USS Columbia

The starship Columbia was named in honor of the Earth space shuttle Columbia that was destroyed in a tragic accident in 2003. The first ship to enter outer space with the name Columbia was a pioneer in earth's early space history. It is no coincidence that Columbia will leave dry dock almost exactly 400 years after her ancestor entered earth's orbit for the first time.

Commissioning of the new starship Columbia marks an exciting change for Starfleet. With the Dominion War long over and ongoing peace talks with the Romulan Star Empire progressing, Starfleet has shifted construction of its vessels away from wartime duty towards its primary mission of exploration. The existing Nebula Class design facilitates this change in mission.

This Columbia sacrificed the battle capabilities of some more recent vessels, but she was be equipped with some of the latest breaking and largely untested Starfleet technology. What Columbia lacked in offensive firepower, she maked up with technological advancement.

While she served through 2382 and part of 2383 as an exploration vessel, she was soon reassigned, with her crew, to StarBase 118 Operations. She was active as the field ship in that capacity, until 2384, when she was put into dry-dock for a review of her warp systems.

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