Warp Five program

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The first test vehicle NX-Alpha

Columbia, the second starship to have the warp five engine

The Warp Five program was the name given to the research and development project commissioned by United Earth Space Probe Agency to develop the warp five engine. Doctors Zefram Cochrane, Tasaki, and Henry Archer were among the main scientists involved in the project. They did much of their work at the Warp Five Complex, located on Earth just outside of Bozeman, Montana, from 2119 onward, when the complex was dedicated. (ENT: "Broken Bow", "Singularity")

The NX Project, overseen by Commodore Maxwell Forrest from its initial stages in the early 2140s, fielded several test vehicles with prototype versions of the warp five engine. These prototypes were piloted by Commanders Jonathan Archer, A.G. Robinson, Gardner, and Duvall. Captain Jefferies was an engineer on the NX Program, and Lieutenant Charles Tucker III worked on his team. (ENT: "First Flight")

Both programs were supervised by Vulcan experts. While they were helpful, the Vulcans did not share any of their advanced knowledge on warp mechanics. Due to this attitude, Henry Archer eventually made a breakthrough in finding an even more valid solution to the flux paradox than the Vulcan derivation. (ENT: "First Flight", "Broken Bow", "Singularity")

After the engine was ready for full scale use, the Enterprise NX-01 was constructed. The ship was launched in April of 2151 and became the first United Earth starship to utilize the warp five engine in deep space. Unfortunately, by this time, Henry Archer had died of Clarke's Disease. His son, Jonathan Archer, captained this first NX-class starship, with Charles Tucker III as his chief engineer. (ENT: "First Flight", "Broken Bow")

In the mirror universe, the Terran Empire had made similar breakthroughs. They had constructed at least nine NX-class battle cruisers with warp five engines, by 2155. (ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly")

An alternate timeline, created by Daniels' taking Jonathan Archer into the future, diverged from the primary one at approximately the beginning of the Warp Five program; by the 31st century, the Earth of this timeline had long since been destroyed. (ENT: "Shockwave, Part II")