X-1 was a prototype starship used to test hyperwarp propulsion in the 2260s. X-1 consisted of a saucer-shaped primary hull three to five decks high and two cylindrical, tapered warp engines attached at either side of the saucer. It had a smooth hull that appeared to be no more than 80 meters wide. The ship was built around an experimental 'hyperwarp' drive which, unlike normal warp drive (which created a subspace field around the ship), instead phased the ship out of normal reality and pushed it entirely into the subspace realm. Here, the laws of physics changed entirely. Theoretically, once the ship exited subspace and phased back into normal reality, vast distances could be covered in realspace, far exceeding the capability of current warp drive at the time. The ship would have to utilize standard warp drive at first and once in excess of warp 8, the hyperwarp drive could be activated. The energy and momentum of the ship would then 'punch' the ship through the fabric of normal spacetime and into subspace.
Service history:
In 2267, The USS Icarus, (also simply known as 'X-1'), disappeared in the Gamma Canaris region when it accelerated to the threshold speed and activated its hyperwarp drive. It's last sensor transmission indicated that the ship was travelling at the equivalent of warp factor 13 before it vanished.
The X-1 was discovered amost 200 years later on a remote planet on the other side of the galaxy. Although its sensor logs were heavily damaged, they indicated that the ship had successfully transitioned into subspace but then had rematerialized into another universe, possibly multiple parallel universes and dimensions. Interestingly, it appears that a mysterious alien technology was also integrated into the ships systems at some point during its journey. How and when the ship transitioned back into 'our' universe and what became of the crew remain a mystery, especially since all reports pertaining to this ship are currently classified by Starfleet Intelligence.
Design and story notes:
This ship, simply called 'X-1' appeared in the 1977 Gold Key TOS Comic "A Warp in Space" In the comic the X-1 had several sister ships that disappeared during their hyperwarp test flight into a starless void inhabited by advanced Cloud Creatures. In this story, James T. Kirk, Spock and Leonard McCoy reunited with Zephram Cochrane and the merged entity of Nancy Hedford/The Companion, essentially making this issue a sequel of sorts to the TOS episode "Metamorphosis"
For my redesign of the ship, I took some inspiration from the TOS era Romulan Bird of Prey and the U.S.S. Frankin from "Star Trek: Beyond". Essentially, the ship is just a saucer and two nacelles, but I made the design slightly more detailed and intricate than the very simplistic comic version, adding saucer grid lines, impulse engines and a bridge section. I also gave this ship the ability to land, so the model includes a landing gear that folds out of the ventral hull. The warp nacelles keep their overall shape, but are curvier, sleeker and less cylindrical than the comic version. Normally, warp engines only have a spinning bussard collector at the front, but this engine, (being of an experimental nature I guess) actually has them at both ends. I intended for the cones on each end to rotate, a bit like the nosecone of a WWII fighter plane.
Lastly, I decided to actually give the ship a name. Since the ship aimed for a scientific breakthrough and ended up disappearing on its maiden flight, I thought 'Icarus' would be fitting, after the legend of the boy who flew too close to the sun in wings made of wax and fell into the sea.
Service history:
In 2267, The USS Icarus, (also simply known as 'X-1'), disappeared in the Gamma Canaris region when it accelerated to the threshold speed and activated its hyperwarp drive. It's last sensor transmission indicated that the ship was travelling at the equivalent of warp factor 13 before it vanished.
The X-1 was discovered amost 200 years later on a remote planet on the other side of the galaxy. Although its sensor logs were heavily damaged, they indicated that the ship had successfully transitioned into subspace but then had rematerialized into another universe, possibly multiple parallel universes and dimensions. Interestingly, it appears that a mysterious alien technology was also integrated into the ships systems at some point during its journey. How and when the ship transitioned back into 'our' universe and what became of the crew remain a mystery, especially since all reports pertaining to this ship are currently classified by Starfleet Intelligence.
Design and story notes:
This ship, simply called 'X-1' appeared in the 1977 Gold Key TOS Comic "A Warp in Space" In the comic the X-1 had several sister ships that disappeared during their hyperwarp test flight into a starless void inhabited by advanced Cloud Creatures. In this story, James T. Kirk, Spock and Leonard McCoy reunited with Zephram Cochrane and the merged entity of Nancy Hedford/The Companion, essentially making this issue a sequel of sorts to the TOS episode "Metamorphosis"
For my redesign of the ship, I took some inspiration from the TOS era Romulan Bird of Prey and the U.S.S. Frankin from "Star Trek: Beyond". Essentially, the ship is just a saucer and two nacelles, but I made the design slightly more detailed and intricate than the very simplistic comic version, adding saucer grid lines, impulse engines and a bridge section. I also gave this ship the ability to land, so the model includes a landing gear that folds out of the ventral hull. The warp nacelles keep their overall shape, but are curvier, sleeker and less cylindrical than the comic version. Normally, warp engines only have a spinning bussard collector at the front, but this engine, (being of an experimental nature I guess) actually has them at both ends. I intended for the cones on each end to rotate, a bit like the nosecone of a WWII fighter plane.
Lastly, I decided to actually give the ship a name. Since the ship aimed for a scientific breakthrough and ended up disappearing on its maiden flight, I thought 'Icarus' would be fitting, after the legend of the boy who flew too close to the sun in wings made of wax and fell into the sea.
