The starship destroyed at the beginning of Star Trek (2009) is the USS Kelvin. The Kelvin is attacked by the Romulan vessel Narada while responding to a mysterious distress signal near a temporal anomaly.
Captain Richard Robau commands the Kelvin, and George Kirk assumes command during the evacuation. Kirk orders the crew and civilians to escape while he pilots the damaged ship into the Narada, sacrificing himself and saving hundreds of people. This event establishes the alternate history later called the Kelvin timeline.
The Kelvin’s destruction changes the lives of James T. Kirk, Spock, and the other future Enterprise officers. It also creates a major difference from the original continuity, where Kirk’s father does not die in this way. The USS Enterprise appears later as the new crew’s starship, so it is not the vessel destroyed in the opening sequence.