From the photo, apparently, the saucer can separate from the bridge as well. The NCC-1701 was truly ahead of its time.
Proof that TOS Enterprise could undergo saucer separation/reconnection too!
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^
By the way, The Star Trek Guide for the original series says that the saucer section is "in fact a completely self-sustaining unit which can detach itself from the galaxy drive units and operate on atomic impulse power for short range solar system exploration."
So, what would have happened if a writer had decided to use this capability in a story..?
By the way, The Star Trek Guide for the original series says that the saucer section is "in fact a completely self-sustaining unit which can detach itself from the galaxy drive units and operate on atomic impulse power for short range solar system exploration."
So, what would have happened if a writer had decided to use this capability in a story..?
Bob Justman would have stood on Roddenberry's desk until the script was changed and that would have been the end of the notion.
The bridge separating was in the old fan-published USS Enterprise Officer's Manual from 1980:
I believe they used this idea in some TOS novel...The bridge separating was in the old fan-published USS Enterprise Officer's Manual from 1980:
Does anyone know if the whole concept of the 2 forward supports and single pylon at the rear are part of the original TOS concept of possibly having to land in an emergency? The times I've seen illustrations of a saucer separation has alway left the support pylon behind. Any thought?
Not that I've ever heard of. Those two triangular stripes were just hull decoration, I believe. The idea that they are landing legs is a fandom creation from years later.
The original writer's guide said this about the saucer:
This "saucer" is approximately twenty stories thick at its widest spot, containing also primary ship's departments, living accommodations, recreational facilities, laboratories, and is in fact a completely self-sustaining unit which can detach itself from the galaxy drive units and operate on atomic impulse power for short-range solar system exploration.
Fortunately there's nothing stop you rendering it any way you see fit, since there was absolutely NO onscreen information given about the process at all!
If the original concept was that the saucer detaches for solar system exploration but not provide landing capability, then how were they going to get down to the planet especially since they jettisoned the shuttlecraft with the galaxy drive units? Was the transporter already in play at this time? Then, why separate the drive section in the first place to do in-solar system exploration? This makes no sense. I guess this is why they dropped the idea (plus the cost to actually model it and film it). Besides, then we just get a bigger Jupiter 2 or C-57D. Emergency Lifeboat seems to be the best concept.
To anyone who hasn't read the whole document, there's a copy of the earliest series bible in PDF form here.
http://leethomson.myzen.co.uk/Star_Trek/1_Original_Series/Star_Trek_TOS_Writer's_Guide.pdf
The first section is actually the revised series bible, so skip to PDF page 34 to read the earlier version
On PDF page 48 (the second p.15) is the passage I quoted above
Based on how the series ended up, emergency lifeboat is indeed the best reason to separate the ship but at this stage it is presented as a far more routine procedure, more akin to the Enterprise-D but with the basic purpose of just doubling your exploration resources for a short time
http://leethomson.myzen.co.uk/Star_Trek/1_Original_Series/Star_Trek_TOS_Writer's_Guide.pdf
The first section is actually the revised series bible, so skip to PDF page 34 to read the earlier version
On PDF page 48 (the second p.15) is the passage I quoted above
As to whether the saucer was originally going to be a glorified shuttlecraft, it's hard to say. The highly influential Forbidden Planet movie had the saucer landing of course, so it's possible that a stock landing sequence was still in the mind of the writer when this was put together. However, the document does talk about the Transporter on pages 14-15 so clearly that had been developed as well by this stage.
Based on how the series ended up, emergency lifeboat is indeed the best reason to separate the ship but at this stage it is presented as a far more routine procedure, more akin to the Enterprise-D but with the basic purpose of just doubling your exploration resources for a short time
Mighty costly to film the separation and docking even once.
The older version (is it version 1 or 2?) contradicts itself: first, it says the "vessel" is twenty stories or more decks; and later in the Some Questions and Answers section it says the "saucer" is approximately twenty stories thick at its widest spot. Somebody is confused (including everyone in Trek). Thanks, GR. At least before Season Two, version 3 clarified that the saucer is eleven decks thick at the middle. Since the deck count seems to change in the middle of Season One, I wonder if version 2 came out about this time and changed the deck count in the saucer to eleven. Did someone point out to Gene that the ship is only so big, or did he get it confused with the inflatable ship balloon?
Thank you so much! I've heard of the earlier bible but never seen it until now.
Well, "twenty or more" is greater than twenty, isn't it?The older version (is it version 1 or 2?) contradicts itself: first, it says the "vessel" is twenty stories or more decks; and later in the Some Questions and Answers section it says the "saucer" is approximately twenty stories thick at its widest spot. Somebody is confused (including everyone in Trek). Thanks, GR. At least before Season Two, version 3 clarified that the saucer is eleven decks thick at the middle. Since the deck count seems to change in the middle of Season One, I wonder if version 2 came out about this time and changed the deck count in the saucer to eleven. Did someone point out to Gene that the ship is only so big, or did he get it confused with the inflatable ship balloon?
To be honest, I don't think that the writer considered the secondary hull much more than a storage hold or just a location for the star drive machinery. Gene was initially against an engine room or even engineers of any sort, believing that at this point in the future all that kind of thing would be fully automated (he would later revisit this notion in TNG, only for that decision to be reversed again).
All the talk in the bible is focused on the saucer section, since that is where our main characters live and work. The stardrive section is simply a means to get from one star system to another, to the extent that it would be detached when the actual business of exploring begins each week!
The twenty-deck saucer does explain the odd crew quarter "deck 12" references in Enemy Within and Mudd's Women, as well as the place where Van Gelder's running around in (deck 14) from Dagger Of The Mind
You might also find this interesting - it's the earliest series draft when Captain April of the USS Yorktown was still around!Thank you so much! I've heard of the earlier bible but never seen it until now.
http://leethomson.myzen.co.uk/Star_Trek/1_Original_Series/Star_Trek_Pitch.pdf
It features Gene's speculative top speed of "0.73 light years per hour" that was dropped from all subsequent series bibles.
Very little else on the ship though
I'm not usually that much interested in the science of Trek (sorry everyone) but if the saucer separated would it be basically stuck there with no warp drive or impulse drive - a sitting duck.
Don't the weapons need the engines? Where are the weapons anyway?
Don't the weapons need the engines? Where are the weapons anyway?
If I remember correctly they all are on the saucer section (except for the aft torpedoes).
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