While the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum is closed for repairs, Star Trek fans will have something to look forward to on October 14: the Enterprise studio model used in the original series. In conjunction with its autumn reopening, the Museum will reintroduce the popular exhibit in eight brand-new galleries. After being on display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum since 1974, when Paramount Studios donated it there, the model has been hidden away since October 7, 2019.
The model was on pause for three years because its intricate display had to be taken down so improvements to the area could begin. The Enterprise spaceship was featured in the original Star Trek series, which aired for three seasons in the late 1960s. The saucer component of the spaceship was more than 400 feet in diameter, while the entire vessel was more than 950 feet in length. The length of the model is 11 feet. Principal designer Walter Jeffries came up with various concepts before settling on this one, all of which were constrained by writer Gene Roddenberry’s directives.
This is how the U.S. National Air and Space Museum characterises the vessel: Consists of a saucer-shaped primary hull that houses the Command section, a cigar-shaped secondary hull (the Engineering section) connected beneath it by a large, slanting pylon, and two long, projecting engine pods at the rear of the saucer that is connected to the Engineering hull by pylons; the series of small domes on the top centre of the saucer is the bridge, the command and nerve centre of the ship that contains all the computer controls; the primary
Additional information on the extensive improvements over several years may be found on the museum’s website. Starting in 2018, the National Air and Space Museum has been receiving a massive multi-year refurbishment.
The museum will utilise innovative and exciting strategies to keep guests interested both during their visit and long after they have left. New presentation areas and attractions will be added to each of the 23 redesigned exhibits. With your help, we can raise $250 million from aerospace industry leaders and regular citizens to completely refurbish the Museum’s interior and exterior, fulfilling a promise made by Congress. You may see it in person on October 14 at the National Mall’s Air and Space Museum.