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.

U.S.S. Enterprise Refit Rec Deck | Decks 6 & 7 (2271)

The large recreation room, or “Rec Deck”, of the refitted U.S.S. Enterprise was a large, two story facility on decks 6 and 7 of the ship’s primary hull, just starboard of the impulse engines.  The room was a place that crewmembers and visitors of the ship could go to relax, socialize, eat, or partake in a number of provided games and activities. It also doubled as a large meeting room when it was necessary to address the entire ship’s complement.  The forward end of the room featured an alcove displaying images of the lineage of Earth vessels named Enterprise beneath a large viewing screen which could project data from the ship’s computer. Large viewports adorned the aft end of the room on both levels which afforded an impressive view of the ship’s warp nacelles, secondary hull and the vastness of space beyond.

U.S.S. Enterprise Refit Sickbay | Deck 7 (2271)

The upgraded sickbay complex of the refitted U.S.S. Enterprise formed an aft half-ring near the center of deck 7. It consisted primarily of an intensive care ward, an examination room, and a combined doctor’s office and laboratory, among other medical facilities. In addition to treating injuries and illnesses a crew member or other person might sustain, the area was also used for analysis of new lifeforms a starship might encounter, as well as developing treatments for unknown diseases or illnesses. The examination room itself contained a micro-diagnostic table, which was capable of fully analyzing parts of an organism or humanoid body at the sub-cellular level.

U.S.S. Enterprise Refit Transporter Room | Deck 7 (2271)

Located on deck 7 in the primary hull of the refitted U.S.S. Enterprise, the transporter room was used to convey crew and equipment short distances for landing party missions, crew transfer, and resupply. The transporter employed quantum-resolution matter/energy conversion transportation technology.  A more powerful transporter system installed during the ship’s refit required that the transporter operator stand within an enclosed control pod, which had a floor-to-ceiling transparent aluminum panel through which the operator could view the transporter platform.

U.S.S. Enterprise Refit Main Engineering | Deck 15 (2271)

Located on deck 15 in the secondary hull of the U.S.S. Enterprise after its major refit in 2271, main engineering was where the ship’s warp and impulse engines were controlled. Located in the center of the room and extending many decks above and below, was the vertical warp intermix chamber, which provided operational power for the impulse drive system and furnished enough additional energy to power all other shipboard systems.  Extending aftward from the vertical shaft was the horizontal chamber which drew from the same pool of matter/antimater fuel and branched out to provide energy to the port and starboard warp nacelles. Two one-man lifts on opposite sides of the vertical chamber provided access to the engine inspection areas on the decks above and below. Due to the vast radioactive energies that emanated from the intermix chamber at this point in warp technology, the use of radsuits was required during times of increased engine activity.

U.S.S. Enterprise Refit Cargo Bay / Landing Bay | Decks 17-19 (2271)

The large combined cargo bay / shuttlecraft landing bay facility of the refitted U.S.S. Enterprise spanned decks 17, 18, and 19 of the ship’s secondary hull.  The landing bay on deck 17 was an area for the ship’s shuttlecraft and other small auxiliary craft to enter and exit the ship by way of the aft fantail doors. Alcoves on either side of the landing bay provided storage, recharging, and refueling for up to six standard workbees. Just forward of the landing bay area were two large elevators allowing shuttelcraft to travel down to the main hangar and repair facilities just underneath the landing bay on deck 18.  Two sets of large telescoping doors separated the shuttlecraft elevator area from the three-story cargo bay, which contained a number of alcoves and floor space in which cargo pod modules were stored.  While most of the cargo bay consisted of open space, flooring for additional cargo modules could be provided by a system of retractable flooring on deck 18.  The three levels of the cargo bay could be traversed by turboshaft, with lifeboat access provided on the walkway surrounding deck 18

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.

Rec Dec Set (Physical)

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

Although a recreation room was built for the unrealized Star Trek: Phase II series, it was deemed too small for the envisioned crew gathering scene before the Enterprise launch in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.  Production designer Harold Michelson completely redesigned the room to make it capable of accommodating the 300 extras required for the scene, resulting in a set that was 24 feet high, and the largest physical set built for the film.

Sickbay Set (Physical)

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

As with other Enterprise sets used in the production of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the new sickbay  set was a redress of the existing set originally intended for use for the unrealized production of Star Trek: Phase II.  The multi-roomed layout with an intensive care ward, examination room, doctor’s office, and medical laboratory was a direct but more streamlined evolution of the sickbay complex seen in Star Trek: The Original Series. The examination room scene in which the Ilia probe was being scanned was a joint effort between art director Harold Michelson, senior illustrator Mike Minor,  and graphic designer Lee Cole. An outlined image of “Ilia’s” body was rear-projected on a screen behind the examination table, and with special effects lighting techniques, the scan over the real body was matched precisely along this projection.

Transporter Room Set (Physical)

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

The U.S.S. Enterprise transporter room fascinated the film’s production designer, Harold Michelson.  He designed the revamped appearance of the room for the film, situating the transporter operators in a shielded control compartment in an attempt to convey the extraordinary energies involved in the transporter’s operation.  The floor of the transporter room consisted of several tileable vacuumformed plastic panels consisting of many complex conduits to adhere to Michelson’s desire to make the room feel as if it was inside a very large, complex machine.  These panels later went on to appear in several other Star Trek sets in the 80s and 90s.  This room was later redressed to serve as the transporter rooms for the U.S.S. Enterprise-D in Star Trek: The Next Generation and the U.S.S. Voyager in Star Trek: Voyager.

Main Engineering Set (Physical)

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

Like many other Enterprise sets used in the production of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the engine room was a redress of the existing set originally intended for use for the unrealized production of Star Trek: Phase II. The set utilized both a “forced perspective” design and scenic background paintings to make the set appear much larger than the available space on the soundstage would allow. This involved the use of a series of ceiling arches and core segments, each smaller than the first, to create the illusion of an engine core that stretched hundreds of feet into the distance. The warp intermix chamber lighting effects were devised by Sam Nicholson and Brian Longbotham, who implemented lighting gels of various colors, crumpled mylar, and lightbulbs rigged to a complex mechanical system that moved the light around, scanning over the various reflective surfaces to then project various light patterns onto the semi-transparent cylinders of the engine core prop.

Cargo Bay / Landing Bay Set (Physical with matte painting)

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

The massive cargo bay and shuttlecraft landing deck for the refit Enterprise was envisioned to be even larger than the hangar deck from The Original Series. At a theoretical 265 feet in overall length, the facility was far bigger than the largest soundstage at Paramount Pictures. To visualize this set on screen, illustrator Andrew Probert created a series of concept paintings that would form the basis for matte paintings by Matthew Yuricich, as well as small sets representing portions of the cargo bay. Those physical set fragments were largely assembled from parts of what was planned to be Admiral Nogura’s office, made during preproduction for the abandoned Star Trek: Phase II series. Yuricich’s matte paintings and the physical set elements were melded together to create the illusion of the cargo bay as seen in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Using behind-the-scenes knowledge, the Roddenberry Archive has created this set as a fully three-dimensional digital environment, complete with features and details that were never seen before on screen.