Following its five-year mission under the command of James T. Kirk, the U.S.S. Enterprise underwent over 18 months of refitting in drydock overseen by its captain, Willard Decker, and chief engineer, Commander Montgomery Scott. The refit was extensive and the result was called “an almost totally new Enterprise.” The most prominent changes were to the overall length, new advanced warp engines atop swept-back pylons, and a completely upgraded powered control system. Responding to the intrusion of the V’ger probe into Federation Space in 2271, Admiral James T. Kirk assumed command of the Enterprise to investigate the probe and stop its destruction of all life on planet Earth.

U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 Refit Bridge | Deck 1 (2271)

As with the rest of the ship, the bridge of the Enterprise was given a major upgrade during the ship’s 2270 - 2271 refit. While the general layout of the bridge remained the same, it now contained access to two turbolifts behind the captain’s chair, and each station was less uniform than their predecessors and tailored more to the station’s needs. The science station, now located directly behind the captain, featured two additional roll-out consoles for control of auxiliary scientific equipment. Unlike the other perimeter stations, the large weapons and defense station faced forward to give the user an unobstructed view of the main viewscreen. Stations for engineering, communications, security, environmental control, gravity control, and damage control filled out the remaining perimeter of the bridge. All bridge chairs now had armrests that doubled as restraints for when the ship encountered dangerous inertial forces.

Ship Model (Physical)

As portrayed in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Film, 1979)

The U.S.S. Enterprise miniature was 8’ long and constructed by Magicam. The design utilized ideas from Matt Jefferies’ Phase II drawings. Abel and Associates art director Richard Taylor and illustrator Andrew Probert worked on the final design.

Bridge Set (Physical)

As portrayed in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Film, 1979)

The existing Star Trek: Phase II bridge was reworked at the request of director Robert Wise to have a more functional feeling and more subtle color palette. Production designer Harold Michelson and his team integrated 8mm projectors to project moving data readouts at each station, resulting in a lower level for the ambient bridge lighting. Custom chairs were created using a “spine” cushion pattern with armrests that could swivel down to provide safety restraints for seated crew members when necessary.