In the year 2311, the Universe served as the test bed for Starfleet's hyperwarp drive experiments. During the test mission at the Bonneville Flats, Universe carried a skeleton crew of 51. Adrienne Kuwano was serving as the ship's captain, Lieutenant Commander Chernin was the ship's chief engineer, and Lieutenant Seaver was the ship's communications officer. After the ship reached hyperwarp one, it exploded resulting in a loss of all hands. The USS Ad Astra, escorting the Universe, was also severely damaged by the explosion.