Star Trek: 10 Behind The Scenes Secrets From Caretaker
9. Redesigned Voyager
There were several revisions to the design of the USS Voyager. Jeri Taylor, the executive producer on the series, wanted the ship to be smaller and sleeker than the Enterprise-D. The Next Generation went off the air in 1994, meaning it would be still very fresh in the audiences' minds. Rick Sternbach, who had been a designer on The Next Generation, was given the job.
He had also designed the Runabout, which made its debut in Emissary. Early versions of Voyager bore a little resemblance to the scout ship. For example, the nacelles were attached with drooping, curved pylons that resembled the Rio Grande. The saucer section was also much more angular, with the capacity to separate from the stardrive section.
The landing gear was incorporated from the beginning, but the original design of the ship was a much more compact, dart-like vessel, Relatively late in the day, Taylor viewed the model and decided it should be curvier after all.
This allowed Sternbach to revisit the design. He removed the saucer separation ability, which allowed him to integrate the primary and secondary hulls. The pylons were flattened and give the ability to raise when the ship moved warp. Where the first design looked more like a short-range attack ship, the final design was a more stately, yet homely design of the vessel.