10 Secrets Behind Alien's Nostromo Ship You Didn't Know
3. It Tugs A Mile-Long Ore Refinery
![Alien Nostromo](https://d2thvodm3xyo6j.cloudfront.net/media/2019/03/981189f41b1a0ba9-600x338.jpg)
It's common for fans to forget that the Nostromo isn't in fact the entirety of the vessel we see at the start of the movie, and that it's actually a smaller ship that's hauling a considerably larger, mile-long ore refinery - well, 1927 metres (1.19 miles) long, to be precise.
An opening title card explains that the refinery contains 20 million tons of mineral ore which is being processed on the return trip to Earth.
Yet despite the refinery being so much larger than the Nostromo itself, Scott never actually takes us inside it during the film, nor is it ever given an official name.
Scott nevertheless oversaw the design himself, and so it was typically inspired by his penchant for quasi-religious symbology:
"I [designed it]. I didn't want a conventional shape, so I drew a sketch and handed it to the model makers. They refined it, as it were, and built the model. I originally drew it upside down, with the vague idea that it would resemble an inverted cathedral."
The refinery's distinctive spires were also supposed to be considerably taller, but Scott ultimately removed the upper portions himself shortly before shooting started - allegedly using a hammer and chisel to do so.