SS Botany Bay The SS " Botany Bay " was a sleeper ship built on Earth in the late 20th century . The " Botany Bay " was launched from Earth in 1996 under the command of Khan Noonien Singh . The " Botany Bay " was used by a group of genetically - enhanced Human s known as Augment s , led by Khan Noonien Singh , in an attempt to escape from Earth after being defeated by non - Augments . Khan intended to find a world for himself and his people that they could colonize . Initially Khan and 84 of his followers were placed in cryogenic freeze . Twelve of the suspended animation life support canisters failed while in deep space , leaving Khan himself and 72 Augments to survive . ( ; ) History . During the 22nd century , the " Botany Bay " was believed to be a myth . Arik Soong , an ancestor of Noonian Soong , was among those who believed the theory of the ship ' s existence . Malik used it as an example of why the Augments Soong created should not run away . ( ) Prime reality . In 2267 , 271 years after its launch , the " Botany Bay " was discovered by the in a sector that was infrequently visited by Earth ships . The " Botany Bay " was rigged for towing by crew from the " Enterprise " . Traveling at warp factor 2 , the " Enterprise " , with the " Botany Bay " traveling alongside , entered the adjacent Sector 25712 on a heading toward the sector ' s command base – Starbase 12 . Upon revival , Khan and his followers , with the assistance of Lieutenant Marla McGivers , seized control of the " Enterprise " , and left the now - useless " Botany Bay " adrift in space . The hijacking was quickly overcome by Captain Kirk and his officers . Kirk offered Khan , his followers , and Marla McGivers the chance to settle the uninhabited world of Ceti Alpha V , an offer which Khan accepted . ( ) Various personal effects transferred from the " Botany Bay " were kept within Starfleet - issue cargo carriers provided by the " Enterprise " to start the colony . The cargo carriers were subsequently used as shelters by Khan and his followers for almost eighteen years on Ceti Alpha V after the planet became a desert wasteland . ( ) Alternate reality . " In 2258 of the alternate reality , Section 31 performed secret investigations in unexplored space for means of better defending the Federation after the destruction of . They discovered the " Botany Bay " , 262 years after launch , and Khan was awoken . With the other 72 augments still in stasis under Section 31 ' s control , he was forced to join and work for Starfleet as Commander John Harrison . " ( ) Personnel . Eighty - five Augments were placed in cryogenic freeze . Twelve of the suspended animation life support canisters failed leaving thirty female and forty - three male Augments to survive , including Khan , Otto , Joaquin , Kati , Rodriguez , Ling , McPherson , and others . Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott described them as a group of mixed types : Western , mid - European , Latin , Oriental . ( ; ) Appendices . Background information . The " Botany Bay " was named for the Australian geographical location , the site of the first penal colony on the shores of Australia . The original model was designed by Matt Jefferies , and most likely built by Film Effects of Hollywood . The model stood 44 inches in length , and was constructed of wood , with no internal lighting . Jefferies also added the weathering seen on the model . Effects shots showing the " Botany Bay " alongside the " Enterprise " were filmed at Film Effects . ( " Star Trek Magazine " issue 120 ) Based on behind - the - scenes photos from " The Wrath of Khan " , Khan ' s shelter in the film consisted of Starfleet cargo containers . They were designed based on the cargo containers hauled by CMU s in , complete with an attachment sled . The movie - era Federation seal can also be seen on the exterior of one of the containers and was just barely visible in the film itself . In the " remastered " version of " Space Seed " , the " Botany Bay " appeared adrift on a different axis than the " Enterprise " in a much more " weathered " state than it did in its original appearance , to match Spock ' s line stating that its " hull surface is pitted with meteor scars . " The conning tower was also given a very small docking port , added by Michael Okuda at the suggestion of a NASA engineer with the thought that a spacecraft built in the 1990s would have such a port to dock with the International Space Station . The Bajoran religious wheel symbol ( sometimes seen , for example , in Kira ' s , Sisko ' s , and Dax ' s ( ) quarters or Varis Sul ' s ( ) and Vash ' s guests quarters ( ) on Deep Space 9 ) was composed of rotated images of the " Botany Bay " . A more prominently featured version can be seen in Kai Winn ' s quarters during her meditation in . According to the , the " Botany Bay " was either found near the Mutara sector ( 4th ed . , vol . 1 , p . 98 ) or in the sector itself ( 4th ed . , vol . 2 , p . 60 ) . During the production of it was briefly considered putting a shot of the " Botany Bay " in after the end credits , as an Easter egg . However , it was decided against , as it was felt that this would tie the hands of the production staff for the film ' s sequel story . ( audio commentary ) According to the novel " The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh , Volume Two " , the " Botany Bay " was launched from Earth on January 11 , 1996 . According to the , " " A conjectural model of the " Botany Bay " , built by Greg Jein for a photograph in the , was equipped with several space shuttle - style solid rocket strap - on boosters , suggesting how the 1996 - vintage spacecraft might have gotten into orbit . The model was seen as a desktop decoration in Rain Robinson ' s SETI laboratory in the 1996 scenes of and ( ) and the photograph was used as set dressing on the wall of the 602 Club in ( ) . " " The second edition of the " Star Trek Chronology " featured an image of the " Botany Bay " being launched from Earth with the use of booster rockets similar to those used by the space shuttle orbiter . The " launch mode " model was built by Greg Jein , while Michael Okuda composited the image , using a NASA photo of a space shuttle launch . The " " RPG sourcebook gives the Botany Bay ' s registry as DY - 109 .