Launch of Enterprise NX-01

For nearly a century after first contact, humanity explored space cautiously, under the watchful eye of the Vulcans, who doubted it was ready. Enterprise NX-01, the first Earth ship designed to reach warp 5, was the result of decades of effort begun by Henry Archer and carried on by his son Jonathan.

In April 2151 a Klingon courier named Klaang crashed in a field in Oklahoma, pursued by Suliban agents. Against Vulcan advice, Starfleet decided to take him home and moved the ship's launch forward by several weeks. Captain Jonathan Archer departed with a small crew, joined by a Vulcan science officer, T'Pol, and returned Klaang to Qo'noS after uncovering a Suliban plot linked to a war fought across time.

The mission marked the true beginning of human deep-space exploration. Over the following years Enterprise made many first contacts, helped forge ties between Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarites, and laid the groundwork for the Coalition of Planets and later the Federation.