USS Prometheus (NX-59650)
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Image:STPrometheus.jpg USS Prometheus (NX-59650) was the prototype for the new Prometheus class of starship and first featured in the Star Trek: Voyager episode, "Message in a Bottle". The Prometheus was first launched on stardate 50749.5 (2373) from the Antares Shipyards after over a decade of extensive development by the Advanced Starship Design Bureau at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards at Mars.
The Prometheus was the first ship to be equipped with a "Multi-Vector Assault Mode" which enabled the vessel to separate into three fully independent spaceframes during a battle, and reconvene and reconnect after the mission was completed. This ability is similar to the saucer separation of a Galaxy class starship, though that function was not designed to increase the tactical potency of both separated sections, instead using the saucer section as something of a massive Escape pod though this was not the only reason for Galaxy-class vessels to separate.
In 2374, the Prometheus was fully commissioned and began a series of shakedown cruises before it was commandeered by the Romulan Tal Shiar. Due to the collaboration of two Starfleet Emergency Medical Holograms (The Prometheus' experimental MkII and the USS Voyager's MkI), the ship was successful retaken by Starfleet. It was on this mission that Starfleet learned of the Voyager's exact position and situation in the Delta Quadrant, and the vessel was removed from the MIA list.
The Prometheus' registry is disputed. Despite the CGI model being labelled onscreen as registry NX-59650, the vessel was said to be Starfleet's newest design and so it is assumed by some fans that the higher number - seen on the ship's dedication plaque - represents the correct registry, as this would place the vessel's construction after the relatively new Galaxy-class vessels (generally numbered in the 71000's), and the newer Intrepid-class vessel, Voyager (NCC-74656). In real life, production designer Mike Okuda used NX-74913 for all the internal displays, including the ship's plaque but the independent FX artists did not receive a memo regarding this, and so used an "incorrect" number for the CG model.