Star Trek: 10 Secrets About Spacedock One You Need To Know
2. Other Uses
Besides turning up in four motion pictures, the Spacedock model was also used during the years of The Next Generation. It appeared as Starbase 74 in 11001001, Starbase 84 in Heart of Glory, Starbase 133 in Remember Me and Lya Station Alpha in Ensign Ro. Its final appearance in TNG would come in season seven's Phantasms as Starbase 84 (again) where the Enterprise-D would receive its problematic new warp core. All of these reuses of the footage shot for 11001001 with tweaks dependent on the planet and location. The latter two appearances of the Spacedock type base did not include any interior shots.
But its legacy doesn't just stop in live-action Star Trek as Lower Decks has resurrected the familiar design for Douglas Station in Reflections.
The initial appearances in TNG were jarring for Enterprise-D designer Andrew Probert due to the huge shift in scale. The sequel series showed the vast Galaxy Class vessel slipping through the doors to the cavernous interior. Probert had suggested that given the relative scale of the original design, the Enterprise-D should dock at the edge of the "mushroom" head rather than enter the structure. This wasn't used with the large starship navigating inside even though Probert indicated it could have attached via the dorsal transfer umbilicals incorporated into the original Galaxy Class design.