Experimental prototype Starfleet vessel, registry NX-59650, the Prometheus is designed for deep-space, tactical assignments.

Constructed in the Beta Antares Shipyards and launched on Stardate 50749.5, the Prometheus is the first starship of its class, as well as the fastest and most innovative vessel in Starfleet.

It is outfitted with regenerative shielding and ablative hull armor (an outer hull layer that vaporizes under weapons fire, thereby dissipating energy and protecting the ship's interior), and can separate into three independent spacecraft, allowing it to employ a multi-vector assault mode during combat situations.

Another innovation is the installation of holoemitters throughout the ship, which allows its holographic doctor, the EMH Mark II (also a prototype), to operate in all crew areas. This aspect of the design was crucial in recovering the Prometheus from Romulan hands in 2374.

During a test flight, a group of Romulans hijacked the starship and killed its crew in an attempt to appropriate its tactical technologies. The EMH — in concert with the U.S.S. Voyager's Mark I EMH, transmitted to the ship from the Delta Quadrant — managed to flood the ventilation system with neurozine gas, knocking out the Romulans. The two holograms then maneuvered the Prometheus while engaging Romulan warbirds in combat— while also under fire from Starfleet ships, unaware that the enemy was no longer in control of the prototype.

Using the multi-vector assault mode to defeat the warbirds, the doctors managed to return Prometheus back to its rightful owner — Starfleet.