A Starfleet science ship with an experimental spore drive that took part in the Klingon War and later the far future.
The USS Discovery is a Crossfield-class Starfleet science vessel, launched in the 2250s and fitted with the experimental spore drive, which allows instant jumps across the mycelial network. Its spore drive navigator was the astromycologist Paul Stamets.
During the Federation-Klingon War, the ship was commanded by Gabriel Lorca, who was later revealed to be his counterpart from the mirror universe. Michael Burnham, convicted of mutiny after the Battle of the Binary Stars, joined the crew. Christopher Pike later took temporary command while investigating the signals linked to the Red Angel, and the crew fought the rogue artificial intelligence Control.
To keep the ancient Sphere data out of Control's hands, Discovery travelled to the year 3188. There it found a Federation shattered by the Burn and helped restore it, first under Captain Saru and then under Captain Burnham. In this era the ship was refitted with thirty-second-century technology.