USS Odyssey The USS " Odyssey " ( NCC - 71832 ) was a 24th century Federation starship operated by Starfleet . History . In late 2370 , the " Odyssey " , under the command of Captain Keogh , was assigned to a patrol mission along the Cardassian border . The " Odyssey " arrived at Deep Space 9 shortly after it was announced by the Jem ' Hadar that they had taken Commander Benjamin Sisko prisoner in the Gamma Quadrant . With news of this , Starfleet suspended all wormhole traffic , and ordered the " Odyssey " to proceed into the Gamma Quadrant to investigate the Jem ' Hadar ' s threat . During the operation , the " Odyssey " , along with the and , engaged three Jem ' Hadar attack ship s . It was quickly discovered that the " Odyssey " s shields were ineffective against the Jem ' Hadar ' s phased polaron beam s , and she took significant damage from multiple direct hits . Realizing this , Captain Keogh ordered power from the shields be diverted to the phaser s in order to inflict more damage on the enemy . The Jem ' Hadar took advantage of this opportunity and rammed the ship as she tried to retreat . The attack ship collided with the " Odyssey " s secondary hull and the ship exploded seconds later with all hands lost . Fortunately , most non - essential crewmembers and all civilians had been offloaded at DS9 prior to departure , saving hundreds of lives . ( ) The destruction of the " Odyssey " , which became the cornerstone for the Dominion cold war , showed the Federation that the Dominion was a potent and dangerous threat . In response to this provocation , the was brought out of mothballs and put on active duty . ( ) Appendices . Background information . According to the , the " Odyssey " was named for the command module of the ill - fated Apollo 13 moon mission . The " Odyssey " s dedication plaque bore a quote from ' s : " " Its origin and purpose , still a total mystery . " " The bridge shown in the episode was a completely different set than the one used for the . The hollow model of the USS " Enterprise " - D which was blown up for was again used to blow up the USS " Odyssey " . According to the " " , the show ' s writers intentionally made the " Odyssey " a " Galaxy " - class ship to emphasize that the Dominion was a much more threatening force than anything the " Enterprise " - D had encountered during TNG , with the exception of the Borg . The writers wished to show that even the " Enterprise " - D would stand no chance in the same situation . The destruction of the " Odyssey " marked the second visualised loss of a " Galaxy " - class starship since their introduction in " The Next Generation " , following the loss of the in . Apocrypha . In the " " novel " The Buried Age " , by Christopher L . Bennett , Starfleet briefly considered giving command of the " Odyssey " to Captain Jean - Luc Picard before naming him the commanding officer of the " Enterprise " following the early retirement of " Enterprise " ' s original intended captain , . In the " " novel , " Greater Than the Sum " , also by Bennett , it is revealed that all non - essential personal from the " Odyssey " were evacuated off - ship prior to entering the wormhole . This included the fifteen - year old , who would later serve on the " USS Enterprise " from 2381 . In the video game " " , a " Galaxy " - class ship named USS " Odyssey " appeared in the mission " Once and Again " , transporting Ambassador Spock to a peace conference between the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Star Empire to help defend against a Borg invasion shortly after the Dominion War .