The inconsistent helm and navigation consoles of the Galileo Shuttlecraft in TOS

[feek61]

Even worse the course deviation device, lent from the Enterprise bridge, and nowhere installed in the Galileo!

Or even Spock reaching out for the center piece to click the fuel jettison button.

The Computer type 4A alpha/beta was not installed in the center piece, it was hanging on the side walls of the shuttlecraft.

Small correction, that was the Type 4A Gamma that was used to jettison the fuel, later to be installed on top of the test equipment in McCoy's lab that they had the single cell creature from "Operation: Annihilate!" in. The computer prop remained there for the rest of the series (with the "FUEL JETTISON" text removed).

 

[CoveTom]

I like how 23rd century Starfleet designers were apparently fond of designing potentially deadly controls as single switches or buttons out in the open with no protection or confirmation what-so-ever. In addition to the "FUEL JETTISON" switch, the ion pod ejector button on Kirk's chair also comes to mind.

 

[Shawnster]

Clearly from the pictures the spot on the right is the passenger seat complete with glove box.

 

[knightgrace]

Question: Duotronic computers or whatever was previously used?

 

[Koloth TOS]

What is the instrument on the right above Scotty in the aft compartment of the Galileo shuttlecraft? What purpose would it serve? (No, I don't mean film set decoration!). That "clock" also appeared in the shuttlecraft scene in The Menagery I.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Seismograph? Flight radar?

 

[drt]

What is the instrument on the right above Scotty in the aft compartment of the Galileo shuttlecraft? What purpose would it serve? (No, I don't mean film set decoration!). That "clock" also appeared in the shuttlecraft scene in The Menagery I.

We used to have those outside of our university cold rooms, the dial is paper and spins like a clock and the little arms have pens that are connected to thermometers, it allowed you to track the temperature inside the room over time. I'm sure similar devices are used for different applications to track how some environmental (or other) variable changes.

You can see on the left side the little door handle that opened the entire face and allowed you to swap out the paper dials.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

@Koloth TOS
Google AI returned this for "Name of the instrument that tracks indoor humidity on a circular paper graph":

"A circular chart recorder (specifically a hygrothermograph or thermo-hygrograph) is the instrument that tracks indoor humidity and temperature on a rotating circular paper graph. These devices use pens on mechanical arms to produce a, usually, 24-hour, 7-day, or 31-day visual record."

I've seen them on the walls of data centers where I worked.

 

[feek61]

What is the instrument on the right above Scotty in the aft compartment of the Galileo shuttlecraft? What purpose would it serve? (No, I don't mean film set decoration!). That "clock" also appeared in the shuttlecraft scene in The Menagery I.

Specifically, it is a chart recorder from the Brown company. Honeywell made one that looked nearly identical but the one in the shuttlecraft set was a Brown model

 

[scotpens]

Google AI returned this for "Name of the instrument that tracks indoor humidity on a circular paper graph":

"A circular chart recorder (specifically a hygrothermograph or thermo-hygrograph) is the instrument that tracks indoor humidity and temperature on a rotating circular paper graph. These devices use pens on mechanical arms to produce a, usually, 24-hour, 7-day, or 31-day visual record."

In my middle-school and high-school days, the school buses were equipped with similar devices that recorded engine RPMs over a 24-hour period -- presumably to make sure the bus drivers weren't having drag races in their off-duty time.

 

[Henoch]

The lab facility I worked in use the same circular chart recorder on a humidity controlled room. (We ducked into it on hot and sweaty days to get cool down and dry off. ) A maintenance technician checked on the room once a day and replaced the chart paper.

 

[Koloth TOS]

What is the rectangular oblong white plate (with silver frame) for on the right side of the door to the aft compartment?

 

[Henoch]

What is the rectangular oblong white plate (with silver frame) for on the right side of the door to the aft compartment?

Could be a flat panel sensor of some sort. Maybe to measure environmental conditions inside the shuttlecraft (to go with the instrumentation next to it), or to simply open and close the door.

Dialog to go with the scene photo above has Kirk reading the remaining oxygen:
KIRK: Two hours of oxygen left.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Dialog to go with the scene photo above has Kirk reading the remaining oxygen:
KIRK: Two hours of oxygen left.

The shuttlecraft in "The Menagerie" was oddly provisioned. It had warp drive to keep up with the Enterprise briefly, but it ran out of fuel so fast, it clearly wasn't meant to take interstellar journeys.

That much is okay, because you could use its warp drive for interplanetary trips within a solar system, going a much shorter distance than chasing a starship. The shuttle in "Metamorphosis" had to go a lot farther, but again that's okay because they don't all have to be alike.

What's odd is how fast Kirk and Mendez would run out of oxygen. Maybe the episode compresses time and Spock left them hanging out there for 10 days, but if not, their shuttlecraft was under-resourced to the point of being a suicide box. The old Apollo spacecraft could give you 10 days.

 

[Henoch]

What's odd is how fast Kirk and Mendez would run out of oxygen.

You're right; two hours of oxygen doesn't make sense considering that the shuttlecraft should also act as a life pod. Obviously, the two hour limit was used as a plot point to ratchet up the stress. Maybe the time line is for the chase itself was much longer. The travel time to Talos was 6 days and maybe the shuttlecraft caught up to the Enterprise on day ~5 after exhausting all of its fuels/resources. Before the final part of the court martial takes place, Kirk says in his log that he could not believe the last 24 hours which I assume was about the testimony from the start of the court martial. Then, the court martial finishes as the Enterprise enters orbit around Talos-4 which must be day 6. This supports the ~5 day theory. YMMV

 

[Mudd]

Go on and try to make sense of the envelope plot of The Menagerie.

I'll wait...

 

[CoveTom]

Go on and try to make sense of the envelope plot of The Menagerie.

I'll wait...

There are lots of Trek plots that it's best to not think too hard about.

I do have to wonder, though, how Spock can get the computers to mimic Starfleet voices and spout off phony orders, but no one can make Pike's chair actually just say "yes" or "no"...

 

[ZapBrannigan]

There are lots of Trek plots that it's best to not think too hard about.

I do have to wonder, though, how Spock can get the computers to mimic Starfleet voices and spout off phony orders, but no one can make Pike's chair actually just say "yes" or "no"...

Funny I never thought of that. But then again, on TOS only large computers could talk. The ship's computer, plus Landru, Beta Five, and the M-5 unit were not portable. And Spock obviously used the ship's big computer to make the tape of Kirk's voice. And even those cases were "way out there" versus actual computers in the 1960s. But now it's just sci-fi that came true.

The first I heard of speech synthesizers was circa 1981, when it was an accessory I didn't buy for my TI99/4A machine. Nobody thought a speech synthesizer would be a box smaller than a brick, that you could plug into the side of your desktop computer.

Also: Spock steals the Enterprise with an impersonation scam, using an AI fake of Kirk's voice. This is more sci-fi that came true. Hansen should have authenticated Kirk's identity by calling the captain's actual communicator. Check youtube on the subject of scams. Thousands of people are losing their savings to scammers who impersonate the cops, the FBI, the IRS, Amazon's fraud department, your bank, your brokerage, or your grandchild. And they use AI to disguise their foreign accents or even sound just like someone you know.

 

[Set Harth]

Amazon's fraud department

We came close to losing some money on this particular one. A family member was ready to run out the door and give these people whatever it is they wanted. They only stopped when another family member they were willing to listen to ( not me, that is ) was put on the phone with them.