The Raised Area At The Back of The Saucer?

[Tranya_2K9]

OK, I know you guys out there are gonna ream me for this.

But there's a nagging question about a particular feature on the original TOS Enterprise that was on my mind at 4:30 AM today.

I thank my dog for waking me up to play and making it difficult for me to get back to bed. Thus creating the breeding ground for this question.

So here goes...........

On the original TOS Connie, what exactly is that raised feature at the rear upper surface of the Saucer ? It runs along the entire impulse area. And what does it do? Is it some fuel transfer tunnel or something?

At least in the refit, you have the whole impulse crystal assembly and that's explained. Not so for the original Connie.

What the devil is it? Sorry guys but I have to get this out of my head . I need to know.

 

[FalTorPan]

It's the cover for the bolts that connect the primary hull to the interconnecting dorsal.

 

[GodThingFormerly]

I suspect that it is just the cover plate for saucer's upper connection interface to which other modular components (hulls, engines, etc.) can be connected to create different mission-optimized space vehicle configurations.

TGT

 

[miraclefan]

It's there for a REASON? I thought it was like a reverse hood ornament!

 

[Mister_Atoz]

It seems to be part of the Impulse Engine assembly, maybe part of the fusion reactors?

 

[JuanBolio]

Might be a waste heat radiator, or perhaps a bracing spine for the impulse engines used when/if they apply full newtonian thrust.

 

[Vance]

The blueprints mark it as a linear particle accelerator... it's part of the fusion-system impulse drive.

 

[GodThingFormerly]

The blueprints mark it as a linear particle accelerator... it's part of the fusion-system impulse drive.

Whose blueprints, exactly?

TGT

 

[Vance]

The blueprints mark it as a linear particle accelerator... it's part of the fusion-system impulse drive.

Whose blueprints, exactly?

TGT

Mine! :P

Okay, I was looking at FASAs at the time. FJ doesn't actually mention what that is, which is pretty odd when you think about it.

 

[Starlock]

Maybe it is a cover for some exterior umbilicals? Just flip or slide it over to get to the ports.

It's on top of the saucer with a "central" location shipwise that is above a power and facilities distribution hub that links both hulls.

IIRC the Enterprise-B had a connection between it and the drydock in the top rear of the saucer too.

 

[Tranya_2K9]

Impulse assembly parts, radiators, umbilicals. I guess I'll take all of the above. Maybe it's some kind of multi purpose assembly for all those functions. I guess I could buy that. Thanks guys.

 

[Robert Simmons]

The raised section on the aft of the saucer above and forward of the impulse vents I have always taken as the manual walkway straddling the turboshaft tube running above center to the Main Engineering. If the Turbolift is out of service you can go down a ladder in an uper deck and tack the access tunnel down toward Engineering like we saw Scotty and his damage control team do on the Constellation in "The Doomsday Machine."

 

[Cary L. Brown]

It's the cover for the bolts that connect the primary hull to the interconnecting dorsal.

This is correct, from the standpoint of the 11' model.

As for what purpose the part "really" serves... this has never been established in any "official" way.

I, personally, treat it as being very much the same thing in the "real" ship as it is on the model - that is, a mechanical structure which is part of the (rather heavily-stressed) interconnection between the saucer and the dorsal.

Other people, however, have described it as a "linear acceleration chamber" for the impulse engine, or a "subspace field rectifier" (to help the warp field continue to be directed along the axis of the ship after it leaves the nacelle enclosures), I'm sure that someone, at some time, probably also tried to say it was something else.

The REAL answer is "it's part of the mechanical structure which joins the saucer body to the dorsal." And since that makes a lot of sense, generally, I think that's what it ought to be for the "in-universe" explanation as well.

But there is NO "official" answer.

 

[Green Shirt]

I forgot the source, but I once saw it referred to as the "strongback". Whatever that is.

 

[Starlock]

I forgot the source, but I once saw it referred to as the "strongback". Whatever that is.

That was first used by Franz Joseph in the (not A, B, C, D or E!) Enterprise blueprints to refer to the upper secondary hull. The "strongback" is basically a naval term for an extra reinforced hull and framework. In this case the "strongback" has to support both the dorsal/sail connection as well as the pylons/nacelles. On the Enterprise-E this same area has been referred to as the "whaleback".

 

[Forbin]

Aft torpedo launcher?

 

[RapidNadion]

I also remember the "strongback" term. I can remember the full term, "structural support strongback," and that it referred to the refit/A, but not from which publication the term came. Mr. Scott's?

Anyway, I like the structural theory for the "extended impulse deck" also. Makes sense to me.

 

[Cary L. Brown]

I also remember the "strongback" term. I can remember the full term, "structural support strongback," and that it referred to the refit/A, but not from which publication the term came. Mr. Scott's?

Anyway, I like the structural theory for the "extended impulse deck" also. Makes sense to me.

Gentlemen...

"Strongback" wasn't invented by ANY of these guys... it's a real, naval-construction term. Most modern naval vessels have something essentially the same.

In Trek terms, it was first coined by FJ, sure, but it's not like he INVENTED the term.

 

[RapidNadion]

^ Thanks. That was covered by Starlock before, though.

It's good to know the term has its origins in the real world. I still can't remember the name of the publication that first brought it to my attention in the land of Star Trek, though.

 

[Shaw]

Not that it matters for this discussion, but originally there was a fin like structure on that part of the primary hull... that feature existed on a number of versions of the plans including the final plans finished on November 7, 1964. It looks like Jefferies used an earlier version of the plans to make notes on (for Datin and his team) including instructions to drop the fin element and replace it with what was finally put on the models.