USS Enterprise (XCV-330)

The USS Enterprise (XCV-330), previously the UESP Enterprise (7) and also the SS Enterprise, was the first spacecraft named Enterprise to be designated a starship. 

History
The UESP Enterprise was originally built as a Starliner, a manned interstellar probe, by the United Earth Space Probe Agency in the mid-to-late 21st century, as one of Earth's earliest attempts at interstellar travel. It was the only one of its class to reach its destination of Alpha Centauri; all the rest were overtaken by recently developed faster-than-light spaceships. The Enterprise detected radio transmissions from that star system in 2039, confirming the existence of intelligent lifeforms there. However, physical contact between Terrans and Centaurians did not occur until the UNSS visited the system in 2048. 

The ships were later considered to be only unused prototypes. 

Nevertheless, the Enterprise became an enduring part of mankind's early space voyages, enough that its image was seen alongside the Phoenix at the 602 Club in 2143, and was displayed in Admiral Maxwell Forrest's office in 2154. 

The Enterprise was later renamed with the "SS" and "USS" prefixes. 

The final flight of the Enterprise was made in 2129. In 2379, on the 250th anniversary of that flight, a replica of the Enterprise was flown. (, Ships of the Line 2013)



Circa 2273, an image of this USS Enterprise image was briefly displayed in the recreation room of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). This was considered to be only an early, unused prototype and mistakenly installed, however, and was replaced with one of the more famous Enterprise (NX-01). 

Background
This ship was originally designed by Matt Jefferies during the early pre-production stage of Star Trek. After the show was cancelled, the design was considered for use in a planned, but never produced, sci-fi television series by Gene Roddenberry. A portrait of the ship later appeared in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

Star Trek Maps adopted the design for its Starliner ships. Spaceflight Chronology also based the of ships on this image, though these were a much later and a more advanced series of cruise-ships, with a slightly different design. Later, Star Trek: Enterprise artist Doug Drexler based the Vulcan on this image. Following this, the later said this ship was only an unused prototype based on Vulcan designs and that the portrait had been mistakenly installed. It was removed and replaced with one of the Enterprise (NX-01).

It is uncertain what the prefix in the ship's name should be. "USS" appears in the portrait seen in ), while "UESP" is used in Star Trek Maps and the Star Trek Encyclopedia gives an "SS" prefix. However, the USS Enterprise predates the Federation, and was not (originally) a Starfleet ship (the NX-01 was Starfleet's first Enterprise). The United States of America did still exist in 2143 and are the current users of the "USS" (United States Ship) prefix, although this does not conclusively make the XCV-330 American. It is possible that the ship received a new designation and registration, from UESP Enterprise (7) to USS Enterprise (XCV-330) or SS Enterprise during its lifespan.