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This question arises from the answer to In which ways did scanning Nero's ship enhance/change Starfleet technology?

which shows this image

enter image description here

I believe all the USS Enterprises appeared on-screen except NCC 1701-B.

What is the origin of this image and what is its canonicity?

To those people who are claiming this is duplicate: this has nothing to do with the other question. This is a question about this specific image and Enterprise-B. The other question just asks how many Enterprises there were. The fact the answer to a question may happen to answer another question doesn't make the questions duplicate. Furthermore, the other question doesn't ask about the image.

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  • en.memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/USS_Enterprise_(NCC-1701-B)
    – Valorum
    Commented Aug 7, 2015 at 20:33
  • Looking for canon in Star Trek is a fool's game. The franchise has never even aimed for visual consistency, and always been openly revisionist on plot.
    – user36551
    Commented Aug 8, 2015 at 16:22
  • I felt that my answer was pretty comprehensive given that there are both images from the film and concept artworks to refer to. Is there anything else you'd like to see before considering an acceptance?
    – Valorum
    Commented Jul 1, 2016 at 19:03

3 Answers 3

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The NCC-1701-B appears on screen (briefly) at the start of Star Trek: Generations which means that its canonicity is total.

enter image description here

That being said, the artwork pictured in your question appears to be largely based on John Eaves' original concept art for the ship, itself based on earlier concept art pictures

enter image description here

enter image description here

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    Great answer, +1. Just to add one point: Eaves' concept art is not entirely original. The Enterprise-B is Excelsior Class and Eaves' artwork mostly consists of minor modifications to the original Excelsior design (first appearing in The Search for Spock) due to David Carson and Nilo Rodis-Jamero --- see Excelsior class model.
    – Praxis
    Commented Aug 7, 2015 at 21:10
  • @Praxis - Noted and edited.
    – Valorum
    Commented Aug 7, 2015 at 21:12
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    Good answer, but can you elaborate on what features of the diagram lead you to think it was based on the concept art rather than the onscreen version shown in a number of shots in Generations? Also, note that the idea of the Enterprise-B as an Excelsior Class ship seems to have originated with the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, p. 4. It might also be worth comparing the diagram above to the one that appears in the Star Trek Encyclopedia, though I don't have it handy at the moment.
    – Hypnosifl
    Commented Aug 7, 2015 at 21:31
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    This page has some shots of the original filming model, the model does seem to have those extensions on the nacelles as seen in this shot, though they might be a bit smaller proportionally (they definitely seem a bit smaller in this schematic from the Star Trek Encyclopedia). By "big red balls" do you mean the ones on the Enterprise-C or do you mean something on the Enterprise-B?
    – Hypnosifl
    Commented Aug 7, 2015 at 21:49
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    I don't see any red balls on the front of the nacelles--maybe you're getting mixed up by the labeling? The name label is the text underneath each ship, not above it, so the one with the giant red ball at the front of the nacelle is the Enterprise-C (compare with images here).
    – Hypnosifl
    Commented Aug 7, 2015 at 22:21
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Some further evidence about the state of canon of the Enterprise-B, it is actually shown well before Generations in model form in the Observation lounge of the Enterprise-D:

Models of all ships named Enterprise on the Enterprise-D

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    @KyleKanos hand drawn, not anti-aliased, red circles. Booya.
    – Yakk
    Commented Aug 8, 2015 at 16:27
  • @KyleKanos gotta love freehand circles 😉
    – Often Right
    Commented Aug 9, 2015 at 0:16
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    Damn. My answer only has a picture of the ship itself and no freehand circles. Damn!
    – Valorum
    Commented Aug 9, 2015 at 8:45
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The USS Enterprise B was indeed shown onscreen, its maiden flight was the opening few scenes of Star Trek Generations

enter image description here

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