Changes in ship design and technology

Yep, that be it. Works well, I think.

 

This all sounds a little bit overcomplicated. Why should we think there was a design change, as opposed to a name change?

For all we know, the ship class familiar from TOS was built just as is. There just was a random fluke wherein the name Constitution was given to another, larger ship class which may or may not have existed in the TOS timeline. The TOS ships simply got named differently in the STXI universe.

Starfleet wouldn't be in the business of designing, constructing and operating names. They procure designs, and then slap more or less random names and registries on them for bookkeeping purposes. Nothing much need have changed between the TOS and STXI universes to alter minor naming details.

In STXI, the Enterprise is supposed to be some sort of a flagship that has a big reputation even before her maiden voyage. In TOS, we followed the adventures of a relatively undistinguished Enterprise instead - the adventures that made the name distinguished. What if the STXI ship was named after a preceding famous Enterprise, more specifically after the ship we saw in TOS?

Timo Saloniemi

 

I don't think that's quite what they were going for, but if that works better for you, that's awesome.

 

That would mean that NuRobert April would have commanded a ship like from TOS but with a different ship and class name, and maybe even in the NuTrek Universe that NuSpock and NuPike served on that same ship and also went through The Cage with the Talosians just like in the Prime Universe.

No way to know if there'll be a crippled Pike to have to go back to Talos in the NuTrek Universe though.