The Constitution class ship in Iowa

[Brikar99]

I personally had found that whole bit a bit of a stretch, it just so happens that it's the Enterprise of all ships being constructed in Riverside, Iowa.

The power of coincidence is a long-established literary tradition, and there's nothing wrong with ST09 continuing it.

It had to be the Enterprise, man. If Kirk had rolled up and seen some dilithium tanker ship or something, he'd have said, "Eff this" and turned right the hell around.

 

[OneBuckFilms]

One thing to point out about construction time, is that two things have never been established:

- When the Prime Enterprise construction started.
- When the Alternate Reality Enterprise construction started.

This means that we have no idea how long it actually took.

 

[The Castellan]

Ehh...if the Enterprise was put togather by a bunch of guys using old fashioned welders (JJ sure love putting the 21st century into the 23rd, eh?), suprised it did not take longer.

To me, I never understood why you'd wanna build a ship on a planet's surface. You got weather, gravity and so on to deal with. And this is a ship using both nuclear and anti-matter in its propulsion....if something were to go wrong, you'll have a large hole where that town is. And I believe this cause you have to put the engines in there to get that thing off the ground.

I mean NX's and the other ships a century ago were built in space docks, with robots and worker bees. Plus those ships had no breweries for engineering. Makes me wonder....what ya think JJ's rendition of a warp core looks like, anyhow? Probably looks less advanced than the NX's, I bet.

 

[Classic Fan]

Who cares if this universes Connie fleet is built on the ground. The sole purpous of this, according to JJ, was to ground Star Trek to the non-nitpicky Trek fans. A sense of realism that they could relate to in an un-real future world. Makes sense, given also that nearly all of the on location shoots actually exist in one way or another, such as a majority of the ship yards exterior.



I dont have a problem that its built on the ground or in Iowa. The plaque says otherwise, but like in the other thread about the plaque it doesnt mean 'litterally' San Fransisco. The head offices etc are there so is the commissioning offices. Doesnt matter where its built, as long its built to be the Enterprise.

Besides, it was stated it was brand new, but it didnt state on screen if it was the first Enterprise Pike had commanded.

Highly unlikely, but it could be the second Enterprise that Pike has commanded, so in theory this could be an extensly refitted or brand new replacement Enterprise. Doesnt explain the lack -A on the registry, but hey, its good to philosophise.

 

[Jeri]

I personally had found that whole bit a bit of a stretch, it just so happens that it's the Enterprise of all ships being constructed in Riverside, Iowa.

The power of coincidence is a long-established literary tradition, and there's nothing wrong with ST09 continuing it.

Not a coincidence; the Enterprise was an ordinary ship until she was married to an extraordinary captain. Until then, she was just another ship built at Riverside.

And the Riverside shipyard was located there in honor of the home of Jim Kirk's father. There's onscreen evidence as well as in the novelization.

Kelvin salt shaker.

 

[Chaos Descending]

In ST2: TWOK a sign on the door to the Enterprise simulation room has the words "Enterprise class" written on it, but everyone just ignores that because the Enterprise was later established to be a Constitution.

Not Enterprise Class of Starship, Enterprise Class of STUDENTS.

Class of Students training on the Enterprise.

That's how I have always taken that.

 

[Chaos Descending]

Plus the six-month electricians strike of 2256 really through production behind schedule...

I like this one; it makes good sense to a Chicagoan.

Or anyone who worked on the Complex Refueling Overhaul of Nimitz in 1998-1999 at Newport News Shipbuilding.

 

[Sci]

Ehh...if the Enterprise was put togather by a bunch of guys using old fashioned welders (JJ sure love putting the 21st century into the 23rd, eh?), suprised it did not take longer.

Is there any particular reason to think that the ships from the Prime Timeline weren't also built in part from welders?

To me, I never understood why you'd wanna build a ship on a planet's surface. You got weather, gravity and so on to deal with.

Earth has a weather modification network, remember? As for gravity, those shuttles already are capable of generating anti-gravity fields to allow them to fly. No particular reason to think that gravity would be a major problem for starship construction.

And this is a ship using both nuclear and anti-matter in its propulsion....if something were to go wrong, you'll have a large hole where that town is. And I believe this cause you have to put the engines in there to get that thing off the ground.

Not necessarily. There's no particular reason to think that you have to install the anti-matter or impulse engines on the ground. Tugs with tractor beams could easily lift the ship into orbit prior to that.

Makes me wonder....what ya think JJ's rendition of a warp core looks like, anyhow?

We saw the Enterprise's warp core at the end of the film, remember? Apparently, Starfleet uses a series of smaller intermix chambers rather than one large one.

 

[The Castellan]

A sense of realism that they could relate to in an un-real future world.

Why is 'realism' so needed? I like science ficition for the opposite reason.

Not necessarily. There's no particular reason to think that you have to install the anti-matter or impulse engines on the ground. Tugs with tractor beams could easily lift the ship into orbit prior to that.

Why build the nacelles and impulse housings, just to rip 'em apart later to install the stuff?

Is there any particular reason to think that the ships from the Prime Timeline weren't also built in part from welders?

They seemed more advanced in the prime timelike, when it comes to ship building. All those worker bees and robots seem to be more useful and faster than a bunch of sweaty guys doing it by hand.

Also, to me, the TOS ships seems to have been poured, rather than built, if that makes any sence. There was also an old TOS book I read about the hulls of Starfleet vessels being 'spun', like a spider spinning a web or a very involved weaving project.....that would have been fascinating to see, if I do say so myself.

 

[Sci]

A sense of realism that they could relate to in an un-real future world.

Why is 'realism' so needed? I like science ficition for the opposite reason.

And that's completely valid. But Star Trek hadn't been making any attempts to ground its reality in ours for a long time, and Abrams and Company felt that ST09 should do something different. Nothing wrong with that.

ETA: Personally, I rather like the idea of the "higher ideals" of Star Trek -- diversity, equality, anti-imperialism, peace, and unity -- being expressed in the context of a much more, for lack of a better term, "earthy"/down-to-Earth, environment than we've usually seen Star Trek depict. It helps send a message that those higher ideals of Trek are not unattainable in our world today. End edit.

Not necessarily. There's no particular reason to think that you have to install the anti-matter or impulse engines on the ground. Tugs with tractor beams could easily lift the ship into orbit prior to that.

Why build the nacelles and impulse housings, just to rip 'em apart later to install the stuff?

What makes you think they'd have to be ripped apart? The nacelles aren't where the anti-matter goes, anyway; antimatter is stored in antimatter pods that are stored in the engineering section. In traditional Trek, the matter and anti-matter are forced to come into contact with one-another in an intermix chamber commonly called a "warp core;" ST09's finale revealed that Starfleet in the Nu Timeline uses a series of smaller intermix chambers rather than one, but the effect is the same. The energy produced by the M/AM reaction is then channelled into the nacelles, where they energize the warp coils that actually generate the subspace field that allows the ship to travel at warp.

The anti-matter storage pods can easily be added to the ship just by opening the shuttle bay and flying them in. No need to tear anything apart.

Is there any particular reason to think that the ships from the Prime Timeline weren't also built in part from welders?

They seemed more advanced in the prime timelike, when it comes to ship building. All those worker bees and robots seem to be more useful and faster than a bunch of sweaty guys doing it by hand.

I dunno about that. TMP had a lot of guys in space suits floating around outside the Enterprise. I see no particular reason to think that hands-on work wouldn't still be required in starship construction, even with the advances allowed for by worker bees and robotic construction equipment.

 

[Samurai8472]

I personally had found that whole bit a bit of a stretch.

The whole movie is built on coincidences.

Kirk saying he'd be captain in 3 years and boom "Three years later"

The Enterprise being constructed just as he's about to enter starfleet.

The Enterprise's first maiden voyage and completion coinciding with Kirk boarding it.

 

[Jeri]

I personally had found that whole bit a bit of a stretch.

The whole movie is built on coincidences.Kirk saying he'd be captain in 3 years and boom "Three years later" The Enterprise being constructed just as he's about to enter starfleet.The Enterprise's first maiden voyage and completion coinciding with Kirk boarding it.

Not coincidence. Kirk said he'd graduate in three years. That's within a student's perogative. To the rest of your post, please see mine here. It's only six above yours.

 

[Brikar99]

I personally had found that whole bit a bit of a stretch.

The whole movie is built on coincidences.

Kirk saying he'd be captain in 3 years and boom "Three years later"

The Enterprise being constructed just as he's about to enter starfleet.

The Enterprise's first maiden voyage and completion coinciding with Kirk boarding it.

Your post is full of fail.

Kirk never said he'd be captain in three years. And since when did vowing to do something and then subsequently doing it become a coincidence?

 

[Classic Fan]

A sense of realism that they could relate to in an un-real future world.

Why is 'realism' so needed? I like science ficition for the opposite reason.

And that's completely valid. But Star Trek hadn't been making any attempts to ground its reality in ours for a long time, and Abrams and Company felt that ST09 should do something different. Nothing wrong with that.

ETA: Personally, I rather like the idea of the "higher ideals" of Star Trek -- diversity, equality, anti-imperialism, peace, and unity -- being expressed in the context of a much more, for lack of a better term, "earthy"/down-to-Earth, environment than we've usually seen Star Trek depict. It helps send a message that those higher ideals of Trek are not unattainable in our world today. End edit.

Thanks for the defence. Thats what i meant by it.

I too like my sci fi to be, well, sci fi. But sometimes you have to go that extra mile to get it out there in the open. Im all for 'Clean lines and beige walls with lights that blink out of sequence, and a mchaing that just makes lights go back and forth'.

I liked it to be honest, not so much engineerng, but the location shoots such as the ship yards, Scottys exile warehouse etc etc.

And no, realism isnt needed but its nice to see it once in a while. They couldve built an entire shipyard miniature/digital matte, but they chose to use a functioning place that had the look of a big industrial place that you could believe a starship would be built there.

 

[Timo]

Not a coincidence; the Enterprise was an ordinary ship until she was married to an extraordinary captain.

Not true in this case.

The TOS ship might have been a mundie for all we know, only made famous after Kirk did a sufficient number of heroic stunts with her. But the STXI ship was born to the purple. Even before her maiden voyage, Uhura thinks she's the only ship in Starfleet good enough for her. She's destined to be something unusual, built to be something unusual. (The ship, I mean.)

Whether she ever becomes anything like that remains to be seen. So far, she has one save-the-Earth point and one kill-baddie-in-invincible-warship point secured. Plus she's the only known white ship in an otherwise grey fleet. That must count for something.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Jeyl]

Well, I look at the Enterprise built on Earth for what it is. It was used so Kirk could have something to look at so JJ can have his Star Wars moment. And from my point of view, I don't like it. Everything about this movie is so down to earth that it's a miracle that the characters still have an interest to even go out into space.

 

[Jeri]

Star Trek is down to earth; it's our story, the story of earthlings in space in a conceivable time frame.

The very last thing Star Wars is is down to earth or imaginable in our time frame.

 

[Broccoli]

Not a coincidence; the Enterprise was an ordinary ship until she was married to an extraordinary captain.

Not true in this case.

The TOS ship might have been a mundie for all we know, only made famous after Kirk did a sufficient number of heroic stunts with her. But the STXI ship was born to the purple. Even before her maiden voyage, Uhura thinks she's the only ship in Starfleet good enough for her. She's destined to be something unusual, built to be something unusual. (The ship, I mean.)

That's because it was new. Top of the line. Who wouldn't want to be posted on the newest, presumably most advanced ship out there? I wouldn't be surprised when the Prime-Enterprise was built, people were clamoring to get on it because it was new and advanced.

 

[Sci]

Well, I look at the Enterprise built on Earth for what it is. It was used so Kirk could have something to look at so JJ can have his Star Wars moment. And from my point of view, I don't like it. Everything about this movie is so down to earth that it's a miracle that the characters still have an interest to even go out into space.

I know, relatable characterization from people who aren't two-dimensional cardboard cutouts is just awful, isn't it?

 

[Gojira]

Well, I look at the Enterprise built on Earth for what it is. It was used so Kirk could have something to look at so JJ can have his Star Wars moment. And from my point of view, I don't like it. Everything about this movie is so down to earth that it's a miracle that the characters still have an interest to even go out into space.

I think Kirk looking at the Enterprise was supposed to be a dramatic moment and yeah, it does remind me of Luke's moment looking at the two suns of Tatooine, but it works real well and I love it.

Having the Enterprise built on earth finally gives me a sense of scale and how big the ship really is.

I love that scene.