Star Trek: 10 Secrets Of The USS Discovery You Need To Know

10. Crossfield Class

The USS Discovery is the first of her class to appear on screen in the Star Trek Universe, debuting a full three episodes into Star Trek: Discovery's first season. Named for the American test pilot of the X-15 hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft, Albert Scott Crossfield, the Crossfield-class starship is Starfleet's newest, most advanced vessel when we're introduced to her in "Context is For Kings".

Fitting her namesake, the Crossfield-class USS Discovery (along with her doomed sister ship the USS Glenn) is a testbed for advanced technology, namely the displacement-activated spore hub drive pioneered by Discovery's engineer, Lieutenant Paul Stamets.

While the Constitution-class USS Enterprise may be considered the cream of the Federation crop during this era in the Star Trek Universe, even Enterprise's own officers were wowed by Discovery – Lieutenant Nhan observing to Captain Pike in "Brother" that this ship is "where the Federation puts its pennies."