The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A), sometimes referred to as the Enterprise-A or NCC-1701-Alpha was a 23rd century Federation Constitution-class starship operated by Starfleet. This starship was the second Federation ship to bear the name Enterprise. Nominally, ships of this class were heavy cruisers, but in particular, this vessel was outfitted as a tactical command cruiser. The second Federation starship to bear the name, the Enterprise-A was christened shortly after the destruction of her predec