How big was the Enterprise?

[Tallguy]

It's much more than you'd need

For what? For flying from L.A. to Paris? Yes. Earth to Vulcan? Probably.

For encountering any conceivable unknown for decades at a time? How much space do you need for that?

or run a bunch of holodecks

Nobody needs that.

 

[Henoch]

Kirk got off the bridge somehow in "Wink of an Eye." And Khan said he "jammed up [their] exit routes." Note the plural.

Firstly, the Scalosians opened all the doors of the Enterprise, including the turbolift doors, so that they could move freely throughout the ship without waiting for the relatively slow doors and turbolifts to activate. I followed the bridge scene in Wink..., and after Kirk in accelerated, he leaves off the bridge by going into the turbolift and moves toward its port side followed by a slight clunk noise. To me, this suggests a trapdoor in the floor of the turbolift, and if you combine the rocket boot scene in the turbolift shaft from STV:TFF, there should be ladder access up/down the turbolift shaft even in the TOS era. I also believe there is a trapdoor in the ceiling of the turbolift in all eras (as scene in TNG), too. When Khan locks all the exits off the bridge, he not only locked the turbolift door, but just in case they somehow force open that door to get to trapdoor, he also locked the trapdoor(s), too.

I'm not discounting a maintenance access behind the bridge consoles (probably accessed by an "environmental engineering personnel only" ladder from below ), but this is never suggested on screen, rather we see all maintenance and repair of bridge consoles from the front as seen in WNMHGB, BOT and WMFA.

YMMV

 

[CaptChris42]

Re: TOS - Since we know that none of this stuff actually lines up, why don't we go with how big they SAID it was? Other than while they were making the pilot they were pretty consistent over three seasons to say it's about 1000 feet long.

Then they made TMP. And they said it was 1000' long.

When they wanted to show you how big the ship was? They put it next to an aircraft carrier. And to show you how MUCH bigger the Galaxy was? As you can see they put it over the studio. They KNEW the ballpark sizes that they were going for.

What does a 1500 foot Enterprise look like next to a modern aircraft carrier? (My understanding is that the Gerald Ford isn't much lengthier than the nuclear carrier Enterprise.) It's about a time and half as long, right?

Modern US super carriers average 1100 feet long, and have since the 1970s to my knowledge. Some were around 1080 or so. The Gerald Ford currently tops out at 1106 ft, so not much change.

Besides length, overall mass might show up in charts for an example of what they were going for.
At some point the 947 foot length also made it's way into an onscreen chart, percolating from possible backstage discussion.

 

[knightgrace]

Keep in mind that a Galaxy class was supposed to be a colony. Furthermore warp drive was at plateau for technology - meaning that few if any changes to the nature of warp hadn't occurred.

Which means that longer and longer missions were required just to get to new space. New space may be defined as space 'Where No Man Has Gone Before '. ;^DDD

For some strange reason. At the point in time of TNG it probably took years at high warp just to get out "there". So, children would be required.
This means that the Ambassador class probably prototyped the whole idea. Meaning that the Probert Enterprise-C, is the correct version.