star trek ship concept art

Star Trek: 20 Pieces Of Unused Concept Art Even Devout Trekkers Have Never Seen

An animated Star Trek set in the 26th century? Picard's robotic arm? Is that V'Ger? This concept art fans will have to see to believe!

Star Trek showed us a future in which humans, after overcoming their need to earn money and wage war, took to the stars and explored the final frontiers of space.  Star Trek may have given us moments of humanity at its finest, but the show itself had many issues behind the scenes. The original pilot of Star Trek was rejected, forcing creator Gene Roddenberry to go back to the drawing board. Even spinoff shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager had difficulties finding the right people to sit in the Captain's chair. The casting may have been eventually perfected, the ships awesome and the storylines superior, but when you take a look at the initial concept art, you may wonder if these were designs for a different show altogether.

We know that Jean-Luc Picard's transformation into Locutus impacted him psychologically, but what were the initial ideas that involved the permanent changing of Picard's body? What was the initial idea behind Final Frontier , an animated Star Trek series set in the 26th century? Outposts built into asteroids, Captain Kirk's flying squirrel outfit, a floating Klingon chair and much different versions of U.S.S. Enterprise, Voyager and Defiant will make you think about the Trek that could have been. Perhaps there's a mirror universe out there where some of these ideas, however strange, might eventually see the light of day! Let's wind back the clock and take a look at the early drafts and concept art for the ships, characters and moments that have become iconic science fiction moments in the Star Trek universe.

20 CONCEPT ART BY MATT JEFFRIES

As large as the Enterprise may become, you'll probably always see crew members crawling around the ship in cramped pathways called Jeffries Tubes. These tubes were named after Star Trek set designer Matt Jeffries, who also designed the Enterprise, several Klingon ships and smaller objects like phasers.

In the above sketches done by Jeffries, you can see the beginnings of what was to come. In the upper left and bottom right, you can see drafts for what will eventually become a D-7 Klingon Battle Cruiser, based off the shape of a manta ray. The circular design was actually an early concept of the Enterprise but was scrapped for a more familiar saucer shape.

19 STAR TREK: DISCOVERY UNIFORMS

What will clothing be like in the future? The answer: uncomfortable! Actors on Star Trek: The Next Generation complained their spandex jumpsuits were too tight and had were too revealing. In Star Trek: The Motion Picture , thousands of dollars were spent on jumpsuits with boots built in, but there were no shots in the movie that showed that off!

In the concept art for Discovery uniforms, the middle design borrows from the loose blue jumpsuit featured on Star Trek: Enterprise (as well as the zippered pockets on the legs). All versions have atypical zippers, possibly showing an homage to the angled rising black shape at the bottom of the uniforms from the Next Generation television series.

18 PICARD'S LOST ARM

When Captain Picard was transformed into Locutus in the episode "The Best of Both Worlds," we got to see Borg drones placing cybernetic pieces on the Captain. There was a close up showing an attachment being placed over Picard's right hand, but in previous versions of the script, it actually was a full replacement of the arm.

In the second part of the episode, Data wrestled with the Captain and snapped off the attachment. The above concept art shows Picard receiving a pale prosthetic version of his hand that he would have sported for the rest of the series. The idea wasn't used, but writer Ronald D. Moore's idea of wounded heroes was continued when he wrote for Battlestar Galactica .

17 EARLY ENTERPRISE DESIGN

Gene Roddenberry wanted to challenge expectations with his Star Trek series, which would feature a multi-racial cast exploring the final frontier. Roddenberry knew from the beginning he wanted to do something different, and it all started with his initial mock up of what eventually would be the U.S.S. Enterprise.

Early concept art by Matt Jeffries depicted the Enterprise as a ship inside several cylinders. This breaks from the idea of the "flying cigar" shape and is a variation of the flying saucer that was popular at the time. The idea of a saucer inside a saucer would make its way to the design of the U.S.S. Discovery.

16 BORG QUEEN

The Borg initially started out as a race of insects, and even though they wound up being robots, the idea of a race of drones was kept consistent. So where there are drones, there is a queen, and the Borg Queen made its first appearance in Star Trek: First Contact . As scary as she was, concept art by John Eaves and Richard Delgado shows us how she was originally conceived.

The drawing by Eaves on the left makes the Queen look much more industrial, giving her a look that's part Matrix, part steampunk. The drawing on the right by Delgado is reminiscent of the Maschinenmensch from the 1927 film Metropolis . The Queen's legs would have been a sharp metal point that floated over the ground.

15 WILDLIFE FROM STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS

The beginning of Star Trek Into Darkness offered an interesting scene in which Kirk, Spock and McCoy violate the Prime Directive to save the planet Nibiru. They encounter the population of the planet as well as the indigenous life forms. By accident, Kirk shoots a Nibirilla, which McCoy explained was their ride back to the Enterprise. At the time, the ship was hiding in a body of water.

Above is concept art for some of the life forms that didn't make it into the final cut of Into Darkness . Kirk and McCoy had to dive off of a cliff to get to the submerged Enterprise, and we theorize that this fish would probably have been one of the aquatic lifeforms that the Captain and Doctor may have encountered.

14 STAR TREK: FINAL FRONTIER

Star Trek: The Animated Series was a fun addition to the Star Trek universe and made perfect sense: an animated show would solve any issues with budget limitations or restrictions due to make-up. Added to the crew was an Edosian named Arex (replacing Checkov) and a Caitain communications officer named M'Ress. In 2006, fans almost got another animated Star Trek show!

Star Trek: Final Frontier was set in the 26th century and if you thought DS9 was a downer, get this: the Vulcans have left the Federation, the Klingons were defeated by the Romulans and flying around the galaxy is near impossible due to Omega particle bombs that have gone off by unknown attackers. The concept art is beautiful and scripts for the show are downloadable.

13 FLYING KIRK!

Fans and critics praised the J.J. Abrams rebooted Star Trek in 2009, saying that it was packed with action and adventure. Younger versions of the crew of the Enterprise meant they had more opportunities to run around and get into fights. In the Star Trek video game that came out in 2013, Kirk got to fly!

In the concept art for the video game by Fernando Acosta, he designed something initially labeled a "squirrel suit" but in actuality was a wing-suit. In the game, Kirk's shuttle is shot down over a Gorn outpost and the Captain and Spock use these suits to glide to safety. Star Trek Into Darkness didn't give us wing-suits, but did give us Khan and Kirk in spacesuits shooting through space in an asteroid field!

12 STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT BORG VESSEL

The Borg were introduced in the Next Generation episode "Q Who" and they were initially conceived as a race of insects. Budget prevented this from happening and they instead became a race of cyborgs. Instead of the sleek, curvy design of Federation ships, the Borg flew around in efficient geometrically shaped ships that were cubes and spheres.

In concept art for Star Trek: First Contact by Richard Delgado, he continued with the idea that the Borg would only design shapes that had strict geometric symmetry. Proposed for the film was a giant Borg obelisk that would contain other ships inside of it. You can see the Borg spherical ships within the structure.

11 ENGINE ROOM

The 2009 reboot of Star Trek featured the largest version of the Enterprise to date: the Enterprise-E was 685.7 meters long while the one from the Kelvin universe was over 700 meters in length! The film by J.J. Abrams had a massive budget, and the above concept art shows off how giant the proposed engine room was going to be.

The above drawing makes the Engine Room look like a high tech version of a submarine, but fans may recall a more spacious depiction of the Engine Room in the final film. This is because the location was actually a Budweiser manufacturing plant! Set phasers to Bud Light!

10 STAR TREK: DISCOVERY KLINGON TECHNOLOGY

The Original Series depicted the 23rd century and was produced in the 1960s. When the prequel series Star Trek: Enterprise was produced, it took place in the 22nd century, but the bridge looked more advanced since the series was made in 2001. The problem came up again when Star Trek: Discovery launched in 2017.

Discovery takes place about 10 years before The Original Series , but still had the problem of looking retro for the future, yet advanced by today's standards. In the above concept art, we see a Klingon in a tactical chair that was meant to move around the bridge. Kind of reminds us of Laurence Fishburne's command chair from Event Horizon !

When Star Trek was launched back in 1966, the pilot episode "The Cage" had to be retooled because it was considered by some to be too cerebral. To a degree, when Star Trek: The Motion Picture premiered in 1979 some fans were taken aback by the slow, ponderous pace of the movie. V'ger was hard to describe... was it a giant vessel or a ginormous life form?

In the above concept art, V'ger is depicted as a giant craft. In the film, the depiction of V'ger is a little more nebulous, with unclear boundaries and implications that it's a giant moving cloud that's two astronomical units wide... that's around 300 million kilometers in width!

8 PHASE II CONCEPT ART

We've seen crossovers between Star Trek and the X-Men , Green Lantern and Planet of the Apes , but we'll probably never get an official crossover between Star Trek and Star Wars . However, Ralph McQuarrie, famous designer and illustrator whose work was featured in Star Wars was also hired to do conceptual art for a failed Star Trek project in the late 1970s.

Planet of the Titans involved some strange elements like time travel and Kirk going missing, but here in the concept artwork by McQuarrie we can see some of his Star Wars sensibilities in Trek . Instead of a sleek space station, one is built into the rockface of an asteroid, something we'd more likely see in Star Wars .

7 EARLY DRAFTS OF VOYAGER

After designing the Enterprise-D, producers at Star Trek wanted the next ship to be smaller. Designer Rick Sternbach also gave the new ship some features writers intended on using, such as the ship's ability to safely land on a planet then return to space. Initial drawings by Sternbach consisted of a lot of objects protruding from the vessel that would eventually become the U.S.S. Voyager.

Starfleet is known for being sleek and futuristic, and producers reigned in much of Sternbach's proposed ideas for the Intrepid-class vessel. Work on designing Voyager started as early as 1993, which fell between the last season of Next Generation and the second season of Deep Space Nine .

6 STAR TREK: DISCOVERY EARLY TRANSPORTER

Star Trek: Discovery had some tech problems. The show takes place 10 years before the Original Series , yet had to still look futuristic for current audiences. Making retro future tech is not easy, and Discovery decided in the concept art for the transporter room to take somewhat of a steampunk route with giant copper protruding dishes and cylinders.

The concept art wound up being used specifically for the U.S.S. Shenzhou. The ship was the focus for the first few episodes of the series. After the Shenzhou was abandoned at the Battle of the Binary Stars, focus of the show switched to the advanced U.S.S. Discovery and its never before seen spore drive.

When Durinda Rice Wood, costume designer for Star Trek: The Next Generation , had to create costumes for the Borg, she knew that they were going to be the biggest villains the Federation had faced to date. Wood's initial sketches on the left were reminiscent of drawings by H.R. Giger, the artist that designed the main creature in the Alien franchise.

Wood's idea was that the Borg, although futuristic, would contrast against the sleek, smooth designs of the Federation. They would be space zombies, and any necrotic parts would be swapped out with robotic ones. The drawing on the right is by Richard Delgado, who made changes to the Borg for Star Trek: First Contact . Delgado wanted to have transparent plates where you could see the internal organs of the drones.

4 EARLY VERSIONS OF THE DEFIANT

The U.S.S. Defiant made its first appearance in the DS9 episode "The Search" and was a big change in design from previous Starfleet vessels. Originally named the Valiant, it was a compact ship specifically designed to fight the Borg, so how was Starfleet's first warship going to look? The above concept art takes you through the evolution of the initial ideas.

The ship started out as a giant shuttle, referred to as a Runabout. Starfleet was more known for its exploratory endeavors, so concept art was trying to keep that tone in mind with designs for Starfleet's first combat vessel. Check out the third design, which depicts a detachable front module.

3 KIRK AND SPOCK FIGHT

What words come to mind when you think of the original Star Trek series? There was some great science fiction moments with stories, cool ship battles (they were good at the time) and occasionally we got to see Kirk fight an alien and get his shirt ripped. Do people think about Kirk and Spock as being action heroes?

It seems like the 2009 reboot of Star Trek is trying to get us to think that way. In the concept art for the 2013 video game, it appears that Kirk and Spock are up against a giant attacking lizard. The game tried to rebrand Kirk and Spock being more action-oriented. We get it, you want Kirk to be Han Solo. Does that make Spock Chewbacca?

2 HOME PLANET FOR THE FOUNDERS

In interviews with cast members from Next Generation , they would joke about how light and jovial their set was in comparison to the somber tone on the set of Deep Space Nine . Given the concept artwork for the home planet of the Founders, it's a little surprising to see how much color was planned for such a dark television series.

The above artwork was done by concept artist Jim Martin, but the final show depicted the Founders homeworld as a giant ocean. This makes more sense, given that the Founders were lifeforms that existed in a liquid state. They would probably have no need for structures normally used by "solids."

1 MCQUARRIE'S ENTERPRISE

Although it was incredibly exciting to see Star Trek return to television in 1987 with Next Generation , there were earlier plans to launch a television series following the second five-year mission of Kirk and crew. Star Trek: Phase II was set to launch in 1978 after Roddenberry's failed attempt at producing Star Trek: Planet of the Titans .

The above drawing was concept art by the legendary Ralph McQuarrie, who also did concept art on Star Wars . The above draft was the redesign of the Enterprise for the film, and was also considered a possibility in Star Trek: Phase II . Oddly enough, its design would be borrowed heavily for the main ship featured in Star Trek: Discovery .

20 Incredible Star Trek Concept Art Designs You Need To See

What could have been...

Like all fictional worlds, the Star Trek Universe has more or less been built from the ground up. Sure the shows and movies have used existing locations to stand in for other worlds and used the occasional rented prop (red blinking tubes, we're talking about you), but the majority of what you see in the Star Trek Universe has been painstakingly designed and constructed physically and/or rendered in the digital world.

As with any design process, many concepts were produced and then abandoned, either for reasons of practicality, budget, or because the production simply changed directions. These designs include radical new make ups, costumes that never saw the light of day, even whole sequences that were conceptualized but never filmed.

Of course some of these designs might be considered questionable, but these twenty Star Trek concepts and art designs are a fascinating look at what could've been.

20. Picard's Lecture – Star Trek: Picard

Another tantalizing glimpse via production illustrator Laurent Ben-Mimoun's work depicts a scene from Star Trek: Picard in which Jean-Luc Picard gives a lecture about his time as Captain of the Enterprise.

This artwork features Picard at a podium surrounded by holographic versions of the USS Enterprise-E and Lieutenant Commander Data as he appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation. The audience Picard is addressing is made up of a number of iconic Star Trek aliens including several Ferengi (who ultimately never appeared in Star Trek: Picard), a Vulcan, and a Klingon (using the Star Trek: Discovery-style makeup).

I played Shipyard Bar Patron (Uncredited) in Star Trek (2009).

• More to Explore
• Series & Movies

From the Vault | Star Trek: The Animated Series Concept Art, Scripts, and More

In celebration of its 50th anniversary, let's revisit some character designs, sketches, promo art, and more!

Ahead of its 50th anniversary, we're revisiting archival assets from  Star Trek: The Animated Series   released as part of the Roddenberry Vault's 366 Project, which celebrated  Star Trek  creator Gene Roddenberry and his enduring creation.

Go behind-the-scenes of an array of TAS concept art designs depicting characters and ships, sketches, scripts, promo art, and more!

An archive of Star Trek News

Star Trek: Discovery Federation Ships Concept Art

• Star Trek: Discovery

Today, CBS All Access shared some Federation ships concept art via their Star Trek on CBS All Access Twitter page.

In the first photo the ships include the USS Nog NCC-325070 Eisenberg Class, the USS Le Guin NCC-325060 Mars Class , and the USS Maathai NCC-325023 Angelou Class

The USS Nog is of course named in honor of Aron Eisenberg , who portrayed Nog on Deep Space Nine and who passed away in 2019, and the USS Le Guin was named for speculative author Ursula K. Le Guin . The USS Maathai is named after Green Belt Movemen t founder Wangari Maathia , and the Angelou class is named for poet Maya Angelou.

The second photo includes: the USS Annan NCC-325051 Saturn Class , the USS Jubayr NCC-325068 Courage Class , and the USS Voyager-J NCC-74656-J Intrepid Class.

The USS Annan is named for former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan , and the USS Jubayr is named for 13th century geographer Ibn Jubayr . The USS Voyager would be a future version of the USS Voyager from Star Trek: Voyager.

Click on photos to enlarge.

About The Author

T'Bonz

See author's posts

More Stories

• Merchandise

Star Trek: Discovery Season Three DVD Review

• Cast & Crew

Jones: Creating Your Own Family

Star Trek: Discovery’s AR Wall Virtual Set

You may have missed.

Several S&S Trek Books On Sale For $1 This Month

• Star Trek: Lower Decks

Another Classic Trek Actor On Lower Decks This Week

Classic Trek Games Now On GOG

• Star Trek: Prodigy

Star Trek: Prodigy Opening Credits Released

• April 12, 2024 | ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Renewed For Season 4; ‘Lower Decks’ To End With Season 5
• April 12, 2024 | Interview: Wilson Cruz On How “Jinaal” Sets Up The Rest Of The Season For Culber On ‘Star Trek: Discovery’
• April 12, 2024 | Podcast: All Access Goes To Trill With ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ For “Jinaal”
• April 11, 2024 | Paramount Pictures Officially Confirms Star Trek Origin Movie For Its Upcoming Film Slate
• April 11, 2024 | Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Tries Too Many Connections In “Jinaal”

SDCC17: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Concept Art Details Klingon And Federation Ships

| July 20, 2017 | By: Kayla Iacovino 127 comments so far

Thursday the Star Trek: Discovery exhibit opened at the Michael J. Wolf Fine Arts Gallery, located a couple blocks away from Comic-Con at San Diego Convention Center. The exhibit features genuine props, costumes and sketches from Discovery along with a captain’s chair where you can take photos and even a Star Trek gift shop. 

Star Trek: Discovery Gallery at SDCC shortly before opening

There is a lot to cover so we are going to do it in pieces. We are going to start off with the design sketches.

Klingon Sarcophagus Ship

The following illustrations from various dates in 2016 all show the interior and exterior the main Klingon Sarcophagus ship and all are noted to appear in episode 101 of Star Trek: Discovery .

Illustration of profile of Klingon Sarcophagus Ship “with new bridge” dated August 4, 2016

Illustration of Klingon Sarcophagus Ship bridge dated December 16, 2016

Illustration of Sarcophagus “Glowing” dated December 2, 2016

Klingon Obelisk (like from inside the Sarcophagus ship noted by a “SAR”), dated December 18, 2016

Klingon Raider

There were another Klingon illustrations showing a ‘Raider’ which is noted to appear in episode 100. In typical TV production parlance episode 101 would be the first episode of the first season, so this is an usual notation, we assume it corresponds to the first hour of the two-hour pilot.

Klingon Raider texture study from October 25, 2016

U.S.S. Discovery

The Discovery has seen many revisions since it was first shown as an early concept in the 2016 Comic-Con teaser video. The gallery shows the concept art for the final approved version.

Three views of the USS Discovery – December 2016

Close up of Discovery Exterior

Close up of Discovery Exterior, top-down view

Close up of Discovery Exterior, from the underside

U.S.S. Shenzhou exterior and transporter room

Thanks to the recent May “up fronts” trailer we’ve seen a bit of the  Shenzhou already. The gallery offers some new looks at sketches of what we assume to be the  Shenzhou surrounded by Klingons, and a much better look at the transporter room.

USS Shenzhou bottom and top profiles – January 2017

Shenzhou confronts a dark armada of ships

Transporter room

Desert scene

The desert scene from the pilot episode was featured heavily in the images and video CBS shared in May. Highlighted below are two beautifully illustrated pieces of concept art from that planet.

Stormy desert world concept art

Bizarre desert alien concept art

Unknown Ship

This ship hasn’t been identified, it may be some sort of cargo carrier or perhaps troop carrier, given the look it’s likely Klingon. The asteroids and space gas in the background place it as part of the scene with the Klingons and the Shenzhou at the edge of known space as shown in the May trailer, also seen in Shenzhou concept art at the gallery.

More to come

Coming up soon we will show the Starfleet, Federation and Klingon props and costumes along with some key details revealed at the Star Trek: Discovery gallery at San Diego Comic-Con.

And in case you missed it, check out our report from last night with the Klingon Torchbearer suit.  

The Discovery exhibit runs Thursday, July 20 through Sunday, July 23 at the Michael J. Wolf Fine Arts Gallery and you do not need a Comic-Con badge for entry.

Stay tuned to TrekMovie all week and weekend for our full team coverage of San Diego Comic-Con.

Star Trek: Discovery   premieres on September 24th  on CBS with all subsequent episodes on CBS All Access in the US. See our  Discovery  info page  for more details.

Keep up with all the  Star Trek: Discovery  news at TrekMovie .

Related Articles

Discovery , Interview

Interview: Wilson Cruz On How “Jinaal” Sets Up The Rest Of The Season For Culber On ‘Star Trek: Discovery’

All Access Star Trek Podcast , Discovery

Podcast: All Access Goes To Trill With ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ For “Jinaal”

Discovery , Review

Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Tries Too Many Connections In “Jinaal”

Analysis , Discovery

‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 5 Preview Offers Intriguing Clues And The Return To [SPOILERS]

Beautiful stuff. I have the feeling the Discovery design will grow on me, it’s certainly better than what we saw last year. I love the aztecing and the sleeker lines.

Was just going to say, “The discovery design is really growing on me.”

It’s not something I’m instantly in love with, but I’ve generally not been overly fond of most new ships when I’ve first seen them., and that includes the Enterprise-E, the Defiant, Voyager, and NX-01. But I am more self aware of my own tendencies some 15+ years later, and I think I can see myself really growing to like it more and more over time.

It’s got a lot of nice and unique features.

I think it’s the ridiculously long nacelles that drives me nuts.

Early on, I remember my dad commenting in 1987 that the Enterprise D’s nacelles were too short, that the body looked like the classic ship had melted. Now it’s one of his favorite designs.

Yeah, you definitely can have it grow on you. I liked the E-D. I remember being personally offended when they made the E-B an Excelsior Class ship…lol But in my heart I knew it was a great looking ship.

Im hoping Discovery looks better in practice. Havent liked the images I’ve seen so far.

I was gonna make a glib remark about Captain Lorca compensating for something Captain Georgiou didn’t feel the need to… But… I guess… Sometimes a necelle is just a nacelle… 😏

I still feel the ent-e’s nacelles are too long and angular. can’t be in love with every nacelle…

The Discovery has improved since the original reveals. However, the segmented saucer design doesn’t seem very practical. And I still think the delta-wing look clashes with Trek aesthetics. But it’s not a deal breaker and – as you said – it may grow on me. At least it’s unique.

The Discovery & Shenzhou aesthetics make more sense when viewed as extensions of the Starfleet ships seen on Enterprise versus what came later in the timeline.

WHAT HAPPENED TO MY STAR TREK?!!!

It grew up! About damned time…

Yes, it grew up like cancer..

Good another person who won’t watch or post here again. Great news!

Cancer is one of the most powerful diseases and rarely do people beat it entirely. So maybe that’s an apt analogy.

Do you have cancer? Good luck if so, because you’re as good as dead.

Funny you should say that because I’m in treatment right now for HPV based cancer and it’s 85 to 90 % curable. Look it up. Also if you’re not inoculated I suggest you get tested and if you don’t have the virus get the inoculation. I used think guys don’t get HPV cancer just women but not true. Guys get it in their throat. And did you know you don’t have to have sex to get it? Just kissing is all it can take. It stays in your body for decades and then presents itself when you’re in your 50’s and 60’s ( 30s and 40s for women ). So did you know so much about cancer? By the way I’m looking forward to Discovery.

Isn’t this JUST for the pilot?

I thought the series was revamped with new writers and ships.

WE SHOULD BE BASHING THIS. No? I mean LOOK at the Klingons.

Is it change, for change’s sake?

Yes, there are some cancers that are curable (my sister had one in college)– but I assume the poster was referencing aggressive blastomas like what McCain is facing, otherwise it’s not such a harsh comment.

Also, glad to hear you’re being treated and doing well!

Torchwood. Are you a Star Trek Apologist?

There’s nothing to apologize for. I am a fan that keeps an open mind because I love Trek. If the show sucks I’ll be first in line to tear it a new @$$#*le.

But right now there’s really nothing to hate. The visuals look slick and cinematic, the actors are high class, the story seems intriguing… I mean, on first glance there are certainly things I could nitpick, but why bother at this point? Even the things I’d nitpick (which I’ll detail after this diatribe) are relatively minor, and things I can overlook if the show is good.

As for “change for the sake of change” I’d say the previous 10 years of steadily declining ratings and poor box office on the TNG movies tells me the change is to help fix a broken TV franchise.

Clearly just setting it after Nemesis and continuing with the production designs, style, and the same kinds of stories they’d used for the previous 20 years was not something they were ever going to do. Nor would I if I in their shoes.

I’ll be there 9/14 to watch the premiere and I’ll judge it then. If it’s terrible, I’ll come here and trash it with everyone else. If it’s “meh” but has some potential, I’ll say that too.

I also like to remember though that TNG was AWFUL for almost 2 full seasons, and many of the first 10 movies were downright dumpster fires (more bad than good, on balance). Trek does not have a spotless record, so if it’s terrible I’m not sure I can quickly and easily lay blame at a specific person or cause. I’ll have to do some digging and give it real thought before I can fairly judge the responsible parties and which decisions were the wrong ones.

Things I am not loving so far:

-Acting. This is the big one. The trailer did not do a lot to convince me that the performances will be top notch. That said, I know all of these actors have done excellent work in the past, particularly Isaac (who we’ve seen nothing of) and Green.

-The Klingon look. I don’t hate them, but I am not in love with them either. But I’m holding out on a final judgement until I see them in action. I’ve learned from years of judging early set and production stills that what you see in a photograph often looks far better on film in motion.

-The Ship. I actually am warming to the Discovery, but certain minor details irk me, such as the font on the saucer. But such a minor thing.

-Cinematography. I don’t care that it feels sort of like the films. That’s actually a good thing. But I worry it’s a bit too dark visually.

-The Tone. Like the visuals, I have concerns it is too dark. I like my Trek bright, airy, and ultimately fun, this seems very dreary, melodramatic, and visually dark. I think the tone of the first Iron Man film would be perfect: moments of serious dark drama, but overall a fun adventure. But with that all in mind, if it’s good drama, I can accept it as a darker version of Trek, just as I grew to love DS9 as being a darker version of TNG, that explored more serious themes.

Again, these are just early observations, but none of them are barriers to me watching and not worth stressing over until I’ve seen an episode. I love Trek too much to not go into it with an open mind.

Damn right Star Trek will get Darker like it or not.

I await 9/14 as well. You got that right with Next Gen’s 1st couple. Perhaps Trek has too vast a canvas to begin effectively. It may take years. but TV and now the Web are offering new twists to the formula.

Like Data once said, TV did not last much into the 21st century. Oh well. I guess Next Gen did have some moments early on.

I can see they are trying new things, but to me the whole Klingon revamp is a distraction for this new series. And Like I said earlier the classic Trek Klingons needed some development, but a complete revamp is a strange decision and does not bode well. Especially without some really good talent. and I think hiring Trek hasbeens are NOT the answer.

They should have had a contest here at TM for a new series concept. The winner could have participated in the series development.

Trek needs to go in a good direction.

A complete revamp (if that’s what ou want to call this) is needed. They tried small tweaks on DS9, VOY, and ENT. They tried small tweaks on each TNG movie. And yet ratings continued to decline, box office continued to fall, viewership continued to drop.

Yes, we diehards kept coming back. But Trek needs more than Trekkies to watch to survive. Trek fans, particularly those here, should be held to a restraining order, and kept far far away from the next series!

What Star Trek needs is stories that resonate with a broader audience, an easy on-ramp into the mythology AND is respectful enough of the source material that Trek fans embrace it.

JJ films managed to attract a larger audience of non-fans and lapsed fans by creating a big budget adventure with popular, attractive actors. But the stories lacked. JJ films got stuck in the no mans land where a lot of Trek fans didnt like it and non fans didnt get it.

Where I think Discovery is being smart is placing the series prior to TOS. I stand by my feeling that Enterprise (the series) was the best concept for a Trek series since TNG but they blew it in execution, not concept).

Ask people on the street and I bet most average people equate Star Trek with Captain Kirk and Mr Spock. So you’re baiting those people by having this take place in the same general era. You’re baiting lapsed fans and those non fans who still remember the original series with all the retro props.

But you’re feeding the average viewer with promise of awesome visuals and action. The cast, especially Burnham is really quire brilliant because you have an “in” with another niche but very large fanbase (The Walking Dead).

Where JJ went wrong was that awful STID. They had positive word of mouth, lots of eyeballs and they blew it. If Discovery can be a GOOD show with GOOD storytelling, it creates positive word of mouth. They will do fine.

What will happen with CBSAA is some people who arent really big Trek fans wont subscribe but over time, more and more will interest them, whether they are Good Fight fans or whatever, and Discovery, with strong word of mouth, tips them over the edge to subscribing and trying it out.

I wasnt concerned about the acting in the sense, we have little context. It could be that the marketing people pulled “dramatic” moments for the teaser and they were all sort of flat but perhaps there are better scenes.

And there is always the possibility that these first few episodes are flat. And the actors/writers/directors need time to find their voice.

Even Patrick Stewart sucked in the first season of TNG. On the flip side the weaker actors in Trek excelled once they found their character’s voice.

Regarding tone, it would not surprise me if this is a dark series (or at least this season). But given the amount of Trek fans on the team, you have to expect they have some lighter moments.

I suspect it starts off with lots of “hope” but the premiere ends on a dour note.

Agreed, TUP, I was just providing some early observations I had because people seemed to think I’m a “Trek apologist” who will like “whatever they slop in my dog bowl.”

It looks like it grew up to be some damn hipster. What the ever living fudge is this??? CBS is making the best Mass Effect series ever (sarcasm)

This is what you think a hipster looks like? Son, you need a lesson in style.

It grew up? What does that mean? What an odd statement.

…sadly, it appears…at least aesthetically…it has joined the other “cool kids”. Too bad they choose to be a follower instead of an innovator that makes others want to follow them.

cough troll cough

But to address your point, you’re not entirely wrong. The truth is the very REASON we’re getting a new Trek series is because it’s a safe bet: Trek is an established brand that people recognize, and it’s more likely to get eyeballs than something entirely new (hence the revivals of shows like Twin Peaks and X-Files).

There’s also an established mythology that gives them confidence in adapting or remaking a show (hence the production of adaptations and remakes like Game of Thrones and Westworld).

But given Trek’s last few series were not big hits, it makes perfect sense they’d want to take a cue from other popular franchises that are bringing in big viewer numbers.

It is disappointing, I’ll admit, that Discovery doesn’t seem to be an innovator, but perhaps they’ll surprise us and the show will start out as an imitator to grab viewers, and take a different turn to become something new and different.

LOST did this. Starting out as a standard survival/shipwreck drama we’ve seen before, and quickly becoming the long-form sci-fi/mystery series that networks have been imitating ever since.

Grow up, kid.

Thouse “things” are suppose to be Klingon? LOOL

You people are so pathetic it’s hilarious. Good luck in your battle with cancer.

They are entitled to their opinions Torchwood. Even if you don’t like them.

They look like they’d put the fear of Kahless in the hearts of the TNG style Klingons

So why do you not let us take the images off the site? TrekCore does lol.

I always though Federation ships would look great with some red highlights, low and behold in the trailer and these images, the Shenzhou has red highlights.

Is it certain that the transporter room image is a concept? 1) looks exactly like the image released in EW. 2) it looks like a photo not a concept drawing. 3) through the doorway across the hall looks like a forklift, which makes me think this is the actual set and not a concept.

I love everything I see here and do not have an issue with it.

I’m MUCH happier with the Discovery design. This is such a sleeker, more detailed version of the ship compared to that awful first reveal. The sarcophagus ship looks like a floating tomb -something very ceremonial- and to be fair I could put that raider in a line up with small vehicles that we’ve seen and not feel frustrated with the design. I’m good with it and I’m so excited for what’s to come. Give us another trailer at Comic Con PLEASE

I am enjoying the new designs and aesthetics, but I am noticing in all the ship imagery released recently the lack of Bussard Caps/Lighting. Maybe they are going the JJ route and only having the Bussards glow at warp, or perhaps removing them in total?

It almost looks like the bussards are now much more like real world jet intakes and not glowing anymore. I hate it.

It hates you too.

I really really really love the Shenzou, but it doesn’t have a “hero ship” feel to it. Maybe because it kind of looks like an Akira which you’re used to being in the background. I like the new design of the Discovery though. But the deflector dish looks like an anus

Well, the show isn’t called Star Trek Shenzhou, it’s called Discovery. So there you probably have your hero ship. We still have no idea how much of the show will take place on the Shenzhou.

I love everything except that ship. Ugh. Terrible

The Discovery is slowly growing on me. The Klingons are weird, but I’m interested to see where they’re going with them. The Shenzhou looks more along the lines of a 24th Century Starfleet scout ship, but I really like the design.

Also, if that Klingon monstrosity is called “Sarcophogus”, is that hinting that these may indeed be ancient Klingons that were in a state of suspended animation?

Certainly starting to look that way!

Either that or they are modern Klingons but of an old house who’s sole duty was protecting the body of Kahlass. They have been alone (the same “house”) for centuries. If they want to explain their different look, it could be due to inter-breeding, lack of genetic diversity, or even tradition (like many human cultures modified their heads, necks, etc)

They’re to be commended for embarking on a vast departure from any recognizable Trek look — except for Discovery itself from the McQuarrie design. A little biomechanical. Not my cup of tea, but somebody will like this, I’m sure.

Star Trek: Event Horizon… …except that the design of Event Horizon at least had internal logic beyond looking “weird and cool”.

I’m pretty sure if this had appeared as a ship in Axanar everyone would be exploding in their pantaloons over it.

Oh, so you have seen all of Season 1 then, Forrest Leason?

No? Then knock it off.

It all looks cool. Let’s see how it all fits together.

I’m kinda getting a FASA- Trek vibe to these ship designs and I really like that. :)

http://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/lcars/blueprints/fasa-ksrm/fasa-ksrm-29-s.jpg

Wow. Hard to believe that’s a complete coincidence.

Wow! Yes, I see it now too.

Explain to me what Im seeing (I cant read anything in the attachment)

Just compare the top-down view of the FASA Klingon ship to the new Klingon sarcophagus ship. The technical details and description below the pictures and to the right aren’t relevant–they’re just for playing Star Trek Tactical Combat Simulator. :)

The Senzhou looks like it’s a mix of the NX class and the Miranda. I’m iffy about these Klingons, though. But I’ll wait and see if/how they explain things in the premiere.

The nacelles on the Discovery are gorgeous.

They are my biggest “meh”. They look unduly stretched. I dont like. But, Ill reserve judgement til I see it in action.

I kinda like those Discovery nacelles too. And the ship overall is really looking good.

While DISCOVERY’s makers may claim that it’s storyline and characters are set in the pre-TOS ‘PRIME timeline’, this show seems set to be radically different from the original STAR TREK show in many ways. Which is fair enough, given the 50 years of changes in production techniques and sensibilities in television since TOS first aired.

But leaving aside that it seems likely the fun, family-friendly vibe of the classic show’s era is going to be given a much more challenging, adult-orientated tone in this version, all these recent production design reveals really confirm just how far removed from the original STAR TREK this latest spin-off incarnation is going to look.

Updated techniques are to be expected, but it’s the collective amount of design ‘reimagining’ that makes this an implausible fit as a pre-TOS ‘PRIME timeline show for me at the end of the day – whether it’s the ‘NEXT GENish’-looking ship designs…or the ‘Klingon’ ultra-makeover…or the ‘gas-filled’-looking starfields etc.

Which is fair enough as I said…but I can’t seriously look on this total ‘re-imagining’ of the source material as an actual lead-in to the original TOS show’s characters and events. However, the visual look of DISCOVERY makes it very easy to just imagine it is set in an ‘alternate universe’ which threw up the ‘KELVIN timeline’ shown in J.J.’s 2009 version, instead…and any future appearances of any younger versions of ‘TOS’-like crewmembers will be merely ‘alternative universe’ versions too.

I’ll personally enjoy DISCOVERY a lot more by not having to reconcile ANY of it’s trappings with the classic STAR TREK show from here on in, and just hope it’s an entertaining trip overall.

Star Trek Discovery will take place in a third Timeline.

I love the production art. I KNOW it’s not a perfect in-universe fit, but it’s cool as hell!

Just not feeling the design of Discovery. Funky, weird, oddly kitbashed looking. The Shenzhou, however, is pretty good looking. Too bad that wasn’t Discovery.

Those ridiculously elongated nacelles are driving me nuts.

Yep, especially contrasted against the small circumference of the saucer section. Everything just looks ‘off’.

The Ralph McQuarrie design was just a terrible choice to base the ship off of because, well, it’s a terrible design.

I love pretty much everything else they’re doing with uniforms, props, etc. Just not Discovery herself.

I love how the USS Discovery’s simple primitive shapes contrast with the Klingon’s intricate Gothic/Gaudi inspired design. And using such radically simple shapes for the Discovery make it instantly iconic.

These bold and unexpected design choices are exactly what Trek needs if it’s to wash the bad taste from the last couple of dismal TV series and unwatchably derivative fan films.

Could we go with subtitles for the Klingons?

At least for the first few minutes.

Trek really needs to address the language barrier in some way.

Especially if these are ancient Klingons.

That would definitely be interesting. And I feel like it has become more “acceptable” to have subtitles for some characters even on mainstream shows. However, in previous shows they always relied on the universal translator that could (magically) understand any new species they encountered. So within the Star Trek universe it wouldn’t make sense if suddenly they can’t understand Klingon anymore. They could have Klingons talk in Klingon (with subtitles) when it’s just Klingons among themselves. And then have them talk English when (or if) they communicate with other species.

It was confirmed at SDCC that there will be subtitles…

One other thing, I’m surprised and impressed how the Discovery is bridging the NX-01 with the the TOS Enterprise, and doing so with something never seen before (excluding McQuarrie’s art of course). The Shinzhou is very NX-01 era, while the Discovery manages to introduce the straight-edged simplicity of TOS and do it in a way that, amazingly, looks more advanced. The Shinzhou is the Blackberry and the Discovery’s iPhone.

This is to no one in particular but a lot of people here are forgetting that Star Trek WAS the adult science fiction program. That’s how it broke new ground. Weird that adults here are arguing that it should be safe for kids using a standard that’s 50 years old. For ST to resonate, it cannot merely entertain.

Star Trek is Changing so except it, new Star Trek will be more Flash Bang Action and this is because to pull in a modern audience they have to do this.

The designs are growing on me. I’m hopeful the series will do great and will ensure Star Trek lives on well into the 2020s. It’s important to note the code name for the series… “Tennessee Honey”…. as a Tennessean who happens to love Jack Daniel’s TN Honey…. GO DISCOVERY! :D

And here I thought that “Tennessee Honey” was the name of the Klingon ship.

I am STUNNED by the sheer depth and beauty of the production design. The first word that popped into my head when I saw these photos was “cinematic”. Amazing!

I can entirely understand and accept the production delays if this is the kind of level of attention to detail they were aiming for. This is, indeed, cinematic.

I’m in the minority, I guess. I liked the original Discovery better. The triple bussards & the solid saucer looked much better to me. The bussards were unique & stood out. The nacelles reminded me of the Stabilo Boss highlighter torpedo tubes on the New Orleans class. In addition, there was no freaking window on the bridge! The transporter room looks fine until you get to the giant industrial fans behind the pad. It’s simply ridiculous. The Shinzhou design isn’t era appropriate. Also, who puts the bridge on the bottom of the saucer?! And… another fricking window on the bridge! The Klingon ships & Klingons themselves are ridiculous as well. When it comes to design of ships, interiors, & aliens these clowns have missed the mark. What I wouldn’t give to have Doug Drexler, Mike Okuda, & Michael Westmore go in, fix everything, & save this series from oblivion!

I’ll admit I actually did like the “roulette wheel” saucer a bit more. But I also have no issue with a window bridge on the bottom of the saucer. It’s different and unique for Trek, so I’m all for it. Every ship having the same format is uninteresting to me. New and different is important.

Wow, reading the comments on this page has shocked me. Trekmovie used to have a somewhat high-brow erudite set of people and discussions for the most part. Now it’s people calling each other names, some of which are horrible. Other people having usernames that childishly proclaim one ‘Trek is worse (or better) than others. What’s happened in the last few years? The new explosive JJ crowd chimed in?

“Wow, reading the comments on this page has shocked me. Trekmovie used to have a somewhat high-brow erudite set of people and discussions for the most part. Now it’s people calling each other names, some of which are horrible.” Agreed! I couldn’t have said better. Tourchword obviously has nothing better to do with his time other than see himself type. ;-)

My impression is that the more nasty comments seem to come from either TOS purists (who hate it because it’s not faithful to TOS) or people who only like the TNG era or “going forward”. I’m not sure the “new explosive JJ crowd” is invested enough. Of course, there are also a number of trolls who just like to stir up trouble. I do agree that there are some posters who tend to get into verbal fights whenever they “meet” each other. Some of them can have “normal” discussions but seem to be triggered immediately whenever they see certain other users.

Like others said here, the more I see Discovery the more its growing on me. My guess is we are getting a second trailer and its going to heavy on Discovery so if true hopefully it will win me over when I see it in action. Right now, its still kind of weird looking but looking cooler too.

Love all the Klingon stuff though. Really cool ships and the interior is beautiful.

Shenzhou still looks cool but like Discovery neither really seem to fit this period but I guess the whole period is getting a revamp at this point.

I’m sort of going the reverse. It seems less and less like start trek with everything I see. From the showrunner comments about internal strife to the “one person changing the course of the universe” to these ship designs. It’s just not very trek to me. The Shenzhou looks like a Trek ship. The Discovery doesn’t and I just don’t like the design at all. It’s got worse from the original teaser that was released, and as you say it doesn’t seem to fit. The klingon ships seems like a massive departure from the established aesthetic, to the point where they don’t seem like Klingons at all. More like they just wanted ‘an alien race’ and so decided to just stick the klingon name on it. The three Klingon concepts above have no threads between them, they could be 3 ships from 3 totally different races. Maybe they’ll somehow tie it together with some ‘ancient klingon’ story arc as someone suggested, but we’ll have to wait and see. This stuff certainly isn’t making me more enthusiastic for the show, sadly.

Unlike Tiger2, the more I see the less I like it. But only for one specific reason. I personally don’t have anything against change. I started watching Star Trek with TNG, but I can honestly say that I liked and enjoyed all incarnations of Star Trek. Until they started this Abramsverse nonsense, that is. So I understand both sides. The worried fans and the open-mind fans and respect them all.

Well, now comes Discovery. And one of the first things the producer Ted Sullivan said was, that the show would be a prequel of TOS. Not a reboot or a reimagining. And that’s simply a lie! Or Mr. Sullivan doesn’t unterstand what the words mean.

The shown technology on board of the ships and the ship design itself doesn’t fit the time perdiod. And of course they had to change the Klingons. Why? Why is it always the Klingons, that need changing? They never changed Vulcans! Even the Romulans in the Abramsverse just have some “cool” tattoos. But the Klingons had to be changed to some generic clowns jumping around on the surprisingly desolate klingon homeworld.

The new klingon costumes and weapons in Discovery look honestly quite impressive, well-designed and expensive. But they could be from any sci-fi universe, something dark like Warhammer 40k or something silly and flashy like Flash Gordon’s Emperor Ming. But they’re not klingon for me. But this time they also seem to change the culture. A sarcophagus ship and an actual sarcophagus? For Klingons dead bodies are just empty husks. They don’t honor them. Or do they carry Kahless around now, for millenia? The ship design reminds me of Lexx: The Dark Zone. The rest of the design is just personal taste. I think the Discovery is just ugly, but I like the Shenzhou. But who cares!

But call it what this show is. A reimagining! Nothing else. It simply doesn’t fit into the established Star Trek Prime universe. And then I think many people wouldn’t mind the changes as much. And then you also don’t have to respect the canon at all. And don’t need to understand the many timelines and different universes of Star Trek, whatever Mr. Kurtzman means with that. I have no clue.

And as long as Mr. Kurtzman is at the helm, I personally have no hope at all. I haven’t seen a single well-written movie or TV-show from him.

I just hope we get a very detailed look and its very realistic looking. Every image I’ve seen looks like a cheap animation.

Unless I missed something we’ve only seen concept drawings of Discovery and that low-quality CGI trailer from last year. Given the level of detail in the other stuff I expect Discovery to be very detailed. And with the advances in CGI (and the budget they seem to have) they should be able to get much closer to the ship with the virtual camera.

Those ship designs may be the ugliest ship designs I have ever seen. Those Klingon ships do NOT look Klingon, not in the least. They look like something out of Warhammer 40k. And both the Discovery and Shenzhou are some of the worst Starfleet ship designs I have ever seen. The only ones worse are every single ship design in the garbage nuTrek films. I mean, WHY is Shenzhou’s bridge on the bottom of the saucer? Are the makers of STD so dumb that they don’t now that the bridge is on the top of the saucer in every single Starfleet ship ever made? And WHY is the Discovery’s saucer section segmented? Why all the negative space? The saucer section for every Starfleet ship ever made is of ONE piece. Once again, the makers of STD (and yes, I am deliberately calling it STD because like a real STD, you don’t want it and usually will run as far away from it as possible) must be completely stupid. Add to that the new Klingon physical appearance, armor, and weapon designs, which don’t look Klingon IN THE LEAST (why do the Klingons have talons on the end of their fingertips? WHY?), and the dumb new Starfleet uniforms which don’t reflect the era of “The Cage” in any way, shape, or form, or Shenzhou’s transporter room that doesn’t look AT ALL like a transporter room, and simply put, this show deserves to die a quick death and be sent to Gre’Thor where it should rot and burn for all of eternity. Screw you, JJ Abrams. Screw you, STD showrunners. Screw you, Alex Kurtzman. Screw you, CBS and Les Moonves. You’ve been ruining Star Trek ever since you got it and you’re doubling down on it now with STD.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I was shaking my head scrolling through this thread, reading the people squeeing about how they “really like” the ships and how cool they are. GAH. They suck. Starfleet Engineering would never create that saucer section in the images. And those Klingon ships? The Klingons are a disaster. Those “spokes” on the Discovery saucer section are all that is connecting the outer ring with the center ring and there should be no rings at all, and those nacelles are too long. I don’t know what the hell they think this show is supposed to be depicting, but it is it’s own thing ans Star Trek is something completely different. The real killing thing is that the production team is so dumb that they did not start out considering that the original Enterprise 1701 is in THIS timeline too. Before Kirk and Spock was Pike and Spock on the 1701. They brought in Harry Mudd? WHY? Because these nuTrek kids like the tribbles. So cuuute (and easily mass produced to sell on Black Friday). Perhaps they will make the nuTribbles talk and have faces and mouths. I am sure they will be very popular because they are “gender neutral”.

What does Harry Mudd have to do with Tribbles? I thought, correct me if I’m wrong (and I often am) that was Cyrano Jones?

I stand corrected. Harry Mudd had the Venus drug and the wives, and he also was the guy who found the Android planet and reprogrammed them. Cyrano Jones was the tribbles. You are correct.

Love the look of the Klingon Sarcophagus ship – it looks like it should be trailing misty, ethereal wisps from it, like it was itself a ghost. Also, it’s been clear that the past Klingon ships had designs inspired by Klingon wildlife, and that ship really looks like a huge moth or zombie bird of some sort, and very organic – yet unmistakably a Klingon ship, with the long neck and forward bridge area. Home run there.

The Discovery, I’m slightly – it looks cool, but I guess I’m just not open-minded enough to miss that the USS-Pasteur-forward-hull-like ball-turret bridge module is going to be a pain to get out of given it is surrounded by space, if that (admittedly fairly beefy) stalk attaching it to the inner ring of the saucer section (targeting reticle section?) gets damaged… the bridge on the top of the saucer was always, to me, an obvious target, but this one looks like it could be shot at from below as well as above the ship. Still, pretty cool design, even with that. I actually think the empty rings within rings was inspired by buildings that have hollow cores surrounding courtyards to give both the outer and inner rooms access to windows (I’m sitting next to a window off a courtyard in the middle of my office building as I write this, actually… yeah I know, get to work you hippie!). And also, lets not forget that on the 1701 and 1701-A there was a part of the lower saucer that arced up into the saucer so much that it actually wasn’t thick enough for a person to stand in (but was easy to blow a hole through, as seen in the last battle in Undiscovered Country), supposedly machinery space. So, not entirely practical back in the day either.

That part of the saucer was totally big enough for someone to stand in — it was easily a deck or two thick. Practically, I don’t think it makes sense to have an outer ring around the saucer accessible by only four thin corridors…but hey more windows for everyone, I guess. As long as the SIZE proportions aren’t out of whack, like they were with the JJprise, I’ll be happy.

Wasnt the Discovery described as a science ship? So, perhaps the defensibility of the ship wasnt really a concern to Star Fleet engineers. But keeping scientists happy by providing windows might be…lol

It also gives them the opportunity to show other parts of the ship through the window. I think Star Trek 2009 was the first Trek where you could see parts of the ship when looking out of the brdge window. In previous Trek they only had stars outside the windows.

That’s because they WEREN’T windows. In the 2009 movie, the main viewscreen has become a window. in the original Star Trek, it was only a viewscreen.

Well, four narrow connectors plus the thick neck/interconnecting dorsal. Are the quartet big enough to contain a corridor, a turboshaft, or both? At this point, without seeing them in action, my main objection is one of proportions — they look *dinky* next to the inner and outer rings, like the sprue on a plastic model kit.

They’re potentially impractical, especially during emergency situations — instead of having your choice of radial corridors, you might be forced to run up to 180° around the rim to the thicker, more damage-resistant neck.

Re: a saucer with gaps/voids/lacunae — Comments from the designer would be more helpful than speculation, but the same idea appeared with the U.S.S. Vengeance in STID(2013), and IIRC, in several of the playable Starfleet ships in “Star Trek Online” (although I can’t seem to locate any right now).

I love the Discovery design. I only wished they had made the hull smoother and a lighter grey in line with TOS style and made the deflector that copper radar dish look. I also hope we get to see classic Klingon D7s.

I don’t hate the new designs at all, I absolutely love the new designs I just hope we get to see how it transitions into the Original Series if not this season at some point before this new series ends.

I thought this show was in the Star Trek universe. I guess I was mistaken.

…well…overwork the designs much? So much for the once-upon-a-time signature sleek style of Star Trek. Now there is so much busy detail in everything it looks like everything else put out by everybody else. Congrats.

It’s called “necessary” (due to HD) and “amazing” (due to the very clear dedication to craftsmanship).

I noticed (in the other SDCC props article) on the command controls on Captain Lorca’s chair that it has controls for port and starboard forward phasers but nothing for central forward phasers like the 1701 has. I noticed on the pics above the Discovery lacks central phaser banks on the upper and lower saucer. Any thoughts on this?

They got the equipment like the hand phasers and such right but the ships – bleh. The Discovery is far off of what a Starfleet ship of the period looks like and the Shenzhou is essentially a modified 24th century Akira.

Shenzhou looks like a logical progression from the NX Class (taking into account 21st Century production design), and the McQuarrie starship design is canon (in spacedock in the films).

There’s no getting away from it now: the Discovery is quite simply the most horrible, amateurish design in the entire Trek canon. The “Raging Queen” kitbash at least had a sense of fun. The D is… pardon my language here, I’m really sorry… a fucking flying pizza cutter. And what makes it all the more tragic is, the Shenzhou is actually really nice, an innovative continuation of the NX and Franklin era concepts.

What were they thinking?

Maybe there were thinking it was a different ship, with different technology. Just sayin’.

The Discovery’s saucer section looks like a Daedalus class ball with a saucer built around it! While the Shenzhou obviously has elements from the NX class – perhaps suggesting overall different starship design lineages coexisting in parallel…

Interesting that the bad guys’ concept art features “Islamic” design.

Yes, I raised a Spock-like eyebrow at that description. Surely it’s actually an ornate ‘alien’ design detail? Fascinating.

There’s no politics involved – it’s reference to an artistic ‘style’.

There is a popular theme in Islamic art, throughout the Muslim world, that is extraordinarily ornate and decorative. What they’re referencing is the immense detail they’re putting into the costume work, which has everything to do with the art style and not the religion. Look up Mosques and other Muslim structures especially in Spain and you’ll see what i’m talking about.

The art direction has me intrigued, I’m very interested to see how these different visual elements come together on-screen. Little worried that this could end up being another super dark/depressing scifi series, I hope they remember that star trek is supposed to convey an optimistic view of the future of humanity. Don’t want it to be Into Darkness: The Tv Show, you know?

A-historic, non-canon garbage. I saw some art for the sarcophhagus and mockups of the Klingon uniforms on another article and immediately thought “Jaffa, KREE!”

They should have listened to Fuller…this is NOT the Trek the fans want.

Just…..OMG. Whatever this show is supposed to be, good luck with it. I think I am more saddened by the people on here who are evidently okay with what those images are showing us. It’s all style and flair over logic and science. This Star Trek (NuTrek) is clearly in the action-fantasy genre now, along with Star Wars. Star Trek is science fiction. But I say that as a statement of truth, not as a diss to this show they are calling Star Trek Discovery.

Why did they say this was going to be in the prime universe? It clearly is not. And “10 years before Spock and Kirk”, the original Enterprise 1701 was on a previous 5 year mission under Captain Christopher Pike and first officer Spock.That means Enterprise 1701 is out there flying around when this show is supposed to be taking place.

I am sad because most of these NuFans do not care enough about Star Trek for it to be that big of a deal. They don’t care that the Trek universe has been butchered like this.

How is it in the ‘action-fantasy genre’? We haven’t seen anything yet.

Whilst this series is set before TOS, don’t forget that the Constitution Class on their Class-unique mission of deep-space exploration have been active a number of years at this point. They were part of a particular programme the Federation wished to pursue, and were designed for that purpose. Myriad other ships would have been in service to serve other mission profiles. CF the Royal Navy circa 18th-19th Centuries – it had vessels assigned to exploration and research, such as HM Bark Endeavour, and heavy warships such as HMS Victory (currently the oldest commissioned warship in the world).

Enterprise is an old ship when Kirk takes command. If Discovery is launched later, then of course it looks more advanced. And it likely has an utterly different mission.

Of course, the Constitution Class were the ‘prestige’ assignments, but in a dangerous galaxy, I doubt Starfleet rested on its laurels.

“How is it in the ‘action-fantasy genre’? We haven’t seen anything yet.”

We have seen plenty, actually! Much of it is right here in those images. And if I have to answer the question about this being action-fantasy vs science fiction for you, my answer is not going to make much sense to you. Just how long have you been a Trek fan anyway? have been watching it since it’s birth in 1966. I have seen every single episode of every series ever made for this show, along with the movies. It stopped being science fiction when JJ Abrams took charge. Star Wars fans never needed science, and they do not understand it anyway. Star Wars is fantasy, and real Star Trek is science fiction. If you think there is no difference, look up the definitions.

The Starfleet ships look like Starfleet designs. Satisfied so far. The Klingons have also had a specific design aesthetic and so far, all Trek has bred true on it. Discovery had better not eff it up. There’s a bit of a tradition of changing Klingon look. But better get their ships right.

Well, well, well! Ship designs that look great from ANY angle! Amazing! Too bad the people behind the recent films didn’t understand this basic concept of what makes a great Trek starship design.

I like the uniform designs a lot. I think the Shenzhou is a gorgeous design, but is out of place in this timeline. The Discovery isn’t pretty, and it looks like some old clunky Federation starship, but it seems to service the plot — so that’s fine. Klingon redesign doesn’t bother me. They look cool and mysterious/menacing. So I’m on board to watch this show when it premiers, and I hope it’s a huge hit.

Screen Rant

Star trek concept art: 5 designs we wish we got (5 that should have been passed up on).

When it comes to Star Trek, there's an entire universe of creative potential waiting to be thrown onscreen and enough concept art to fill books.

Concept art is a crucial part of the filmmaking process. It is used not only to develop the idea of the project but also to sell the project to potential investors, directors, and producers. There are many talented artists behind the final products we know and love.

RELATED: Star Trek: 10 Reasons It's Not Too Late To Become A Fan

Unfortunately, sometimes the artists' work gets changed or thrown in the bin altogether. What we end up with can be light years away from what they drafted. And to be honest, sometimes we wish they'd stuck to those first ideas. Or even when those designs get through to the final stage, maybe the creative team should've reconsidered.

When it comes to Star Trek , there's an entire universe of creative potential waiting to be thrown onscreen and enough concept art to fill books. Here are five pieces of that art we wish made it into the final product and five we really wish they hadn't used.

Wish: Altamid

Star Trek Beyond was meant to reinvigorate the movie franchise. Due to poor advertising and a divisive final product, however, it fizzled at the box office. The movie went with a rather bland color palette, perhaps to make it seem more grounded in reality. Concept art from Victor Martinez paints a different picture.

This rendering of Altamid, the planet on which the Enterprise crash lands, shows a much brighter world full of what could be sinkholes. Instead of this gorgeous faraway world, we got a faded planet that looks much more like home than like anything to be discovered in the Final Frontier.

Pass: The Discovery

Star Trek Discovery 's titular ship actually seems based on a design by Ralph McQuarrie from the 1970s. McQuarrie was tapped to work on a project called Star Trek: Planet of the Titans that was abandoned in 1977. His concept art from this project shows a ship with a triangular body attached to the standard round saucer.

The Discovery' s design is credited to veteran Star Trek concept artist John Eaves. Eaves is a talented artist and creator, but his (and McQuarrie's) starship design makes for nothing more than some clunky space geometry. It just doesn't look like a sturdy space-faring design.

Wish: Klingon Bridge Chair

Star Trek Discovery presented a unique challenge to its concept artists: design a futuristic world in 2017 that's set ten years prior to the world already designed in 1960. The way we depict the future now is very different from the technicolor fantasy of the future built fifty years ago. Nevertheless, the writers and artists worked around canon to create a semi-believable refurbished future.

RELATED: Star Trek: The 10 Fastest Ships In The Klingon Imperial Fleet, Ranked

Not all of the future made it into the show. This bit of Klingon technology was meant to move along a vertical track as its controller needed to command the ship. Its elaborate design, created by Samuel Michlap, matches the details of the Klingon Sarcophagus Ship. It would've made a great addition to an intimidating Klingon bridge.

Pass: The Motion Picture Uniforms

The pajama-like uniforms from Star Trek: The Motion Picture have become legendary among Trekkies. The thin gray suits were both unflattering and wildly unpractical for space battles. Granted, the Starfleet uniforms from The Original Series were also pajama-like but at least they were colorful.

Robert Fletcher's designs do make the uniforms look smarter than they turned out on screen. The lines are sharper than the fabric ended up being capable of. Nevertheless, we wish they'd passed on these designs.

Wish: Federation Battle Shuttle

Concept artist Victor Martinez also designed this Federation battle shuttle for Star Trek Beyond. Its sleek design ended up influencing the design of Krall's swarm ships instead of appearing in the film itself. According to Martinez , the shuttles have room for one pilot and two to three passengers in tandem style seating.

It would have been neat to see these shuttles in action. Starfleet claims not to be a military organization but these shuttles might beg to differ. What would the purpose of these shuttles be? Now we'll never know.

Pass: Into Darkness Klingons

There was a lot of controversy surrounding the redesign of the Klingons for Star Trek: Into Darkness. The Klingons' appearance has been altered nearly every era they've been on screen. They started as simply particularly tan and hairy human look-a-likes. Then their foreheads became wrinkled and their armor more advanced. This change was explained away in Enterprise as the result of a virus.

RELATED:  Star Trek: 10 Questions About Klingons, Answered

Into Darkness changed the Klingons once more. The concept art by Constantine Sekeris shows the battle gear of these new Klingons. They have awkward, bug-like helmets and heavy armor that looks like rhinoceros hide. Some things are better left untouched.

Wish: Phase II Bridge

Star Trek: Phase II was supposed to be a television series sequel to the original Star Trek . The series got pretty far in production before it was turned into The Motion Picture. Concept art from the series remains, including this depiction of the Enterprise 's bridge by Mike Minor.

This design of the bridge was the inspiration for the one in The Motion Picture but it lost the sleekness of the art. It ended up gray instead of white as well. It's a shame this bridge wasn't used. It looks like it also could've inspired the sleek and shiny bridge in 2009's Star Trek.

Pass: Vulcan City

This Vulcan city is only featured briefly in 2009's Star Trek. It sets the scene for what Spock's life on Vulcan is like. It's red and dusty with skyscrapers that look like they're carved out of stalagmites and stalactites.

RELATED: Top 10 Vulcans In Star Trek, Ranked

This concept art by James Clyne looks beautiful but what sense does an upside-down city make? Are the people inside also upside-down being supported by artificial gravity? Or do you take the elevator down to the dangling tip of the building? We have no idea.

Wish: The Borg Queen

The Borg Queen has one of the best entrances in Star Trek. Like all Borg, she is made up of organic and robotic parts. When she's not needed she separates her two components. She is at once creepy and fascinating.

RELATED: Star Trek: The 10 Deadliest Villains The Crew Has Ever Faced

The Borg Queen we got was okay, but we could've gotten an even cooler one. This concept art for Star Trek: First Contact by Ricardo Delgado shows a more ornate Borg Queen. This version has almost an ancient cultural vibe. It would have been interesting to see how that translated to the big screen.

Pass: The Enterprise-D Bridge

This may be the most controversial item on this list. Andrew Probert's design of the Enterprise-D' s bridge is a product of its time. It's slouchy and "retro" and very 1980s. Unfortunately, it looks like more of a lounge than the command center of the most advanced ship in Starfleet.

The bridge is what aliens see when they communicate with the flagship of the United Federation of Planets. It's the background of first contact. It's also the command center during a battle. It is not a recreation lounge. Look at the helmsmen's seats. They're practically recliners! Unprofessional.

NEXT:  5 Things We Want to See in the Next Star Trek Movie (& 5 That We Don’t)

Star Trek: The Story Behind The Enterprise’s Iconic Design

From warp cores to smooth hull, how did the USS Enterprise come into its unforgettable look?

Science fiction has, over the years, been an amazing vessel for all types of concept art and futuristic design ideas. There's no better way to flex a creatives muscles that to envision the natural progression of technology, and imagine all forms of futuristic wacky gizmos based on the wildest parts of a persons' imagination. For Star Trek, this is no different. In fact, it is possibly one of the greatest examples of perceived futures in science fiction (apologies Star Wars fans, as, remember, all that takes place a “long time ago” ) to the point where life imitates art . Star Trek brought to life warp technology, holograms, and even teleportation. While each of these plays an important part of the universe, nothing is more iconic than the ship itself, the USS Enterprise.

The inspiration behind the very first iteration of the vessel for the groundbreakingly progressive Original Series was rather simple, especially considering how iconic its design has become. The mastermind behind the design was Matt Jefferies, the art director for the show. Ironically, Jeffries is quoted to not be a science fiction fan, which is potentially why the original design had a lot of real life importation and didn’t draw too much from previously envisioned spaceship designs. He worked alongside Gene Roddenberry, the show's creator, who, instead of stating what he specifically wanted for the design, gave Jefferies a list of specific things he didn’t want. Despite knowing a lot about the ship, Roddenberry had never actually visualized it. All he knew was that he didn’t want it to look like anything audiences had seen before, and wanted to avoid at all costs the stereotypical 60s rocket ship template . He asked for “no fins, no wings, no smoke trails, no flames, no rocket.”

RELATED: Inconsistencies In The Star Trek Universe

The ship had to look like something that was at the forefront of technological advancement, a masterpiece of futuristic innovation, but Jefferies struggled to come up with a design Roddenberry was happy with, as Roddenberry stated that early designs were “too conventional.” Jefferies then turned to his experience with aviation, putting more and more of what he called “aircraft logic” into the designs, basically imagining what the natural evolution of modern day (or at least, modern day for them) aircraft would be. He applied real-world aviation logic to the designs, including things like moving the ship's warp engines away from the main hull, as they were potentially too powerful/dangerous to be that close to the crew.

The disk-shaped hull was also something he toiled over, worried that it would resemble a stereotypical flying saucer shape . However, Roddenberry loved it. He felt that it was enough to pay homage to audiences' pre-existing connotations with space, but would take it into a new direction and still feel new and exciting. They bulked it out, but made sure to keep the design smooth from the outside. Unlike modern-day aircraft, this craft had to be in the vacuum of space, so in order to service and repair it, all the components needed to be accessed mainly from inside. This was another example of logic influencing design. It would have been impractical for any essential component to be outside, as it would involve a dangerous space walk to fix it; thus the ship had a smooth-shelled skin.

Another large part of the design came from storyline decisions, and whether the ship would be landing on the various alien planets they visited. At the beginning of production, Roddenberry planned that the ship would do so, but as with many of the decisions made during The Original Series, it turned out to be too expensive to create unique sets showcasing the ship landing on each planet. This then changed to using shuttles to get the crew back and forth, but unfortunately when filming began, the large scale prop was not finished. Thus, transporter technology was born , both cost-effective and unforgettably unique.

As the ship would not need to land on a planet, and they were serviced, repaired, and even built in space, there was no need to make the spaceship “work” anywhere other than space, and conform to normal things like gravitational pull or aerodynamics. While various fans think that Enterprise has landing gear built in somewhere (often referencing the triangle imprints seen on the bottom of the main hull) it’s actually mentioned by Kirk in The Original Series episode “A Piece of the Action” that they ship is unable to land, and that the only way to do it would be to initialize a “controlled crash.” Even then, there would be no guarantee they would ever be able to get it back up again. It’s important to remember that this only applies to the original USS Enterprise NCC-1701, as the USS Voyager (captained by potential war criminal Captain Janeway ) has the capability to land on a planet.

Jefferies and Roddenberry truly created something unique way back when Star Trek was just an idea bubbling away in the back of Roddenberry’s head, setting a precedent for the plethora of Star Trek shows and movies that came later . Jefferies' interest and expertise in aviation ensured the USS Enterprise was grounded in enough reality to be believable, yet still futuristic and spectacular enough to be at the forefront of space faring ingenuity. To honor his dedication, and his crawling slog to get the design approved by Roddenberry, the crawl spaces found within each and every Starfleet vessel are named Jefferies Tubes, ensuring a legacy that continues today.

MORE: Star Trek: Things You Didn’t Know About Deanna Troi

• The Original Series
• The Animated Series
• The Next Generation
• Deep Space Nine
• Strange New Worlds
• Lower Decks
• Star Trek Movies
• TrekCore on Twitter
• TrekCore on Facebook

Back in August we saw some of the cast on the hull of some kind of vessel — one that had faint English writing printed on that hatch cover — so that too is likely the  Franklin .

Here’s a closer look at the  STAR TREK BEYOND  logo used on the poster — not expected to be used in the upcoming marketing campaign — sporting the same design last seen at September’s press conference in Dubai.

Thanks to DB Wilson for sharing his photos with us!

• concept art
• star trek beyond
• USS Franklin

Related Stories

Update: m’benga and spock full names “incorrect” on mission chicago strange new worlds posters, exo-6 crosses over to star trek’s mirror universe with 1:6 spock, fansets reveals 2021 star trek anniversary pins, search news archives, new & upcoming releases, featured stories, our star trek: discovery season 5 spoiler-free review, star trek: discovery’s final adventure begins in april 2024, interview — star trek: lower decks’ mike mcmahan on moopsy, creating the orion homeworld, tuvix, and much more.

TrekCore.com is not endorsed, sponsored or affiliated with Paramount, CBS Studios, or the Star Trek franchise. All Star Trek images, trademarks and logos are owned by CBS Studios Inc. and/or Paramount. All original TrekCore.com content and the WeeklyTrek podcast (c) 2024 Trapezoid Media, LLC. · Terms & Conditions

The Trek Collective

Friday 23 july 2021, star trek online introduces more discovery ships and voyager concept design.

The Courage-class utilizes a unique directional matrix to allow the ship to quickly transfer its functionality between being focused on Science and Research, and being a resilient Destroyer. The ship's default configuration is outfitted for scientific pursuits, but it can be quickly reconfigured on the fly by switching into Tactical Mode. When this transformation is initiated, the ship's orientation will be reversed. The ship's Shield Systems will lose integrity while this power is instead rerouted to Hull Integrity (-Shield Capacity, +Hull Capacity). Access to Sensor Analysis, Subsystem Targeting, and the ship's Secondary Deflector Dish will be disabled, while the Experimental Weapon becomes available. Enables Tactical Mode: Upgrades Lt. Commander Tactical/Command station to Commander Tactical/Command Enables Experimental Weapon +20% Maximum Hull Capacity Disables Science Mode: Downgrades Commander Science/Command station to Lt. Commander Science/Command Disables Secondary Deflector, Sub-System Targeting, and Sensor Analysis -20% Shield Capacity

The Coherent Integrity Projector leverages your ship's structural integrity fields to generate a harmonic projectile that deals heavy kinetic damage to your target. A portion of this damage will bypass the target's shields. The damage inflicted by this weapon scales proportionally to your Maximum Hull Capacity at the time it is fired (scaling starts at 100,000 and continues up to 250,000).

Centuries of starship design tradition from races across the Milky Way galaxy have allowed certain aspects of their construction to be matters that are designed by-rote, and rarely questioned or re-examined. Deflector dishes and emitters are mounted in the front, while impulse engines belong in the back, as an example. However, once in a while a group of ship designers decides to be courageous and inventive enough to buck trends, and explore new possibilities. The Courage-class is the culmination of similar exploration, as a starship designed to treat directional bias as a matter of purpose and forethought, rather than an afterthought. This unique vessel is supported by a series of subsystems that allow the ship to transform its capabilities by reversing its direction. In its default configuration, a large secondary deflector and specialized set of sensors and emitters fuel the ship's scientific pursuits. However, by reversing its orientation, the ship's systems are redirected into a bulwark of defensive tactical capabilities that would not be out of place on its battlecruiser peers.

This technology suite is capable of translating the force of your starship's forward movement, combined with its mass, into destructive energy that can be immediately released upon nearby enemies. This energy translation stops all movement of your starship briefly, but is made more dangerous based on how massive your ship is (represented by Max Hull Capacity) and how quickly it was traveling at the time of activation (represented by Flight Speed).

The design of this quintessential science vessel has finally been updated for the modern era, while maintaining as many of the unconventional charms of its original design as was possible. From the sensitive sensor equipment housed in its semi-detached lower mission pod, to the tightly packed and heavily-shielded warp nacelles, this updated design has inherited many of the unique benefits of its famed lineage, while also benefiting from the enhanced engineering standards present on Federation vessels of the early-25th century. This upgraded design has been named after the ill-fated science vessel responsible for surveying the equally ill-fated Genesis Planet, which bore the design of the original Oberth-class into some measure of note.

This technology was adapted from scrapped technology found amidst classified documentation, which was originally tested aboard the U.S.S. Pegasus. It is capable of forming a thin membrane of phased space just beyond the ship's deflector shields. This envelope negates the physical properties of hostile sources of physical and kinetic damage that attempt to pass through it, by forcing them to phase out of normal space. Hostile energy is also affected, but the field takes time to charge-up in order to have an impact. Simultaneously, the field can also charge-up over time to bestow benefits on the ship's outgoing torpedo weapons. This experimental technology draws a great deal of power from the ship's Auxiliary Subsystem while active, and will turn off automatically if that subsystem is drained to zero, or goes offline. Manually enhancing the ship's Auxiliary Subsystem while the field is being generated (such as using Batteries) can allow it to be maintained longer.

Starfleet has a longstanding tradition of coming to the aid of other starships in need, regardless of their allegiance. In light of this established standard operating procedure, it is no surprise that the brightest engineers among its ranks have chosen to focus the design of one of their newer ship classes specifically on the role of providing support and aid to other vessels in need. The Clarke Multi-Mission Command Cruiser was purpose-built to serve as the vanguard of reinforcement fleets, bringing with it a wide array of potential life-saving technology in the form of its Command Specialist capabilities. Additionally, despite only being a mid-sized cruiser, this vessel boasts a hangar bay able to house a wing of support vessels of any configuration its captain sees fit to equip.

Although the Genesis Project was ultimately a failure for its intended purpose, the ramifications of the various cutting-edge research that went into its development are still studied and adapted for newer applications by ambitious scientists and engineers with some regularity within the Federation. This latest iteration is built to leech energy and matter from foes in the region near the unstable planetoid that is created when the device is detonated in space, manifesting as Radiation damage and power drain. The planetoid will utilize the gathered resources to grow in size and power until it quickly reaches its explosive finale, further damaging and disabling foes within the blast radius, and will do so more rapidly if there are a large number of enemy targets within its vicinity. This console also provides a passive bonus to Drain Expertise, and Radiation Damage.

Molor's Flaming Sword. Is it practical? Nope. Does it even make any sense? Like hell if it does. Sometimes cool goes over practicality. This is one of those cases. I think this would make a nice prop or toy!

For more Star Trek Online coverage, check back through my STO tag , and for articles looking at starships in all forms, see my ships tag .

No comments:

Post a comment.

Starship Database

Earth & Federation Major Aliens Various Aliens Anomalous Starships Animated Abramsverse Discoverse

The database lists all canon starships and other spaceborne constructions of the Star Trek Universe by races and classes. Schematic side views and technical specs are included where available. The data is mainly based on the very episodes and on official sources. In some cases, however, obvious errors had to be corrected. Inconsistencies or oddities are discussed in the annotations. Read more about the database structure .

Random Page

Pages with Recent Changes

• Delta Quadrant Ships of Unknown Affiliation 10 Apr 2024
• Lower Decks Starfleet & Federation Ship Cl... 05 Apr 2024
• Fleet Charts in TIFF Format 31 Mar 2024
• Vulcan Ship Classes 31 Mar 2024
• Fleet Chart Annotations 31 Mar 2024
• Alpha and Beta Quadrant Ships L-R 31 Mar 2024
• Alpha and Beta Quadrant Ships A-E 31 Mar 2024
• Alpha and Beta Quadrant Ships of Unknown A... 31 Mar 2024
• Earth Ship Classes 31 Mar 2024
• Xindi Ship Classes 31 Mar 2024
• Romulan Ship Classes 31 Mar 2024
• Klingon Ship Classes 31 Mar 2024
• Other Starfleet Ship Classes 29 Mar 2024
• Delta Quadrant Ships L-R 28 Mar 2024
• Starfleet Ship Classes L-Z 24 Mar 2024
• Starfleet Ship Classes A-K 24 Mar 2024
• Discovery Future Federation Ship Classes 17 Mar 2024
• Lower Decks Alien Ship Classes 17 Mar 2024
• Ancient or Mysterious Ships 17 Mar 2024
• Discoverse Klingon Ship Classes 16 Mar 2024

Structure of the Starship Database

Fleet Charts

Starship Articles

Starship Gallery

Earth & Federation

Starfleet Ship Classes A-K

Starfleet Ship Classes L-Z

Other Starfleet Ship Classes - uncertain and unknown

Civilian Federation Ship Classes

Federation Shuttlecraft - and other small auxiliary vehicles

Federation Probes - unmanned space vehicles

Federation Space Stations - fixed spaceborne installations

Federation Ground Transportation - bound to the ground

Earth Ship Classes - Pre-Federation (prior to 2161)

Future Ship Classes - of the 26th century and beyond

Major Aliens

Vulcan Ship Classes - Pre-Federation (prior to 2161)

Klingon Ship Classes - from all eras

Romulan Ship Classes - from all eras

Ferengi Ship Classes - from all eras

Cardassian Ship Classes

Bajoran Ship Classes

Dominion and Allied Ship Classes

Borg Ship Classes

Suliban Ship Classes

Xindi Ship Classes

Various Aliens

Alpha and Beta Quadrant Ships A-E

Alpha and Beta Quadrant Ships F-K

Alpha and Beta Quadrant Ships L-R

Alpha and Beta Quadrant Ships S-Z

Alpha and Beta Quadrant Ships of Unknown Affiliation

Gamma Quadrant Ships

Delta Quadrant Ships A-E

Delta Quadrant Ships F-K

Delta Quadrant Ships L-R

Delta Quadrant Ships S-Z

Delta Quadrant Ships of Unknown Affiliation

Anomalous Starships

Ancient or Mysterious Ships - whose owners don't show up

Space-Dwelling Lifeforms - organic or conscious vessels

Mirror Universe Ships - from TOS, DS9 and ENT

Confederation Timeline Ships - from PIC season 2

Non-Existent Ships - that were made up for varying reasons

Animated Star Trek

TAS Starfleet & Federation Ship Classes

TAS Alien Ship Classes

Prodigy Starfleet & Federation Ship Classes

Prodigy Alien Ship Classes

Abramsverse

Abramsverse Federation Ship Classes

Abramsverse Alien Ship Classes

Discovery Future Alien Ship Classes

Discovery Mirror Universe Ship Classes

Many of the images in this section are taken from official sources such as the Star Trek Encyclopedia II , the Star Trek Encyclopedia (2016) the DS9 Technical Manual , the Star Trek Fact Files , Star Trek: The Magazine or the Eaglemoss Official Starships Collection . Note that some of these were cleaned up and obvious errors were corrected. A number of schematics (namely Academy trainer craft, Antares NCC-501, Archer's model, Birdseye, Bonaventure from the Chronology , Centaur, Cheyenne, Constitution original, Excelsior variant 1, "Star Trek (2009)" shuttle, Mars defense perimeter, New Orleans, Ptolemy, Saladin, Springfield, Sydney, Raven, Talarian ships and variants, Tamarian ship and variants, Tosk ship and several TAS ships) are copyright of Ex Astris Scientia.

Special thanks go to Mike Swantak for the Ambassador, to Tim Davies for the Excelsiors, to Gus for the "Star Trek (2009)" Enterprise, to Sean Thornton for the Enterprise-A (alt.), to Pundus for the Odyssey, to MadMan and The-Didact for two versions of the Vengeance, to Chris G. for the "Star Trek (2009)" Spacedock, Klingon "Warbird" (models by MadMan), Whale Probe, "Nemesis" drydock (mesh by S-Stephen), TMP drydock (mesh by Prologic9), McKinley drydock (mesh by Eric Peterson), Warp Five Complex (mesh by Beda of Borg) and several images from Lower Decks, to Dávid Metlesits for the Klingon DIS ships (rendered based on models from Star Trek Adversaries), to Dave Combe for the DIS BoP and Sarcophagus ship, to C.HellenBrandt for the D'Arsay archive, Farpoint lifeform, interface probe, Melkotian buoy, ultraviolet satellite, standard D5, the "Star Trek (2009)" escape pod, forklift and more, to Ryan Church for Kirk's motorbike concept art, the Breen ship and the Klingon Augment ship, to Tobias Richter who created the USS Kelvin mesh, to James Chung for Picard concept art, to Daniel Petri for the reconstructed Aurora and the Class J from TOS-R, to Kristian Trigwell for Nomad, DY-100, DY-500, Valiant, Utopia Planitia, TAS personal spacecraft and some emblems, to Chris Spinnler for the Challenger, to Masaki Taniko who modified the Constitution refit, Miranda, Nebula variants, Curry and "Raging Queen", to Robert Bonchune for posting the official Intrepid-type, Delta ship and Kumari renders and who created many renders for recent official publications, to Doug Drexler for posting renders by several CGI artists such as Robert Bonchune, including the "Emmette", NX-Alpha, Arctic One, Arctic One Borgified, three-fingered drydock, multispatial probe, all Vulcan CGI ships, Cardassian workbee, 22nd century Ferengi ship, Nausicaan raider, all Suliban ships, Arkonian warship, Kreetassan ship, Kago Darr's shuttle, Malurian ship, Takret ship, Tandaran patrol ship, Valakian ship, Xantoran patrol ship, "Crossing" alien ship, Reptohumanoid ship and variants, Ledosian ships, Markonian outpost, Venatic, "Alice", "Silent Enemy" ship & shuttle and "Dead Stop" station, to John Eaves for the "Communicator" fighter, the Triannon vessel, the "Extinction" vessel, Xindi-Insectoid vessel 2 and the Axanar combat ship, to Irishman for drawings of Earth Starfleet ships, to Sven Lindemann for intermediate images, to Harry for parts of the early spaceship I, to Thorsten Junk for the Reman shuttle, to Raul Quiles who provided the Shuttlepod 1 and inspection pod schematics, to Kris Olinger who modified the Challenger, to Graham Kennedy for cleaning up and coloring the Starfleet probes, to Masao Okazaki for drawing the Daedalus, Bonaventure, Huron and TAS cargo drone, to Simon Golding for intermediate images, to E. Jakobsson for the Yeager and Elkins, to Jeff Russell for V'ger, to David Matteson for the NX-02 emblem, to viperaviator for the Franklin emblem, to Tobias Weimann for a couple of emblems, to Animaniac for the 22nd century Tholian ship and finally to Alice Orbán for subspace amplifier, Cardassian escape pod, Enolian vessels, Kobali shuttle, Malcorian ship, Malon freighter 2, Malurian shuttle, Mazarite shuttle & variants, Sikarian ship, Tarkalean freighter, Tellarite shuttle, Tsunkatse ship, Vissian ships, some of the Xindi ships, and several more.

Jörg Hillebrand has provided innumerable screen caps and invaluable observations. Most other screen caps are from TrekCore , Ariane's Star Trek Gallery , Cygnus-X1.net , Neutral Zone Starship Database or The Guardian of Forever. The photo of the Miranda-class USS Trial is courtesy of Larry Nemecek. Some images are based on Jim Stevenson's Starship Schematics . A reliable list of all canon starship appearances can be found in D. Joseph Creighton's The STArchive from where I extracted some useful data. Several facts about TAS ships came from Curt Danhauser's Guide to Animated Star Trek . I would also like to acknowledge The Unofficial Star Trek Fact Files Index, TrekMovie.com , Sector 0-0-1, Pedro's Shiporama, Frank Gerratana's Starfleet Ship Designs, Steve Pugh's Vessels of Starfleet, Adam Brooks , Adam Buckner, AJ, Alex Köhnen , Alexander Hartmann , Ambassador, Andrew Halliday, Andros, Andy Kinnear, B. J. Olejnik, Bounty, Brendan Stone , Brian Hunter, cardinal biggles, Colin , Dan Carlson , Daniel Anderson, DAS, doubleofive , Ed Bailey, Erich Mohr , Erik Filean, Florian Ollivier , Frank Bitterhof , George Nicolaides, Greg , Gvsualan , Harry , J , Jeff W, Jake Stotsky, Jason Schmus , Jim Morrissey , Jimmie R. Giboney, Jochen Gnida, John Mesiavech, Kevin , Kratisto, Lee McDonald , Lennier , Lester , Maik Leon Ehnert, Mariner Class, Mark Gill, Micah Haber, Michael Lanzinger, Mike , moreorlesser, Muchu, Paragon, Paul Doize, psycopunkn , Ralph Spitzner, Raymond J Impastato Jr, Rick , Rob Minnes, Robert, Scott Fletcher , Sol System, Stacy Smith, Stefan Posner, Stefan Rypalla , Stephen L. , Tadeo D'Oria, Thomas Owens , Thorsten , Trolleybus and Tuskin38 for ship pictures and information. Several more people helped me through their comments in the Flare Sci-Fi Forums . My special thanks to Colin and Boris S. who have provided lots of little-known information. Last but not least, special thanks to Michael Chabon and Dave Blass for sharing some information from behind the screen with us.

https://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/starship_database.htm

Last modified: 17 Mar 2024

© Ex Astris Scientia 1998-2024, Legal Terms

This website is not endorsed, sponsored or affiliated with CBS Studios Inc. or the Star Trek franchise.

Fleet Yards

Photo via startrekcbs/Twitter

The ship in ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ was likely inspired by vintage concept art

Cbs finally released the first footage from the new 'star trek' tv series. prepare to become obsessed..

Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

Internet Culture

Posted on Jul 24, 2016   Updated on May 26, 2021, 10:00 am CDT

Fans who hoped for casting news may have been disappointed by SDCC ‘s Star Trek panel, which focused on the 50-year history of the franchise. However, we did get one exciting teaser for the new TV series: a clip of its starship, the U.S.S. Discovery.

The upcoming series is titled Star Trek: Discovery , and the panel revealed a couple of interesting tidbits about how it compares to previous series: the first season will unfold “like a novel” instead of focusing on episodic storylines, and showrunner Bryan Fuller emphasized the importance of diversity and a progressive political message in the show.

As for the teaser clip, we’ve already gleaned some new information from its introduction of the new spaceship.

https://twitter.com/startrekcbs/status/756974219322273792

The most intriguing detail is the Discovery’s resemblance to some 1970s concept art by sci-fi icon Ralph McQuarrie, who was instrumental in designing the look of the original Star Wars  trilogy. McQuarrie worked on a project called  Star Trek: Planet of the Titans , which was meant to be the first Star Trek movie before being mothballed in 1977.

As you can see, the Discovery looks very similar to the ship in McQuarrie’s art, featuring a more angular shape than the traditional Enterprise: a triangular hull with small warp nacelles on either side, plus the usual saucer section at the front.

Ralph McQuarrie/Whatculture

Star Trek: Discovery

Described as the “test flight” of the U.S.S. Discovery, the new teaser shows the starship leaving some kind of asteroid base, which also shares some distinct similarities with vintage Ralph McQuarrie art.

McQuarrie’s asteroid design was later used in an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise , for a location called the Tholian asteroid dock . It’s unclear whether Discovery ‘s dock is the same location or just an homage, although Bryan Fuller’s obsessive attention to detail—and lifelong love of Star Trek—mean this certainly wasn’t a coincidence.

This seems to be a new class of starship for the Star Trek  universe. It follows the same formula as other Starfleet exploration vessels (a round or oval “saucer” with a warp nacelle on either side), but it’s clearly not an Intrepid class ship like the Voyager, or a Galaxy class like the Enterprise, for example.

As for the serial number, NCC-1031, it doesn’t tell us much. Star Trek’s continuity is a little shaky on what those serial numbers actually mean, and while it could imply that the Discovery was built before the Enterprise (as in, it’s the 31st example of the tenth starship model, as opposed to the Enterprise’s NCC-1701 designation), Comic Con’s Star Trek panel didn’t confirm any further details. All we know is that  Star Trek: Discovery  takes place in the original “Prime” universe, and CBS will reveal its place in the timeline at a later date.

Gavia Baker-Whitelaw is a staff writer at the Daily Dot, covering geek culture and fandom. Specializing in sci-fi movies and superheroes, she also appears as a film and TV critic on BBC radio. Elsewhere, she co-hosts the pop culture podcast Overinvested. Follow her on Twitter: @Hello_Tailor

Featured Local Savings

What Is a Spore Drive in Star Trek?

Quick links, how does the spore drive work in star trek, why the uss discovery is the only starfleet ship with a spore drive, is the spore drive faster than warp speed, why star trek should probably stop using the spore drive.

With Season 5, Star Trek: Discovery embarks on the final mission for its dynamic crew and one-of-a-kind starship. There are many things about this series that diverged from past series or films in the universe created by Gene Roddenberry six decades ago. How the spore drive that powers the USS Discovery works is perhaps the most fanciful concept in Star Trek . When piloted by Ripper the "space tardigrade," Lieutenant Paul Stamets or Kewijan empath Cleveland Booker, this organic propulsion system is one of the most powerful technologies in all science fiction and fantasy.Despite the universe's reputation for somewhat grounded science-fiction, the displacement-activated spore hub drive is squarely in the realm of fantasy. This is not new territory for Star Trek , however.

Vulcan mind-melds, the concept of "subspace" and Star Trek's ubiquitous transporters are all, to varying degrees, magical nonsense. What helps sell these far-out technologies to skeptical audiences is the (lovingly named) technobabble that accompanies them. Vulcans use innate psychic abilities to connect to another consciousness like file-sharing over wifi. Transporters break people down into atoms and beam them to another physical location, where they are reassembled just as they were. Subspace allows communications to travel faster than speed of light, as well as any number of anomalies that create workarounds to the immutable laws of physics. USS Discovery's spore drive is equally able to break the laws of physics and travel on a "mycelial network" that exists outside of regular spacetime .

'Bittersweet and Shocking': Star Trek: Discovery Star Addresses the Series Getting Canceled

Former Star Trek: Voyager producer Bryan Fuller was tapped to bring the universe back to television, and he co-created the series with Alex Kurtzman. He left early in pre-production, but many of the concepts he introduced remained, such as the controversial Klingon redesign . The spore drive was one such concept, which drew from the research and philosophy of real-world mycologist Paul Stamets. This is why Anthony Rapp's character has that name, after all.

Next to engineering, the USS Discovery has a room where Lieutenant Stamets grows the spores needed to power the drive. He created it with his friend Straal, and Starfleet "co-opted" the technology once the Klingon-Federation War broke out. It was Straal who figured out the spore drive needed a pilot with compatible DNA to pilot the ship. He used a creature which Michael Burnham called a "tardigrade." Eventually, Stamets injected himself with tardigrade DNA which made him the only person capable of successfully using the spore drive. Later, Cleveland Booker was also able to serve as a navigator because of his natural empathic abilities.

Through their connection to the spores, the navigator is able to pilot the ship using invisible connections on a galactic mycelial network. In Star Trek: Discovery this network is represented much like the Quantum Realm in the Marvel Cinematic Universe . Like the Avengers, the ship is able to travel through this lower dimension and emerge in real space anywhere. However, the network the ship can travel on is limited to the Milky Way galaxy. Put another way, the spore drive allows the USS Discovery to teleport anywhere in the galaxy in an instant.

Star Trek: Discovery's Mary Wiseman, Wilson Cruz and Blu del Barrio Hype Finale

Despite existing a decade before the time of Star Trek: The Original Series , the USS Discovery was a bleeding-edge scientific vessel before the war. Once the USS Glenn and Straal were killed in their accident, Lieutenant Stamets became the only person in the universe to understand how the spore drive worked. While he sent his designs to Starfleet, none of their scientists could get it to work. Once the ship time-traveled to the 32nd Century, Starfleet was able to build a working prototype, but it was destroyed when it was stolen by Booker in Season 4 .

Even if Starfleet's scientists and engineers were able to replicate the machinery that made the spore drive function, they still lacked a crucial element: a navigator. Without the tardigrade or a compatible human, the spore drive could only safely travel a few hundred kilometers. Stamets can only serve as the navigator because of the tardigrade DNA he injected into himself. Since the creatures are sentient, difficult to catch and the Federation is against genetic modification, no one else can use his method. Booker's natural empathic abilities allowed him to serve as navigator, but his gifts are unique to Kwejian, which was destroyed in Season 4 .

In the first episode of Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 , Stamets is depressed because Starfleet has abandoned its efforts to recreate his technology. He wanted the spore drive to be his legacy. Instead, Starfleet and the Federation committed to a technology called the "pathway drive," an unknown method of faster-than-light travel that doesn't require dilithium crystals like warp engines. This means that the USS Discovery will be the only serviceable Starfleet vessel capable of traveling via the mycelial network, at least so long as Stamets or Booker are willing to serve as navigator.

How Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Connects to TNG's Biggest Open Mystery

While it's natural to compare the spore drive to Star Trek 's famous warp drive, the USS Discovery isn't traveling at speed when it jumps. In fact, it's closer to Star Wars ' hyperspace , a dimension that exists underneath spacetime. Yet, unlike the Millennium Falcon, the USS Discovery is able to enter and exist the mycelial network in mere seconds. Ships traveling through hyperspace still take time to get from one point to another. The USS Discovery's spore drive flies through the network far faster than warp drive, but it's a completely different method of travel .

Of all the sci-fi Star Trek inventions, warp drive is one of the more plausible ones. Einstein's Theory of General Relativity established that the speed of light is as fast as anything can go through space, but not how fast spacetime itself can go. Thus, while Starfleet vessels travel faster than light, they do it by slipping through a loophole in the laws of physics. Warp engines create a bubble that bends spacetime itself. The ships ride it like a wave and are able to go faster than Einstein's universal speed limit. However, with the spore drive, the USS Discovery is able to just pop out of reality and emerge at a different physical location in the galaxy.

While there are some actual scientific concepts behind both the spore and warp drives, the latter is far more sound . Physical travel via the mycelial network is as plausible as trying to use tree roots as a subway. Still, even though the math works for warp drive, there are countless other effects that would make traveling at those speeds unsurvivable. This is why bridge and engineering officers in Star Trek are always talking about "inertial dampers." Similarly, travel via the mycelial network is not without risk, specifically from "Hawking radiation." This theoretical energy somehow turned the crew of the USS Glenn inside out after a test jump in Season 1, Episode 3, "Context is for Kings."

Star Trek: Discovery Wasn't Originally Going to End With Season 5, Reveals EP

All science fiction requires some level of suspension of disbelief, and there are many technologies in Star Trek that are just as magical as the spore drive. Still, the concept was met with a lot of criticism from fans that goes beyond the typical reluctance to embrace new iterations of this universe. "Although physically implausible, warp drive isn't laughably ridiculous. The [spore] drive is, " scientist Steven Sazlberg wrote for Forbes . Of course, Star Trek is full of ridiculous concepts like Thomas Riker, Will Riker's "transporter clone. " The fantastical nature of the spore drive isn't why it should stay on the USS Discovery.

The USS Voyager-J was revealed to be the first ship set to test the new pathway drive, whatever it is. However, if the spore drive existed and worked in the 24th Century, the original USS Voyager could've used it to get back from the Delta Quadrant before Captain Janeway's coffee got cold . Everything about the USS Discovery was classified at the end of the show's second season, which explains why the spore drive was never even considered as a means to rescue the USS Voyager. They also lacked a compatible navigator. But more importantly, the spore drive would have made the seven seasons of Star Trek: Voyager unnecessary.

The spore drive is a fun conceit for Star Trek: Discovery , but in truth it is simply too powerful a technology. The purpose of Starfleet is, after all, to explore the unknown. If every vessel in every Star Trek universe had a spore drive, at least 500 of its 900 total episodes wouldn't have happened. That Stamets is the only person truly able to crack this technology also speaks to the unique nature of humanity. Even with all of Starfleet's brilliance, there is an irreplaceable human contribution to make its most magical technology work.

Star Trek: Discovery debuts new episodes Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

Release Date September 24, 2017

Cast Oyin Oladejo, Emily Coutts, Anthony Rapp, Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Mary Wiseman

Main Genre Sci-Fi

Genres Drama, Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure

Rating TV-14