Columbia " Columbia " ( NX - 02 ) was the second United Earth starship that was in service to Starfleet in the latter half of the 22nd century . " Columbia " was the second ship outfitted with a warp five engine . History . Development and launch . In the year 2151 , " Columbia " was one of three NX - class starships still in the planning stages , intended for deep space , long - range exploration . ( ) Starfleet Captain A . G . Robinson considered himself a likely candidate to be assigned command of the NX - 02 , having previously been passed up for captain of the first NX - class ship , , in favor of Captain Jonathan Archer . Robinson , however , later died in a climbing accident on Mount McKinley in of 2153 . ( ) At the time of an initial Xindi attack on Earth , later that same year , the ship was still under construction ( and unnamed ) , but was scheduled to be completed and launched by mid - 2154 . A tour of " Columbia " was taken by Captain Archer and Admiral Forrest shortly before " Enterprise " began a mission to find the Xindi , in the Delphic Expanse , and prevent them from destroying Earth . ( ) At one point during that mission , in early 2154 , Lieutenant Malcolm Reed initially suggested that an NX - class starship encountered by " Enterprise " might be " Columbia " , only for Reed and the rest of " Enterprise " s senior staff to then discover that the ship in question wasn ' t " Columbia " but was actually an alternate version of " Enterprise " . ( ) Several months before launch , " Columbia " s commanding officer , Captain Erika Hernandez , invited Captain Archer aboard to view construction efforts and to enlist his aid in crew selection . Archer suggested she consider a MACO as tactical officer , and also suggested modifications to the ship , including a larger arsenal with which to defend the ship . Captain Hernandez rejected the idea of a MACO on the bridge , while Captain Archer was discomforted by her somewhat positive attitude towards exploration and inexperience as a military commander when compared to his own experiences . ( ) In November of 2154 , " Columbia " was stuck in dry dock with engine trouble , delaying its launch and rendering it unable to assist " Enterprise " during a hunt for a Romulan drone ship . ( ) " Columbia " was still understaffed prior to its launch . Captain Hernandez had twice offered Commander Charles Tucker III , chief engineer aboard " Enterprise " , a position aboard " Columbia " , which he had rejected . Following the Babel Crisis , however , Tucker finally accepted Hernandez ' s offer and requested a transfer to " Columbia " to help fulfill that ship ' s need for experienced officers . ( ) One of the first changes Captain Hernandez advised Tucker to make was to switch his uniform so its mission patch represented " Columbia " , not " Enterprise " . ( ) Tucker ' s hard driving work ethic prompted two crew members to unsuccessfully request transfer off the engineering team . Captain Hernandez refused these transfer requests stating that the engineering team was already short staffed . While Tucker said he may have " knocked some heads together " the ship would soon be warping out of dry dock . Commander Tucker was successful in repairing " Columbia " s engine problems , and the vessel was able to be launched on November 30th , 2154 . ( ) Early mission . Soon after the launch of " Columbia " , the ship was called into service to assist " Enterprise " after that vessel had been sabotage d by Klingon forces . The two craft engaged in hazardous close - quarter maneuvering at warp 5 . 2 , allowing Tucker to be transferred over to fix the problem . " Columbia " also assisted in recovering Doctor Phlox from Qu ' Vat Colony , engaging in battle with several Klingon vessels . ( ) Following the resolution of that crisis , Tucker transferred back to " Enterprise " and resumed his duties . ( ) Technical information . Compared to NX - class prototype , " Columbia " possessed advanced polarized hull plating that was improved twelve percent above initial designs . ( ) Additionally , the hull featured a larger , more rectangular navigational deflector , and a subtle blue tint ( compared to " Enterprise " s slight red coloration ) . ( , " et al . " ) " Columbia " also featured ventral and dorsal photonic torpedo launchers as well as pulsed phase cannon s ( a relatively new technology , at that time ) . Other improvements included improved computer interface technology and a modified bridge interior , utilizing stations that were tied directly into the primary EPS junction . ( ) Compared to the bridge of " Enterprise " , " Columbia " s bridge featured several structural additions , such as four vertical bars of light behind the captain ' s chair and a computer monitor mounted on vertical metal tubes next to the helm . Computer consoles aboard " Columbia " were also different from those aboard " Enterprise " , in that they included a red , yellow and green color scheme instead of red , yellow and blue . Between Captain Archer ' s visit aboard the ship in 2154 and November of that year , the captain ' s chair as well as several cosmetic details on " Columbia " s bridge changed , mirroring alterations aboard " Enterprise " . ( ) Spaceframe and major structural elements of the NX - 02 , however , were generally identical to that of her predecessor . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Translated , the Latin text on the " Columbia " assignment patch ( " " Audentes Fortuna Juvat " " ) reads , " " Fortune favors the bold . " " In the final draft script of but not in the final version of that episode , Commander Tucker reckoned , " " Won ' t be too long before the next warp five ship comes along , sets a new record . . . " " At a point when the ship was not yet named , " Star Trek " fan Anthony Davis of Brentwood , Tennessee , suggested to Rick Berman that the craft be named " Columbia " , in honor of the crew of a space shuttle which bore the same name . ( ) The selection of this starship ' s name , mirroring the fact that the second space shuttle was named " Columbia " , followed on from the ship ' s NX - class predecessor having been named after space shuttle prototype ' . The starship " Columbia " was given its name , by the creators of , as a tribute to the crew of the Space Shuttle ' . ( " Before Her Time : Decommissioning " Enterprise " , Part Two : Memorable Voyages " , ENT Season 4 Blu - ray special features ; ) This shuttle and its crew were lost when the craft disintegrated , while attempting re - entry into Earth ' s atmosphere on . Like " Star Trek : Enterprise " s " Columbia " assignment patch , the real STS - 107 mission insignia featured seven background stars . Stars often represent the number of crew members on NASA mission insignia . " Columbia " was first mentioned in and seen under construction in second season finale . However , neither of those appearances referred to the ship by its name . The has an image of a dedication plaque for " Columbia " NX - 02 , which is similar to the plaque for " Enterprise " NX - 01 , but is blue , includes the ship ' s assignment patch in color , and uses the term starship instead of spacecraft for the registry number . The CG model for " Columbia " was a modified version of the NX - 01 . " Columbia " was originally to have appeared in an alternate timeline in ENT Season 3 installment , though the parts it played in the episode were eventually rewritten for the " Intrepid " instead . ( " Twilight " audio commentary , ENT Season 3 Blu - ray special features ) As it turned out , " Columbia " was not mentioned by name until , almost a full season after its initial appearance in " The Expanse " . " Columbia " was the first starship to be established as having a female commanding officer since the end of , with the commanded by Captain Kathryn Janeway . In an ultimately excised scene extension from the final draft script of , Archer asked Hernandez how soon " Columbia " s launch would be and Hernandez replied , " " A few months . . . I hope . Forrest pushed back the launch date twice . . . we ’ ve had trouble with the intercooler matrix . " " After Archer suggested he might be able to help , Hernandez offered him a guided tour of the ship . There was more than one link between " Star Trek : Enterprise " s " Columbia " and NASA . " " NASA heard that [ . . . ] the show was naming the second [ NX - class starship ] " Columbia " , " " recalled Garfield Reeves - Stevens , " " and we got feelers that the astronauts currently onboard space station wanted to record a little ' Godspeed to " Columbia " , ' and , uh , just , it ' d be a little fifteen - second thing that we could throw at the beginning of the episode . " " However , the supportive message was never recorded , because it was too much trouble to go through all the studio approval proceedings and because the corporation Paramount lacked enthusiasm for the idea , which clued the ENT writing staff into the fact that the series was about to be cancelled . ( " Before Her Time : Decommissioning " Enterprise " , Part Two : Memorable Voyages " , ENT Season 4 Blu - ray special features ) " Columbia " was originally to have featured in an ultimately unused story , featuring Colonel Green and written by Judith and Garfield Reeves - Stevens for the fourth season of " Star Trek : Enterprise " . ( audio commentary , ENT Season 4 Blu - ray special features ) " Columbia " was also to have appeared ( exterior only ) in ultimately aborted film " " , set in 2159 . As portrayed in the first draft script of that film , the ship was undergoing a refit in the San Francisco Fleet Yards Drydock ( a facility in orbit of Earth ) when a photonic torpedo fired by a landed a direct hit to " Columbia " s bridge deck , one of the initial attacks in the Earth - Romulan War . The ship was later referred to as having been " severely damaged " . Apocrypha . According to the non - canon " " book , " Columbia " crashed on a desert planet in the Gamma Quadrant , and remained there for two centuries . It was discovered , intact , several days following the events of , by Ezri Dax and the crew of the USS " Aventine " . The novel series " " is based upon the events surrounding the mysterious destruction of " Columbia " and the ship ' s final resting place . In the same novels , " Columbia " also featured heavily in the creation of the Borg Collective . Alternatively , in the comic " Captain ' s Pleasure " , the second issue of IDW miniseries " " , it is established in dialogue that " Columbia " survived intact ( perhaps at a museum ) at least until the year 2296 . In that year , a was stolen from it , and was discovered crashed at an archaeological ruins site by Jean - Luc Picard in 2368 . In the reference book " " , the " Columbia " is mentioned as being destroyed during the Romulan War . The ship was trying to defend Starbase One , as well as buy time for the third Warp 5 starship , NX - 03 " Challenger " to send a message to Starfleet Command . Captain Erika Hernandez was killed along with all hands .