Star Trek Expanded Universe
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The USS Kelvin (NCC-0514) was an Einstein-class Federation survey vessel in service with Starfleet in the 23rd century. By the early 2230s, the Kelvin was under the command of Captain Richard Robau. Also aboard the Kelvin at this time was Lieutenant Commander George Kirk, serving as first officer, and his wife, Winona. (Star Trek)

Winona Kirk's billet aboard Kelvin was unrevealed.
The Kelvin's assignment patch was based on the Cochrane delta, as was that of the USS Enterprise, commissioned in 2245. This suggests that, in the Primeverse, Kelvin had been destroyed or decommissioned by that year.

Alternate reality[]

In an alternate 2233, the Kelvin detected a large black hole which had been created in 2387 by the detonation of a red matter device. Soon after, a large starship of unidentified origin emerged from the black hole and launched an attack on the Kelvin. The Kelvin's defenses were soon overwhelmed by a barrage of torpedoes, but the attack was suddenly stopped and the Narada's first officer Ayel requested that Captain Robau come aboard to discuss terms.

USS Kelvin

USS Kelvin in 2233

With no other options, Robau turned command over to Kirk and went aboard the Narada, where he was quickly killed by its captain, Nero. Battle quickly resumed, and Kirk ordered the Kelvin's crew to abandon ship, he then tried to engage the autopilot and ram the Narada, but with that system damaged, Kirk himself had to pilot the Kelvin and sacrifice his life to save the crew, including his wife and newly born son, James. (Star Trek)

A dissertation by then-Starfleet cadet Christopher Pike on the events surrounding the Kelvin's destruction became a successful theatrical production at Starfleet Academy. (A Flight to Remember)

Delta Dynamics[]

Boston dl (DD) 3-ortho

The upgraded Einstein observation ship configuration

In this continuity, the Kelvin (NCC-O434, the letter O indicating the observational role) had previously been a Syracuse-class destroyer (and then Boston subclass destroyer leader), the USS Rahman, that had been retasked in 2234 to serve as a Star Fleet observation ship, a role performed for nearly fifty years. Kelvin and her sister ships, Gray and Einstein, underwent a refit in 2263, and all were decommissioned by 2282.

Einstein Flt II os (DD) 3-ortho

Einstein Flight II configuration

In 2262, Kelvin, Gray, and Einstein—each about 40 years old—entered the yards for a long-scheduled refit period. Chiokis updated the capabilities with the introduction of the Flight II configuration. The ships were lengthened (by the swapping out of the PB-29 nacelle with the PB-32) to almost 245 meters and raised to 66 meters. The new warp nacelle enabled the ships to cruise at warp factor 5 and achieve the maximum speed of warp 7.5 (from 5.1), with only an additional 28,000 metric tons added overall. The phase cannons and laser emitters were all replaced by the six under-powered Type V phasers (in 3 banks), though the weapons’ adaptability were well appreciated for their defensive capacity. Lastly, the vastly improved deuteron wake detectors were increased in surface area and moved to the hull’s pylon (in order to keep shuttlebay activities from interfering).

The ships continued to operate in their observation role well into the 2280s. (Star Fleet Starship Recognition Manual: Report #292: Syracuse Destroyers)

Star Trek: Accord[]

Soledad Ibañez was an engineering specialist on Kelvin in the 2230s. (Star Trek: Accord: "Year One"; Star Trek: Shadowstar Station: "Soledad")

This posited that there's a Prime universe version of the Kelvin, with at least a secondary hull and warp nacelle that looks more like the counterpart Constitution-class sections.

Star Trek: Eagle[]

Tavek's father Sorv served on the Kelvin briefly in the 2230s as a petty officer. (Star Trek: Eagle)

The Unreliable's Light[]

In 2228, the Kelvin discovered the mysterious Rainbow Factory and the subtance it manufactuers, Chroma. It's likely the Kelvin helped document what is said in the database viewed by Breezie and her crew in 2365. (TUL: Rainbow Factory)

See also[]

External links[]

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