A . G . Robinson Commander A . G . Robinson was a 22nd century Starfleet officer who was a pilot in the NX Project . In this capacity , he – along with Commanders Gardner , Duvall , and Jonathan Archer – competed for the position to become the first Human to break the warp 2 barrier during a historic spaceflight in 2143 . History . Securing the chance . Robinson was a close friend of fellow pilot Jonathan Archer , despite fierce competition between the two to become the first to test the " NX - Alpha " , one of two vessels designed to break the warp 2 barrier . Although Archer had worked exceptionally hard to attain the privilege of piloting that historic test flight , Commodore Maxwell Forrest gave the assignment to Robinson . Robinson later celebrated in the 602 Club , where he met Archer . He told him his belief that the reason Archer had not been chosen for the assignment was that Archer had " tried too hard " to be the first one to make the flight . Breaking the barrier . During the test flight , as the ship passed warp 2 , a malfunction was detected aboard the " NX - Alpha " and Robinson was ordered by Forrest to abort . Robinson refused the order , believing he could get the craft to go faster . The ship ' s warp field ultimately collapsed , destroying the craft just as it reached warp 2 . 2 . However , Robinson was able to eject his escape pod in time , becoming the first person to deploy an escape pod while at warp , a feat which landed him in the history books along with being the first Human to achieve warp 2 . Fallout . Upon returning to Earth , Robinson was berated by Archer and Forrest for disobeying orders and destroying the " NX - Alpha " . Robinson argued that the order to abort was premature , believing the instability would subside as it had in previous tests . Robinson spent the majority of the next day in debriefing with Starfleet ' s senior staff and members of the Vulcan Advisory Council . Following this , Starfleet , at the urging of the Vulcan s , suspended the program indefinitely . That night , Robinson met with Archer and one of the program ' s engineer s , Lieutenant Charles Tucker III , at the 602 Club . There , Robinson made clear his belief that the test ' s failure was the result of a faulty engine . Archer , whose father , Henry , designed the engine , held Robinson responsible for the program ' s suspension , especially since Robinson did not even suggest the possibility of pilot error , giving the Vulcans reasons to declare that Starfleet ' s engine did not work . Robinson rebutted by proclaiming that Archer ' s father " " designed a lousy engine " " . This led to a fist fight in which Robinson bruised two of Archer ' s rib s and cracked one of his molar s before Tucker and other bystanders intervened . After this incident , Robinson admitted to Archer that he was out of line . Proving his point . Archer , however , believed Robinson to have been correct : the telemetry of Robinson ' s flight suggested the malfunction was due to an inherent flaw in the engine design , which Archer believed Tucker could compensate for . With Tucker ' s assistance , Robinson and Archer conducted an unauthorized flight of the " NX - Beta " to prove to Starfleet and the Vulcans that the engine was sound and the project was worth continuing . The two pilots managed to safely reach a speed of Warp 2 . 5 , with Robinson giving up the pilot seat to Archer to make the record - breaking flight . Though the two were grounded for three months as a result of their actions , they were ultimately successful in convincing Starfleet to resume the program . A final meeting . After being promoted to captain , Robinson was a candidate to command the first Warp 5 ship , , though he was passed up in favor of Archer six months prior to the ship ' s launch . In late 2150 , he met with Archer – who had just been given command of " Enterprise " – for a drink at the 602 Club . When Robinson left the bar , he was scheduled to fly , the next morning , to Alice Springs , Australia , for survival training . He expected to be given command of the next ship ( later named " Columbia " ) ; however , he ultimately never had the chance to command that vessel . Legacy . In of 2153 , Robinson was killed while climbing Mount McKinley on Earth . The Robinson Nebula , a dark - matter nebula discovered by Archer and Sub - Commander T ' Pol just after Robinson ' s death , was named in his honor . ( ) Appendices . Background information . A . G . Robinson was played by actor Keith Carradine . In the final draft script of " First Flight " , A . G . Robinson was described as " roughly Archer ' s age , charismatic , confident – maybe a bit arrogant . " A later scene description , while Robinson was undertaking the mission to break the warp 2 barrier , remarked , " " This guy ' s a cool one – though we can sense the tension beneath his banter . He knows how important this mission is better than anyone . " " Robinson was also characterized in the script as " typically unflappable . " Casting the role was initially very challenging . " " We really needed a strong actor to play A . G . Robinson , " " explained director LeVar Burton . " " Everybody agreed from the very beginning that we wanted to really go for somebody really terrific and go for someone with a name . The list came down from Casting and there were some really interesting names on it . . . and when I looked at the list , there was one name that just really jumped out at me and that was Keith Carradine . " " The fact that Burton believed Carradine would make a good match for Archer actor Scott Bakula influenced the director ' s selection of Carradine . " " After some discussion , it was decided to make an offer to him , to see if he would come and play , " " Burton stated . ( " LeVar Burton : " Star Trek " Director " , ENT Season 2 DVD / Blu - ray special features ) Keith Carradine himself remembered , " " They called my agent . The script came in and [ the producers ] looked at the character and they all said the same thing to me : ' This is a great part . We need to get somebody really good for this . ' I guess my name was in the hat [ . . . ] I said , ' Yeah , sure . This will be fun ' [ . . . ] I just thought it would be fun to do . Everyone I spoke to said that I would have the best time [ . . . ] When I took all of that and combined it with the nature of the role , which I thought was a really fun part to play , it was really a no - brainer [ . . . ] I just figured it was a hole in my resume that needed to be filled . I didn ' t want to be the only actor in Hollywood who had never done one ! [ . . . ] I am really glad that I finally got to be in one . " " ( , pp . 51 , 52 & 53 ) Reception and aftermath . Scott Bakula approved of the way the role of A . G . Robinson was written . " " Keith Carradine [ . . . ] has some wonderful moments and comments . " " ( ) LeVar Burton was thankful to God that Keith Carradine agreed to portray Robinson . " " He ' s been absolutely phenomenal in the part , " " remarked Burton , during production on " First Flight " . ( " LeVar Burton : " Star Trek " Director " , ENT Season 2 DVD / Blu - ray special features ) The uniform and boots which Keith Carradine wore for the role of A . G . Robinson were sold off on the It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction on eBay .