Well its time to return home for some upgrades and overhauls. While we are here, lets fill you all in on Earth Spacedock, or Starbase 1. Patreon link: www.patreon.co...
DS9 was a rinky-dink outpost compared to this. It may be interesting as a Babylon 5-esque show but the inherent safety of such an installation would prevent dramatic tension.
When the Trek films come up, the general attitude towards Star Trek III is that it's average. To that, I always say "but Spacedock." Spacedock is one of the coolest set pieces in all sci-fi.
Yup.....Star Trek the motionless picture is high budget nonsense, but holy crap does the refit Enterprise look amazing. It's personally my favorite fictional craft ever.
@@SatoshiMatrix1 TMP would have made a great 45-minute TV episode. It was way too thin a story to stretch out over two and a half hours. The ship redeems it, though.
+76TomD This space Station essentially fullfills the role of a fort from the 1800's. Sure, you can just outmaneuver it and attack from another angle, but as long as this fortress is intact it can always Start a counter attack and stab your forces from behind in a crucial Moment. Militarily speaking it thus does Not make sense to attack earth directly. You should also remember that the Spacestation can practically fullfill government duties if earth should be conquered, and thus leave the federation with a still functional government. to sum it up: Not attacking this space Station before attacking the planet is just dumb.
I'd say the real problem is you end up putting whoever is in charge there full power to stage a military coup with the ability to wipe out all opposition in orbit and ground symultaniously.
You must be forgetting the fleet's worth of starships that are docked here! lol laughable! Not to mention the fact that a fleet from Utopia Planitia could be there in less time than it takes for police to show up to a shooting or stabbing in your local city!
I gotta say that the scenes that Samuel did that show the Spacedock from Earth are FANTASTIC!!! I love those!! THANKS SAMUEL!!!!!!! I wasn't expecting those when we filmed but Samuel surprised me! And it looks incredible!!
now if you look at the j.j starbase 1 and then look at the normal starbase 1 and look from the bottom upwards and see the second out-croping from the top. the one in the middle. look from under esd and look up, do you see it looks a litlle bit like it huh?
Trekyards superb work, and yes a great design. A few points: 1. Locking on. It seems that upon approach a starship is entirely under tractor beam control. You could imagine that any ship vectoring several hundred thousand tonnes of thrust inside an enclosed space would either disturb internal Eddie moving around anything loose or not fixed down, or could even move the dock from orbit. Same applies when leaving, it would have to be done carefully so that your ship exits the dock as opposed to remaining stationary and pushing the dock away. 2. Weapons. I'm sure it would have to have or be covered by phaser emitters for the occasional asteroid or other random space debris. As for photon torpedos, could earth sustain atmospheric detonations of the magnitude of a torpedo? Ionosphere damage, radiation pollution, weather disturbance and more at such close proximity could render earth poisoned? 3. I've seen those internals too, and that arboretum is VAST and with only one narrow connector seems a vulnerable spot? There would be no logical reason to have a ceiling at 50 or more decks high, unless they were growing food in there or using the plants for oxygen replenishment? Within which it might even create it's own biosphere and clouds in such heights? Great review guys.
good point by Captain Foley there I mean I dont think even Cryptic Studios themselves ever considered the idea of making ESD ever viewable over the skies of starfleet academy when they were making Star Trek online in its early years though if they did and implemented the idea of ESD being seen over the skies of starfleet academy it would be one hell of an awsome thing.
I had never really thought much about, or considered details about the Earth Spacedock space station. It is a huge space station, quite well armed, with so much diversity and all throughout its design. I couldn't imagine how vast it would be to construct. Mind-blowing in actual size. Great episode.
Functions as a military station ... without any weapons installed ... packed full of nonmilitary personnel. Functions as a commercial station and trade hub ... where "economics are different" and (sometimes) "money no longer exists".
It says in Star Trek: Star Ship Spotter: "Initially designed for the smaller starships of the twenty-third century, two of the station's spacedoors were enlarged in the mid-twenty-fourth century to accommodate the Galaxy-class starships."
Earth Spacedock looks drop dead gorgeous in the TNG Blu-ray release. I always saw this massive station as the pinnacle of Federation design. I think it really showed how advanced the Federation was. And that they built several of these???
How is it possible I only found this show at this episode! So much nerd love for this content! subscribed and will be checking out the entire back catalogue
It should be noted in 11001001, that was actually Starbase 74, not Earth Space dock, so it could be just a scaled up version of Space dock. Also, if Starbase 74 is a scaled up version, then it is possible the Spacedock seen in TNG is actually Spacedock ver 2.0. This accounts for the size difference.
+nova1972x Yeah you can see them ordering bigger bases either when the Ambassador or Galaxy were being developed. They might think - wow Excellsior barely fits in our starbase if that becomes the new ship of the line default then they won't fit if to many of them show up at once. Star Trek sure likes to mess with your head when it comes to scale - it's a bit like Transformers in that respect too.
@@90lancaster I don't know if they'd really have to make it bigger. If already 3 km in diameter and 5km tall. Internal space isn't a problem. They'd just have to widen the doors and maybe move things around in the interior.
@@greatsayain I think Navigating a Galaxy Class model that was to scale with the Refit or Excelsior model inside the physical set they built for the interior would make me think it would risk banging into walls, besides its' semi-canon to make the same thing only bigger in The Federation technologies. But yes I suppose they could keep the same external size and simply apply more space to the docking bays on the interior, and there is some additional room. it's just I was thinking that the Galaxy Class is VERY wide and the Excelsior is kinda long, so perhaps automated docking controls only might stop someone plowing their ship into an observation deck. Not to mention how much harder it is to get a ship out quickly the bigger it is in regard to the bay - it would be the starship equivalent of docking cruise ships or oil tankers. or bring a ship into the dry dock - something you'd have to do VERY carefully indeed. Where as something like a Saber Class or Miranda Class could get in an out easily.
@@90lancaster yeah agreed. Galaxy class would have to maneuver slowly and carefully. Galaxy class is also stupid wide. Separate the saucer and you've got a much smaller more manageable ship. Maybe that's why they went with long and narrow for the sovereign class.
While the battle station is not yet armed it does have a strong defense mechanism. it is protected by a energy shield projected from the nearby moon of Luna. this shield most be destroyed for an attack to be possible.
Horrox101 Isn't that a little beside the point? Chris was saying that after an attack so close to Earth, the heart of the UFP, that maybe they would up their defenses a bit.
Really all the federation planets should have an orbital defence grid (Similar to the Chintoka system on Ds9) Any single hostile ship should be obliterated easily.
It would have made sense to arm this station given that the borg managed to enter the sol system not once but twice And during the dominion war The Breen were able to reach earth and bombard Starfleet HQ Could you imagine if they properly armed Spacedock? Utilizing its large size to deck it out in phaser arrays and torpedo launchers? We saw how beast DS9 Was after she was properly armed. The station was able to face off against a Klingon fleet and later a Dominion fleet and hold its own for a time Earth space dock fully armed would be a very formidable opponent that would make even a Klingon go. Honor is not worth attackin that thing nope
My belief is always that it's a newer spacedock in TNG than in TOS. With larger, more advanced starships decades if not hundreds of years ahead of previous classes it makes sense to have a newer facility to match. This newer spacedock can also be inferred as larger since the comparison shots you have shown demonstrates proportionate scaled overall lines and doors with the Enterprise-D. In the end it's more than likely a production gaff due to carelessness or expediency to get the show edited together. Still, it's nice to think Starfleet enlarged a tried and true spacedock design the newer technologies to match the "next generation" of starships. Anyway, fantastic show and I love the intro dialog (with special thanks to Drexler for the additional voice over).
another good episode very enlightening. I have always been a fan of the space doc from the moment I saw it in Star Trek 3. which still gives me goosebumps to this day as you watch the damaged Enterprise a tiny speck enter the space doc which shows it's true scale compared with K7 & regular one.
Great episode and GREAT renders Samuel! Fantastic and info packed. I agree on the weapons. Perhaps a companion episode detailing the capabilities of the entire planetary defense grid (including Spacedock)? An armed Starbase would sure have been helpful during First Contact. Great job guys, you once again knocked it out of the park.
The only flaw I can see with this station is that there is a vent that if you were to shoot a missile down it, theoretically, the whole thing could blow up!
You mention being able to see the Earth Space Dock from the earths surface, you're right, that is something I would love to see. I would also enjoy seeing a character from the various TV shows looking up at the station before going to a ground side Transporter facility and beaming aboard to join their ship.
Gentleman, This was well worth the wait, and what incredible work Sam. -As a designer I know it doesn't make sense that the station was scaled up, however, I find that the most logical idea. It's unlikely they originally built the station for the Galaxy Class and unlikely they modified the station just for the Galaxy Class.. Since we know we're talking bout to different Orbital Cities, Earth Space Dock and Starbase 74 Space Dock I have to call it an FX gaffe and the station is more than twice is 5km long or Galaxy is actually position outside the station as Probert Design Sketched the idea. -This station most have been a construction or 10-20 years. -It's highly unlikely the Orbital City is weaponless. Such a large structure would most likely be place in a geosynchronous orbit over Star Fleet Command San Fransisco. This is a very high orbit and would allow them to stay in constant contact without relay satellites. It also is very likely to be the Solar Systems defensive command Center for all weapon perimeters including Mars
Your STO screenshots and videos are really nice looking, i imagine the TOS faction will get a few episodes on their ships ;) One thing I'd suggest would be pressing Alt-F12 to remove the HUD when filming in STO.
star trek should have shown more things like this. its always awkward when the space around earth is so empty while the federation has basically unlimited resources...
I see space dock as a symbol of peace however I think it should get armament upgrades like on DS9, multiple phaser and torps with retractable turrets . fixed mounts and bubble turrets are slow to track.
Love the ILM nc711s at 18:45 concept!. Could see this as a new Starbase defense station!. Larger than Earth Space dock riddled with hundreds of phaser arrays, torpedo turrets, and A few hundred heavy fighters to help defend federation worlds after the dominion war!. In response to the lack of defense for member worlds !. Diana Troys home world fell pretty easy to the dominion!. Could see a uproar from fed worlds about the lack of protection that Star Fleet offered to protect them and they demand a defense station for every world!.
They day the truely wished they had armed Space Dock was the day the Breen attacked the Sol System/Earth, or the time the Borg arrived at Earth, either of them. They had to have armed it some time during the 24th century.
Captain Foley: All moorings clear. Let's get under way. Full impulse power. Commander Cockings: Captain, may I remind you that regulations specifically say thrusters only while in spacedock. Captain Foley: Samuel, fine. We're still going to do one quarter impulse speed. Engage. Oh and security, take Commander Cockings to the brig and see that he's properly flogged. One hundred lashes.
Who says it's the Mirror universe? Ever notice that in the TOS episodes, The Gamesters of Triskelion, Patterns of Force and Plato's Stepchildren they prominently feature the use of whips. Also in the TNG episode, The Last Outpost. Somebody in Star Trek production was clearly into whips. Since they disappeared after season 1 of TNG, I'm of the opinion it was Roddenberry. Since it corresponds roughly with his departure from production of the show.
Great piece guys. 2 little bits of feedback on the STO-era ESD stuff. First, the CO of ESD is Captain Akira Sulu in that timeframe, not Admiral Quinn, who is the Fleet Admiral in charge of sectors surrounding Sol. Second, next time you guys need screenshots in STO, use Alt+F12 to disable the UI to get clean screenshots.
I always liked the floor of drydock, all the linear greebles. I know it's been labled as emergency doors, but I would like to think it's all one massive swiss army knife with fuel booms, mooring lines, even collapsable scaffolding.
After discussing the matter with a friend, the Breen energy dampening weapon would have been able to knock out the impulse engines needed to keep Space Dock in orbit. So after a couple dozen hits, shouldn't have Space Dock gone swimming in the Pacific Ocean after a firery flight through the atmosphere. Love to see that animated.
That is not Earth Space Dock in TNG. That is Starbase 74. Starbase 74 is the largest of all Starfleet structures. Its over two times larger than Starbase 1 aka Earth Space Dock. Starbase 74 is in orbit of Tarsas III. It was featured in episode "11001001"where the Binars hijacked the Enterprise D and it was mentioned in "Conspiracy" when it was stated that the USS Minnow was making a cargo delivery to the station. It is true they reused the same footage and superimposed the D over the Connie, however it is a different and much larger station. In terms of scale, Starbase 74 is to Starbase 1 what the Enterprise D is to the refit. img09.deviantart.net/7f07/i/2016/050/2/5/spacedock_vs_starbase_74_by_sumbuddyx-d9sb63p.png Here is a scale image.
this is such a classic trek design, anytime I think of a space station this is what I imagine. I'm torn on the weapons things myself. It makes sense like you guys said that perhaps they're afraid of the tech falling into wrong hands and then earth would take an orbital bombarding like no other. I mean all it would take is a rogue team of Binars, right? ;-) So if there is limited weapons it better have the galaxies best and most power shielding and armament. I did also wonder like someone else said why earths orbit always seemed so empty. I mean even in our currant time earths orbit is cluttered with all kinds of old satellites and space junk.
One of the questions that I have is why on planets of space faring races that there is not more space traffic. It seams that every time that Enterprise or other ship comes to a planet they are the only ship in orbit.
I love this space station. It's like Star Treks Death Star except no super weapon. But it's like a small moon. I have no doubt that standing on earth at night you could probably see it and make out its shape.
Where was the Spacedock when the Borg attacked the Earth twice? In the second round (First Contact) the Borg cube was destroyed by Starfleet but in Best of Both Worlds the Cube was at Earth preparing to assimilate it. Where was the Spacedock at that time? According to my research the Spacedock is 8,000 meters high and 4,000 meters width, on average. It contained at least 20 torpedo launchers and 200 !!! phaserbanks, and maybe even more torpedo launchers could be fitted on the Spacedock, since that thing is HUGE. That thing would have blown that Borg Cube to Kingdom Come. So where was it in "Best of Both Worlds"?
On the other side of the planet. The Borg knew about Spacedock, and decided to approach Earth from the side it's NOT on :) The bigger question is, where was it when the Breen attacked Starfleet Command & San Francisco?
Shoulda ended the episode with a Chekov-style "WARP SPEED NOW!!!" =] Spacedock is my pick for the second most beautiful Starfleet design in all of Trek, after the Constitution Refit. Absolutely gorgeous, and one of the few times that Star Trek as a franchise has been able to capture the sense of spatial depth and vastness in its structures the way Star Wars did. (I loved the Rec Deck set and stardrive hull matte painting in TMP; I would have loved to see some of the large interior spaces on 1701-D.)
I would explain the "size problem" with a well, quite easy answer: The star base we seen in TNG was NOT the Earth space dock. But a deep space station. Perhabs they simply widened the doors on this space station over the years. Yes, you don't see it really good, and of course, it looks the same, as they used the same model, but you can imagine, that perhabs the doors are just wider and we don't see it good enough from the camera angle ;)
If its in a geostationary orbit and oriented towards the surface, you're only going to see it from underneath. Also one would assume it's in an equatorial orbit.
Great video once again guys. Long overdue on Starbase 1. I wonder if you could do a special on this with the creators. It'd be interesting to hear what their brief was. :-)
Yes do keep the Space Cat from getting out because she'll just get knocked up by some feral Space Tomcat then come back to the Station to have her Space Kittens. They in turn will create havoc in the Station once they're old enough to start slapping around the various Starships that are docked there.
I think the stout tough gray look of the thing suggests that it's a defensive installation, so I'm inclined to think it's armed. Though one could imagine that by the time a Cardassian ship arrived at Earth, it'd have to get through so many layers of defenses, this one station being unarmed is not an issue. After all, one modified torpedo getting past it to the surface could sink a continent. Maybe planets are too delicate to be theaters of war. Or, maybe beyond rings of fleets and patrol ships, stations and satellites, maybe there are also land-based phaser, torpedo, countermeasure, and shield installations as a final line of defense against extraterrestrial attack -- if only to defend against kamikaze warp attacks, if that's a thing.
Spacedock is big, but not so big that you could easily see it from the ground with any real clarity. It would be like seeing a hot air balloon on the horizon from a few miles away. You could see the general shape and know what it is, but you could just as easily not notice it as well
In ST IV the voyage home the space dock was completely disabled and powered down , including all the starships inside !!! even the tugs. this was due to the Alien dampening device the whale probe used.
I'd love to have at least seen that huge arboretum in the central pillar on film. Think about it, that area's bigger than even some of Starfleet's biggest starships. That's almost national park, or at least Central Park or Golden Gate park size. I bet it's amazing looking.
Just came across this great video (three years late). Your complaint about size problems with the Spacedock doors and the Enterprise of Star Trek III and the Enterprise of The Next Generation can, I think, be explained easily. The Star Trek III shots take place above Earth, and in that movie you see the Earth Spacedock. If you listen to the first minute of the ST:TNG episode 11001001 (where the shots of the Galaxy Class Enterprise originate), Picard says in his captain's log voice over that "the Enterprise has been ordered to Starbase 74 in orbit around Tarsis III". Therefore, the scenes of the Galaxy Class Enterprise do NOT take place in same Spacedock of the Star Trek III movie. I think you could make the argument that, in the Star Trek universe, the blueprints for Spacedock were so successful that they were copied (but enlarged) when they built Starbase 74. There is NO size problem because the Spacedock from ST III and Starbase 74 are NOT to same. Spacedock is smaller than Starbase 74. Hope this helps, and keep up the good work.
When it comes to the door size. I always just used my imagination and assumed they were enlarged for newer starships like the Galaxy Class Starships. I can only imagine that the space docks computers have also all been replaced by now with 24th century tech even if the shell of the station has remained mostly unchanged.
In ST: Starfleet Command, running to a Starbase for help usually ended with your pursuer eating Starbase super phasers. Would love to have seen this in a canon source.
Best starbase design by far. you have more than enough points for firepower plus the docking bays, not to mention the number fighters to defend the station (unless the borg attack in that case we all know how that ends up). Although if i had the say i would have said to give the middle section of the starbase a definitive phaser strip just to give a more meaner yet defensive posture.
I can see why they armed them so heavily. It's a huge investment to build one and they carry important starships inside so it'd be a massive setback to lose one. I'd like to see someone try on screen though. I'd like to see the attacked get wrecked.
It was a different and larger space dock in Picard's time. You can see old space docks and ships in an episode of Next Generation while they go to a space scrap yard....
G.V.Serac Spacedock is definitely cooler, Yorktown is a bit too... Out there for Trek (in my lowly opinion, of course!) I really want to see the two size compared together, though!
Kelvin Yorktown is visually magnificent. But to me it seems like a bad fit for established Trek. It just looks wrong. The general sense of architecture, scale, style are too different from everything else - it would fit better in a different sci-fi setting.
You guys said "No weapons ", last time I stayed there the , December last year, we noticed a lot of black badges around. After further investigation I was told that they were part of the new weapons installation security team, so with all respect to the Captain and Commander, who do I believe?
Has anyone noted that the spacedock that the Enterprise-D visited was Starbase 74, in orbit around Tarsus III -- obviously built well after SB 1 given its number. Therefore it makes sense that the door specs would have been augmented to accommodate larger vessels. Did Enterprise-D ever visit SB 1 in TNG ?
I already was miffed that Eaglemoss were dragging their heels about making a model of this - now you have made me want all those cool interiors from the concept art and Star trek Online to be in the new TV show too (well a little bit anyway). Especially since you don't actually see a lot of Earth in most Star Trek aside from the Movies - it would be a nice back stop and a mega impressive and era appropriate local too - as it's sure to be there for a very long time. Though I do wonder what happened to it in A-Canon when the Breen showed up on Earth's Doorstep it must have been gone by then. unless the Borg blew it up it does sort of well vanish though in the 24th century (unless that was it in Voyager). ? But seriously where did it go ? I suppose I should be thankful they didn't have more money to make the Battle of Sector Zero-Zero-01 bigger otherwise they might have blown it up in First Contact or had a Borg Cube suicide run on it. As for TV wise - I'd say it seems well suited to a very expensive soap opera like form. But it's hard to think that such a show wouldn't retreat territory 5 or DS9 had done already. But as a touch stone location for a multi-era TV show format it's ideal to feature to some degree. Deflectors of significant power can be seen as a weapon of sorts - if they are tunable enough they can be enough to swat Star Ships about like flies.
Enterprise D could fit inside Earth Space Dock because the interior was designed by the team that designed the Tardis, and the door could open wide enough for her to squeeze through because were designed by a Denobulan oral surgeon.
I like to think Earth space dock was scaled up in a refit between The next generation and the motion picture to fit the larger ships. Because the aging motion picture ships where getting phased out for Ambassador and Nebula and Galaxy Class ships wouldn't fit in the older station size.
Great episode! As to the wisdom of the station being armed, if it we're wouldn't an attacking fleet just approach from the opposite side of the planet? Spacedock is in too low an orbit for its weapons to protect an entire hemisphere, let alone the whole planet.
The best hardware show yet about the best station; good work. Regarding the 2017 show -DS9 is probably my favourite ST, but I also hope that it is the exception. I don't want to see another station-based show. ST is for me always on the bridge of a starship.
One thing I never liked about DS9 is that there was no Harbour Master to control all the docking, it was just whoever needed a line in that episode. When was it all co-ordinated to know what was free? I mean Kira just comes onto Ops one time and makes the snap decision for some ship to dock in spot X, she just got there, she doesn't know if something changed since the last time she was there!
In ST III The Search for Spock, When Enterprise is slowing down for docking... and you SEE the looks on people's faces at seeing the old girl come back all beat to shit from it's encounter with Khan... to ME it is VERY Moving!
Ever since I was a kid, I have been gobsmacked by the scale of that beast. I often wonder how in the hell anyone could ever attack earth with that parked there. Also, wouldn't it take a few moons worth of resources ?
Earth gets the latest-and-greatest, most magnificent, most state-of-the-art superscalar military-grade space platform. Always decked out with all the best of the best of everything the Federation can make available. Bajor gets a broken-down second-hand alien platform, originally built as a hard-labour slave camp, gutted of anything valuable by previous occupants. Good enough for a faraway half-Federation backwater world.
6:09 The explanation that I have seen is that there are multiple versions with different sizes, presumably because by “The Next Generation” they had to accommodate larger ships such as the Galaxy-class. 7:00 I do not see why that would be an issue. After all, the Galaxy-class is the same relative size to the Constitution-class in those shots and it is not like the Federation lacks the expertise to build something that large if need be. 7:30 That probably would be the case if they ever want to park the Enterprise-J inside a future station. You don’t sound like you have read the novelization of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” by Gene Roddenberry. Earth has got a VERY capable planetary defence system (even Star Trek (2009) got that right). Nero had to torture Captain Pike in order to get the codes to deactivate the system. The Borg and V'Ger could just assimilate the codes though. No station is going to help with that.
+Enterprise-H # They'd pretty much have to modify or upscale the design to accommodate most of the larger 24th century ships. If it true that the Excelsior doesn't fit through the doors that is just embarrassing. But lets over look that -- the Ambassador would fit neither would the Nebula and I expect some of the First contact era ones wouldn't fit either - the Akira class & Steamrunner might be to wide for the doors and the Centaur class might hog bay length (assuming you think it's made from Excelsior class leftovers and not the same design saucer and Engines only smaller). No to mention many visiting Klingon ships wouldn't fit either so would have to be sent somewhere else. The Galaxy class is unusually Large though and pretty rare - so perhaps the need to alter the whole station isn't quite as bad as we might think - it might just need bigger doors to accommodate things like Steamrunner class or Akira Class.
Hello Trekyards. I note you did mention 'other' orbital weaponry. But you didn't specify. A bit of thought on the subject leads me to a conclusion... The Solar System is FAR different from what we now know. With the Technologies available over the centuries that Star Fleet existed and still exists, some major system engineering has occurred. It is only logical that more 'real estate' is needed throughout the Solar System, and with the tech available, it would be dead easy to move Oort Cloud masses into the System and place them wherever needed. Again with the tech available, it would also be dead easy to mine them nearly hollow, add armor plating to the exteriors, mount HEAVY weaponry, and energy sources. Oort Cloud masses could easily be positioned further into the System to act as 'hubs' for Solar Power Satt arrays, feeding the central 'hub' for re-distribution across the System via tight beam microwave lasers. Since lasers do not diffract as much as other methods, the power loss over distance would be very minor. Oort Cloud masses could also be used as the cores for ballooning projects, where one would mine a shaft into and through the core of such a mass, fill it with water ice, cap it, and then turn kilometer wide mirrors in multiple arrays to heat it up as it spins... this would melt the Oort mass, and turn the ice into high pressure, high temperature steam that would inflate the molten mass pretty quickly into a rounded cylindrical mass. One could then simply wait for the mass to cool naturally, or tap off the steam into space and move in to build your colony on the inside surface. Centripetal spin would give 'gravity' and you'd have something with the surface area of Texas to develop into a new 'world' for living space. NONE of this is even hinted at in the Trek mythos, and all of it is dead easy if you have the power sources, gravity and force field control abilities of the Trek Universe's Technologies. We DO see in the first movie, a very large communications array that was absorbed by Vger as it entered the Solar System, but we are left to imagine that it's not the only one of it's type. Such arrays would make great platforms for both communications AND sensor arrays. Arrays sensitive enough to detect an object the size of a star ship at a distance of a Light Year or more. Heck, you could build a massive open girder cylinder about 100m across and upwards of 100 Km long, with lasers connecting the two ends. Any deviation in the laser beam would be caused by the mass of an object, and it would be simple to match readings (sort of like using multiple mirrors to form a telescope lens of any desired size, or think here on Earth of the VLA using radio telescopes) from 3 or 4 such structures to pin-point a mass source at distances of up to 4 or 5 LIGHT YEARS! I know, I know, I have gone a bit 'far afield' here, but all this is SIMPLE stuff that can be done with tech only slightly superior to what we have now, what could be done with TREK tech simple boggles the mind. enough from me the Frank Gamer
A show based on one of these starbases would rock.
A Star Trek show taking place on a Space Station, what a novel idea(!)
Ex1979 is right
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STAR TREK:SPACEDOCK FIVE!
DS9 was a rinky-dink outpost compared to this. It may be interesting as a Babylon 5-esque show but the inherent safety of such an installation would prevent dramatic tension.
@@Zorro9129 that'd be the problem youd have to put it around the romulans or something to make it good
When the Trek films come up, the general attitude towards Star Trek III is that it's average. To that, I always say "but Spacedock."
Spacedock is one of the coolest set pieces in all sci-fi.
Kinda like how TMPs only saving grace is the wonderful flyby introduction of the refit Enterprise.
Yup.....Star Trek the motionless picture is high budget nonsense, but holy crap does the refit Enterprise look amazing. It's personally my favorite fictional craft ever.
Spacedock. Talk about a sense of awe.
I sometimes hum the Mario theme when I see it.
@@SatoshiMatrix1 TMP would have made a great 45-minute TV episode. It was way too thin a story to stretch out over two and a half hours. The ship redeems it, though.
The problem with making this starbase Earth's "last line of defense" is that you can always attack the other side of the planet.
+76TomD This space Station essentially fullfills the role of a fort from the 1800's. Sure, you can just outmaneuver it and attack from another angle, but as long as this fortress is intact it can always Start a counter attack and stab your forces from behind in a crucial Moment.
Militarily speaking it thus does Not make sense to attack earth directly. You should also remember that the Spacestation can practically fullfill government duties if earth should be conquered, and thus leave the federation with a still functional government.
to sum it up: Not attacking this space Station before attacking the planet is just dumb.
I'd say the real problem is you end up putting whoever is in charge there full power to stage a military coup with the ability to wipe out all opposition in orbit and ground symultaniously.
You must be forgetting the fleet's worth of starships that are docked here! lol laughable! Not to mention the fact that a fleet from Utopia Planitia could be there in less time than it takes for police to show up to a shooting or stabbing in your local city!
I'm pretty sure that photon torpedoes could be curved around the planet.
@@Zorro9129 this, and i mean, they do have defensive satellites equiped with phasers and photon torps... Or at least id HOPE that they do.
I gotta say that the scenes that Samuel did that show the Spacedock from Earth are FANTASTIC!!! I love those!! THANKS SAMUEL!!!!!!! I wasn't expecting those when we filmed but Samuel surprised me! And it looks incredible!!
Agreed Mon Capitan!
now if you look at the j.j starbase 1 and then look at the normal starbase 1 and look from the bottom upwards and see the second out-croping from the top. the one in the middle. look from under esd and look up, do you see it looks a litlle bit like it huh?
Trekyards superb work, and yes a great design. A few points:
1. Locking on. It seems that upon approach a starship is entirely under tractor beam control. You could imagine that any ship vectoring several hundred thousand tonnes of thrust inside an enclosed space would either disturb internal Eddie moving around anything loose or not fixed down, or could even move the dock from orbit. Same applies when leaving, it would have to be done carefully so that your ship exits the dock as opposed to remaining stationary and pushing the dock away.
2. Weapons. I'm sure it would have to have or be covered by phaser emitters for the occasional asteroid or other random space debris. As for photon torpedos, could earth sustain atmospheric detonations of the magnitude of a torpedo? Ionosphere damage, radiation pollution, weather disturbance and more at such close proximity could render earth poisoned?
3. I've seen those internals too, and that arboretum is VAST and with only one narrow connector seems a vulnerable spot? There would be no logical reason to have a ceiling at 50 or more decks high, unless they were growing food in there or using the plants for oxygen replenishment? Within which it might even create it's own biosphere and clouds in such heights?
Great review guys.
good point by Captain Foley there I mean I dont think even Cryptic Studios themselves ever considered the idea of making ESD ever viewable over the skies of starfleet academy when they were making Star Trek online in its early years though if they did and implemented the idea of ESD being seen over the skies of starfleet academy it would be one hell of an awsome thing.
Hey, why did that voice sound like Doug Drexler?
I absolutely love the design of Earth Spacedock. Definitely the best looking space station in SciFi!
I had never really thought much about, or considered details about the Earth Spacedock space station. It is a huge space station, quite well armed, with so much diversity and all throughout its design. I couldn't imagine how vast it would be to construct. Mind-blowing in actual size. Great episode.
Functions as a military station ... without any weapons installed ... packed full of nonmilitary personnel.
Functions as a commercial station and trade hub ... where "economics are different" and (sometimes) "money no longer exists".
It says in Star Trek: Star Ship Spotter: "Initially designed for the smaller starships of the twenty-third century, two of the station's spacedoors were enlarged in the mid-twenty-fourth century to accommodate the Galaxy-class starships."
Earth Spacedock looks drop dead gorgeous in the TNG Blu-ray release. I always saw this massive station as the pinnacle of Federation design. I think it really showed how advanced the Federation was. And that they built several of these???
How is it possible I only found this show at this episode! So much nerd love for this content! subscribed and will be checking out the entire back catalogue
It should be noted in 11001001, that was actually Starbase 74, not Earth Space dock, so it could be just a scaled up version of Space dock.
Also, if Starbase 74 is a scaled up version, then it is possible the Spacedock seen in TNG is actually Spacedock ver 2.0. This accounts for the size difference.
+nova1972x
Yeah you can see them ordering bigger bases either when the Ambassador or Galaxy were being developed.
They might think - wow Excellsior barely fits in our starbase if that becomes the new ship of the line default then they won't fit if to many of them show up at once.
Star Trek sure likes to mess with your head when it comes to scale - it's a bit like Transformers in that respect too.
@@90lancaster I don't know if they'd really have to make it bigger. If already 3 km in diameter and 5km tall. Internal space isn't a problem. They'd just have to widen the doors and maybe move things around in the interior.
@@greatsayain I think Navigating a Galaxy Class model that was to scale with the Refit or Excelsior model inside the physical set they built for the interior would make me think it would risk banging into walls, besides its' semi-canon to make the same thing only bigger in The Federation technologies. But yes I suppose they could keep the same external size and simply apply more space to the docking bays on the interior, and there is some additional room. it's just I was thinking that the Galaxy Class is VERY wide and the Excelsior is kinda long, so perhaps automated docking controls only might stop someone plowing their ship into an observation deck. Not to mention how much harder it is to get a ship out quickly the bigger it is in regard to the bay - it would be the starship equivalent of docking cruise ships or oil tankers. or bring a ship into the dry dock - something you'd have to do VERY carefully indeed.
Where as something like a Saber Class or Miranda Class could get in an out easily.
@@90lancaster yeah agreed. Galaxy class would have to maneuver slowly and carefully. Galaxy class is also stupid wide. Separate the saucer and you've got a much smaller more manageable ship. Maybe that's why they went with long and narrow for the sovereign class.
Glad you guys did this episode. Earth space dock is easily my favorite piece of star trek architecture.
indeed ESD star treks true modern marvel :D.
While the battle station is not yet armed it does have a strong defense mechanism. it is protected by a energy shield projected from the nearby moon of Luna. this shield most be destroyed for an attack to be possible.
@@IronWarhorsesFun Lmao
@@jameskennedy8030 IT'S THE ONLY TRAP! IN THE SECTOR.
You would have thought after the battle of Wolf 359 they would have armed the station.
Wolf 359 is a real star system about 8 lightyears from earth so it would be a little bit out of weapons range
Horrox101 Isn't that a little beside the point? Chris was saying that after an attack so close to Earth, the heart of the UFP, that maybe they would up their defenses a bit.
Really all the federation planets should have an orbital defence grid (Similar to the Chintoka system on Ds9)
Any single hostile ship should be obliterated easily.
I agree, any Fed planet with a colony or a mine, should have some kind of defenses. Even Gandhi knew that defending one's self was important.
It would have made sense to arm this station given that the borg managed to enter the sol system not once but twice
And during the dominion war The Breen were able to reach earth and bombard Starfleet HQ
Could you imagine if they properly armed Spacedock? Utilizing its large size to deck it out in phaser arrays and torpedo launchers?
We saw how beast DS9 Was after she was properly armed. The station was able to face off against a Klingon fleet and later a Dominion fleet and hold its own for a time
Earth space dock fully armed would be a very formidable opponent that would make even a Klingon go. Honor is not worth attackin that thing nope
My belief is always that it's a newer spacedock in TNG than in TOS. With larger, more advanced starships decades if not hundreds of years ahead of previous classes it makes sense to have a newer facility to match.
This newer spacedock can also be inferred as larger since the comparison shots you have shown demonstrates proportionate scaled overall lines and doors with the Enterprise-D.
In the end it's more than likely a production gaff due to carelessness or expediency to get the show edited together. Still, it's nice to think Starfleet enlarged a tried and true spacedock design the newer technologies to match the "next generation" of starships.
Anyway, fantastic show and I love the intro dialog (with special thanks to Drexler for the additional voice over).
It's not a gaff, it's a different station.
Not mine, but explains it all:
th-cam.com/video/cy6AGOgHjcQ/w-d-xo.html&lc=Uggaewiqnr1WX3gCoAEC
Evidence:
memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Starbase_74
You know what have been cool? Having Scotty on here doing Trek yards with you. R.I.P. James Doohan I bet he would love being on your Trek Yards.
another good episode very enlightening.
I have always been a fan of the space doc from the moment I saw it in Star Trek 3.
which still gives me goosebumps to this day as you watch the damaged Enterprise a tiny speck enter the space doc which shows it's true scale compared with K7 & regular one.
Great episode and GREAT renders Samuel! Fantastic and info packed. I agree on the weapons. Perhaps a companion episode detailing the capabilities of the entire planetary defense grid (including Spacedock)? An armed Starbase would sure have been helpful during First Contact. Great job guys, you once again knocked it out of the park.
Torpedoes aren't enough. What it needs is multiple Photonic Cannons.
AND THE OMEGA 13!
And an army of EMH mark 1's XD
Naw, compression phasers and plasma torps!
Ordinary torpedoes aren't enough. How about Quantum or Transphasic Topedoes? Or even Voyager's Tri-Cobalt Devices?
The only flaw I can see with this station is that there is a vent that if you were to shoot a missile down it, theoretically, the whole thing could blow up!
Psshhh... that vent is no bigger than a Tribble.
Welllll
@@nonconsensualopinion : It's not impossible. I used to bullseye Tribbles in my T-16 back home, they're not much bigger than 6inches.
You mention being able to see the Earth Space Dock from the earths surface, you're right, that is something I would love to see. I would also enjoy seeing a character from the various TV shows looking up at the station before going to a ground side Transporter facility and beaming aboard to join their ship.
Gentleman,
This was well worth the wait, and what incredible work Sam.
-As a designer I know it doesn't make sense that the station was scaled up, however, I find that the most logical idea.
It's unlikely they originally built the station for the Galaxy Class and unlikely they modified the station just for the Galaxy Class..
Since we know we're talking bout to different Orbital Cities, Earth Space Dock and Starbase 74 Space Dock I have to call it an FX gaffe and the station is more than twice is 5km long or Galaxy is actually position outside the station as Probert Design Sketched the idea.
-This station most have been a construction or 10-20 years.
-It's highly unlikely the Orbital City is weaponless. Such a large structure would most likely be place in a geosynchronous orbit over Star Fleet Command San Fransisco. This is a very high orbit and would allow them to stay in constant contact without relay satellites. It also is very likely to be the Solar Systems defensive command Center for all weapon perimeters including Mars
The unarmed thing is bollocks. I agree.
To be in a geosecronus orbit would be like 10 of thousands of miles from the earth surface and the atmospheric drag would be virtually nonexistent.
excellent episode, guys.
Spacedock was always a favorite space structure for me.
ideas....
cryo satellite
Argus Array
subspace relay/communication array
or...The DYSON SPHERE!!
Your STO screenshots and videos are really nice looking, i imagine the TOS faction will get a few episodes on their ships ;)
One thing I'd suggest would be pressing Alt-F12 to remove the HUD when filming in STO.
star trek should have shown more things like this. its always awkward when the space around earth is so empty while the federation has basically unlimited resources...
+S1nwar
Unfortunately movies and TV shows don't have unlimited resources. :/
This is basically what I have said. It is bizarre that the Spacedock went missing in the later movies too.
I see space dock as a symbol of peace however I think it should get armament upgrades like on DS9, multiple phaser and torps with retractable turrets . fixed mounts and bubble turrets are slow to track.
i do agree whit the lack of defense it should have and it should be stronger then a tactical borg cube at least
Love the ILM nc711s at 18:45 concept!. Could see this as a new Starbase defense station!. Larger than Earth Space dock riddled with hundreds of phaser arrays, torpedo turrets, and A few hundred heavy fighters to help defend federation worlds after the dominion war!. In response to the lack of defense for member worlds !. Diana Troys home world fell pretty easy to the dominion!. Could see a uproar from fed worlds about the lack of protection that Star Fleet offered to protect them and they demand a defense station for every world!.
you boys had a blast doing this one....
This was always my favourite space station since the very first time I saw it as a kid, no other has ever matched up to Starbase 1
They day the truely wished they had armed Space Dock was the day the Breen attacked the Sol System/Earth, or the time the Borg arrived at Earth, either of them. They had to have armed it some time during the 24th century.
Captain Foley: All moorings clear. Let's get under way. Full impulse power.
Commander Cockings: Captain, may I remind you that regulations specifically say thrusters only while in spacedock.
Captain Foley: Samuel, fine. We're still going to do one quarter impulse speed. Engage. Oh and security, take Commander Cockings to the brig and see that he's properly flogged. One hundred lashes.
Mirror Captain Foley is kinky.
Who says it's the Mirror universe? Ever notice that in the TOS episodes, The Gamesters of Triskelion, Patterns of Force and Plato's Stepchildren they prominently feature the use of whips. Also in the TNG episode, The Last Outpost. Somebody in Star Trek production was clearly into whips. Since they disappeared after season 1 of TNG, I'm of the opinion it was Roddenberry. Since it corresponds roughly with his departure from production of the show.
Great piece guys.
2 little bits of feedback on the STO-era ESD stuff. First, the CO of ESD is Captain Akira Sulu in that timeframe, not Admiral Quinn, who is the Fleet Admiral in charge of sectors surrounding Sol. Second, next time you guys need screenshots in STO, use Alt+F12 to disable the UI to get clean screenshots.
I always liked the floor of drydock, all the linear greebles. I know it's been labled as emergency doors, but I would like to think it's all one massive swiss army knife with fuel booms, mooring lines, even collapsable scaffolding.
Yes, Captain, you are right. I do want to see it while lounging on the beach.
After discussing the matter with a friend, the Breen energy dampening weapon would have been able to knock out the impulse engines needed to keep Space Dock in orbit. So after a couple dozen hits, shouldn't have Space Dock gone swimming in the Pacific Ocean after a firery flight through the atmosphere. Love to see that animated.
STO did a hell of a job with the model of the Earth Spacedock.
That is not Earth Space Dock in TNG. That is Starbase 74. Starbase 74 is the largest of all Starfleet structures. Its over two times larger than Starbase 1 aka Earth Space Dock. Starbase 74 is in orbit of Tarsas III. It was featured in episode "11001001"where the Binars hijacked the Enterprise D and it was mentioned in "Conspiracy" when it was stated that the USS Minnow was making a cargo delivery to the station. It is true they reused the same footage and superimposed the D over the Connie, however it is a different and much larger station. In terms of scale, Starbase 74 is to Starbase 1 what the Enterprise D is to the refit.
img09.deviantart.net/7f07/i/2016/050/2/5/spacedock_vs_starbase_74_by_sumbuddyx-d9sb63p.png
Here is a scale image.
Starbase 1 is a planet..
Wrong!
this is such a classic trek design, anytime I think of a space station this is what I imagine. I'm torn on the weapons things myself. It makes sense like you guys said that perhaps they're afraid of the tech falling into wrong hands and then earth would take an orbital bombarding like no other. I mean all it would take is a rogue team of Binars, right? ;-) So if there is limited weapons it better have the galaxies best and most power shielding and armament. I did also wonder like someone else said why earths orbit always seemed so empty. I mean even in our currant time earths orbit is cluttered with all kinds of old satellites and space junk.
You wouldn't see any of that.
One of the questions that I have is why on planets of space faring races that there is not more space traffic. It seams that every time that Enterprise or other ship comes to a planet they are the only ship in orbit.
WOW SPACEDOCK?! I'm so watching!
I love this space station. It's like Star Treks Death Star except no super weapon. But it's like a small moon. I have no doubt that standing on earth at night you could probably see it and make out its shape.
Poor thing ESD got torn up by the Undine
The U.S.S.Lexington would fit like a glove in spacedock.
Dunno about unarmed for Starbase 1, in the game Starfleet Academy, if you fire on it, it shoots back. :)
Nice.
And hard.
Where was the Spacedock when the Borg attacked the Earth twice? In the second round (First Contact) the Borg cube was destroyed by Starfleet but in Best of Both Worlds the Cube was at Earth preparing to assimilate it. Where was the Spacedock at that time? According to my research the Spacedock is 8,000 meters high and 4,000 meters width, on average. It contained at least 20 torpedo launchers and 200 !!! phaserbanks, and maybe even more torpedo launchers could be fitted on the Spacedock, since that thing is HUGE. That thing would have blown that Borg Cube to Kingdom Come. So where was it in "Best of Both Worlds"?
On the other side of the planet. The Borg knew about Spacedock, and decided to approach Earth from the side it's NOT on :)
The bigger question is, where was it when the Breen attacked Starfleet Command & San Francisco?
There's a lot in Star Trek that really does make much more sense if you ignore it. ;)
I was able to click thumbs up with confidence, even before I watched this episode.
Might I add this is much more impressive than that Yorktown station in ST beyond.
Love it!!!! You two are great!
Shoulda ended the episode with a Chekov-style "WARP SPEED NOW!!!" =]
Spacedock is my pick for the second most beautiful Starfleet design in all of Trek, after the Constitution Refit. Absolutely gorgeous, and one of the few times that Star Trek as a franchise has been able to capture the sense of spatial depth and vastness in its structures the way Star Wars did. (I loved the Rec Deck set and stardrive hull matte painting in TMP; I would have loved to see some of the large interior spaces on 1701-D.)
I swear something that big could house MILLIONS
I would explain the "size problem" with a well, quite easy answer: The star base we seen in TNG was NOT the Earth space dock. But a deep space station. Perhabs they simply widened the doors on this space station over the years. Yes, you don't see it really good, and of course, it looks the same, as they used the same model, but you can imagine, that perhabs the doors are just wider and we don't see it good enough from the camera angle ;)
Stories on a Space station that is several miles long? 🤔 I really need to watch B5 again
If its in a geostationary orbit and oriented towards the surface, you're only going to see it from underneath. Also one would assume it's in an equatorial orbit.
The stealing of the Enterprise NEVER GETS OLD! I can't get the title: Star Trek: Star Base, out of my head.
Great video once again guys. Long overdue on Starbase 1. I wonder if you could do a special on this with the creators. It'd be interesting to hear what their brief was. :-)
Yes do keep the Space Cat from getting out because she'll just get knocked up by some feral Space Tomcat then come back to the Station to have her Space Kittens. They in turn will create havoc in the Station once they're old enough to start slapping around the various Starships that are docked there.
I think the stout tough gray look of the thing suggests that it's a defensive installation, so I'm inclined to think it's armed. Though one could imagine that by the time a Cardassian ship arrived at Earth, it'd have to get through so many layers of defenses, this one station being unarmed is not an issue. After all, one modified torpedo getting past it to the surface could sink a continent. Maybe planets are too delicate to be theaters of war. Or, maybe beyond rings of fleets and patrol ships, stations and satellites, maybe there are also land-based phaser, torpedo, countermeasure, and shield installations as a final line of defense against extraterrestrial attack -- if only to defend against kamikaze warp attacks, if that's a thing.
+Evan Green Starfleet Academy game has the station armed.
+TheCastellan Is Castellan from A Stitch In Time?
It is a stunning facility!
Spacedock is big, but not so big that you could easily see it from the ground with any real clarity. It would be like seeing a hot air balloon on the horizon from a few miles away. You could see the general shape and know what it is, but you could just as easily not notice it as well
In ST IV the voyage home the space dock was completely disabled and powered down , including all the starships inside !!! even the tugs. this was due to the Alien dampening device the whale probe used.
I'd love to have at least seen that huge arboretum in the central pillar on film. Think about it, that area's bigger than even some of Starfleet's biggest starships. That's almost national park, or at least Central Park or Golden Gate park size. I bet it's amazing looking.
The Spacedock doors would have been enlarged for older starships before the Galaxy class.
Just came across this great video (three years late). Your complaint about size problems with the Spacedock doors and the Enterprise of Star Trek III and the Enterprise of The Next Generation can, I think, be explained easily. The Star Trek III shots take place above Earth, and in that movie you see the Earth Spacedock. If you listen to the first minute of the ST:TNG episode 11001001 (where the shots of the Galaxy Class Enterprise originate), Picard says in his captain's log voice over that "the Enterprise has been ordered to Starbase 74 in orbit around Tarsis III". Therefore, the scenes of the Galaxy Class Enterprise do NOT take place in same Spacedock of the Star Trek III movie. I think you could make the argument that, in the Star Trek universe, the blueprints for Spacedock were so successful that they were copied (but enlarged) when they built Starbase 74. There is NO size problem because the Spacedock from ST III and Starbase 74 are NOT to same. Spacedock is smaller than Starbase 74. Hope this helps, and keep up the good work.
When it comes to the door size. I always just used my imagination and assumed they were enlarged for newer starships like the Galaxy Class Starships. I can only imagine that the space docks computers have also all been replaced by now with 24th century tech even if the shell of the station has remained mostly unchanged.
In ST: Starfleet Command, running to a Starbase for help usually ended with your pursuer eating Starbase super phasers. Would love to have seen this in a canon source.
Best starbase design by far. you have more than enough points for firepower plus the docking bays, not to mention the number fighters to defend the station (unless the borg attack in that case we all know how that ends up). Although if i had the say i would have said to give the middle section of the starbase a definitive phaser strip just to give a more meaner yet defensive posture.
I can see why they armed them so heavily. It's a huge investment to build one and they carry important starships inside so it'd be a massive setback to lose one. I'd like to see someone try on screen though. I'd like to see the attacked get wrecked.
I think they should make a new series based on Earth Spacedock (ESD). The variety of themes and environments are practically limitless.
6:00 that's not Earth. That is Star base 74 around Tarsas III the Enterprise D is going through..
TNG - S01E15 - 11001001
I suspect that the Star Base was armed during wartime and probably fought off the Breen.
One of my favourite stations from the moment of its first appearance in ST3, but I know very little about it, until now..
It was a different and larger space dock in Picard's time. You can see old space docks and ships in an episode of Next Generation while they go to a space scrap yard....
Now I have an important question... which is cooler: starbase 1 or Yorktown?
G.V.Serac Spacedock is definitely cooler, Yorktown is a bit too... Out there for Trek (in my lowly opinion, of course!)
I really want to see the two size compared together, though!
Kelvin Yorktown is visually magnificent. But to me it seems like a bad fit for established Trek. It just looks wrong. The general sense of architecture, scale, style are too different from everything else - it would fit better in a different sci-fi setting.
I love that opening, made me laugh.
You guys said "No weapons ", last time I stayed there the , December last year, we noticed a lot of black badges around. After further investigation I was told that they were part of the new weapons installation security team, so with all respect to the Captain and Commander, who do I believe?
Has anyone noted that the spacedock that the Enterprise-D visited was Starbase 74, in orbit around Tarsus III -- obviously built well after SB 1 given its number. Therefore it makes sense that the door specs would have been augmented to accommodate larger vessels.
Did Enterprise-D ever visit SB 1 in TNG ?
a show about a space station would be like Babylon 5
I already was miffed that Eaglemoss were dragging their heels about making a model of this - now you have made me want all those cool interiors from the concept art and Star trek Online to be in the new TV show too (well a little bit anyway).
Especially since you don't actually see a lot of Earth in most Star Trek aside from the Movies - it would be a nice back stop and a mega impressive and era appropriate local too - as it's sure to be there for a very long time.
Though I do wonder what happened to it in A-Canon when the Breen showed up on Earth's Doorstep it must have been gone by then. unless the Borg blew it up it does sort of well vanish though in the 24th century (unless that was it in Voyager). ?
But seriously where did it go ?
I suppose I should be thankful they didn't have more money to make the Battle of Sector Zero-Zero-01 bigger otherwise they might have blown it up in First Contact or had a Borg Cube suicide run on it.
As for TV wise - I'd say it seems well suited to a very expensive soap opera like form.
But it's hard to think that such a show wouldn't retreat territory 5 or DS9 had done already. But as a touch stone location for a multi-era TV show format it's ideal to feature to some degree.
Deflectors of significant power can be seen as a weapon of sorts - if they are tunable enough they can be enough to swat Star Ships about like flies.
Close the space doors! You're letting the flies out!
Enterprise D could fit inside Earth Space Dock because the interior was designed by the team that designed the Tardis, and the door could open wide enough for her to squeeze through because were designed by a Denobulan oral surgeon.
I like to think Earth space dock was scaled up in a refit between The next generation and the motion picture to fit the larger ships. Because the aging motion picture ships where getting phased out for Ambassador and Nebula and Galaxy Class ships wouldn't fit in the older station size.
Great episode! As to the wisdom of the station being armed, if it we're wouldn't an attacking fleet just approach from the opposite side of the planet? Spacedock is in too low an orbit for its weapons to protect an entire hemisphere, let alone the whole planet.
The best hardware show yet about the best station; good work.
Regarding the 2017 show -DS9 is probably my favourite ST, but I also hope that it is the exception. I don't want to see another station-based show. ST is for me always on the bridge of a starship.
I have a book that talks about making the doors bigger as Starfleet makes bigger ships.
One thing I never liked about DS9 is that there was no Harbour Master to control all the docking, it was just whoever needed a line in that episode. When was it all co-ordinated to know what was free? I mean Kira just comes onto Ops one time and makes the snap decision for some ship to dock in spot X, she just got there, she doesn't know if something changed since the last time she was there!
Where was this thing for the Borg.. Twice! Is there fan speculation on how well it survived the whale incident?
It is not Earth Spacedock in TNG. It is Starbase 74 that is larger than ESD ans an house large ships like Galaxy class vessels .
In ST III The Search for Spock, When Enterprise is slowing down for docking... and you SEE the looks on people's faces at seeing the old girl come back all beat to shit from it's encounter with Khan... to ME it is VERY Moving!
Ever since I was a kid, I have been gobsmacked by the scale of that beast. I often wonder how in the hell anyone could ever attack earth with that parked there.
Also, wouldn't it take a few moons worth of resources ?
Great job, gents!
The one in TNG isn't Space dock - it's Starbase 74 - it's not the same one the Enterprise visited in ST3.
@ 3:08 I was like: so much for three danube runabouts, DS9!
Earth gets the latest-and-greatest, most magnificent, most state-of-the-art superscalar military-grade space platform. Always decked out with all the best of the best of everything the Federation can make available.
Bajor gets a broken-down second-hand alien platform, originally built as a hard-labour slave camp, gutted of anything valuable by previous occupants. Good enough for a faraway half-Federation backwater world.
I wonder how long it took to build. They should have added cgi shots of this thing being built in the TOS remastered when ever they show Earth.
Kirk actually ordered one quarter impulse when leaving space dock, in STTUC, actually.
at 3.47, 4000 torpedoes ready to be used. Doesn't seem much considering DS9, a smaller station, had 5000 in 'Way of the Warrior'.
Great video, and graphics. I always like the size comparisons. I always wondered how long it would take to walk around this and is it practical?
6:09 The explanation that I have seen is that there are multiple versions with different sizes, presumably because by “The Next Generation” they had to accommodate larger ships such as the Galaxy-class.
7:00 I do not see why that would be an issue. After all, the Galaxy-class is the same relative size to the Constitution-class in those shots and it is not like the Federation lacks the expertise to build something that large if need be.
7:30 That probably would be the case if they ever want to park the Enterprise-J inside a future station.
You don’t sound like you have read the novelization of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” by Gene Roddenberry. Earth has got a VERY capable planetary defence system (even Star Trek (2009) got that right). Nero had to torture Captain Pike in order to get the codes to deactivate the system. The Borg and V'Ger could just assimilate the codes though. No station is going to help with that.
+Enterprise-H
#
They'd pretty much have to modify or upscale the design to accommodate most of the larger 24th century ships.
If it true that the Excelsior doesn't fit through the doors that is just embarrassing.
But lets over look that -- the Ambassador would fit neither would the Nebula and I expect some of the First contact era ones wouldn't fit either - the Akira class & Steamrunner might be to wide for the doors and the Centaur class might hog bay length (assuming you think it's made from Excelsior class leftovers and not the same design saucer and Engines only smaller).
No to mention many visiting Klingon ships wouldn't fit either so would have to be sent somewhere else.
The Galaxy class is unusually Large though and pretty rare - so perhaps the need to alter the whole station isn't quite as bad as we might think - it might just need bigger doors to accommodate things like Steamrunner class or Akira Class.
Hello Trekyards. I note you did mention 'other' orbital weaponry. But you didn't specify. A bit of thought on the subject leads me to a conclusion... The Solar System is FAR different from what we now know. With the Technologies available over the centuries that Star Fleet existed and still exists, some major system engineering has occurred. It is only logical that more 'real estate' is needed throughout the Solar System, and with the tech available, it would be dead easy to move Oort Cloud masses into the System and place them wherever needed. Again with the tech available, it would also be dead easy to mine them nearly hollow, add armor plating to the exteriors, mount HEAVY weaponry, and energy sources. Oort Cloud masses could easily be positioned further into the System to act as 'hubs' for Solar Power Satt arrays, feeding the central 'hub' for re-distribution across the System via tight beam microwave lasers. Since lasers do not diffract as much as other methods, the power loss over distance would be very minor. Oort Cloud masses could also be used as the cores for ballooning projects, where one would mine a shaft into and through the core of such a mass, fill it with water ice, cap it, and then turn kilometer wide mirrors in multiple arrays to heat it up as it spins... this would melt the Oort mass, and turn the ice into high pressure, high temperature steam that would inflate the molten mass pretty quickly into a rounded cylindrical mass. One could then simply wait for the mass to cool naturally, or tap off the steam into space and move in to build your colony on the inside surface. Centripetal spin would give 'gravity' and you'd have something with the surface area of Texas to develop into a new 'world' for living space.
NONE of this is even hinted at in the Trek mythos, and all of it is dead easy if you have the power sources, gravity and force field control abilities of the Trek Universe's Technologies. We DO see in the first movie, a very large communications array that was absorbed by Vger as it entered the Solar System, but we are left to imagine that it's not the only one of it's type. Such arrays would make great platforms for both communications AND sensor arrays. Arrays sensitive enough to detect an object the size of a star ship at a distance of a Light Year or more. Heck, you could build a massive open girder cylinder about 100m across and upwards of 100 Km long, with lasers connecting the two ends. Any deviation in the laser beam would be caused by the mass of an object, and it would be simple to match readings (sort of like using multiple mirrors to form a telescope lens of any desired size, or think here on Earth of the VLA using radio telescopes) from 3 or 4 such structures to pin-point a mass source at distances of up to 4 or 5 LIGHT YEARS! I know, I know, I have gone a bit 'far afield' here, but all this is SIMPLE stuff that can be done with tech only slightly superior to what we have now, what could be done with TREK tech simple boggles the mind.
enough from me
the Frank Gamer
The Spacedock is totally amazing i've got a model of it