In science fiction, few starships are as iconic as the USS Enterprise from the original Star Trek series. It has become an emblem of exploration, diplomacy, and human ingenuity.
Conceived by the visionary production designer Matt Jefferies in 1966, the Enterprise was a radical departure from the spacecraft commonly seen in sci-fi series at that time, like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers.
Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, gave specific instructions to Jeffries for the design: “We’re 200 years from now, in deep space on a large sized spaceship. I don’t want to see any trails of fire, no streaks of smoke, no jet intakes, no rocket exhaust or anything like that. I don’t care how you do it, but make it look like it’s got power.” Roddenberry insisted that everything had to be believable, a premise that was carried throughout the series.
And so, the first prototype design included three main components: a saucer-shaped main hull, a cigar-shaped hull, and two engine pods. Jeffries rendered a very rough wooden model and hung it on a display stand before presenting it to Roddenberry and the production team. It was approved, and so Jeffries then began working on the detailed design. Interestingly, the model had been hung upside down to the way it finally appeared on our screens.
The Enterprise design is a testament to the genius of its creators, a vision that continues to captivate audiences and spark imaginations over half a century later.
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