I FOUND THE ORIGINAL ENTERPRISE, BBS!!!
Now, this is my first ever ONTD_ST post, so I'm praying to every god I've ever heard of that I get it right (or at least don't screw up too badly! ALSO. If this is a repost, please don't shoot, stun, and/or sacrifice me to Klingons. I messed around with a couple different ways of adding pics, so I hope this way works (if anyone has a better way to do it, please let me know). If the pics don't show up, then I have absolutely no idea how to fix them. T_T Sorry in advance. (They're showing up for me right now, but they're kind of big... and I have no clue how to fix that.)
MOVING ON. I was at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. yesterday, and in the bowels of the museum (the toy store, to be exact XD) I located none other than THE U.S.S. ENTERPRISE!!!!!!
When I first reached the lower level, this display of course caught my eye:
And then, after gasping at the cost of Star Trek Monopoly and playing with the phasers, I saw it. At first, I just thought it was a replica, which was cool enough, BUT NO. It was the original Enterprise! There were two little placards next to the case, which kindly informed me of some things that I already knew (but some that I didn't, which was nice). So, here are the pics I was able to take:
From the side...
From behind...
The side again...
Close-up of an engine.
This one has lensflare!
I wanted to get a picture of the top, where it says "U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701" but it was in a large glass case, and kind of high up. D:
Now, I took pictures of the placards, but they're barely readable, and I'd rather just give you the version I typed out. If you want to see my crappy pictures, just ask.
PLACARD NUMERO UNO:
THE U.S.S. ENTERPRISE
Gift of Paramount Pictures
THE FACTUAL ENTERPRISE
This model of the starship Enterprise was used in the filming of the Star Trek TV show, which ran from 1966 to 1969. It is mostly made of poplar wood and vacu-formed plastic. Sheet metal tubes were used for the two engine housings or nacelles.
The Enterprise was based on the ideas of Star Trek producer Gene Roddenberry and made from a design by Walter M. Jeffries. A tiny balsa and card-board version was built first. The Richard C. Datin Jr. built a 1-meter (3-foot) wooden model, which was scaled up to create the final version.
Paramount Pictures donated the Enterprise model to the Smithsonian in 1974.
MODEL SPECIFICATIONS
Length, Overall: 3.3 m (11 ft)
Diameter, saucer: 152 cm (60 in)
Length, engine pods: 185 cm (72.25 in)
Length, secondary hull: 135 cm (53.5 in)
Height: 80 cm (32 in)
Weight: 90 kg (200 lb)
THE “ROLL-OUT” OF THE ENTERPRISE: The Enterprise model is shown here in December 1964, along with the men at the Production Model Shop in Burbank, California, who built it: (left to right) Richard C. Datin Jr., Mel Keys, and Vernon Sion (not pictured, Volmer Jensen). It took them more than six weeks and required about $600 worth of materials. Datin supervised the construction and did the detail work and subsequent alterations.
PLACARD NUMERO DOS:
THE FICTIONAL ENTERPRISE
Star Trek producer Gene Roddenberry sought to create a believable yet fictional spaceship of the 23rd century capable of speeds several times that of light. After poring over science fiction illustrations and consulting leading aerospace companies on futuristic concepts, he settled on the idea of a huge saucer-shaped vessel with 11 decks and a crew of 430.
To avoid expensive and complicated sets, Roddenberry decided not to ever have the Enterprise land. Instead, it went into orbit around a planet and “beamed” crew members down to the surface via an energy-matter transporter.
Configuration: The saucer-shaped Command section was joined by a slanting pylon to the cigar-shaped Engineering hull which contained the machinery for driving the ship. Two additional pylons supported the twin engine nacelles at the rear. The dome atop the saucer was the bridge, the nerve center of the vessel.
Propulsion and Weaponry: The ship was powered by a fictional “space warp drive,” later described in the show as a controlled matter/antimatter system and based upon contemporary theories of antimatter. The Enterprise was equipped with a laser-like defensive “phaser” and “photon” torpedoes.
Registration: Star Trek used naval terminology and crew ranks to provide a link with the present. The Enterprise was a cruiser of the starship class. Its registration number, NCC-1701, was inspired by art designer Walter Jeffries’ own 1935 Waco YOC airplace, which was registered as NC-17740.
FICTIONAL SPECIFICATIONS
Length: 288 m (947 ft)
Diameter, saucer: 127 m (417 ft)
Length, engine pods: 153 m (504 ft)
Diameter, engine pods: 18 m (60 ft)
Length, secondary hull: 103 m (340 ft)
Weight, gross: 172,368,000 kg (190,000 tons)
And that was pretty much the highlight of my day. Thanks for your patience!
tl;dr The Enterprise is awesome, and I want one.
EDIT: Sorry about accidental screening! I fixed it! Also, how do you make the title of the post a hyperlink to the post itself?
MOVING ON. I was at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. yesterday, and in the bowels of the museum (the toy store, to be exact XD) I located none other than THE U.S.S. ENTERPRISE!!!!!!
When I first reached the lower level, this display of course caught my eye:
And then, after gasping at the cost of Star Trek Monopoly and playing with the phasers, I saw it. At first, I just thought it was a replica, which was cool enough, BUT NO. It was the original Enterprise! There were two little placards next to the case, which kindly informed me of some things that I already knew (but some that I didn't, which was nice). So, here are the pics I was able to take:
From the side...
From behind...
The side again...
Close-up of an engine.
This one has lensflare!
I wanted to get a picture of the top, where it says "U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701" but it was in a large glass case, and kind of high up. D:
Now, I took pictures of the placards, but they're barely readable, and I'd rather just give you the version I typed out. If you want to see my crappy pictures, just ask.
PLACARD NUMERO UNO:
THE U.S.S. ENTERPRISE
Gift of Paramount Pictures
THE FACTUAL ENTERPRISE
This model of the starship Enterprise was used in the filming of the Star Trek TV show, which ran from 1966 to 1969. It is mostly made of poplar wood and vacu-formed plastic. Sheet metal tubes were used for the two engine housings or nacelles.
The Enterprise was based on the ideas of Star Trek producer Gene Roddenberry and made from a design by Walter M. Jeffries. A tiny balsa and card-board version was built first. The Richard C. Datin Jr. built a 1-meter (3-foot) wooden model, which was scaled up to create the final version.
Paramount Pictures donated the Enterprise model to the Smithsonian in 1974.
MODEL SPECIFICATIONS
Length, Overall: 3.3 m (11 ft)
Diameter, saucer: 152 cm (60 in)
Length, engine pods: 185 cm (72.25 in)
Length, secondary hull: 135 cm (53.5 in)
Height: 80 cm (32 in)
Weight: 90 kg (200 lb)
THE “ROLL-OUT” OF THE ENTERPRISE: The Enterprise model is shown here in December 1964, along with the men at the Production Model Shop in Burbank, California, who built it: (left to right) Richard C. Datin Jr., Mel Keys, and Vernon Sion (not pictured, Volmer Jensen). It took them more than six weeks and required about $600 worth of materials. Datin supervised the construction and did the detail work and subsequent alterations.
PLACARD NUMERO DOS:
THE FICTIONAL ENTERPRISE
Star Trek producer Gene Roddenberry sought to create a believable yet fictional spaceship of the 23rd century capable of speeds several times that of light. After poring over science fiction illustrations and consulting leading aerospace companies on futuristic concepts, he settled on the idea of a huge saucer-shaped vessel with 11 decks and a crew of 430.
To avoid expensive and complicated sets, Roddenberry decided not to ever have the Enterprise land. Instead, it went into orbit around a planet and “beamed” crew members down to the surface via an energy-matter transporter.
Configuration: The saucer-shaped Command section was joined by a slanting pylon to the cigar-shaped Engineering hull which contained the machinery for driving the ship. Two additional pylons supported the twin engine nacelles at the rear. The dome atop the saucer was the bridge, the nerve center of the vessel.
Propulsion and Weaponry: The ship was powered by a fictional “space warp drive,” later described in the show as a controlled matter/antimatter system and based upon contemporary theories of antimatter. The Enterprise was equipped with a laser-like defensive “phaser” and “photon” torpedoes.
Registration: Star Trek used naval terminology and crew ranks to provide a link with the present. The Enterprise was a cruiser of the starship class. Its registration number, NCC-1701, was inspired by art designer Walter Jeffries’ own 1935 Waco YOC airplace, which was registered as NC-17740.
FICTIONAL SPECIFICATIONS
Length: 288 m (947 ft)
Diameter, saucer: 127 m (417 ft)
Length, engine pods: 153 m (504 ft)
Diameter, engine pods: 18 m (60 ft)
Length, secondary hull: 103 m (340 ft)
Weight, gross: 172,368,000 kg (190,000 tons)
And that was pretty much the highlight of my day. Thanks for your patience!
tl;dr The Enterprise is awesome, and I want one.
EDIT: Sorry about accidental screening! I fixed it! Also, how do you make the title of the post a hyperlink to the post itself?