She has boldly gone, and then some.

If there’s one name that carries a lot of weight in naval circles, it’s the “Big E” or U.S.S Enterprise: the US naval fleet’s oldest nuclear powered aircraft carrier, and also the world’s longest, and 11th-heaviest, maritime vessel. After 51 years of service, the Enterprise is to return to port from the Persian Gulf and be decommissioned next year, but not without some amazing stories to tell.

For its final mission, the Enterprise is heading to the Middle East on its seven-month deployment, where it will be on standby in case of conflict with Iran or piracy threats off Somalia, among other things. The ship has experience with both scenarios, participating in a retaliatory strike against Iran for mining the Persian Gulf in 1988 and responding last year to the hijacking of a sailing vessel by Somali pirates, during which all four Americans on board were shot and killed.

The deployment will be the ship’s 22nd and last. Following its return to Virginia in the fall, tens of thousands are expected to be on hand for a deactivation ceremony in December that President Barack Obama has been invited to attend.

The Enterprise is the eighth vessel with U.S. registry bearing that name, and during her half-century career, she has seen action in all wars that the U.S. has undertaken, was among the first to respond to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington D.C., was present at the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, and even acted as spotter vessel when U.S. astronaut John Glenn circumnavigated the earth the same year.

Speaking of space, there is also (lest we forget) the other ship that shares the name Enterprise; the fictional starship in the long-running Star Trek TV series’ and assorted movies. Far from being a source of ridicule, the crew of the real Enterprise are proud of the association with such a hallmark piece of American entertainment history. Parts of one of the Star Trek movies were even filmed on board the aircraft carrier. She also had a starring role in action movie, Top Gun. There is allegedly a pair of fuzzy black dice hanging on the bridge which was donated by the film crew, which hangs there to this day.

The ship was only meant to last for 25 years, but a major re-fit in 1979 extended her lifespan by another 25. Unfortunately for those of us who wanted a chance to step onto the bridge of the decommissioned Enterprise and bark, “Make it so!”, the ship won’t be turned into a museum like some other carriers. Crews have to cut large holes in the vessel to remove the nuclear fuel from the carrier’s eight reactors, and it would be too expensive to repair, said Lt. Cmdr. Sarah Self-Kyler, the Enterprise‘s public affairs officer.

The crew of the Enterprise will be sad to see the ‘Big E’ make her final voyage.

“To serve on this ship, certainly in this capacity, you certainly have to be a student of the ship’s history,” said Rear Admiral Walter Carter, commander of the Enterprise strike group. “Fifty years of service, in our nation’s history, we’ve never had a warship in service that long.”

[Source: Yahoo]