USS Copernicus (NCC-640)

The USS Copernicus (NCC-640), was a Federation scout that was in service with Starfleet in the late 23rd century.

In 2286, it was docked in Earth Spacedock when the Whale Probe disabled all orbiting starships and stations.

The former crew of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) traveled past the Copernicus in spacedock, while aboard a travel pod, en route to their new assignment on the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A). 

Background
The Copernicus was named for, who developed the heliocentric theory of the solar system.

The Copernicus was not identified by name on screen, but was identified by production sources. ILM's Model Shop Supervisor Jeff Mann has stated, "We had an incident in the beginning of the film, where we needed a Reliant-class [sic.], so we put a new paint job on the old Reliant model, changed a small shuttle called the Grissom to the Copernicus and we added a back half to the shuttlecraft that Scotty flew around in ." (The Making of the Trek Films, 3rd ed., p. 68)

According to the Star Trek Encyclopedia, which confirms the above information, the registry of the Copernicus was "NCC-623". However, a screen cap from the next use of the model as the SS Tsiolkovsky in TNG-Remastered's clearly showed the registry to be "NCC-640", being illegible in the original airing. For the TNG-Remastered edition, the number was digitally changed to match the proper number in only one shot, in all other shots, the original number still appears on the model.

USS Коперник (NCC-640) USS Copernicus USS Copernicus USSコペルニクス USS Copernicus