Starship name prefixes (Star Trek)
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In the fictional Star Trek universe, the names of Starfleet starships are preceded by a prefix, most commonly "USS". The prefix is generally only mentioned in formal dialogue, with most vessels simply being referred to by their name (e.g., "the Enterprise").
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[edit] USS
"USS" is the most common prefix among known Starfleet vessels. Although this harks of the "USS" prefix used by United States Navy vessels, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry maintained that the two are unrelated[citation needed].
In the Star Trek series pilot, Captain Christopher Pike refers to the Enterprise as a "United Space Ship". His successor, James T. Kirk, also identifies it as the "United Space Ship Enterprise" (TOS: "Space Seed").
In later original series episodes, the Enterprise is sometimes referred to as a "United Star Ship" ("Court Martial"), even though "starship" is generally one word in Star Trek.
Roddenberry reportedly said that "USS" stands for "United Space Starship"[citation needed].
In later series, Starfleet vessels are more frequently introduced as "Federation starships"; rarely as "USS" said aloud. Ships in the pre-Federation Star Trek: Enterprise series lack the "USS" prefix on their hull lettering and no characters use "USS" when referring to the ship. However, some Okudagrams identify the ship as the "USS Enterprise".
The "USS" prefix appears at least as early as the late 22nd century's USS Essex (TNG: "Power Play").
[edit] SS
The earliest known Star Trek-related use of "SS" is Khan Noonien Singh's 1996 launch of the infamous sleeper ship SS Botany Bay.
The prefix survives into the 23rd and 24th centuries. Some "SS" vessels seem to be civilian, rather than Starfleet, vessels, e.g. the transport SS Lakul. Conversely, the Oberth-class starship Tsiolkovsky has the SS prefix, though it is under Starfleet control.
[edit] ECS
"ECS" precedes the names of ships in the Earth Cargo Service. The Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Horizon" revolves around the ECS Horizon, under the command of Paul Mayweather.
[edit] ISS
"ISS" stands for "Imperial Starship" and is used by the Terran Empire's fleet throughout the 22nd and 23rd centuries.
[edit] "Okudagram"-only prefixes
There are several instances in which ship details, including the prefix before the vessel's name, are available only from an "Okudagram". Although generally accepted as part of Star Trek canon, Okudagrams also tend to include inside jokes and gags, such as references to a ship's "diplomatic mission to the Alderaan" or the existence of a shuttlecraft Indiana Jones.
Several prefixes appear on a computer screen roster of starships in the TNG episode "Up the Long Ladder". These prefixes – "DEV" for the colony ship DEV Eagle Valley, "HMS" for the HMS Lord Nelson and HMS New Zealand, and "VK" for the VK Yuri Gagarin and VK Velikan – appear only in this episode.
An Okudagram in "Whispers" (DS9) gives several prefixes for various ships due to arrive at Deep Space Nine, including "USGS" for the transport Powell.
