Updated

When last we saw the Enterprise-A, the successor to the ship destroyed over the Genesis planet in Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, she was sailing off into the sunset at the end of the final voyage of James T. Kirk (played by William Shatner) and his crew. So where did the ship end up? Now we know she’s been sitting in a museum all this time.

Here she is…

Enterprise-A on Star Trek: Picard
USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-A on Star Trek: Picard

In the Star Trek: Picard season 3 episode titled “The Bounty”, the crew of the USS Titan visits a Federation fleet museum run by Commodore Geordi LaForge. There on display is every significant ship in the history of Starfleet (at least the ones that weren’t destroyed). Among them are the USS Voyager, the USS Defiant, and the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A.

USS Titan and the Enterprise
USS Titan (left) and USS Enterprise (right)

It’s a near-perfect re-creation from Picard showrunner Terry Matalas and his talented team of effects artists. The episode takes its time to linger over Star Trek’s most famous ship as Picard’s son, Jack Crusher, proudly pronounces her to be his favorite starship. And she’s never looked better.

Enterprise-A on Star Trek: Picard
Enterprise on display in Star Trek: Picard

For comparison, here’s the old girl as she looked the last time you saw her in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, flying off into the sunset…

Scene from Star Trek VI
Final scene from Star Trek VI

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen one of Captain Kirk’s Enterprise as part of one of Star Trek’s new shows. The original refit Enterprise NCC-1701, the one destroyed in Star Trek III, shows up on an episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks last year for a very brief cameo. See that here.

There’s a reason the Consitution Class refit (the type of ship this Enterprise is) tops our list as the greatest starship of all time. Those art deco nacelles never get old. And the newly created USS Titan, a Neo Consitution Class, is a design clearly meant as a tribute to her greatness.