NX-REFIT: The Columbia Subclass Origin

The NX-01 had a concept to be rebuilt in 2156 into a new subclass vessel, the Columbia or NX-Refit class Starship built on the shared technology of the Coalition of Planets and the Federation.
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Star Trek Films are owned and distributed by Paramount Pictures
Image stills are from Trekcore
This Video is for critical purposes with commentary.

[@ODST_Parker]

I will always regret Enterprise being cut off. Would've been so great to see the NX evolve into this refit in another season, and seeing the first steps of the United Federation of Planets.

[@tiggergolah]

Agreed. I was so looking forward to seeing the Earth - Romulan War played out. I would pay to see a well-made fanfic of that.

[@blackwidowrsa]

no, get discovery and picard instead

[@AidestheKiwi]

@@blackwidowrsa ironically it was peoples attitudes like that which caused it to be cancelled. The number of times that people complain about a new series which then ends up being beloved is staggering, and yet some people continue to make the same mistakes.

[@blackwidowrsa]

"staggering" yeah nah, would've preferred 10 season of ENT of that hogwash.

[@ODST_Parker]

@@AidestheKiwi Difference is, I will never end up loving this NuTrek garbage, and I have always loved and will always love classic Star Trek.

[@TobyDeshane]

I remember the first time I saw the NX refit. My jaw hit the ground -- it was an absolutely _perfect_ stepping-stone design. I was delighted, but also crushed to realize it would never wind up on screen (well, on _Enterprise_ at least). I really feel we were robbed with _Enterprise_ being denied a fifth season (or more). The show was really starting to come together in that fourth season. Oof. :(

[@jwilliams703]

Im re-watching Enterprise now after the let downs of Picard and Discovery. I also agree it should have carried on after S4. It was shaping up to become an even greater show. Also the Romulan war would have been good to see on screen.

[@nunya3163]

I think in some ways, it was even better than the Constitution. I just love how they extended the impules engines out past the pylons. Just seems so much more robust.

[@Metadasius]

Same. I love the nx refit and i really wish we could have seen it on screen.

[@BaronFeydRautha]

RIGHT!!! The refit looks so beautiful. The TOS Enterprise was designed in the 60s and it shows. The NX Refit looks like it was designed to be a 50s chrome hotrod.

[@pwnmeisterage]

Sadly, Enterprise's fourth season was a bit of a desperate no-holds-barred gongshow. Some of the very best episodes in the entire series. Some of the very worst episodes in the entire series. The network had already axed the show and only allowed the fourth season to give it some graceful closure (which fat old unwelcome Riker completely ruined). But if the show had been permitted five or more seasons then the fourth season would've looked very different.

[@jaysgamingcorner8539]

It always makes me smile to see Enterprise get some love. That show was much better than it's given credit for and that part of the lore/history is pretty interesting.

[@harmab2]

I loved that series ❤️

[@lt.kettch4652]

I’m giving it a rewatch now. That theme song is terrible though. Absolutely fourth wall breaking for me.

[@jaysgamingcorner8539]

@@lt.kettch4652 it grew on me 🤣

[@occultatumquaestio5226]

It is indeed a shame we haven't yet seen the NX-Refit/Columbia-Subclass on screen yet. It is a stylish intermediate ship that does further link ENT with TOS. One day hopefully it's design may be presented.

[@lykan2]

I mean...technically we did see it....yound Picard had a model. So it MUST have existed.

[@mathisb2889]

@@lykan2 Yep. It is canon.

[@UGNAvalon]

Maybe an “old-timer” of a ship will show up in SNW?? :D

[@RandomYT05_01]

@@lykan2 I got excited about the prospect of such a ship being in Picard.

[@virginiaconnor8350]

@@RandomYT05_01 Looks like "Picard" just got cancelled after its 3rd season. Wonder why.

[@setsuna200]

Thanks to Picard Season 3, the refit is now cannon. The NX01 is at the fleet museum.

[@nonamegiven202]

oh the NX-Refit, it's really a symbol of what Enterprise could had been if it wasn't canned. But yeah i agree, i really like the ship for that "missing link" aspect.

[@paullopez6620]

This refit makes so much sense. I am hoping to see at least one these showing up in Strange New Worlds as Admiral Archer's flag ship.

[@pwnmeisterage]

It's never too late to roll out a time-travel episode which (re)visits important moments in the past. Especially with a character like Archer who just couldn't shake off meddling temporal agents. Although I admit I'm apprehensive about what sort of obnoxious vandalism CBS would probably install on this fine old ship. It might be be better to leave the ship off screen and intact.

[@TheRezro]

TBH I would prefer if they would show us Loknar and just state ad hock that it was NX ship. NX Enterprise refitted back and turned into museum ship in 2160's. It is unlikely that Archer did use it. Temporal episode? Who not?

[@pwnmeisterage]

@@TheRezro Loknar is a FASA ship? I know it's popular but it doesn't really fit in with ENT-era canon.

[@TheRezro]

@@pwnmeisterage I'm fairly sure NX was inspired by the design. But it absolutely could be Bonaventure era refit of NX. It size and proportions are almost identical. The main difference is longer warp coils and new panels. With slight rework on the back. Class itself is also quite old, feeling role of Miranda prior to 2230's revolution (so light cruiser/destroyer): www.ststcsolda.space/federation/loknar/loknarprise.jpg

[@TheRezro]

@@pwnmeisterage I'm not talking about ENT Era (2140-1160) but Bonaventure Era (2160-2190). After NX was decommissioned, it would make sense at least for some hulls to be refitted to serve as Light Cruisers. Alongside purposefully build Bonaventure class (what is base of Kelvin Era ships. I say Era not Timeline). Loknar not only look almost identical in general shape and size (outside longer coils), but it is canonically well armed ship (like later Columbia/Poseidon, build during war) with huge number of versions (at least five). So it was in service for long time. On top of that NX did have remake during TMP.

[@rubaiyat300]

I followed those NX Ent deckplans for years. Especially when there was indications that the refit would be added. Sadly fell off as it appeared to be a dead project but then there it was in all it's glory. What a spectacular fan work.

[@irregularassassin6380]

Do you happen to have a link to that website? I think I saw it a long time ago, but I neglected to bookmark it, like a fool.

[@rubaiyat300]

@@irregularassassin6380 waxingmoondesign I believe

[@irregularassassin6380]

@@rubaiyat300 Thank you! I'll look it up.

[@Nitram4392]

I was so glad when I found detailed deckplans of one of my favourite trek ships. I would love to use it for a Star Trek: Adventures game.

[@TurKlack]

If I could go back in time, continuing the Show would be one of my tasks.

[@christopherluke9658]

Star Fleet Temporal Investigations here we’d like some of your time. No that wasn’t a joke. We hate those.

[@kerviuskuroshiba5120]

I am one of many in the club of appreciating the design of the Columbia Refit and her role as a stepping stone in starfleet design. She is one of my favorite ships and I am a proud owner of the Columbia Class Refit in STO! The second the devs released her to collect in the game I PATIENTLY FARMED to obtain her and it took me months to do for free but I did it :) Thanks for doing a video about her, she deserves much more in star trek lore but I am glad people still show a lot of love for her :)

[@seanstoyroom2021]

I built a scale model of the Columbia Class Refit, from the appropriate parts in the 1000 scale Polar Lights NX-01 Enterprise Model Kit.

[@rinazzle]

Who else came here after seeing it in Picard Season 3?

[@WeirdNekoGirl]

I love the NX refit! It's quite a nice design & a great stop gap between the NX & later fed cruisers like the Constitution.

[@Reavix1]

i never understood why Enterprise was cut short, it was by far my favorite show.

[@MagusTheLofty]

My understand we have Les Moonves to thank for Enterprise's cancellation. He ran CBS back then and was rumored to not know the difference between Star Trek & Star Wars. He really didn't understand what he had, and he didn't care. He's also the guy who signed on Bad Robot to run Star Trek before he was Me Too'd, so I guess he got the last laugh.

[@DrewLSsix]

As long as it's open to interpretation I suggest the following: the ship as seen in Rikers holodeck program was a mistake, incomplete records and the rushed nature of assembling the program means the ship as shown was in its familiar original configuration. I propose that much of the details seen on the refit were running changes made to the ship over the years between the main part of the show and the finale, it adopted the Columbia's grey hull color, got several upgrades to account for the differences seen on the primary hull. The major upgrade however came in the form of the new secondary hull, this was a radical solution to the problems the fleet had during the earth Romulan war, the upgrades were specifically built into a separate hull module because they simply couldn't spare the ships for drastic overhauls. So the secondary hull would be built and prepared for a hot swap as the designated NX class ship came in. Over just a few days the workers and crew would rip into the shiptossing out anything not needed as new components were brought in as modules. Control centers, weapons assemblies, structural members etc. Rather quickly the hulls would be mated by literally cutting into the ships structure, adding the required mountings and plugging in the new drive section and nacelles. This incidentally allowed for an emergency separation between the two pieces if necessary. Survivability being a major concern for starfleet at the time. The Enterprise wasn't the first ship to get this treatment, it stayed in the fight longer than it probably should have as the fleet lost ground. Archer finally agreed to bring the ship in for its refit as the other refit ships begin to do serious damage to the romulans distracting them from their push into earth space. The ship makes best speed to Mars, sacrificing the extended life of its warp core by pushing it longer and harder than ever though possible. Upon arrival they recieve the news that the Romulans have not fallen for the flanking attack and have sent a portion of their fleet back towards earth even as their main fighting force suffers devastating losses to the coalition fleet and refit NX ships. Archer his crew and the dock workers rally and pull off the impossible. The ship is refit in record time and along with the Sol defense fleet (basically space coast guard) are able to drive away the desperate Romulan attack at great loss. This battle and the turning tides on all fronts are what ultimately drive the Romulans back into seclusion and the Enterprise participates in its last mission in the events leading up to the federation charter being signed. A mission that probably went somewhat differently than recorded by a particular holodeck program. History is weird that way isn't it?

[@Tar-Numendil]

I adore the NX refit, it's one of my favorite science fiction ships along with STO's Yorktown class.

[@A407RAC]

Awww yeah, I asked for ST:Enterprise and you delivered and more! You are my hero

[@jasonrobbins6944]

I really REALLY wish they would put together a mini-series/movie covering the Romulan war with this ship. (Suspecting that a true season 5 would not be possible). I think that thematically, the struggle between being the defenders of the (soon to be) Federation and its exploratory wing would make a fantastic story.

[@jimmythomas3077]

I love Star Trek! I think your show is outstanding!

[@Buddy74656]

I just finished watching Terra Prime, that's where I end Enterprise in my head since I still haven't watched the series finale since it first aired. Enterprise was without a doubt one of my favorite series, I would have liked for it to have gotten at least one more year.

[@conorstapleton3183]

Please don't watch the final episode.

[@virginiaconnor8350]

@@conorstapleton3183 Already did. If you could cut out the scenes with Riker and Troi, it wasn't all that bad. Trip faked his death to begin a new mission. Why he didn't tell T'Pol I don't know, but Archer, Phlox, and Reed were on on the lie too, only she was given a note from Archer-by Trip himself to Archer to give to her. Maybe, that was the only time Trip could meet her-in a dressing room under the steps in the stadium-but she did and he told her what was going to happen.

[@Intrusive_Introvert]

This is my favorite Starfleet design. It's so hard to find information on it, I'm glad you did a video! I would have loved to see her in action.

[@freeranger00]

I love Enterprise, the show, it is actually my second favorite series after DS9. The setting is so scrappy and interesting. The NX-refit just looks right, it is a shame we never got to see it on screen.

[@3Rayfire]

Thanks again Doug Drexler, what a fantastic refit. I was in love the second I saw it.

[@talideon]

STP made it canon, so it's canon, even if the intended arc isn't... yet. After a number of rocky seasons, Enterprise finally started hitting its mark when Manny Coto took the helm, and it's just a pity he couldn't continue on with it. It wasn't for lack of on-screen talent, even if they were often squandered.

[@aholland20132]

Well . . . young Picard could have been playing with an imaginary toy. Because he didn't say "look at this accurate model of the NX-01 refit" we don't really know what its existence means. So at most I'd call it "provisionally" canon.

[@Revkor]

STP is not canon

[@AshuraH]

@@Revkor It's canon.

[@OptimusMonk01]

@@AshuraH arguably it's a new timeline now

[@talyn3932]

@@Revkor It absolutely IS Canon. lol

[@entropy11]

consider the following: The final episode, and presumably the entire series, was revealed to be a holodramatization being watched by Riker. Inaccuracies are entirely possible, including omitting the refit. The refit is soft canon being shown as a model (curiously resembling the Eaglemoss one) in Picard S2, owned by Jean-Luc as a child.

[@this.is.a.username]

Riker would have no idea about the temporal coldwar or Xindi BS, since that's all First Contact branch timeline bullshit and not prime timeline.

[@SoranoGuardias]

When the Enterprise was turned into a museum ship, they reverted her back to a stock NX-Class. That's why we see it as she was in the end of Season 4

[@paulrasmussen8953]

Believeable

[@TheRezro]

Possible

[@murrayjohnson5217]

According to the expanded universe (not canon I know) the finale was a deliberate falsehood by Section 31. Maybe they just had used the old existing digital model for the holodeck program because it's what people expected to see. It's like how we have an idea of what Roman armor looked like, and it looks like that in every movie with Romans, despite the fact it varied greatly over the history of the Empire.

[@klein2042]

Welp apparently not lol

[@TheRezro]

@@murrayjohnson5217 Yup. Lorica Segmenta was rather ineffective and was rather used for ceremonial reasons (chain mail was more common). Also Roman soldiers definitely didn't wear red colors, as those were costly.

[@leonielson7138]

You could interpret the lore that the Columbia refit was done only on existing NX-class hulls until the formation of the United Federation of Planets, as ships were rushed into service during the Earth-Romulus War in a stock configuration, then modified later if they survived long enough. After the formation of the UFP, Starfleet built ships directly to the Columbia-class standard, then developed the design language from there.

[@Dseagles14]

It would be nice to see one appear on Strange New Worlds

[@Cdr2002]

The Disco Enterprise even has the glowey blue nacelle side line things! I don’t remember if the Discovery does to. We don’t really get many side angles of it.

[@this.is.a.username]

This would be a good write in campaign, get the refit made canon.... SNW is early enough to have one or two refits around as training ships.. maybe even just have an episode where the NX-02 is shown as a primary training vessel for SF academy, with NX 01 of course back to original design as a museum

[@virginiaconnor8350]

@@this.is.a.username The NX-01 set in a museum was mentioned in "Rise of the Federation" novel. Malcolm Reed gave T'Pol a tour through an uncrowded ship and they meet a mysteriously-dressed Trip here. She later becomes Cpt. and welcomes her former cremated to her new ship. The USS Endeavour. I wish there was a USS Savannah too.

[@WaveForceful]

I believe this design was canon, in Picard, you can see it docked at Laforges Museum station.

[@cd6834]

Really wonderful breakdown as usual. Than you for all you do to keep the beloved Star Trek universe alive.

[@lastationproductions]

I love this design of the nx refit it’s the hero ship of my Star Trek rpg

[@Noms_Chompsky]

I dig how all the different FED members would be comfortable with Star Fleet and Star Fleet designs seeing as they took the lead in getting the best of everybodies tech to work in tandem efficiently and it's ever so Trekkie

[@alhowell4732]

Awesome ship - ( the missing link ), I would have loved to see it in action too.

[@amazedsatsuma]

I would love to see one being use in Strange New Worlds...afterall if the Excelsior can have a 100+ life span why not one of the ships that was there when the Federation first formed

[@joecostantino3684]

Well it seems the NX-Refit was what the Constitution evolved from, but it would be nice to see this made canon on screen, perhaps even have Robert April mention the evolution in design.

[@BalefireBombshell]

You can actually make a very convincing TOS-era version of the NX/Columbia class in Star Trek Online, using various parts from the 23c Columbia Refit and the Utopia Refit design. So it's possible.

[@amazedsatsuma]

@@BalefireBombshell Heh I also have one in my STO collection too, the SS Sam Beckett 😄

[@Max_Flashheart]

Thank you so much for this video. It is much appreciated

[@MaximusOfTheMeadow]

God I Love the Enterprise And the show should never have ended so soon

[@alanmike6883]

I loved the nx. It felt appropriate for early united earth starfleet. As it was trying alternate designs. I Shame we didn't get to see the refit. It would've shown the eventual evolution of starfleet design with the secondary hull and long engines etc. No season 5 enterprise was the biggest regret and what if and mistake ever.. It would've been great to see the earth Romulan War and the founding of the federation afterwards

[@Krypton_Ken]

Absolutely love the NX-REFIT. I have some small hope that we could see one referenced on Strange New Worlds at some point.

[@xenoaxis6910]

Let history never forget the name Columbia

[@wangchung2157]

Always loved this refit its just so good

[@kargandarr]

Despite the Star trek Enterprise series being cancelled before the full run of the show the Columbia subclass is now canon because the refit NX-01 Enterprise is shown in Picard season 3 with the secondary hull attached underneath.

[@jamcalx]

I kind of like the echo because it like a classroom lecture.

[@jawanzamarsh3867]

ST: Picard made the refit version canon as its the refit version of the NX-class that's used when Archer's Enterprise is shown in the Starfleet Museum, which fittingly enough is headed by one Commodore Geordi LaForge.

[@barrybend7189]

Now we need the Star Trek Legacy ships to be added in to go along with the NX Refit. Maybe as a Romulan war era starting point for STO.

[@irregularassassin6380]

Some of them are ... wack, but by and large I really like those designs. I've never played the game, but I am using some of those as source material for an expanded spaceframe list for Star Trek Adventures.

[@barrybend7189]

@@irregularassassin6380 the Discovery, Poseidon, Minuteman and Yorktown class ships would be fun to use. Maybe after some tweaks and renaming 3 out of the 4 ships.

[@irregularassassin6380]

@@barrybend7189 Yes indeed! The Discovery-class is one that I intend to feature prominently in a campaign I plan to run. This will likely be in the form of the S.S. Discovery-A, depending on when the first S.S. Discovery (NX-class) is destroyed during the Romulan War. The campaign I have in mind will follow a convoy of ships dispatched into the former Delphic Expanse to rescue the descendants of people abducted from the American Western Frontier in the 1860s (See ENT: "North Star"). I plan to have the Discovery-class be developed as an off-shoot of the construction of two updated Conestoga-class colony ships built for this mission. As for the others, I love the Poseidon-class design, and I find the Yorktown-class frustrating, but interesting, considering the theoretical existence of the NX-refit. Personally, I find the Minuteman-class interesting, but I intend to cut it to keep my game designing in scope. I'll be using the canonical Freedom-class to replace both it and the Strider-class.

[@barrybend7189]

That does sound interesting.

[@irregularassassin6380]

@@barrybend7189 Thanks! I hope it will be for my players.

[@jamesw3413]

For me this is a massive improvement for the NX-01. It literally goes from my bottom 10 starfleet ships to contending for my favorite

[@stevengalloway8052]

"What 'constitutes' a Starfleet design." I see what you did there! 😆

[@jameshall4385]

I like the enterprise c. I think it is a beautiful ship for only being used in one episode

[@chrisbennett6236]

It's unfortunate that the Destiny series was isolated. Easily one of the best Star Trek book series I've read. Plus Captain Hernandez living long enough to meet Riker and Troi is really cool.

[@kineuhansen8629]

i love the nx refit and there is a really cool concept version by john eaves i really would love to see as a model and its looks more like the gab between the nxo1 and 1701 then the one we see

[@still_guns]

In an alternate timeline, we got another season of Enterprise and the refit was realised on screen

[@radishdalek]

Does the neck of the nx refit enter the saucer were the drop bays were? If so, it gives a large space for the turbolift shafts and other systems to connect through without disturbing existing systems.

[@harmab2]

That is a cool 😎 looking ship 🚢

[@bogemus]

Saw this after the ST: Picard, You can see the NX-01 with the Columbia upgrade.

[@zomfragger]

Personally I think what we saw in the show was the opening of the Romulan Earth war. With requirements of more power and weapons the Columbia was refitted into the Columbia sub variant but was lost short after launch. The Enterprise was never refitted into the Columbia variant due the Columbia loss and fears of a flaw in the design that could spell the Doom for Earth's flag ship. Until other ships that were refitted or built into the Columbia variant design proved extremely capable against the Romulans. Plans might have been made but the ending of the war before Enterprise's refit threw the plans out the window. The addition of the secondary hull was a stop gag until newer technologies could be developed and once those where developed they were applied to the original Enterprise class to save resources.

[@XBritishTom]

An easy cannon fix would be to say the Enterprise was returned to its stock version on retirement and inclusion as a museum ship.

[@grantmobile8777]

Following Doug Drexler's FB page, he indicates his refit design is actually called the Enterprise-class. Perhaps an update could be composed to reflect his intention?

[@gregorythompson6499]

Paramount should do a series or even a single season with the retrofit nx 01 admiral archer touring it and have a season of the romulan war. Basically wrap up the enterprise series with one more season.

[@ejseabury]

Perhaps there could still be a limited “Enterprise” series where we see the Earth-Romulan War. Just have the “Enterprise” final episode a dream sequence so Tripp is still alive and working on the Enterprise.

[@skyborne80]

I love how the line of the nacelles extending below the stock NX-hull, allows them to connect to a secondary hull and have a pseudo-Conni look to it. If one didn't know better, you'd think it was planned from the beginning. Who knows, maybe it was in the back of Doug Drexler's mind all along.

[@AutomationDnD]

Xcellent piece you've done here. This is the first time I've seen your channel. [New sub] Great style & I hate how this is going to make me seem like a *_Total Trek-Geek_* (I'm NOT .... not really) *But it made my Heart Ache* to see this 'concept' art. I truly Loved the "Enterprise" series & found it utterly disappointing that the series was killed off too early. Loved the character development(s) sub story arcs & the implications in Trek Lore. I'm not REALLY a total geek but dammit man, I WISH this series had been continued. .... with the Original actors. When they Ended it so abruptly, it felt like a Limb being lopped off. .................. Great Work here. *Well done*

[@RexDuglar]

I love this. My only comment would be about the Class. The first ship of the series is the Class name. By strict naval tradition it would be an Enterprise Class vessel.

[@RexDuglar]

My friend Jeremy Brodersen explained it to me this way: The only thing I can think why they decided to call it the Columbia subclass is that there were subclasses of naval ships as if you look at it United States Navy cruisers and aircraft carriers or vessels that have variations that differ enough from the lead ship of the class that they are considered a subclass And I swear on my friend Captain Stuart Foley that I mean no disrespect whatsoever by this and at the very least I think I'm explaining why they call it the Columbia subclass

[@frankharr9466]

If it were me, I'd also throw in that the greater warp cross-section also required a more reobust deflector dish that other powers didn't. I also wonder how much the TCW effected the exact timing of things even if the overall shape of history stayed pretty constant.

[@cdlord80]

The early cancellation of Star Trek Enterprise is one of the worst crimes of our century.

[@deegee6863]

The only thing I would do differently on the refit is to remove the old deflector dish from the saucer. I can't see it being necessary with a newer, more effective dish on the engineering hull. That whole forward section could have been redesigned into a ceremonial wheel house or something.

[@Geth7777]

The design process of the OG NX to the Constitution, you could say it was a Long road getting from there to here

[@YesTHATJohnSmith]

🥂

[@Morhek]

With the nostalgic wave Trek has been getting lately, you'd think a miniseries or TV movie reuniting the Enterprise cast for one last adventure on the old girl before its decommissioning, seeing where the characters ended up, bringing back Trip properly, etc. would be obvious, especially as time passes and the reception of the show gets kinder with hindsight.

[@SwankyKitteh82]

It's now canon. In one of the final episodes of season 2 of Picard, we see that he as a boy has a toy model of the NX refit.

[@ryansargent661]

I bought extra Polar Lights model kits because it included the refit option. Great design

[@OneofInfinity.]

Got a mini version and I love turning it upside down and.. Magic! it becomes another favorite: the Akira.

[@benbunch4159]

Now canonized in Picard :)

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

When I first saw this design there was no question that this design just works. We missed out on something great.

[@jeffjr84]

Thankfully time was on our side and the NX refit is now canon thanks to star trek picard.

[@marcusfranconium3392]

Here is one thing for future space travel . Space docks how to manufacture a construction yard and techniques to build space craft in space. Space flight all good and well but no point if you cant build ships or manufacture parts in space.

[@Sir_Gugharde_Wuglis]

The NX-01 came first but Columbia gets a class named after it. lol

[@xenoaxis6910]

Sisko finds the nx 02 in the gamma quadrant. Brings it to ds9 to repair, then flys it back to earth under its own power. God bless human engineering.

[@DoctorX17]

I liked this concept when I saw it - another strong step between the look of the NX and the Constitution. Not sure about how I feel regarding the lore… But since its not really Prime canon I’m not too worried about it. It is a shame that it didn’t come to us on screen…

[@d.b.4671]

I understand why the refit design is popular, but personally I favor the Oberth being the "missing-link" class. One, it's pre-dated by the Saladin class, which like the NX before it is only a saucer; two, the design of the Oberth is such that one could argue the outboard module wasn't actually part of its original design, and was tacked on later in a less than elegant fashion. This would still be early enough in the timeline that any NX ships still in service could receive the refit, but late enough that it would allow the NX design to remain the same for the period in which we see it.

[@irregularassassin6380]

So, you're suggesting the Oberth might be a refit NX? Personally, I don't see it, but I like the idea of the Oberth being a refit of something else from the NX era. The only problem with that is its absolutely insane longevity.

[@d.b.4671]

​@@irregularassassin6380 - No; my theory is the NX wasn't refit until after the Oberth entered service, and that the Oberth was originally a single-hull design similar to the NX (albeit much smaller). The lower module was attached to the Oberths after their initial construction, perhaps as a testing platform for a prototype deflector that needed a connection to the existing warp plasma conduits (which is why it attaches at the nacelles). That decision inspired the first "proper" double-hulled starship that came after it; and following the success of that design, some of the ships that preceded the Oberth underwent refits for secondary hulls, including any NX-class vessels that were still in active service.

[@irregularassassin6380]

@@d.b.4671 That is an intriguing idea for sure. If that were the case, it would make the Oberth a spaceframe in active service for over 200 years by the time of the Battle of Wolf 359, for example. That seems a little farfetched for me, but not entirely impossible.

[@StarFleet_Tech1701]

Great expose of the NX refit

[@Noms_Chompsky]

Man, I'd love to tool around STO in that Baby Constitution Columbia Refit, that would be fun. It's adorbs

[@CaptRobertApril]

When Doug Drexler designed the NX-01, he had the secondary hull in mind, but left it out of the initial version, very keen to give it that "unfinished" feel, with the goal of eventually sticking on that lower hull, resulting in a general feeling of, "There we go! Now she's complete!"

[@Musashination]

One thing I find interesting and has never been explored in any series is, why the founding members of the Federation decided to invest in Starfleet rather than maintain their independent forces. In the interprise series we see ship designs from Vulcans, Andorians, etc, but we are not given the reason for the preference for human design.

[@xXShadDragXx]

The easiest answer to this is simply that they did already have ships. Making lots of difficult marginal upgrades to their own existing fleets would be more difficult than helping Earth improve their new fleet that they were building anyways.

[@ameliawysockicharacterarti4459]

You forgot to include an important detail in the caption. This ship was designed by Doug Drexler who designed many other ships including the Enterprise-J and was 1 of 4 to bring the new Stargazer into being. Doug has been a vital part of canon Star Trek art and design since Deep Space Nine and has been involved in other ways since The Original Series, not to mention his other work in special effects makeup. I know you mentioned him in the beginning of this video, but such a credit should be in the caption too. He's a friend, so I felt it necessary to say something. 😉

[@futo]

this refit looks sturdier than Kirk's Enterprise A or the original series. the NX-refit's much shorter neck makes more sense than a thin neck

[@Usa_mikek]

I do believe the Daedalus class was before the NX. would be nice to see an extended video interpretation of this ship.

[@tnolddawg]

According to some sources, the Columbia Class refit of the NX - Enterprise would have taken place in season 5 The reason for the refit version not being seen in it's decommissioned role in the Starfleet Museum is that it was restored to its original configuration for historical reasons

[@dragonweyr44]

The NX-01 Enterprise, funny enough, not known as the USS Enterprise, was also the first ship to be equipped with a transporter approved for human transport use and other organic matter

[@Cdr2002]

Wee fan theory: could it be postulated that the Crossfield class and similar designs were made to evoke the early NX vessels? Just a small thought. In the real world, Enterprise would have been the last TV series before Discovery and in canon it’s what chronologically precedes it

[@DrewLSsix]

DSC really does come off as a direct sequel to ENT. The ships look convincingly like what the following decades could bring for the new starfleet, look at ships like the McGee class. The one at the binary stars was called the Shran, and the ship seems to have significant Andorian influence. It looks a lot like a starfleet saucer with Andorian cruiser nacelles. In fact the box nacelles common on the seemingly older ships of the Disco era could have been a common adoption of Andorian tech for starfleet ships. The Vulcan ring ships not likely to suit starfleet as easily as other nacelle based designs would. There's also some visual continuity, Disco herself started off with the bronze hull coloring of the Enterprise, perhaps an artifact of both being prototypes? Several DSC designs have the built up primary hull design of the NX class, the NX had those big pylon things on the saucer while the Walker and other classes had similar sections on their saucers, though boxy instead of rounded.

[@SiskoSTC]

Thankfully we now have seen it on Screen in Picard which gives me even more appreciation for this design 😝

[@blackstoneriverworkshop7167]

This is the content we need #Season5

[@chriseash6497]

Don’t forget “officially” share technology. Perfectly reasonable that Vulcans might install something with there own technicians, and operate on an alliance ship.

[@kenminick]

Good stuff as always.

[@IIISentorIII]

I like NX, but usually i go for a GX group-set on my Bikes for a 10-51t Cassette 😁

[@esrevinu.]

love the attention to detail, especially on whats canon officially or in a branched timeline, or, may not even exist technically in some cases lol.

[@nunya3163]

I love this design. It needs to make it's way into Cannon.

[@The_Str4nger]

it is. look at Episode 9 of Picard. in the Picard Manor on the desk lays a model of the NX refit class in Jean Luc's childhood

[@JaredLS10]

A model of it was shown in the second to last episode of Picard season 2.

[@Revkor]

@@The_Str4nger that's not canon

[@The_Str4nger]

@@Revkor it is. Deal with it, killjoy

[@stormycatmink]

While this is a belated comment, there is modern precedent for historic ships being restored to a previous shape, such as some of our WWII battleships that had been upgraded over the years and into Korean or Vietnam wars.. then once put into museum, the ships were reverted back to their condition in WWII, including removing missile batteries, electronic equipment and other very modern upgrades.

[@mittensfastpaw]

Man this series deserved more love and not to be cut off like it was with that awful ending. I miss good Star Trek so much. :(

[@hancock63]

The NX-Refit is my favorite model from Eaglemoss.

[@Willpower-74205]

I actually found complete full-color deck plans for both the original NX and the refit on Cygnus-x1/Star Trek along with alot of technical manuals and other cool stuff. The level of detail in them is nothing short of AMAZING! I would highly recommend checking them out. 🖖😎👍

[@CrazyNights1015]

I figured that the holographic enterprise in the last episode could be attributed to a data error in the Ent-D's memory banks. Or historians got it wrong by the mid-24th century.

[@bobingabout]

5:14 It's likely that it remained the original way in the show, because they just didn't feel it was worth making a model of the new design for 1 episode. or maybe they just didn't want to confuse the audience by showing a version that was never seen before. A more in universe reason could just be that the decommissioning (I mean, it's only 10 years old?) is when it goes to refit, because the NX-01 is "Decommissioned" and used as "Spare parts" to build the new class. That kind of thing actually happened in real life with locomotives. Okay, yes, there is the Refits, EG, the LNER A1 to LNER A3. But there are also instances where they've taken parts from several different decommissioned engines and built an entire new class from them, with very little new parts. An entire fleet of said class too, not just a one off. I'd need to look into it more to give specific examples.

[@LanLe-rz4lm]

It would be nice for a ST fan film to show the refit NX vessel in an episode.