Originally assigned the name USS Austin which was decommissioned in 2370 after nearly thirty years service. The vessel was recommissioned in 2382 and renamed the USS Leviathan to be a test-bed vessel for the quantum slipstream drive project (QSD). This technology, brought back from the Delta quadrant by the USS Voyager appeared at the time to be a method of traveling at speeds in excess of warp 9.9 for prolonged periods.

Starfleet's experimentation with transwarp travel was still in it's infancy and the resources required to make transwarp work were limited. Very few vessels existed capable of transwarp travel and the QSD project seemed to be an answer to reaching speeds close to the warp ten barrier. Although the crystals used at the heart of the slipstream drive were rare in their natural form, it was possible with enough resources to replicate the crystal.

These crystals however required several months to produce and resulted in workable, but inferior crystals which degraded at an accelerated rate. A typical crystal had a lifespan of only five years and the Leviathan had three such crystals in storage as well as the one in the drive.

A Constellation class warp core was also fitted to the vessel. This compact warp core was designed to act as both an additional power source and a backup propulsion system. However, due to technical difficulties, it was not possible to have both drives operational at the same time. Also, because of the limited power from the warp core, the Leviathan was only capable to attaining warp 5.2.

The Leviathan was assigned to explore and chart the far side of the Beta quadrant. To aid with this task, the vessel was equipped for a deep-space, ten year mission. However, the Leviathan lasted only two years in space, before an order to return to Federation space was sent in November 2383.

The main reason for this was that a new USS Leviathan-A had been commissioned, equipped with an updated version of the quantum slipstream drive. This new drive was developed with the help of information obtained from a race known as the Catatonians, with whom the Leviathan made first contact with in May 2383.

However, the Leviathan never got to returned to Federation space, having been destroyed above Limerus IX whilst attempting to rescue several of the ships crew from a race known as the Bariens and a rouge Starfleet Admiral.