Celebrating The Ships of The Line: Columbia NX-02

Can you name the second ship with a warp five engine? That'd be the Columbia NX-02, which also had the distinction of being the second United Earth NX-class starship. The Enterprise NX-01, of course, preceded the Columbia on both fronts. A.G. Robinson, whom Jonathan Archer beat out for the captaincy of the Enterprise, anticipated that he'd be tapped to captain Columbia, but he perished in a hiking accident on Mount McKinley before he could do so. The ship was ultimately commanded by Captain Erika Hernandez, an ex-girflriend of Archer's, and launched in 2154 with the help of Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III, Archer's chief engineer, who temporarily left the Enterprise to serve on Hernandez' crew. The Columbia resembled the Enterprise in many ways, but featured a number of upgrades, among them pulsed phase cannons, ventral and dorsal photonic torpedo launchers, and better polarized hull plating.

As regular StarTrek.com readers know, we're celebrating the Ships of the Line, taking a closer look at a Trek starship each week from now until the end of the year. The latest in the bestselling Ships of the Line calendar series is available now; visit www.Amazon.com to purchase the 2015 Ships of the Line calendar. And if you're an artist or designer, be sure to enter the Ships of the Line Design Contest, under way now, for a chance to have your art featured in the 2016 Ships of the Line calendar. Click HERE to enter.