Why did they take so long to make the Enterprise D?

[Detached Nacelle]

The C was destroyed in 2344. According to beta the Galaxy class was first designed in 2347 but took a decade to get one into flight for various reasons. Likely they wanted the next Enterprise to be the latest and greatest thing and it just took them longer to get that one out with Tzenkethi and Cardassian wars probably pushing back the big exploratory cruiser on the priority list.

It was most likely just luck that a brand new fancy cruiser class was fresh off the assembly line just when a new Enterprise was needed.

It is also possible that a respectable period of mourning could be in play. After a ship going down with all hands (at least as far as anyone knew) it might be seen as disrepectful to just pump another one out right away.

 

[Dukhat]

Yes indeed. It started with TSFS, and then it became a plot device used for momentary shock value time and again. In FC, when Riker says 'So much for the Enterprise E; we hardly knew her.' and Picard replies: "Plenty of letters in the alphabet!" I just gritted my teeth and wanted to howl. The ship used to be a character unto herself- now she's no more than a hand phaser or tricorder for all the 'worth' assigned to her.

I think you meant to say that in Generations, not FC, Riker said 'So much for the Enterprise-D; we hardly knew her.' But otherwise, you're correct. Berman and Braga just wanted to get rid of the D so they could have a new ship for the films. Never mind that the audience had invested seven years into that ship and there was really no reason for it to have been destroyed (i.e. Picard and Kirk could have gone back in time to before the ship got destroyed, thereby changing the timeline. B&B could still have gotten their saucer crash sequence they'd always wanted, but then they'd have a reset button. But nope, they wanted a new ship.)

However long it took and when they started to develop the Galaxy Class doesn't have anything to do with how long it took to reuse the name Enterprise. They could have reused the name on the next ship ready to go after the Ent-C was disruptorized.

Exactly. It's no different from Starfleet giving Kirk a new Enterprise-A for a few years despite almost certainly planning on making a new Excelsior class ship the next Enterprise.

Launching an Archer Class two years after? Name it Enterprise! That's cuter than a bucket full of baby chicks.

Archer class?

But it wasn't just Enterprise-D that was destroyed. Of the first six Galaxy-class starships, three were lost within a few years of commissioning. The Yamato was lost after only two years of service (Contagion), the Odyssey after six (The Jem'Hedar), and the Enterprise-D after eight (Generations). That, to me, suggests a fundamental design flaw in the Galaxy-class that its designers hadn't anticipated/considered.​

The destruction of those three ships had nothing to do with a design flaw. The Yamato fell victim to an Iconian probe, the Odyssey was rammed into by a Jem'Hadar ship, and the Enterprise was blown up because a torpedo from a BoP hit a critical section of the ship. Those were not design flaws.

The C was destroyed in 2344. According to beta the Galaxy class was first designed in 2347 but took a decade to get one into flight for various reasons. Likely they wanted the next Enterprise to be the latest and greatest thing and it just took them longer to get that one out with Tzenkethi and Cardassian wars probably pushing back the big exploratory cruiser on the priority list.

There are only three logical reasons I can think of for going 20 years without an Enterprise:

1. The name was nowhere near as important as we are making it out to be. Which, as we have learned since, is not remotely true.

2. They wanted to pay tribute to the loss of the Enterprise-C, as you mentioned. But 20 years seems like an awful long time to mourn that loss.

3. They were already planning on making one of the future Galaxy class starships an Enterprise whether the C had been lost or not, and was expecting the C to last until the 2360's when the D was commissioned. The fact that it didn't had no bearing on Starfleet's timetable.


To me, option #3 seems like the most likely scenario. But, unlike the A, for some reason Starfleet decided not to christen an intermediate ship an Enterprise until the Galaxy class ship was completed.

Also, I don't see wars having anything to do with not having an Enterprise. On the contrary, if Starfleet was worried about morale once the C was destroyed, they should have gotten a new Enterprise christened almost immediately.

It was most likely just luck that a brand new fancy cruiser class was fresh off the assembly line just when a new Enterprise was needed.

I'm not sure what you're referring to here. The Enterprise-E?

 

[Detached Nacelle]

Yes sorry I meant the E with the luck paragraph.

But yeah i think a combination of tribute and the delay on the Galaxy class are the reasons the D took so long after the C. I dont think they would plan for an Enterprise to be decommissioned at a specific point. I mean starships can easily serve for a century and be retrofitted to keep up.

Interim flagships are probably a thing. I mean there was no Enterprise between the NX-01 and the 1701-nothing so something had to be the flagship of the Federation and so if there was a gap then something would fill the niche. When classes worthy of being the flagship are available it wouldnt surprise me it an Enterprise contingency was put in place, this class will get the next Enterprise in the event of untimely destruction. Thus the much quicker turnaround on the E.

I think that any Enterprise should always be the latest and greatest that Starfleet has. That was probably still the Excelsior even by the time the B was launched. The Ambassador class was probably pretty new when the C was launched. But what was there when the C was lost? Not a lot. Smaller classes brought in for front line service, the Galaxy project was the best bet, a bit eggs in one basket.

Starfleet weirdly stagnates a lot thinking about it. Low registry numbers until the Excelsior launches and changes up the warp scale but even then designs are still Constitution and Excelsior inspired. Larger shuttles and having non Starfleet ships using the NAR registry I guess due to a proprietary new warp drive drove registry numbers up extremely high but even when the Tzenkethi and Cardassian Wars brought in loads of new designs Akira, Sabre, Norway, Steamrunner etc Starfleet still threw Constellation class ships at the Borg Cube.

 

[knightgrace]

The loss of so many ships, after three centuries of interstellar travel is a fundamental flaw of the script writers.

Insufficient imagination.

Consider, if you will the novel 'Federation'...

In the beginning of the novel, a "shield" is developed...good enough that there was no escape for other writers...

It could take 20 mm rounds with ease. Maybe 40 mm. That is a great deal of kenitic energy.
It, made star travel relatively safe. Not 90 percent safe, not 99 percent safe, but higher. For known things...

I use the Durance class Cargo Tug, as a thought experiment. Its not going anywhere. Period, because if any weaknesses showed up, the Artificial Intelligence, would correct. Instantly. Especially after fifty years of use...

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I have sometimes thought about that twenty year gap and thought, notwithstanding the commissioning plaque, "Y'know, they could have later said, 'Oh, by the way, the -D actually launched in 2351 and here's the -D's actual first captain.'" Continuing and evolving narratives retcon themselves all the time.

I do like the idea that Picard was not the D's first captain which the novels did a little bit with. It doesn't fit "All Good Things...," but it doesn't seem inconsistent with "Farpoint" and the first season, which suggested that the D had adventures prior to meeting Q.

 

[Dukhat]

I have sometimes thought about that twenty year gap and thought, notwithstanding the commissioning plaque, "Y'know, they could have later said, 'Oh, by the way, the -D actually launched in 2351 and here's the -D's actual first captain.'" Continuing and evolving narratives retcon themselves all the time.

I do like the idea that Picard was not the D's first captain which the novels did a little bit with. It doesn't fit "All Good Things...," but it doesn't seem inconsistent with "Farpoint" and the first season, which suggested that the D had adventures prior to meeting Q.

Well, I certainly wouldn't have felt so bad that the D got destroyed only after 7 years if that were the case. But the D's destruction in Generations is another topic.

I'm genuinely curious, though: I just rewatched the first season of TNG with my stepson to prepare him for the Star Trek cruise. Where is it implied that the D was in service before Picard took command?

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I remember Tasha Yar talking about a mission before "Farpoint," but I don't recall exactly when that was.

 

[Qonundrum]

Just watched Yesterday's Enterprise. They mention how the Enterprise C was destroyed 22 years before the time of season three. That means it took the Federation 20 years to launch and probably near that to start constructing a new Enterprise.

It'd probably take a while to build a starship. TOS only had twelve in service, TNG had something like forty. The refit in TMP indicated a year and a half to redo the thing, for which Decker had said "this is almost a completely new Enterprise".

Not counting Archer's Enterprise, that's possibly the longest gap between active Enterprises. For such a prestigious line of ships, that seems odd.

Great points, both. Why the most prestigious ship would not be immediately continued...

Maybe it's like car styles. In the 1940s, there was a particular style. It was discontinued and fresher designs coming in. Around the early-2000s, there was a PT Cruiser that brought back the prestigious 1940s visage.

The C was destroyed in 2344. According to beta the Galaxy class was first designed in 2347 but took a decade to get one into flight for various reasons. Likely they wanted the next Enterprise to be the latest and greatest thing and it just took them longer to get that one out with Tzenkethi and Cardassian wars probably pushing back the big exploratory cruiser on the priority list.

So that explains all the times the warp core breach was about to occur, all the prototypes failing requiring all those years to finish! But imagine what the Engineering areas looked like before the designs were completed, in case they had to make large changes between designs.

It is also possible that a respectable period of mourning could be in play. After a ship going down with all hands (at least as far as anyone knew) it might be seen as disrepectful to just pump another one out right away.

I like that reason better.

 

[Dukhat]

I remember Tasha Yar talking about a mission before "Farpoint," but I don't recall exactly when that was.

Are you remembering this dialogue between Picard and Ishara Yar from the season 4 episode "Legacy?"

PICARD: Ishara, I wanted to thank you personally for what you did for us down on the colony. It was more than I expected.
ISHARA: I don't run away when things get tough, like some people. Like my sister did.
PICARD: Let me tell you about your sister. The first time I saw Tasha Yar, she was making her way through a Carnelian mine field to reach a wounded colonist. Her ship had responded to their distress call, as had mine. (emphasis added) When it was all over, I requested that she be assigned to the Enterprise. Her ship's captain owed me a favor.

In the context of the lines themselves, it certainly sounds like Picard was in command of the Enterprise pre-Farpoint. However, this contradicts both EaF and AGT, and I believe Picard's lines were retconned later in PIC that the ship he referred to as 'as had mine' was in fact the USS Reliant which he was aboard during the Carnel incident.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Let me do some thinking. I don't think that was it.

 

[David cgc]

I do like the idea that Picard was not the D's first captain which the novels did a little bit with. It doesn't fit "All Good Things...," but it doesn't seem inconsistent with "Farpoint" and the first season, which suggested that the D had adventures prior to meeting Q.

Picard's log entry at the beginning of the episode does just say that he's new to the ship, but Riker's log on Farpoint in his first scene calls it "the new USS Enterprise." McCoy also points out how new it is.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

I checked with David Gerrold's 'Encounter at Farpoint' novelization and in the Prologue, it says that Picard saw the Enterprise-D seven times while under construction, but the first time he walked its corridors and stepped onto the bridge was the day he took command. There is also an additional log entry not found in the episode.

Prologue Page 10
Picard cleared his throat. "Stardate 41150.7. Captain's Log. First Entry: These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before. Entry complete."

The first stardate mentioned in "Encounter at Farpoint" is 41153.7.

Stardate 41150.7 = 25-Feb-2364
Stardate 41153.7 = 26-Feb-2364

Not enough time for any missions prior to "Farpoint."​

 

[trekshark]

I have a couple thoughts.
1. Due to the C being lost with all hands in combat they waited out of respect. The original was lost after the mini-crew had abandoned it (thus no loss of life, well starfleet lives at least), and then that crew saved Earth so the A was put into service immediately. A was presumably retired early due to battle damage from Kitomer but no major loss of life so the B wasn't delayed. We don't know the time frame between B and C

2. C was lost, it was decided the D would be a galaxy class but the galaxy class was still in design phase, possibly very early design phase, so they just accepted the gap. A to B didn't have this type of delay as the excelsior class had made it through design trials and was ready for normal production.

 

[TRON JA307020]

Well the original was destroyed, B was pretty much trashed its first hour out, and C was destroyed. I suspect that starfleet wanted to take a break. Since the enterprise is the flagship it tends to get some of the most harrowing missions I would think. They probably wanted to wait for a new design that the enterprise could be the flasghip of. The galaxy class of course. It had many of the hallmarks of the original 1701 but was also unique. But of course it got partially destroyed. Something also happened to the E which we will never probably find out what it was. The G while decent isnt what I wanted in a new enterprise. Its a rebuilt Titan and its also small and clunky looking compared to the smooth lines of the D. Actually the outside of the G doesn't even look as slick as the TOS 1701 in my opinion.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

If NX-01 can be the first Enterprise ship without interfering with the 1701 number, there could have been another experimental Enterprise between any of the 1701s, with a different number and later re-named when the newest 1701 Enterprise came on line.

 

[Ssosmcin]

Yes indeed. It started with TSFS,

The destruction of Enterprises started there, but it wasn't premature. The original was on her way to the boneyard anyways, she was decades old.

I think you meant to say that in Generations, not FC, Riker said 'So much for the Enterprise-D; we hardly knew her.'

Riker didn't say that in Generations, he said he always hoped to get a shot at the chair some day.

In FC, Riker was on Earth. It was an exchange between Beverly and Picard:

CRUSHER: So much for the Enterprise-E.
PICARD: We barely knew her.
CRUSHER: Think they'll build another one?
PICARD: Plenty of letters left in the alphabet.

 

[Dukhat]

Riker didn't say that in Generations, he said he always hoped to get a shot at the chair some day.

In FC, Riker was on Earth. It was an exchange between Beverly and Picard:

CRUSHER: So much for the Enterprise-E.
PICARD: We barely knew her.
CRUSHER: Think they'll build another one?
PICARD: Plenty of letters left in the alphabet.

Thank you, I stand corrected.

 

[Tomalak]

Are you remembering this dialogue between Picard and Ishara Yar from the season 4 episode "Legacy?"



In the context of the lines themselves, it certainly sounds like Picard was in command of the Enterprise pre-Farpoint. However, this contradicts both EaF and AGT, and I believe Picard's lines were retconned later in PIC that the ship he referred to as 'as had mine' was in fact the USS Reliant which he was aboard during the Carnel incident.

Yes, EaF is pretty explicit that the Enterprise is absolutely brand new to Picard, not to mention the rest of the crew.

I would say that Tasha anecdote is vague enough that it just tells us Picard was on a ship that responded to the incident. He wasn't even necessarily the captain of that ship, and could have been a passenger or present in another capacity.

The Reliant probably wouldn't work as that was very early in Picard's career. Unless he later served on that ship again, or a different Reliant.

I guess one of the the main questions is "what was Picard doing for seven years after the Battle of Maxia". I don't think it's explicitly stated that he didn't command another ship, but if he had you might have expected it to come up. Perhaps he was in charge of a shakedown cruise for a year or two prior to the Enterprise's formal launch. But then he wouldn't say "I am becoming better acquainted with my new command, this Galaxy Class USS Enterprise. I am still somewhat in awe of its size and complexity" in his Farpoint log.

One of Christopher Bennett's books has the Carnelian mine field event shortly before the Enterprise launched, when Picard was a kind of roving, trouble-shooting, mission specialist being assigned to various ships between his stints on the Stargazer and the Enterprise. It was in this same period that his anecdote about meeting Geordi (c.f. The Next Phase) happens. That's as good as any explanation.

 

[Detached Nacelle]

Since we know Excalibur 1664-M is in service in the 32nd century I've chosen to headcanon a slight retcon and say the Ambassador class Excalibur we saw was 1664-A. That could be another case of long gap between newly serviced lineage ship, but then we dont know when the first Excalibur was actually decommissioned I mean it wasnt destroyed just had all its crew killed. I say just but that's still a perfectly serviceable ship you can still staff and send on its way.

 

[Arpy]

I think this would be a wonderful opportunity to do something unexpected with the Lost Era and fill it in with some lost history. Maybe there was another flagship during this period. Maybe more than one. What was its name, how was the mantle passed, what happened during those two decades, and what happened to switch things back—each of these could be super interesting to explore.

For me, it’s either that, or the name was set aside for that time while peace was established with the Klingons. The Enterprise was an accursed name to the Klingons under Kirk, then became a revered one under Garrett. It was left thus while negotiations were had and bonds were forged. Finally, after another great experiment in the Galaxy Class was ready, it launched again, a gleaming ship of peace and exploration none could take issue with and all might be inspired by.