| abstract | - Status: The Columbus (NCC-1701/2) was a Class F shuttlecraft assigned to the USS Enterprise in the 23rd century. In 2251, the Columbus transported Captain Christopher Pike to the Enterprise so that he could assume command of the starship. Although he could have beamed aboard, Pike preferred to inspect the Enterprise with his own eyes. (ST reference: Ships of the Line) In 2254, the Columbus was used to take a landing party down through the turbulent atmosphere of the planetoid Darien 224. On the planetoid the landing party were captured by an estranged group of Vulcans. Captain Pike was later allowed to use to Columbus to return to the Enterprise, and was attacked en route by the USS Cortez, a starship captured by an opposing group of Vulcans from the same planet. Number One had the Enterprise placed between the two ships, allowing the Columbus to safely return to the shuttlebay. The rest of the landing party were rescued shortly after by the Enterprise. (EV comic: "Cloak and Dagger") In 2267, the Columbus participated in the search for the Galileo, when it had crashed on Taurus II. (TOS episode: "The Galileo Seven") That same year, Captain James Kirk, along with Spock and McCoy, used the Columbus to land on planet NGC 667, due to the radiation surrounding the planet and its interference to the transporters. (TOS short story: "First, Do No Harm") In 2268, the Columbus was used to take a landing party to Mu Arigulon V while the Enterprise transferred medical supplies to Deep Space Station C-15. (TOS novel: A Choice of Catastrophes) That same year, she participated in operations to repair the Enterprise's warp nacelle at the Bolarus Prime shipyards, and aided in the recovery of bodies from the USS Excalibur. (ST reference: Ships of the Line) On Stardate 7004.1, James T. Kirk used this craft as a conveyance to the planet Sycorax. This vehicle was destroyed by atmospheric turmoil after assisting in repairs to the environmental dome of the Paragon Colony, post Klingon attack. (TOS novel: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 1) An alternate account of the shuttlecraft's destruction is given in the Star Trek Unlimited story "Message in a Bottle", where it is destroyed by a plasma flare while exploring a pocket universe.
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