Star Trek: 5 Reasons Now Is The Perfect Time To Rewatch The Cage

5. That Original Starship

Walter Matthew "Matt" Jefferies designed the most iconic ship in science fiction, with the ship coming together in stages. He initially designed a three foot model to show to Gene Roddenberry. Once this was approved, an eleven foot filming model was created. This model would go through several redesigns for both the second pilot and the main series.

Matt came to the attention of Roddenberry primarily due to his work on the 1957 movie Bombers B-52, on which Jefferies served as production designed. The two met and immediately took a shine to each other, sharing war stories as they had both served on Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses during the war.

Roddenberry was clear with Jefferies on what he didn't want to see as part of the ship. Jefferies then went away and began to work out the design, a process that took 'about six weeks of frustration', during which he 'spent a pretty good batch of Lucille Ball's money'.

The result was a three foot long testing model that was sent to Roddenberry for approval. Jefferies had designed the now-familiar cylindrical drive section, with two nacelles and the saucer section above it all. The large deflector dish sat at the front of the drive section, with pointed spikes leading out from the bussard collectors at the front of the nacelles.

In more than fifty years of Star Trek, many of the ships produced since have stuck close to that original layout. The Enterprise that was redesigned for Discovery is a loving tribute to Jefferies' original design.