USS Challenger (NCC-71099)

USS Challenger (NCC-71099)

The USS Challenger (NCC-71099) was a Template:ShipClass starship launched sometime prior to 2377. The Challenger was one of the starships which intercepted the Borg sphere which carried the USS Voyager back to the Alpha Quadrant in 2378. (VOY: "Endgame")

In an alternate timeline created after the USS Voyager's attempt to use quantum slipstream drive resulted in the ship being destroyed, the Challenger was captained by Geordi La Forge in 2390. The vessel was assigned to pursue and capture the Delta Flyer, which had been stolen by former Voyager crew members Chakotay and Harry Kim. The Challenger managed to inflict severe damage on the Flyer, causing a warp core breach. However, Harry Kim was successful in transmitting a message to Voyager into the past, giving them instructions to collapse the slipstream and avert the disaster. (VOY: "Timeless")

Appendices

Background

The Challenger was a computer-generated model; its presence during VOY: "Endgame" is implied by the fact that the name and registry on the model was left over from "Timeless." The Challenger also appeared in the 2001 and 2002 Ships of the Line calendars from Pocket Books, although parts of the CGI image were still labeled "Enterprise" and "NCC-1701-D." Its registry number, NCC-71099, is a tribute to the space shuttle orbiter Challenger, OV-099, lost in January 1986. Like the USS Venture, the ship's name is emblazoned below the registry number on the ventral side of its saucer section. The Venture model was the first to do this.

It is curious to note that while the USS Yamato (NCC-71807) is stated as being the second Galaxy-class ship constructed, the Challenger's registry number (NCC-71099) is actually lower. It is most feasible that the registry should have read NCC-71899 placing construction after that of the Odyssey (NCC-71832) and the Venture (NCC-71854); however registry numbers do not always make sense. It is possible that the Challenger, like its space shuttle namesake, started life as a prototype/test vehicle and was only later made into a space worthy vessel (The Challenger was the third space shuttle, but had a registry number lower than its two predecessors: OV-101; OV-102). Another possibility is that the Challenger may have been ordered before the Yamato but was delayed during construction. If this is true, construction delays could account for many discrepancies found with starship registry numbers.

Apocrypha

In the non-canon Pocket TOS novel The Return by William Shatner (with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens), a Galaxy-class starship Challenger is mentioned existing earlier in 2371. In the novel the ship was commanded by a Vulcan, Captain Simm, and, docked at Deep Space 9, was the scene of a fight between Jean-Luc Picard and a Borg-assimilated James T. Kirk.

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