The USS Columbia NCC 84981 carries on the century-old tradition of the name. Her forebears earned themselves reputations as explorers and pioneers.
The first vessel to bear the name was a Boston, Massachusetts based sloop captained by the American Robert Gray. On May 11, 1792, Gray and his crew maneuvered the Columbia past the dangerous sandbar at the mouth of a river extending more than 1,000 miles through what is today south-eastern British Columbia, Canada, and the Washington-Oregon border.
The river was later named after the ship.
Gray also led Columbia and its crew on the first American circumnavigation of the globe, carrying a cargo of otter skins to Canton, China, and then returning to Boston.
Other sailing ships have further enhanced the luster of the name Columbia. The first U.S. Navy ship to circle the globe bore that title, as did the command module for Apollo 11, the first lunar landing mission.
Later the first functional vessel of American NASA's shuttle orbiter programme was christened Columbia and ventured into space 28 times before it was destroyed in a tragic accident in 2003.
Starfleet Ships to bear the name included Columbia NX-02, the second Starfleet starship of the NX class. The
ship was still under construction (and unnamed) at the time of the Xindi
attack on Earth in 2153. It was scheduled to be completed and launched in mid-2154.
The SS Columbia was a Federation survey vessel in the 23rd century.
The Columbia crashed on Talos IV in 2236 while on a survey expedition in the
unexplored Talos Star Group for the American Continent Institute under Dr.
Theodore Haskins.
The USS Columbia NCC-621 was a Hermes-class Federation starship in the
23rd century, authorized for construction on stardate 5099, specialized for
duty as a command and diplomatic courier.
