Star Trek's 13 lead starships ranked from worst to best

Star Trek's ships are iconic. Still, some of them are decidedly nicer to look at than others. Let's rank every hero ship from the franchise by aesthetics alone.
The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), as it appeared after its refit in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), as it appeared after its refit in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. | Sunset Boulevard/GettyImages
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5. USS Cerritos (NCC-75567), Star Trek: Lower Decks

Speaking of Lower Decks, the hero ship from that series is the next on our list. As a smaller vessel, the California-class Cerritos has elements reminiscent of the Miranda-class (i.e., the Reliant in Wrath of Khan), but with a 24th Century flair.

What gets the Cerritos this high on the list is the way it stays faithful to the design language of Star Trek while also establishing its own unique look. This is commendable, especially in light of how many of the other ships in the most recent batch of Star Trek series seem to eschew continuity and consistency in favor of “updating” the designs.

4. USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek Generations, and Star Trek: Picard season 3

The Enterprise-D is undoubtedly one of the most iconic ships in Star Trek, perhaps second only to the original Enterprise. Its organic, curved lines give it a beautiful and high-tech appearance while preserving the traditional starship design of a saucer section attached to a secondary hull with a long neck. You may be wondering, then, why this ship is only Number 4 on this list.

Unfortunately, the Enterprise-D has a similar issue to the Protostar. While the Galaxy-class starship is utterly gorgeous from some angles, it can look like a messy blob from others. This limits how we get to see the ship on screen and can lead to shots of the Enterprise-D feeling very awkward and constrained.

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