Star Trek: Discovery Reveals Starfleet Named a Ship After Janeway

In addition to keeping the Voyager ship line alive, Star Trek: Discovery has revealed that Starfleet paid tribute to Kathryn Janeway, with a ship named in her honor. Minor spoilers for the season four episode of Star Trek: Discovery titled “The Examples” follow. The episode — the fifth of Discovery‘s fourth season  — opens with three ships investigating the Dark Matter Anomaly (DMA) that destroyed Kwejian and is currently threatening the entire galaxy. One is from Ni’var, the NSS T’Pau. The two others come from the United Federation of Planets. One identifies itself as the USS Janeway, presumably named after Kathryn Janeway, former commanding officer of the USS Voyager, or perhaps one of her descendants. It seems appropriate that a vessel named after Janeway, a scientist, would be out on a science-based mission, trying to gather new data about the DMA.

Unfortunately, the episode does not point out which of the two Federation vessels is the Janeway. It could be a 32nd-century Constitution-class or a Courage-class ship.

That Starfleet is still naming ships after Janeway suggests her career discussed still even 800 years later. Being the first to navigate the Delta Quadrant is likely enough to cement Janeway’s place in the history books. We also know she eventually gained the rank of Vice-Admiral, but what she did after leaving Voyager is unclear.

We know that she was considered an exemplary enough officer that by the 2280s, Starfleet had crafted a holographic training program modeled after her. That version of Janeway assists the young characters in Star Trek: Prodigy as they navigate the final frontier. 

“She’s familiar, but she’s different,” Mulgrew told ComicBook.com us of the subtle differences between the two versions of the character. “She’s a hologram, so she is endowed with certain traits that would make her arguably a little bit bigger than life, whereas of course, live-action Janeway was live-action and what you saw with what you got. But I love drawing her, I love illustrating her and shaping her in accordance to the needs of the other characters. It’s really a wonderful challenge creatively.”

What do you think of Starfleet naming a ship after Star Trek: Voyager‘s Capt. Kathryn Janeway? Let us know what you think about it in the comments. Paramount+ debuts new episodes of Star Trek: Discovery on Thursdays. Star Trek: Prodigy returns with the second half of its first season beginning January 6th on Paramount+. Star Trek: Voyager is streaming in its entirety now on Paramount+.