The new Trek trailer comes out on the Intermawebs on Monday. Trekmovie.com has a shot from it, the new Enterprise. It’s apparently being constructed on Earth.
Now this is odd. While it makes sense for the ship to be partially constructed planetside (and in the case of 1701-D the saucer was partially constructed on Mars at Utopia Planitia) you can clearly see the nacelles behind. The problem with this being that the integrity of the ship is not designed for planetfall – they would quite simply come crashing down, and on top of that it would be really very very dangerous to make first flight with a shitload of antimatter next to a planetary body!
OK, the 1701-D tech manual isn’t canon even though it was Okuda and Sternbach who wrote it; the plaque on the bridge of Enterprise had note that it was constructed in San Fransisco; the only other partial construction of a Constitution-class vessel is in one of the Lost Years novels where the refit 1701 saucer was landed for work then re-assembled in spacedock. But for goodness sake we saw NX-02 being constructed in spacedock back in Star Trek: Enterprise.
It just doesn’t make sense to have it assembled planetside. The integrity would fail, and there’d be an awful lot of bits of starship scattered around all of a sudden. Never mind what the vessel weighs…
(I know it’s just a movie… I think I need a bit of fresh air now…)
Update: There’s a screener of the trailer over on YouTube. No breathing apparatus, not sure they’re in space, no real hints other than it’s “under construction” which could of course just be something specially done for the trailer… 😛
January 18, 2008 at 1:55 pm
forget that, the real question is: Could it take on a Death star from star wars?
January 18, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I point the honourable gentleman to http://smackinthecrack.com/…
January 18, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Not to be pedantic but arent you skipping a step here?
It is "apparently" built on earth?
And from there on inferring it will be:
Completed
Lift off into atmnoshpere using anti-matter engine etc.
Lets see what we know:
All I see is.
Dark
It is in atmosphere (smoke – welding etc)
We see the front of saucer
We see areas under construction
Lights
A crane
And Big ROUND Nacelles shaped objects. Could also be some lifting body.
Still not conclusive to me that it the intention is to actually…
Sorry – got to go! My wife has just caught me NOT perving porn on the internet but actually debating a trek point.
January 18, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Gloves are off! 🙂
Welding implements – smoke going up. Bloke on saucer without spacesuit or breathing apparatus. Nacelles with Bussard ramscope.
I suppose they could raise it in a spacedock arrangement…
Sorry, got to go. The Sad Police are at the door.