Star Trek Just Shockingly Redefined the Enterprise's Iconic 'Five-Year Mission'

Published Sep 24, 2026, 2:31 PM EDT Shaun Corley has been with ScreenRant for over 5 years, and is currently the Coordinator for PR and Outreach for the Comics Team. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Warning: contains spoilers for Star Trek #1! Star Trek just shockingly redefined the Enterprise’s “five-year mission.” A central tenet of The Original Series, the concept of the five-year mission is known to Star Trek fans the world over. Captain Kirk had many five-year missions, which made him into a Starfleet icon who is still venerated centuries after his death. When Star Trek premiered 60 years ago, the crew of the Enterprise were just beginning their first five-year mission under Kirk’s leadership. Prior to that, Captain Pike, Kirk’s predecessor, commanded the Enterprise during three five-year missions, while the ship’s first skipper, Robert April, got one, but it was enough to cement him as one of the greats. Likewise, Captain Kirk’s various five-year missions were the stuff of Starfleet legends. Kirk is credited with numerous first contacts, as well as diffusing numerous galactic situations with compassion and humanity. However, by the end of the 23rd century, Starfleet had begun phasing out five-year missions, in favor of ongoing ones. By the time of Star Trek: The Next Generation in the 24th century, they were a thing of the past, relics of a bygone era. Captain Picard’s mission never ended, even after the Enterprise-D was destroyed and a replacement commissioned. Now, Star Trek is entering a new era thanks to IDW Publishing, and the five-year mission is making a comeback. Sort of. Stardate 47988.1 · Crew Assessment The Final FrontierTrivia Challenge 🚀ShipsEnterprise! ⭐CrewMake it so ☠EnemiesResistance is… ⚡TechWarp speed! 📖LoreLive long… ENGAGE → 01 The USS Enterprise is the most iconic starship in science fiction. What is the registry number of Captain Kirk’s original Enterprise from The Original Series? ANCC-1701-D BNX-01 CNCC-1701 DNCC-74656 ✓ Correct! NCC-1701 is the registry of Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise. The “-D” suffix belongs to Picard’s Galaxy-class ship, NX-01 is Archer’s Enterprise, and NCC-74656 is Voyager. ✗ Red alert! The answer is NCC-1701. Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise carried this now-legendary registry. NCC-1701-D is Picard’s Enterprise from TNG, NX-01 is Captain Archer’s, and NCC-74656 belongs to Voyager. NEXT → 02 Kirk’s most trusted officer is a half-human, half-Vulcan science officer famous for his logic and iconic salute. Who is this legendary character? AData BSpock CTuvok DSarek ✓ Correct! Mr. Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy, is the half-Vulcan science officer whose “Live long and prosper” salute became a cultural icon. His struggle between logic and emotion defines the heart of the Original Series. ✗ Red alert! The answer is Spock. Data is an android from TNG, Tuvok is Voyager’s Vulcan tactical officer, and Sarek is Spock’s Vulcan father. Only Spock is the half-human, half-Vulcan first officer of Kirk’s Enterprise. NEXT → 03 Starfleet’s most important regulation forbids interference with the natural development of alien civilizations. What is this guiding principle called? AThe Temporal Accord BGeneral Order One CThe Omega Directive DThe Prime Directive ✓ Correct! The Prime Directive (also known as General Order 1) is Starfleet’s most sacred law. It prohibits interfering with less-developed civilizations — though Kirk, Picard, and Janeway have all famously bent or broken it when lives were at stake. ✗ Red alert! The answer is the Prime Directive. While “General Order One” is technically another name for it, the Prime Directive is the universally known term. The Omega Directive and Temporal Accord are separate, more specialized Starfleet protocols. NEXT → 04 “Resistance is futile.” This chilling declaration belongs to a cybernetic collective that assimilates entire civilizations into its hive mind. What is this fearsome species called? AThe Borg BThe Dominion CThe Romulans DSpecies 8472 ✓ Correct! The Borg are Star Trek’s most terrifying villains — a hive-mind collective that forcibly assimilates species and technology. Captain Picard was famously assimilated and transformed into Locutus in the landmark TNG episode “The Best of Both Worlds.” ✗ Red alert! The answer is the Borg. The Dominion is the Gamma Quadrant empire from DS9, the Romulans are a rival empire, and Species 8472 is actually one of the few species that the Borg themselves fear. Only the Borg declare “Resistance is futile.” NEXT → 05 Captain Jean-Luc Picard commands the Enterprise-D in The Next Generation and later received his own series, Star Trek: Picard. Which acclaimed actor portrays him? AWilliam Shatner BAvery Brooks CPatrick Stewart DScott Bakula ✓ Correct! Sir Patrick Stewart brought gravitas, Shakespeare, and Earl Grey tea to the captain’s chair for seven seasons of TNG, four films, and three seasons of Star Trek: Picard. His “Make it so” is one of TV’s most iconic catchphrases. ✗ Red alert! The answer is Patrick Stewart. William Shatner plays Captain Kirk, Avery Brooks is Captain Sisko on Deep Space Nine, and Scott Bakula captains the NX-01 Enterprise. Only Sir Patrick Stewart portrays the legendary Jean-Luc Picard. NEXT → 06 Starfleet vessels travel faster than light by bending space around them using a matter-antimatter reaction. What is this propulsion system called? ATranswarp Drive BWarp Drive CSlipstream Drive DSpore Drive ✓ Correct! Warp Drive is the standard faster-than-light propulsion in Star Trek, powered by dilithium-regulated matter-antimatter reactions. Zefram Cochrane invented it in 2063, which led to humanity’s first contact with the Vulcans. ✗ Red alert! The answer is Warp Drive. Transwarp is an advanced Borg technology, Slipstream is an experimental quantum drive, and the Spore Drive uses mycelial network navigation (from Discovery). Standard Starfleet vessels use Warp Drive. NEXT → 07 At Starfleet Academy, cadets face a notorious no-win scenario designed to test their character under impossible circumstances. James Kirk is the only cadet who ever beat it — by cheating. What is this test called? AThe Prometheus Trial BThe Omega Simulation CThe Corbomite Maneuver DThe Kobayashi Maru ✓ Correct! The Kobayashi Maru is an unwinnable rescue simulation that tests how cadets handle certain death. Kirk reprogrammed it so he could win — earning a commendation for original thinking. It was memorably featured in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. ✗ Red alert! The answer is the Kobayashi Maru. The Corbomite Maneuver is a TOS episode, not an Academy test. The Kobayashi Maru is the famous no-win scenario that Kirk defeated by reprogramming the simulation — because he doesn’t believe in the no-win scenario. NEXT → 08 In the widely regarded greatest Star Trek film, a genetically enhanced superhuman from Earth’s past seeks revenge against Captain Kirk. “KHAAAAN!” Who is this iconic villain? AKhan Noonien Singh BGeneral Chang CQ DGul Dukat ✓ Correct! Khan Noonien Singh, played by Ricardo Montalbán, is Star Trek’s greatest villain. First appearing in the TOS episode “Space Seed,” he returned in The Wrath of Khan (1982) for a devastating revenge plot that cost Spock his life. ✗ Red alert! The answer is Khan Noonien Singh. General Chang is a Klingon from Star Trek VI, Q is TNG’s omnipotent trickster, and Gul Dukat is DS9’s Cardassian antagonist. Only Khan inspired Kirk’s legendary scream across the cosmos. REVEAL MY SCORE → Mission Complete Your Starfleet Record / 8 Are you an Admiral — or still a cadet on deck-scrubbing duty? ↻ RE-ENGAGE Starfleet Has Brought Back the "Five-Year" Mission, But With a Gut-Wrenching Twist In Star Trek #1, written by Christopher Cantwell and drawn by Dennis Menheere, Captain Seven of Nine, of the Enterprise-G, is given a new mission by Starfleet, five years after the events of Picard’s series finale. A new area of space, dubbed the “Epsilon Corridor,” has been discovered, and Starfleet orders the Enterprise to explore the region, with an eye towards colonization. Three, resource-rich Class-M planets have also been discovered, and the Federation has set its sights on them. Seven of Nine’s new mission seems simple enough, but Starfleet informs her that it will be anything but, as the Epsilon Corridor has unique physics that impact the fabric of space-time. Starfleet warns the Enterprise will experience some degree of relativistic time dilation, meaning less time will pass on board the ship than it does in the outside world. The issue then drops a whopper of a revelation: every year in the Corridor equals five on the outside. Depending on how long the Enterprise is in the Corridor, the ship could be gone for five years. The Epsilon Corridor is Full of Promise, and Great Danger Relativistic Time Dilation is a Real Concept in Physics Time dilation, as described in Star Trek #1’s text page, is a central component of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. It states that as a vessel approaches the speed of light, its mass grows, requiring more energy to propel it. It keeps growing in mass, until a near-infinite supply of energy is needed to sustain the speed. Furthermore, time begins to go wonky: it remains the same on board the ship, but passes much faster on the outside. The physics of the Epsilon Corridor are a fascinating twist on the concept. Star Trek fans know that warp drive is the workaround ships use to go faster than light, meaning they do not experience time dilation, but now it is about to become the Enterprise crew’s new reality as they head to the Epsilon Corridor. Starfleet gives plenty of heads up to the crew about the mission’s potential consequences. However, the issue also instills doubt in readers’ minds about whether any of the crew will even be able to secure a transfer for this mission. The Enterprise's New Mission Has Questionable Ethics The ethics of the Enterprise’s new mission are debatable, on several levels. The idea that the crew could not see their loved ones again for five years is a heavy one to take in, and Star Trek #1 does not hold back on showing the emotional toll it is going to take on them. The very nature of the mission, one of expansion as opposed to exploration, also seems to run counter to the Federation’s ideals. Starfleet says they want to settle the Revlans, but one cannot help but get the impression something deeper and darker is going to happen. The very nature of the mission, one of expansion as opposed to exploration, also seems to run counter to the Federation’s ideals. These considerations overshadow the return of Star Trek’s “five-year mission.” In the past, the missions of Captains Kirk and Pike were heroic, and still inspire Starfleet officers hundreds of years later. Now, however, a dark cloud has descended on the concept of the five-year mission, turning it on its head as the franchise goes Warp 9 into a stunning new era. Star Trek #1 is on sale now from IDW Publishing!