star trek ship titan

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Construction History Of USS Titan And More ‘Star Trek: Picard’ Behind The Scenes Details Revealed

| March 15, 2023 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 28 comments so far

The main ship for season three of Star Trek: Picard is the USS Titan-A, which has been described as a sort of refit of Captain Riker’s USS Titan. This complicated history is now being explained along with some more insights and fun bits from behind the scenes with the  Star Trek: Picard cast and crew.

Titan’s complicated construction tied to Mars Attack

We got our first clues about the new USS Titan with the official log released ahead of the season, with some more explained in the first episode, tying the ship’s origins to Riker’s Titan, seen Star Trek books and Lower Decks . We are now learning more thanks to production designer Dave Blass who shared an image showing the new Titan and Riker’s Titan during the refit process…

Here is some early concept art that we did of the two USS Titans during the refit process. It was a fun exploration of how things might have happened. Artwork by John Eaves with modeling by @_Pundus_ #StarTrekPicard pic.twitter.com/24jThOADz0 — Dave Blass (@DaveBlass) March 9, 2023

In that thread, Blass also shared some detailed explanations from designer Mike Okuda…

Why reuse and not just replicate? Like Dilithium, and Latinim, there are lots of materials that can’t be replicated. Sadly Voyager found this out the hard way as Nacelle components are made of a composite of polysilicate verterium and monocrystal cortenum. Can’t be replicated. 16 Years ago the Federation lost the Utopia Planitia Fleetyards, this was not just machinery, and infrastructure but raw materials that are used to manufacture ships. A disaster of that scale, caused a massive of upheaval in the starship construction process. #StarTrekPicard Even with industrial-sized replicators, reuse of large objects will often make sense. Mass equals a lot of energy, and converting it back and forth involves a tremendous amount of energy. And since no process can be 100% efficient, conversion comes at a cost. For relatively small objects, this cost is acceptable, especially compared to the cost of lugging around five years’ worth of food, or an entire inventory of spare parts. But for industrial-sized objects, there will likely be circumstances where it makes more sense to recycle instead of replicate. – Mike Okuda

The mention of the loss of the Utopia Planitia Fleetyards is referring to the Attack on Mars seen in flashbacks from season one of Picard (and Short Treks “Children of Mars”).

Attack on Mars

A closer look at Titan

Yesterday Blass shared a detailed chart from designer Doug Drexler explaining all the exterior components of the new Titan…

Lot's of questions over the last few weeks about the USS Titan NCC-80102-A. Master Starfleet Shipbuilder Doug Drexler has put this handy chart together with the tech involved in this amazing ship as a gift to the best fans in the world. #StarTrekPicard pic.twitter.com/N2tKvdfS9N — Dave Blass (@DaveBlass) March 15, 2023

Going inside, Mike Okuda shared some insight into the panel designs for the Titan’s transporter room.

I based the Titan's transporter room panels on the displays in the Enterprise-D transporter. Animation by Andrew Jarvis and Noah Schloss. Lead graphic designer: Geoff Mandel. Art director: Liz Kloczkowski. Production designer: Dave Blass. Star Trek Picard streams on Paramount+. pic.twitter.com/ECIPkHe7B7 — Michael Okuda (@MikeOkuda) March 12, 2023

Why holodeck works when the rest of ship is out of power

In last week’s episode, there was some fan debate about how the Titan’s holodeck had its own power that could not be shared with the rest of the ship. Blass answered critics by noting this isolated power situation has precedent from Star Trek: Voyager .

Lots of folks concerned about why the power is on in the Holodeck and not the rest of the ship. Let's take a trip to visit with our friends on the USS Voyager to learn a bit about Holodecks and power. #StarTrekPicard pic.twitter.com/vcNMElgwL1 — Dave Blass (@DaveBlass) March 12, 2023

More bucket

Terry Matalas returned to the subject of the Changeling’s bucket seen in episode 4 offering more explanation for it appearing just like Odo’s bucket.

Or it's stored in Starfleet replicators. If you want the plot point to work? "Actually, it's super easy! Barely an inconvenience." @theryangeorge https://t.co/mb1NK6Tlq3 — Terry Matalas (@TerryMatalas) March 15, 2023

Last week’s episode featured space lifeforms and showrunner Terry Matalas shared the final concept design from Neville Page to get a closer look.

One of the final concepts for the Rytonian Space Babies by the brilliant @NevillePage #StarTrekPicard pic.twitter.com/liJ77PfgM1 — Terry Matalas (@TerryMatalas) March 15, 2023

Terry followed that up with a better look at a full rendering.

VFX rendering of the adorable Rytonian Space Babies. If anyone makes merch, please send me some! I love these kiddos. They were "delivered" (get it?!) by this group of hardworking geniuses: @jzvfx @shawnvfx @virtualbri @NevillePage #GhostVFX #StarTrekPicard #StarTrek pic.twitter.com/SqlGOArp9C — Terry Matalas (@TerryMatalas) March 15, 2023

Celebrate Frontier Day

Frontier Day is an important celebration that has been mentioned a few times in season three, including showing some posters for the event. Blass shared a better look at these posters revealing they were designed by Laz Marquez.

Celebrate "Frontier Day" with these amazing posters by @lazmarquez I had followed him for years and knew his passion for Star Trek. I just had to wait for the right opportunity to use his work in the show. pic.twitter.com/GdJw3PCmwp — Dave Blass (@DaveBlass) March 7, 2023

Jeri talks history with Terry

As a guest on The Talk , actress Jeri Ryan mentioned how she and Terry Matalas both got their start in the franchise at the same time way back on Voyager . Terry shared this clip on Twitter talking about how lucky he has been and what a surprise it was for her to bring it up.

How many PA gigs change your life and give you a lifelong friend? I’ve been very, very lucky. This was a cool surprise. #StarTrek pic.twitter.com/zpMzVJpgoV — Terry Matalas (@TerryMatalas) March 12, 2023

Finally, we have a couple more bits about hair, firstly Jonathan Frakes shared an image of himself, cinematographer Crescenzo Notarile, and Michael Dorn as the finalists at “Beard Festival.”

Finalists at Beard Festival pic.twitter.com/A6x8tm4hk8 — Jonathan Frakes (@jonathansfrakes) March 14, 2023

And Terry shared a nice pic of Dorn as Worf with his hair down.

When we let his hair down… #HotWorfFriday pic.twitter.com/W17ZNUhpYo — Terry Matalas (@TerryMatalas) March 10, 2023

Keep up with news about the  Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com .

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So they recycled the old Titan into the new one. The phrasing they used in the Logs post on Instagram wasn’t very clear on that. Still doesn’t fix the scaling issue though.

I honestly would’ve rather that they used one of the STO Luna -class variants.

The Luna class titan is 454 meters long and the constitution lll class titan-a is 560 meters long the original shangri la titan savvik commanded was 295 meters long according to official size chart released by bill Krause

Those are some deep cuts into Holodeck power systems, surprised the canonistas missed that (particularly the scene with Kim, which explains how the sources are incompatible), but it seems Picard’s use of them is fairly consistent with what we’ve seen in the past after all.

I remembered them since the old AOL boards were seething with people up in arms about holodecks being on in a low power emergency.

But they’ve still never explained to me why the lights went out for Captain Proton in “Night.” ;)

I love how they have a backstory (aka: explanation) for every “inconsistancy” people have pointed out. Although I’m not looking for a discussion, all I wanna say is: they’re trying really hard to sell it, and I apreciate the effort. But that doesn’t mean I have to buy it. Some things (like the holodeck power situation) are very obvious behind the scenes reasons and not from-the-get-go thought up Trek things (even back then). Not there’s anything wrong with that, but jus admit to it. That would be less farfetched than any explanation currently served up.

Same thing with the Titans. First it was a new ship, then it was a refit (or whatever came first). Now they spun a story that kinda works for both. Okay, fine.

I’m not sure why this is a problem for anyone. This is Star Trek as it’s always been: they do things for dramatic and/or real-world reasons, and come up with justifications for it later for canon. That’s always been part of the fun of Trek, or at least, among me and my friends back in the day.

Dude. It’s just a tv show. Not real. Not real.

Not sure what your reply has anything to do with my comment, which is obviously about writing.

Can Worf’s hair get its own spinoff?

is this the first time we’ve ever seen Worf’s ears?

I think this season is the first time, yes. I’d mentioned it before, around the time they released the first promo images, and nobody refuted the observation so far.

It’s fine enough, but I would’ve preferred that they kept them hidden. It changes his looks in that it makes his his hair appear quite a bit thinner when compared to this lush AGT locks.

Glory to you…and your haircare products!

That thin-ass wig? LOL

Yeah not buying the retrofit thing. Seems like the script was never adjusted to align better with the ship design that was ultimately chosen.

Yes, that’s because they did what works best for the show, rather than what works for canon nerds, and then found the justification later. That’s the right choice!

Well it seems fairly obvious if you dig deeply enough. One, Matalas has said he is a big fan of the TOS era ships and the Titan A looks like as close of a Ship to the 1701 A as we have gotten in years. Second, and this is just IMHO, “Titan” serves 2 purposes. Obv the first is the call back to Riker’s command. But the second is that it was a named used in 12 Monkeys.

Am I the only one who finds the eyeballs on the space squids makes ’em look creepy?

Also, glad that VOY acknowledged that the Holodeck power sources are incompatible with the rest of the ship. While watching the Picard episode I remembered from VOY that the Holodecks had their own power sources (otherwise TPTB couldn’t use the Holodeck all the time), but I did not know their power sources were incompatible. I’m not a fan of VOY (find it to be written like poor fan fiction than actual good television) but that’s impressive.

I think the space babies were inspired by a Keane painting…

While I appreciate the “refit” angle and trying to make it so that the Titan is still “Rikers ship”…I think calling it a refit is a bit overly generous just like how the jump from the TOS Enterprise to the TMP “refit” is likely a little much, but at least in that case you can use your minds eye to see how the core of the ship is likely still the same spaceframe, etc.

The jump from the Titan to the Titan-A is beyond that ability given that not only is the saucer different (basically a jumbo Connie) but the bridge is completely different from what we’ve seen on Lower Decks for the Luna class also, so its clearly not the same bridge.

I can buy the warp core, engine components, computer core, etc being reused..but that doesn’t really warrant calling the Titan-A a refit..no more than saying the Enterprise CVN-65 is the same as the Enterprise CV-6 just because some components were ceremoniously reused. Plenty of ships have had components of others used to refit them (IE USS Nevada used some of the guns from the wrecked USS Arizona) but that doesn’t then replace the identity of the original ship.

Calling it the Titan-A is fine, trying to call it a refit is not, IMO.

The designation of starships with an extra letter has always been arbitrary. It’s never been consistent, and doesn’t matter.

Thats not the point I was making, but yes I know

I feel for the writers and producers. On one hand having the Titan is good for the story. On the other hand TOS movie era tech and starships are just so much cooler than their TNG counterparts. I appreciate the attempt at a compromise; I think saying it’s a new ship honouring the Titan, not a refit is the answer. All they had to do was change the jazz joke to something like “No jazz filling this ships computer banks” or “When you took her out on her maiden mission Riker, you didn’t have to upload all the jazz on this ship too. Took me a while to delete” or something. Whatever, the Titan A is cool, just wish we got to see the adventures of Saavik’s Titan

my head canon had always held that the saucer itself was salvaged from a much older ship, given the old-style phaser cannons that coexist alongside the TNG phaser strips

That Titan refit makes zero sense but yup, it’s Star Trek. They shouldn’t have made another Constitution, we already have one in SNW. Titan’s still a great model though!

This is the only thing about it that might bug me a little, particularly if we’re getting more of it, as a Titan spin-off. You’d think that, just for marketing purposes, they’d want two drastically different ships leading their shows, but there are a lot of very similar elements that, to casual non-Trekkies, might cause visual confusion at first glance.

Wow lots of awesome stuff here to dig into!!!

Honestly, I wasn’t very accepting of the notion that the Titan-A is a “refit” of Riker’s Luna-class Titan at first given how different the shape and size are between the two… However, I’m now totally convinced by Mike Okuda’s explanation!

It is now much easier to imagine that the Luna-class Titan probably suffered massive damage after its last mission (much like how the Enterprise-E ended up in Nemesis), and Starfleet probably judged that it had reached the end of its operational lifetime (which was also helped by Riker and Troi’s departure to settle on Nepenthe to take care of their dying son). However, with the destruction with the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards (which was an event I admit to having totally blocked from of my memory), shipbuilding resources are low, so it was easier to salvage pieces from the Luna-class Titan (like computer core, warp coils, and so on) and use them to complete the construction of an entirely new ship, hence the Titan-A. This would therefore explain why Shaw had to purge the computer of Riker’s jazz music and why the nacelles are “20 years old.”

The only problem is that the shipbuilding situation with Starfleet in the PIC period is still somewhat sketchy… If the destruction of Utopia Planitia hampered Starfleet’s production capacity, then how did they build so many Zheng He-type starships as seen in PIC’s season 1 finale? And if the destruction of the shipyards happened in 2385 and the Enterprise-F was launched in 2386, how did they still manage to complete the massive building of the Odyssey-class a mere year after the incident? Was the Sagan-class Stargazer therefore also built using salvaged parts from the Constellation-class Stargazer (which would explain Picard’s line but wouldn’t make much sense given how old the old NCC-2893 was)?

Everything You Need To Know About The Main 'New' Ship In Star Trek: Picard Season 3

In the first two seasons of "Star Trek: Picard,"  many Trekkies may have sensed something was amiss. While those seasons did feature Picard (Patrick Stewart) commanding a group of rogues that might be said to resemble an ersatz "crew," they weren't in uniforms, and — quite noticeably — they weren't operating from the bridge of a starship. All of the Trek shows up to that point had been explicitly about the operations of Starfleet, and each series was essentially a workplace show about the staff of either a Federation vessel or a Bajoran space station. "Picard," in removing the "home base" element, emerged as a different dramatic entity altogether. It was a violent ensemble mystery show. For many Trekkies, that didn't ever quite feel correct. 

This was by design, of course. The creators of "Picard" seemed to be adhering to a self-imposed mandate to make their new "Star Trek" as unlike old "Star Trek" as possible. Additionally, as lead actor Patrick Stewart said in a 2019 video interview with TVLine , he would only agree to appear on the show if he was allowed to play the part out of uniform. He didn't want "Picard" to be a retread of familiar Trek territory. 

After two seasons, it seems that both Stewart and the show's creators have warmed to the idea of more traditional Trek iconography, and much of the third season of "Picard" will once again take place on a starship and all its related indicia. Many of the characters will be wearing uniforms, and familiar notions of diplomacy and technical acumen will creep back into the series' central themes. 

As such, the central ship — as well as its capabilities and its captain — will be vital going forward. 

Officers, I introduce you to the U.S.S. Titan-A.

The history of the Titan

The U.S.S. Titan was first mentioned in the 2002 feature film, "Star Trek: Nemesis." Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), after spending over a decade serving as the first officer on two different ships named Enterprise, is finally going to get the promotion he frequently advocated for, and just as frequently turned down. In "Nemesis," he finally marries his first love, Counselor Troi (Marina Sirtis), and agrees to leave the Enterprise to serve as captain of the Titan. 

The Titan, NCC-80102, is a Luna-Class starship that measures about 450 meters in length, according to online fan websites. That would make it slightly larger than the U.S.S. Voyager and not much bigger than the original U.S.S. Enterprise from the 1960s. "Nemesis" did not depict the Titan in action, although the 2020 animated series "Star Trek: Lower Decks"  – set only a few years after the events of "Nemesis" — would see the Titan a lot. One of that show's main characters, Ensign Boimler (Jack Quaid) was a nervous careerist, often driven to neuroses by his desire to get promoted. Boimler would eventually get his wish and serve briefly as the ship's conn officer. 

As a commanding officer, Captain Riker proved to be an enthused, danger-courting maverick, always a little too eager to fly his ship into danger. He seems to have taken the "boldly go" part of "Star Trek" a little too seriously. Riker's crew consisted of men and women of action, each one an Indiana Jones in the making. Eventually, Boimler transfers off the ship, unequipped for the danger that Riker regularly liked to face. Worry not, as he was replaced by a transporter clone. The Titan is mentioned several times on "Lower Decks" thereafter.

The Titan-A

On the second season of "Picard," the Titan was mentioned in dialogue as one of the ships that a graduating ensign was going to be stationed on. It was surprising to hear the name of the Titan on "Picard," as that show takes place some 22 years after "Lower Decks," and ships don't tend to stay commissioned that long. At least not without a massive retrofit. 

In terms of redesigns, something similar seems to have happened with the Titan in those aforementioned 22 years. The ship on "Picard" is the U.S.S. Titan, NCC-80102-A, now commanded by one Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick), and seems to have undergone a dramatic re-build. It's now referred to as a Neo-Constitution Class, and Riker appears to have served as its first captain; Shaw mentions that when he took command, he decided to (heresy!) delete Riker's jazz collection from the ship's computers. The Titan-A is mostly new, but will still possess a lot of parts left over from its older skeleton. 

For reference, the original Enterprise from 1966 was a Constitution-Class vessel. This new Titan still appears to be quite small, and doesn't appear to feature certain comforts and amenities. "Picard" doesn't take audiences into, say, its holodecks, lounges, or mess halls, but it's seemingly more functional than the Enterprise-D of yore. 

Importantly, though, it serves as a central base of operations for the series as a whole. There are rooms where characters can regularly meet to discuss solutions to immediate problems. There is a bridge where characters can survey the show's drama. Just by being on a starship, "Picard" is more Trek than it has ever been.

How ‘Star Trek: Picard’ Created the High-Tech Bridge of Its Newest Starship

By Scott Mantz

Scott Mantz

• ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Costume Designer Breaks Down Wedding Outfits, Progenitors Looks and New Starfleet Uniforms 2 months ago
• ‘Star Trek: Picard’ Team Built a ‘Museum Quality’ Enterprise D to Make Things as ‘Cinematic as Possible’ 1 year ago
• How ‘Star Trek: Picard’ Created the High-Tech Bridge of Its Newest Starship 1 year ago

In just about every way, the third and final season of “Star Trek: Picard” is both about looking back and moving forward. In addition to reuniting the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise from “The Next Generation” for the first time since 2002’s “Star Trek: Nemesis,” it also features a new starship on which most of the action takes place: the U.S.S. Titan, first seen in animated form on “Star Trek: Lower Decks” and now refit as a Neo-Constitution Class Starship.

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When it came to designing the interior of the Titan, Blass recruited veterans from “The Next Generation” and “Deep Space Nine” – senior illustrator Doug Drexler, scenic art supervisor Michael Okuda and video playback supervisor Denise Okuda, all from Herman Zimmerman’s production design team – but also Sean Hargreaves, who designed the sleek new U.S.S. Enterprise seen briefly at the end of 2016’s “Star Trek Beyond.”

To that extent, Blass literally had the best of both worlds. “I think that the starships in the ‘Star Trek’ universe are as heroic as the captains who sat in those seats,” he says. “So, when we were bringing the production crew together, I wanted to bring the best designers from all of ‘Star Trek’ together on one project.”

The Bridge was 46 feet wide, big enough with integrated lighting to accommodate the show’s complex shooting needs. As Blass explains, “The bridge of the Titan is only 12 feet bigger than the Enterprise-E [from ‘Star Trek: Nemesis’] and we were shooting with multiple cameras, so it had to be wide enough to get all the widescreen view shots without picking up the other cameras. And we designed the Titan with bigger consoles so the Bridge would light itself because, with our very limited timeframe, we couldn’t completely relight the set for every single take.”

But it wasn’t just how the Titan looked; it was how it sounded. “It was important for us to go back into the archives and dig out everything from ‘The Next Generation’ series and movies,” says Matalas. “There would be new sounds, and there would be updates, but you’d have a blend. So, even though visually you’re seeing Dave’s sets, the sounds are evoking all of those feelings that should be in your DNA if you love the older shows.”

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Den of Geek

Star Trek: Picard Explains Major Changes to Captain Shaw’s New USS Titan

The first episode of Star Trek: Picard's third season introduces not just a new Captain for the USS Titan in the form of Todd Stashwick's Liam Shaw, but a new look for the ship itself.

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This Star Trek: Picard article contains spoilers.

If you only know Star Trek through its movies and TV shows, then the USS Titan might not seem like a big deal. After all, the ship only first appeared in the finale of Lower Decks season one, not even three years ago, despite first being referenced all the way back in 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis . But to fans of the expanded universe of books and comics that stretches beyond the big and small screens, the Titan has a long and illustrious history, under the command of Captain William T. Riker. In fact, 15 novels have been published in the Star Trek: Titan franchise, chronicling the adventures of Captain Riker, his wife Counsellor Troi, and the crew of their Luna-class ship.

If you’re one of those Trekkers, you may have been a bit thrown off when the season three premiere of Star Trek: Picard introduced the USS Titan-A, a Neo-Constitution class ship under the command of Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick). Not only did Captain Shaw do the unthinkable and rid the ship’s computer of all traces of Riker’s beloved jazz collection, but the ship looks markedly different from its previous incarnation.

The biggest change for the refitted Neo-Constitution class starship is of course the retro vibe, with a redesign that brings back the classic saucer-look of The Original Series vessels.

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“I missed a proper saucer section on the top part of a starship, and I couldn’t help but notice how many cars have gone retro these days. And I remember, as I was driving around, I thought, ‘What if Starfleet did that?'” Picard showrunner Terry Matalas explained to Variety . “I saw this incredible starship designed by digital artist Bill Krause called the U.S.S Shangri-La, which was a Star Trek: Motion Picture -era class ship with a half saucer on top and an Excelsior-inspired Next Generation curve on the bottom, which I thought was really interesting. I said to production designer Dave Blass, I think the Titan should feel something like this.”

For Blass, this revision was no small decision. “I think that the starships in the Star Trek universe are as heroic as the captains who sat in those seats,” Blass said. “So, when we were bringing the production crew together, I wanted to bring the best designers from all of Star Trek together on one project.” Indeed, he did so by recruiting folks who worked on The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine , two of the best entries during Trek ‘s 90s heyday.

With these folks on board, Blass could help design a ship that matched the theme of Picard ‘s third season, which sees the respected Admiral reunited with most of his bridge crew from Enterprises -D and -E, including Worf, La Forge, and Dr. Crusher. But more than a nostalgia trip, the third season promises to continue moving forward toward the future of both the characters and Starfleet itself.

“What was really important to me was that we were bringing The Next Generation characters back, and I wanted to make sure that my sets and my designs did not feel out of place in a Next Generation world,” Blass said. “If we were going to have our characters look and act the way they are, then our sets needed to evolve in such a way that it looked and felt like an extension of what had been done in the past while also looking forward at the same time.”

To that end, Blass and his team made not only a larger ship than those we’re used to seeing, but also combined new sounds with those of classic ships of the past. “[Y]ou’d have a blend,” Matalas said. “So, even though visually you’re seeing Dave’s sets, the sounds are evoking all of those feelings that should be in your DNA if you love the older shows.”

With this approach, the Titan-A is sure to impress, whether you first encountered its predecessor a few years ago or you’ve been reading about its adventures for years.

Star Trek: Picard season 3 streams on Thursdays on Paramount+.

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Joe George | @jageorgeii

Joe George’s writing has appeared at Slate, Polygon, Tor.com, and elsewhere!

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Meet the Crew of STAR TREK: PICARD’s Hero Ship, the Titan

We are mere weeks away from the third and final season of Star Trek: Picard , which will reunite the principal cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation . But despite its status as a TNG reunion, the final season won’t primarily take place on board the Enterprise . No, the “hero ship” for Picard this year will be the U.S.S. Titan . Trekkers might remember that was the ship that Riker became captain of at the end of Star Trek: Nemesis .

This starship Titan however is a brand new one, the Titan-A. As we learned from the past 50 years of the franchise, it’s customar y for Starfleet to add a letter to a new ship with an old name. (We are now at the Enterprise -F! ) And the Titan-A has a brand new crew and a new Captain. Picard showrunner Terry Matalas recently took the time to introduce each member of the bridge crew via Twitter . And to start, we have a very familiar name at the helm.

Just as Geordi La Forge helmed the Enterprise 35 years ago, his daughter Sidney La Forge is now at the helm of the Titan . So it’s Star Trek: The Next Next Generation? That might be a mouthful for a future show name.

THREAD! Meet THE BRIDGE CREW of the USS TITAN! Starting with: Ensign Sidney LaForge – Helm. Unlike her sister, Alandra, she didn't want to build ships, she wanted to fly them. pic.twitter.com/sqUxb6P03b — Terry Matalas (@TerryMatalas) February 4, 2023

At the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , the planet Bajor was primed to join the Federation at last. So it makes sense that we’d have a Bajoran on board. The Titan’s tactical officer is Lt. Matthew Arliss Mura. With a name like Matthew, we suspect he is part human. Did his parents meet on DS9 perhaps?

Meet Lt. Matthew Arliss Mura. Tactical — has served on the new Titan for last 3 years and is exactly who you want at that station when you hear “give ’em everything we got!” pic.twitter.com/t6uLbywBB8 — Terry Matalas (@TerryMatalas) February 4, 2023

Every Starfleet ship should endeavor to have a Vulcan on board—primarily as a science officer. For the Titan , the resident Vulcan is Lt. T’Veen. We are sure she will do T’Pol, Spock, and Tuvok proud, and hopefully live long and prosper .

Meet Lt. T’Veen, Science Officer. Vulcan. Several Captains fought to have her on their bridge. The Titan won. pic.twitter.com/UUCJxdLwoQ — Terry Matalas (@TerryMatalas) February 4, 2023

Our new communications officer is Haliian. That’s a deep-cut, empathic alien race, appearing in one episode of TNG in its sixth season.

Meet Ensign Kova Rin Esmar. Haliian. Communications. They graduated at the top of their class and speak over 72 alien languages. pic.twitter.com/QFDFIdNTR7 — Terry Matalas (@TerryMatalas) February 4, 2023

Then, there’s our Captain, Liam Shaw. He’s played by Todd Stashwick, of 12 Monkeys fame. We are sure he is going to get on like gangbusters with Starfleet legends Picard and Riker. What can go wrong?

All under the command of Captain Liam Shaw. A former engineer with a long history within Starfleet. More on him later… pic.twitter.com/wrcA9Ew9Cv — Terry Matalas (@TerryMatalas) February 4, 2023

And after 25 years, Seven of Nine finally gets a Starfleet uniform and an official role as a first officer. It’s about time.

And last but certainly not least: Meet the Titan’s first officer who was placed into an accelerated Starfleet program against her own judgement. Well, more on her on February 16th! @StarTrekOnPPlus pic.twitter.com/4JSI4J5zy8 — Terry Matalas (@TerryMatalas) February 4, 2023

We’re sure to meet even more Titan crew members, when Star Trek: Picard season three debuts on February 16.

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Memory Beta, non-canon Star Trek Wiki

A friendly reminder regarding spoilers ! At present the expanded Trek universe is in a period of major upheaval with the continuations of Discovery and Prodigy , the advent of new eras in gaming with the Star Trek Adventures RPG , Star Trek: Infinite and Star Trek Online , as well as other post-57th Anniversary publications such as the ongoing IDW Star Trek comic and spin-off Star Trek: Defiant . Therefore, please be courteous to other users who may not be aware of current developments by using the {{ spoiler }}, {{ spoilers }} OR {{ majorspoiler }} tags when adding new information from sources less than six months old (even if it is minor info). Also, please do not include details in the summary bar when editing pages and do not anticipate making additions relating to sources not yet in release. THANK YOU

• Memory Beta articles sourced from episodes and movies
• Memory Beta articles sourced from video games
• Memory Beta articles sourced from games
• Memory Beta articles sourced from comics
• Memory Beta articles sourced from eBooks
• Memory Beta articles sourced from novelizations
• Federation starships
• Luna class starships
• 24th century Federation starships
• First Splinter timeline Federation starships
• First Splinter timeline spacecraft losses

The USS Titan ( NCC-80102 ) was a Luna -class Federation starship in Starfleet service, launched in the year 2379 under the command of Captain William T. Riker . The Titan , like the other ships in the Luna class, was named for a moon in the Sol system , Titan . This new series of vessels had one of the most diverse crews in fleet history —fewer than 15% of the Titan crewmembers were Human .

• 1 Service history and disposition
• 2 Crew manifest
• 3.1 Connections
• 3.2.1 Appearances
• 3.2.2 References
• 3.3 External links

Service history and disposition [ ]

During the refit of the USS Enterprise E , several members of the ship's crew were reassigned to the Titan. ( STO website : The Path to 2409 )

Titan 's initial assignment was to lead a diplomatic and humanitarian mission to Romulus , in addition to retrieving a Starfleet officer , Tuvok , who had been imprisoned while working undercover for Starfleet Intelligence . ( TTN novel : Taking Wing )

At the completion of this mission, Titan was caught in a spatial anomaly and transported 210,000 light-years to the Small Magellanic Cloud , home of the Neyel . ( TTN novel : The Red King )

Following Titan' s return from the Small Magellanic Cloud, it began its previously planned mission of exploration in the Gum Nebula . Not long after beginning this mission they made first contact with the Pa'haquel , and encountered several species of cosmozoans , including Star-jellies and Branchers (the Crystalline Entity 's species). ( TTN novel : Orion's Hounds )

The Titan at warp.

Following these encounters they continued on until they discovered a strange collection of dark matter which they referred to as darklings , in a region they named Occultus Ora . ( TTN novel : Sword of Damocles )

The Battle of Kalla , 2380 .

In 2380 , the Titan came to the aid of the USS Cerritos which was under attack from a group of Pakled ships. Later, Cerritos crewmember Brad Boimler was promoted to Lieutenant and transferred to the Titan . ( LD episode : " No Small Parts ")

The Titan was subsequently assigned by Starfleet Command to monitor and frustrate the Pakleds' activities. When one of their away missions, resulted in a transporter clone of Boimler, who took on the name William Boimler , Brad was transferred back to the Cerritos . ( LD episode : " Kayshon, His Eyes Open ")

During its deep exploration mission in 2381 , the Titan encountered a race of highly advanced aliens known as the Caeliar when the vessel inadvertently detected New Erigol . The Caeliar allowed them to send a shuttle down to the surface, including away team members Commander Vale, Counselor Troi, Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, Dr. Ree, Lieutenant Commander Keru, and Ensign Torvig. The Caeliar, protective and secretive by nature, welcomed the team to their planet's surface, but denied them the ability to depart. The Titan eventually escaped with the assistance of Captain Erika Hernandez , former commanding officer of the Earth Starfleet vessel Columbia , who had been held by the Caeliar for hundreds of years. The ship left behind the away team and passed through a subspace tunnel terminating at the Azure Nebula , arriving moments too late to aid an armada of Federation , Klingon , Romulan , Cardassian , Ferengi , and other alien vessels that had assembled to stop the final push of the Borg invasion , which numbered over seven thousand vessels . ( ST - Destiny novels : Gods of Night , Mere Mortals )

The Titan also discovered the Axis of Time , which the crew would begin to explore alongside Agents from the Federation Department of Temporal Investigations . ( DTI novel : Watching the Clock )

In November 2382 , the Shantherin th'Clane travelled to the Vela Pulsar to meet with the USS Titan , intending to deprive the Starfleet vessel of its seven Andorian crewmembers. The two ships parted without exchanging fire. ( TTN novel : Fallen Gods )

At an unspecified date, Tuvok worked with Lieutenant Commander Wesley Crusher to decipher a computer data stream. During this process, however, the ship was attacked by a Klingon ship. Since Captain Riker was away from the ship for a debriefing at the time, Tuvok and Crusher were forced to work together to repel the Klingon ship. ( TTN movie : Star Trek: The Tour )

In September 2385 , Captain Riker was promoted to rear admiral . After being promoted, Rear Admiral Riker retained Titan as his personal flagship. Upon his assignment as Sector Commander of the Alpha Quadrant frontier zone, he made Titan the sector command's mobile base of operations.

In 2386 , Christine Vale was promoted to captain and assigned as the ship's permanent commanding officer, after having served as acting captain since Riker's promotion. ( ST - The Fall novel : The Poisoned Chalice , TTN novel : Sight Unseen )

In 2387 , Amiral Riker was hunting his old friend Captain Picard and the starship USS Aventine after his former Captain told Starfleet about the Devidian threat and his plan to destroy the current timeline to prevent the destruction of all parallel universes. ( Coda novel : Moments Asunder )

Later the Titan was helping Picard and his team in the intertime region. Christine Vale sacrificed the Titan after a battle with the Devidian‘s defenses. She ordered a collision course to the devidian‘s station in the intertime . ( Coda novel : Oblivion's Gate )

In 2391 , the success of the Titan' s diverse crew inspired Starfleet to consider expanding the admission standards at Starfleet Academy to provide more opportunities for races that are formally allied with the Federation but are not full member worlds. ( STO website : The Path to 2409 )

By 2411 , the Titan was no longer in service, having been succeeded in name by the Titan -class , and its prototype, the USS Titan . ( STO - House Shattered mission : " Welcome to Earth Spacedock ")

Crew manifest [ ]

Appendices [ ], connections [ ], appearances and references [ ], appearances [ ], references [ ].

• TNG movie & novelization : Star Trek Nemesis

External links [ ]

• USS Titan article at Memory Alpha , the wiki for canon Star Trek .
• 1 Ferengi Rules of Acquisition
• 2 Odyssey class
• 3 Typhon class

Star Trek: Titan

• 1.1 Tie-ins
• 3 Characters
• 4 References
• 5 External link
• Taking Wing
• The Red King
• Orion's Hounds
• Sword of Damocles
• Over a Torrent Sea
• Fallen Gods
• Absent Enemies ( eBook novella)
• Sight Unseen
• Fortune of War

Tie-ins [ ]

• " Improvisations on the Opal Sea: A Tale of Dubious Credibility "
• Gods of Night
• Mere Mortals
• " Empathy "
• Seize the Fire
• Watching the Clock
• The Poisoned Chalice

Premise [ ]

During the Dominion War , Starfleet was forced to set aside exploratory missions and vessels in favor of combat missions and warships. Starships left drydock with spaceframes outfitted solely as warships of the Federation , lacking scientific facilities and exploratory capacity. However, with the end of the war, Starfleet began to return to its exploratory roots; scientific facilities were installed aboard the surviving ships that lacked them, and new starships were designed and built for exploration first and foremost. Among these was the Luna -class starship; Titan is one of the first of these new exploratory vessels and placed under the command of Captain Riker.

Characters [ ]

• See: Star Trek: Titan characters

References [ ]

External link [ ].

• Star Trek: Titan at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• 1 Alyssa Ogawa
• 3 Daniels (Crewman)

USS Titan-A

The USS Titan-A is a Neo-Constitution ship whose retro design is inspired by older Constitution Class vessels. The NCC-80102-A was launched in 2396 and first captained by Liam Shaw. Captain Riker subsequently took command of the vessel after he and Admiral Picard boarded under the guise of a routine inspection. This vessel is equipped with cutting-edge propulsion technology, and its overpowered impulse engines mean that the USS Titan-A has the largest sub-light power-to-geometry ratio in Starfleet.

How can you add it to your fleet?

To build the USS Titan-A, you must have your Shipyard at level 37 and prove to the Ex-Borg that you are loyal to the cause! Once you reach the “Tolerated” level in the  Ex-Borg Faction, you will see a bundle containing USS Titan-A blueprints.

Why is it an excellent addition to your fleet?

The USS Titan-A is the first ship that provides two active abilities to enhance your and your alliance’s ships’ performance. It will provide increased combat stats for various activities, like hunting hostiles, PVP, Territory Capture, Armadas, etc.

It also provides a way to counter the Mantis’ Venomous Puncture ability with both active abilities.

Last but not least, the USS Titan-A daily goals will provide you with additional ways to get Rare and Uncommon Fleet Commander Skill Points upon completion.

“Fortified” and “Max Fortified” state rules

• The state is applied to all ships which belong to the activating player in the system
• The number of ships is determined by the Tier of the  USS Titan-A applying the state
• Alliance ships are selected based on Attack stat (higher first)
• If an Alliance ship is already in one of the states, it is skipped
• If one of the player’s own ships is already in one of the states, the duration is refreshed

While tiering up the USS Titan-A will provide you with a reduced cooldown and increased duration for the active abilities, the USS Titan-A research nodes will further enhance those abilities and even add new effects to your ships.

Veridium Isotope, which is used to unlock the USS Titan-A’s research nodes, can be found as a reward upon completing the active abilities daily goals. Additional Veridium Isotope can be found in the Offers tab.

Note: The unlocked research nodes apply to your ships, not other players, similarly to how the Cerritos and Defiant abilities work.

How to upgrade it?

Important notes

• Based on your Titan-A's tier, the active abilities can apply to your ships without factoring into the limit of ships that can benefit from it. Both abilities only affect undocked ships.
• The amount of Rare and Uncommon Fleet Commander skill points received in the Refinery will increase along with the Titan-A Tier.
• The Horizon Velocity resea rch node will significantly increase the warp range of the Titan-A.

Related articles

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Published Jun 19, 2024

Fanhome to Return with New Starships This Fall with the Titan, Stargazer, and Farragut

Assemble these legendary ships!

StarTrek.com

We're thrilled to reveal that Fanhome will be launching a new official Star Trek Starships model collection this Fall.

Starting in November, a new die-cast model starship will be released every month. The first ship will be the U.S.S. Titan NCC-80210-A, from the third season of Star Trek: Picard .

The collection will cover all the modern Star Trek series, including Strange New Worlds , Discovery , Lower Decks , and Prodigy , with the following first three ships confirmed for release:

• U.S.S. Titan NCC-80201-A , Captain Shaw's Constitution III -class ship from Star Trek: Picard
• U.S.S. Stargazer NCC-82893 , Rios' Sagan -class ship, which featured in Season 2 of Star Trek: Picard
• U.S.S. Farragut NCC-1647 , the ship that a young James T. Kirk is serving on during the Strange New Worlds era

The ships are exclusively available from Fanhome.com . You will be able to buy them individually for $64.99. There are special deals for anyone who subscribes — regular issues will only be $54.99, with an extra discount for the first issue. Subscribers will also get a unique variant ship and other exclusive gifts.

All the ships will be crafted from a combination of die-cast metal and high-quality resin. The typical model will be between 7" and 9" (180-225 mm) long. There will also be regular, higher-priced XL-sized models for major ships that will be approximately 11" (280 mm) long. Fanhome are working with Paramount Global to ensure the models are as accurate as possible, and based on the original visual effects models that were used to make the effects for the show.

Each model will come with a 16-page magazine that provides an in-universe profile of the ship and explores the design process with exclusive art and brand-new interviews with the production team.

The whole project will be supervised by Ben Robinson, who has worked on hundreds of similar models and will be the same scale as the most recent Starship collections.

To find out more including the exact release date, when you'll be able to pre-order, and future releases, head over to Fanhome.com and register your interest. Stay tuned for more news later this summer.

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Ranking All the STAR TREK Hero Ships from Best to Worst

Over the past five decades, the Star Trek franchise has showcased some of the coolest starships in all of sci-fi TV and film history. But which one is the best? We’ve ranked the greatest “Hero Ships” from the series, from the classic ‘sixties ’60s show to more modern Treks like Picard , Discovery , and Strange New Worlds. And for clarity’s sake, we define “Hero Ship” as any starship where the main action takes place in a particular show or movie. Or that a principal character commanded in a pivotal way.

1. The Enterprise NCC-1701 (Refit) and the Enterprise NCC-1701-A, Constitution -class, seen in Star Trek films I-VI (1979-1991)

When Star Trek made the jump from the small screen to the big screen , the starship Enterprise got an upgrade to go with it. Undergoing a two-year refit, the remodeled Enterprise made its debut in Star Trek: The Motion Picture . They took the basic design concept from the sixties show, and upgraded it with more detail and sleeker warp nacelles. They destroyed that Enterprise in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , but in the next film we got a new Enterprise of the exact same type— Constitution -class refit. And since they’re the exact same model, we’re counting them as one. Still the ship we think of when someone says “ Star Trek. “

2. The Enterprise NCC-1701-D, Galaxy -class, seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Generations (1987-1994)

In a recent episode of Picard ‘s third season, a random person referred to the Enterprise -D as “the fat one.” Well, the saucer section was indeed very large , as a way of accommodating over 1,000 crew members and their families. But this design is the most organic looking of all the Starfleet vessels, and there was just something graceful and sleek about its design. Sure, it had pastel carpets on the floor and walls, and even wood paneling. Truly, a choice. But overall, the Enterprise -D just felt like a true home in space. And one we wouldn’t mind living in. We miss her still.

3. Voyager NCC-74656, Intrepid -class, seen in Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

The U.S.S. Voyager was a brand new ship when we were introduced to it, under the command of Captain Kathryn Janeway in the first episode of Star Trek: Voyager . The Intrepid -class ship was one of the late 24th-century successors of the Galaxy -class ships like the Enterprise -D. Yet it was much smaller, and could actually land on a planet. Her design kind of looked like a serving spoon with two nacelles sticking out, but there was something undeniably cool about this one. And it definitely had the coolest class of shuttlecraft on board.

4. Enterprise NCC-1701-E, Sovereign -class, seen in Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, Star Trek: Nemesis (1996-2002)

After they crashed the Enterprise -D onto a planet in Generations , a year later Starfleet introduced the next Federation flagship, the Enterprise -E. It was a Sovereign -class ship, longer than the Enterprise -D, but not wider. Its saucer section was more elongated, and the warp nacelles were larger. Something about this ship, designed with fighting Borg and Dominion in mind, made it look meaner and more militant than the Enterprise- D. Which was perfect, as she saw many battles in First Contact and in subsequent films.

5. The H.M.S. Bounty /Klingon Bird of Prey, seen in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1984-1986)

This entry is kind of cheating, we admit. However, the H.M.S. Bounty , a commandeered Klingon Bird of Prey, was under the command of Captain Kirk in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home . He and the displaced Enterprise crew saved the whales, and the entire future, with this ship. So we say it counts. It was jokingly renamed after the same 18th-century British vessel famous for its mutineers. Besides, it was the first Klingon Bird of Prey we ever saw, introduced in The Search for Spock . And that ship was one of the coolest in all of sci-fi history. It was so cool in fact, they used the model in TNG, DS9 , and several more films for years.

6. The Enterprise NCC-1701, Constitution -class, seen in Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969), Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1975), Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022-Present)

The original starship, commanded first by Christopher Pike and later by James T. Kirk. It was designed by Matt Jefferies in 1964 for the pilot episode of Star Trek. The basic design is as pure Trek as it gets, and remains iconic throughout the world . The only reason it ranks at this mid-tier level is that the feature films took this same design and greatly improved on it. We still see a version of the classic NCC-1701 Enterprise on Strange New Worlds , although with added details for a 4K HD world. But it’s still the same basic design, and you just can’t go wrong with it.

7. The Excelsior NCC-2000, prototype, seen in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

Introduced in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock as “the great experiment,” we count the Excelsior as a “hero ship” because her Captain was none other than Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country . And she saw plenty of action in that film. She kind of looks like a version of the refit Enterprise , only one that hit the gym and got very swole. The Excelsior led to a whole class of ships named for her, of which the Enterprise -B was one. The Excelsior -class was in service for nearly 75 years.

8. The Defiant NX-74205, prototype class, seen in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , (1994-1999) , Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

It’s tiny compared to the other ships on this list, and kind of looks like a waffle skillet with a vacuum cleaner nozzle. A prototype vessel designed to fight the Borg , the Defiant was an overpowered ship that packed a lot of heat. She was the main starship assigned to Deep Space Nine, appearing in DS9 seasons 3-7. Her first appearance remains a visual indicator of when the show got really good. Riker called her “a tough little ship” in the movie First Contact, and we think that’s a fair description. She was the angry chihuahua of the Star Trek franchise. And for that, we love her.

9. The Enterprise NCC-1701 Constitution -class (Kelvin Timeline), seen in Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek Beyond (2016)

We generally like the alt-timeline Enterprise , introduced in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek 2009 reboot film . But, it had some weird design choices. The saucer section was aces, but the warp nacelles were too big, a bit too muscle-car-looking. The placement of the deflector dish section jetting out in a weird way made the ship look unharmonious in design. We don’t dislike it, but the new Enterprise didn’t have to go so deeply Fast and the Furious for this redesign. Maybe if we ever see the Kelvin-verse crew again, they’ll be in a newer and cooler-looking ship.

10. The Titan NCC-80102-A, Neo-Constitution -class, seen in Star Trek: Picard season 3 (2023)

The main hero ship of Star Trek: Picard , the Titan is a new Neo- Constitution -class, meant to evoke the original Constitution -class ships like Kirk’s Enterprise . Only with a lot more detail. The Titan feels like a true update of both the classic and the 24th-century Starfleet vessels seen throughout TNG, DS9, and Voyager . Although commanded by Captain Liam Shaw, Will Riker took command when Shaw was injured. The previous Titan , a Luna -class ship , was under the command of Riker years before. We saw him in command of that Titan on Lower Decks . The current Titan has components of the old Luna -class ship. So it qualifies as both a refit and also as a new ship, hence keeping the registry number.

11. The Discovery NCC-1031 and NCC-1031-A, Crossfield -class, seen in Star Trek: Discovery (2017-2024)

The 23rd Century U.S.S. Discovery had a lot of cool design features, especially once it got a 32nd-century upgrade in Discovery’s third season . It was actually based on old illustrations by Star Wars concept artist Ralph McQuarrie for a never-produced Trek movie. But Discovery was too weirdly flat looking, and with boxy warp nacelles, for us to ever really feel like something from Starfleet. It sort of looks like a pizza cutter, which is why they eventually made a Discovery pizza cutter . We just never really fell in love with the design for Discovery the way we wanted to.

12. The Protostar , NX-76884, prototype class, seen in Star Trek: Prodigy (2021-Present)

A relatively new ship to Star Trek canon, the Protostar is the hero ship of Star Trek: Prodigy. The experimental prototype ship harnessed the power of a young star. This energy helped it travel at incredible speeds, much faster than the average Federation starship. It had similar design elements to both Voyager and the Enterprise -E. And that makes sense, as it would have been built around the same time as those iconic ships.

13. The Cerritos NCC-75567, California -class, seen in Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020-Present)

The U.S.S. Cerritos , a California -class 24th-century ship (named for a real California city near Los Angeles), is the main ship on Star Trek: Lower Decks . The animated comedy series is about a crew stationed aboard the least important ship in Starfleet . Since it is a show filled with awkward main characters, the Cerrito s is appropriately awkward looking. It sort of looked like a frisbee with handlebars. We kind of like it, but majestic she ain’t.

14. The Enterprise NX-01, prototype class, seen in Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)

To be fair, the 22nd-century NX-01 Enterprise was a prototype ship designed by Starfleet before there was ever even a Federation. It was the first Earth vessel to hit the Warp 5 mark, allowing them to explore far more of the galaxy. They meant it to look very “first draft,” if you get our meaning. But it all just looked a little too much like a first attempt. It’s not hideous, it’s just that the NX-01 looks very unassuming and slightly underwhelming. Kind of like the Enterprise series itself in the end.

15. The S.S . La Sirena , NAR-93131, Freighter-class, seen in Star Trek: Picard (2020-2023)

Introduced as Captain Cristobal Rios’ private vessel in the first season of Picard , the S.S. La Sirena has changed hands many times. Rios gave it to Seven of Nine in season two, who later turned it over to Raffi in season three. This red-hued speed freighter looked like a random ship from Star Wars , more than anything worthy of a main series Star Trek ship. It’s not that it’s awful, it just feels the most un- Trek of every ship on this list. And let’s face it, it looks like a space crab. Hopefully, by the end of Picard season three, someone will put this hand-me-down ship out of its misery.

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Recasting Star Trek: The Next Generation For A Movie Reboot

Patrick stewart loves a sci-fi sitcom that was a star trek: tng "rip-off", mayor of kingstown season 4: will it happen everything we know.

The USS Enterprise is expected to appear in Star Trek: Picard season 3, but it can't be the ship Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the reunited crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation takes command of. The trailer for Star Trek: Picard season 3 not only showcased the return of Captain William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), Worf (Michael Dorn), and Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), but it also reveals the USS Titan-A. The new Titan appears to be the starship Picard and his friends will command on their final mission to save the galaxy.

Of course, Jean-Luc Picard is as synonymous with the Starship Enterprise as Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) is. Picard commanded the Galaxy -class USS Enterprise-D for seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation and the film Star Trek Generations, where the D was destroyed. For the next three TNG movies, Picard led the Sovereign -class USS Enterprise-E in missions against the Borg, the Son'a, and the Remans commanded by his clone, Romulan Praetor Shinzon (Tom Hardy). Picard left the Enterprise behind in 2385 upon his promotion to Admiral to lead the United Federation of Planets' mission to relocate the Romulan people when their star went supernova. In Star Trek: Picard seasons 1 and 2, Picard's starship was the non-Starfleet La Sirena, which was purposely to differentiate the new series from The Next Generation. However, the TNG crew coming back together one last time in Star Trek: Picard season 3 calls for a Starfleet ship - but not the Enterprise.

Related: Riker Vs. Jean-Luc: Who Is TNG's Real Leader In Picard Season 3?

The logical reason that Admiral Picard can't take back the USS Enterprise in Star Trek: Picard season 3 is that the Enterprise is the flagship of the Federation, and Jean-Luc's time in its Captain's chair has long since passed. Whether it's the E or the F, the Enterprise will have had a new Captain and crew for many years. Meanwhile, Admiral Picard retired from Starfleet, although he became Chancellor of Starfleet Academy prior to Star Trek: Picard season 2. True, Picard could use his rank to take command of the Enterprise as he did the USS Stargazer in Picard season 2, but it's not clear just how much the Enterprise will be seen in season 3. Meanwhile, Will Riker is still an active Starfleet Captain and the Titan was his previous command. Riker led the Titan after he left the Enterprise in Star Trek: Nemesis and some of his exploits were seen in Star Trek: Lower Decks seasons 1 and 2.

Where Is The Enterprise In Star Trek: Picard Season 3?

Star Trek: Picard 's producers have hinted that the Enterprise - and possibly multiple versions of the flagship - will be seen in season 3. This could mean that a replica of the Enterprise-D is now a museum, or it could be seen through other means like a flashback or via holodeck. It would also be disappointing if the newest Enterprise isn't seen in Picard season 3, even if Jean-Luc doesn't command it. As the Federation flagship, however, the Enterprise is always performing the most important missions, including its primary duty of exploration to seek out new life and new civilizations.

Meanwhile, it's no coincidence that the USS Titan-A has been designed to resemble the Enterprise, with its saucer section and vertical rear nacelles. Riker's previous Luna -class USS Titan was of a different design, but the Titan-A's new look is purposely meant to evoke the Enterprise in every way but its name. After all, if Star Trek: Picard season 3 can't have the real Enterprise, the USS Titan-A led by Captain Riker and, possibly, Commanders Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd), is the next best thing.

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 premieres February 16, 2023 on Paramount+.

• SR Originals
• Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

This Controversial New Sci-Fi Gaming Crossover Is Also a Historic First

Never give up. Never surrender. But do it boldly.

In 1999, one comedy film not only became one of the greatest sci-fi movies of a generation, but it also predicted the way in which we all think and talk about fandoms of all kinds in the 21st century. That film was Galaxy Quest , an obvious parody of Star Trek in which actors from a cult sci-fi TV show find themselves fighting for their lives in a real interstellar adventure.

And despite some excellent comics, and constant talk of a TV series reboot , fans of Galaxy Quest can’t get their hands on that much Galaxy Quest stuff. On top of that, there’s never been a Galaxy Quest game of any kind. Until now. But, this first appearance of Galaxy Quest in video game form comes with a catch: it’s attached to a “freemium” Star Trek mobile game.

Galaxy Quest hits Star Trek: Fleet Command

For a limited time, developer Scopley has launched an event in which characters and ships from Galaxy Quest can be earned as playable crew and starships in Fleet Command . Yes, this includes Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen), Laliari (Missi Pyle), Gwen DeMarco (Sigourney Weaver), and Alexander Dane (Alan Rickman). And most importantly, means players can, for the first time ever, command a version of the iconic Galaxy Quest ship, the NSEA Protector.

Designed by Industrial Light & Magic, most sci-fi fans agree that the NSEA Protector is one of the greatest Star Trek-ish ships to ever grace the screen, even though Galaxy Quest is not *technically* a Star Trek movie.

What is Star Trek: Fleet Command ?

Fleet Command is a free Star Trek game that takes a lot of work (or money) to get good.

Star Trek: Fleet Command was launched in 2018, a mobile game that has less to do with exploring strange new worlds and more to do with blowing up enemy starships and buying bigger and better versions of your own. And yes, it’s pretty hard to level up your ships and crew without a few in-app purchases, which makes the gaming experience somewhat contrary to the (mostly) currency-free future Star Trek imagines.

But for diehard Trekkies, you can’t write Fleet Command off completely. A ton of legacy actors from the franchise have done cool crossovers for the game, including LeVar Burton, Brent Spiner , Jonathan Frakes, Rainn Wilson, Sonequa Martin-Green, Alice Eve, and even Michelle Yeoh . And while the ads produced to announce those crossovers are arguably somewhat cooler than the actual game, there’s an old-school arcade space-battle aspect to Fleet Command once you get to the point where your ship doesn’t totally suck. (Which, again is hard .)

It also looks pretty amazing for a mobile game, and adding your favorite ships and crew is somewhat exciting, considering the game is now at a point where it includes literally all eras of Star Trek crossing over at once. Launched exclusively in the Kelvin timeline the game has, in recent years, expanded to include all various eras, which means it is the only Star Trek experience in which Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk can be on the USS Titan-A from Picard , alongside William Shatner’s Kirk from The Wrath of Khan . What Fleet Command lacks in gameplay mechanics, it admittedly does make up for in cool factor.

The Galaxy Quest crew as they appear in Fleet Command.

The crossover of Galaxy Quest ships and crew to Fleet Command is arguably the biggest stunt the game has pulled yet. You can’t really imagine characters from Spaceballs appearing in Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes , but that’s exactly what this is like. Curiously, this is the second major crossover between Star Trek and another sci-fi franchise within a mobile game in just the past few months. During San Diego Comic-Con 2024, the Trek mobile game Star Trek: Lower Decks: The Badgey Directive began featuring a crossover between Doctor Who: Lost in Time, while fans of both franchises are hopeful for a TV crossover, too.

Right now, there’s no reason to think that characters from Galaxy Quest will actually appear in a Star Trek upcoming movie. But then again, a few years ago, nobody thought you’d be able to fly the NSEA Protector in the Final Frontier either.

You can learn more about Fleet Command here .

• Video Games

Doomed crew on Titan sub knew 'they were going to die,' lawsuit says

T he five people aboard a submersible excursion to the Titanic likely experienced "terror and anguish" moments before the vessel imploded deep in the North Atlantic last year, killing all aboard, according to a $50 million lawsuit filed by the family of a victim.

The submersible Titan disappeared on June 18, 2023 , while making a dive to explore the Titanic's wreckage. The incident prompted a multination search for the vessel that ended four days later when the Coast Guard announced the Titan debris had been found and bodies recovered.

Paul-Henri Nargeolet was director of underwater research for the Titanic and had made dozens of trips to the site, more than 2 miles beneath the ocean's surface. The wrongful death lawsuit claims Nargeolet would not have boarded the Titan had the submersible's builder, OceanGate, disclosed crucial information about technical problems with the vessel.

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"While the exact cause of failure may never be determined, experts agree that the Titan's crew would have realized what was happening," the lawsuit contends. "Common sense dictates that the crew were well aware they were going to die, before dying."

Tony Buzbee, a lawyer for the family, said in a statement the family hopes the lawsuit will allow them to learn "exactly how this happened, who all were involved, and how those involved could allow this to happen."

◾ OceanGate CEO and co-founder Stockton Rush, who was operating the Titan when it imploded, also died along with British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman.

◾ OceanGate posted a note on its website that it had suspended all exploration and commercial operations. The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the implosion, and a public hearing is scheduled for Sept. 16.

Catastrophic Titan sub disaster: A year later the search for answers continues.

Crew had 'full knowledge' that Titan was doomed

The lawsuit claims the Titan began dropping weights about 90 minutes into its dive in an apparent, ill-fated effort to return to the surface.

"The crew may well have heard the carbon fiber's crackling noise grow more intense as the weight of the water pressed on Titan's hull," the lawsuit says. "By experts' reckoning, they would have continued to descend, in full knowledge of the vessel's irreversible failures, experiencing terror and mental anguish prior to the Titan ultimately imploding."

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada and the French Marine Casualty Investigation Authority are working with the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board and are conducting "parallel" investigations.

What happened to the Titan submersible?

The Titan's  trip , expected to take two hours, began at 8 a.m. about 435 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. An hour and 45 minutes later, the submersible's support ship lost contact with it. At 3 p.m., the Titan failed to surface. The  frantic search  and rescue operation that ensued  transfixed the world .

On June 22, the U.S.  Coast Guard announced the discovery of a debris field .  The vessel likely suffered a "catastrophic implosion" and OceanGate announced all occupants of the Titan had been lost.

"The case brought by the Nargeolet family alleges a troubled history of the doomed submersible," Buzbee said.

Current Titanic expedition would have included Nargeolet

The Titan tragedy has not ended the interest in exploring the Titanic. In July, RMS Titanic Inc.  launched  Titanic Expedition 2024 , a crew including videographers, photographers, scientists and historians, from Providence, Rhode Island. Nargeolet was scheduled to participate in the current Titanic expedition.

No crew members were visiting the wreckage, but two remotely operated vehicles were sent 12,500 feet deep into the Atlantic. The cameras would survey the sunken ship and take high-resolution images to “preserve the existing state of the site digitally," the company said. The exploration team said in a social media post this week that it was headed home.

"Battling some rough seas today," the team said in a social media post this week, adding: "The waves are relentless, but the  #TITANICExpedition2024  crew is strong."

The Titanic also brought tragedy

The Titanic captured the nation's imagination in 1912, the largest and most well-appointed cruise ship of its time. But the ship hit an iceberg on April 15 of that year and quickly sank, killing more than 1,500. About 700 passengers were rescued. The wreck was discovered on Sept. 1, 1985, about 400 miles from the coast of Newfoundland.

Hundreds of books have been written about the ship. James Cameron's film "Titanic" was released in 1997 and is among the highest-grossing films of all time.

Contributing: Elizabeth Weise , George Petras and Janet Loehrke

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Doomed crew on Titan sub knew 'they were going to die,' lawsuit says

'Star Trek: Lower Decks' Season 5 trailer launches the crew on one last wacky mission (video)

Paramount+'s animated series is ending, but there's time for a final lap around the galaxy.

Parting is such sweet sorrow, and that'll certainly be the case when Paramount+'s "Star Trek: Lower Decks " rolls out its fifth and final season starting on Oct. 24, 2024. We'll totally miss "Lower Decks'" zany outer space hilarity enjoyed for the past four seasons and its colorful cast of low-ranking ensigns aboard the U.S.S. Cerritos. 

This past weekend during Paramount's informative " Star Trek " Universe panel at San Diego Comic-Con, the streaming service not only revealed an extended clip for "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" Season 3 and a teaser for the "Star Trek" TV movie, " Section 31 ," but also shared the first trailer for "Star Trek: Lower Decks" Season 5. 

In attendance for the SDCC Q&A were vocal cast members Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Noël Wells, and Jerry O'Connell alongside " Star Trek: Lower Decks "' executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Mike McMahan. 

Watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount Plus: Get a one month free trial  

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Last season began with Boimler, Mariner, Tendi, and their new Vulcan pal T'Lyn being awarded a much-deserved promotion to Lieutenants Junior Grade and finished up with them being hailed as heroes for thwarting Nick Locarno's rogue "Nova Fleet" plans. However, part of the gang is gone as Tendi decided to leave Starfleet and return home to Orion to lord over her family's crime syndicate, but it appears that there's a reunion afoot according to this initial series-ending trailer.

Here's the official synopsis:

"In season five of 'Star Trek: Lower Decks,' the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos is tasked with closing 'space potholes' – subspace rifts which are causing chaos in the Alpha Quadrant. Pothole duty would be easy for Jr. Officers Mariner, Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford...if they didn't also have to deal with an Orion war, furious Klingons, diplomatic catastrophes, murder mysteries and scariest of all: their own career aspirations. This upcoming season on Paramount+ is a celebration of this underdog crew who are dangerously close to being promoted out of the lower decks and into strange new Starfleet roles."

This trailer's bittersweet farewell starts with a tribute to the last four seasons before delivering glimpses of Tendi's lawless life as a cosmic pirate, the U.S.S. Cerritos stumbling across an inter-dimensional portal (again!) complete with an alt-universe version of their ship and crew, a Post-scarce society tossing away valuables, shrimp cocktails, and an electrifying Klingon encounter.

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In related "Star Trek" news also shared with Hall H attendees at SDCC, "Lower Decks'" Justin Simien and Tawny Newsome are developing a live-action "Star Trek" comedy, the first of its kind. So far, what's known is that the Paramount+ project will be a 30-minute show set in the 25th century where "Federation outsiders serving a gleaming resort planet find out their day-to-day exploits are being broadcast to the entire quadrant." No casting or release dates were revealed, but stay tuned!

If you're in need of a refresher course, visit our guide to last April's " Star Trek: Lower Decks " Season 4 Blu-ray release. Our " Star Trek " streaming guide can help you catch up on all the other "Trek" shows leading up to "Lower Decks'" final season this fall.

Animated by Titmouse, "Star Trek: Lower Decks" is produced by CBS’ Eye Animation Productions, Secret Hideout, and Roddenberry Entertainment. Executive producers aboard this final outing include Alex Kurtzman, Mike McMahan, Aaron Baiers, Rod Roddenberry, and Trevor Roth.

"Star Trek: Lower Decks" returns to Paramount+ for one last 10-episode season on Oct. 24. with a double chapter kickoff followed by weekly Thursday installments.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.

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