Why is it easier to work in space?
No gravity: makes lifting things (either by hand or with machinery) easier not to mention a lot more freedom of movement and less stresses on supporting the structure.
Look at it this way. On the ground something has to support the ship. It's not exactly built to sit on the ground. Even if you accept that the nacelles are made of a really dense material that balances out the weight of the saucer pushing the center of gravity toward the middle of the structure it's still got a round base. Meaning the thing has to be supported.
Supported by a structure.
Supported by a structure that has to withstand the weights and forces we're dealing with here.
The parts of the ship also have to be strong enough to support the various components against gravity and even if we accept a "SIF" in place THAT has to be perfect because if it would fail the ship would collapse and crush itself under its own weight.
In space you don't need to battle gravity or the weight of objects and you're not restricted by the limiting concept of "up" and "down."
Again, I can get behind building the various components on the ground, sure, but the whole ship should be assembled in space.
It looks like they DO HAVE a Hell of a lot of Massive Structural Supports holding Her up.
I SEE AT LEAST SEVEN......
http://www.joseralat.com/uploads/screen-capture-32.jpg
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