Star Trek: 10 Secrets About The USS Discovery-A You Need To Know
7. Transformers: Starships In Disguise
Concept Artist Ryan Dening had a novel idea for what the Discovery-A would actually look like.
This time it would be that the Discovery would be a flying saucer and, when activated, the secondary hull and nacelles would all fold out into the more familiar configuration. The nacelles would remain in their wireless formation but the separating neck would not. Another idea that didn't make it to screen was to remove the central "donut" ring to leave only the bridge arm and outer saucer piece.
At one stage there was even a concept that the saucer would be separated. This would be something that can still be seen in other ships of the 32nd Century such as the Voyager-J.
Ultimately the decision to refit the ship rather than repair it came after work on other Starfleet vessels had already incorporated the 32nd Century ethos. Dening actually took the ship right back to its basic shapes and removed all of the surface textures which proved to be a useful starting point. From there the designers could build the ship back up and provide it with a more 32nd Century gleam but retain the distinctive and unique Discovery shape.