Star Trek: 10 Secrets About The USS Protostar You Need To Know
4. Landing The Part
The Protostar isn't the first starship to have the ability to land and nor is it the first one to be seen doing so. As far back as The Original Series, the Enterprise's saucer section had the equipment to do so if required. So too did the Enterprise-D, though its saucer's only landing would be a little bumpy and apparently unsalvageable(!)
The DS9 Technical Manual details the landing gear for the Defiant but it would be Voyager in The 37's where viewers would first see a starship touch down albeit on the most spindly of legs. Something it repeated several times over the course of the show.
The Hagemans were well aware of the ability to use the transporters with Protostar and indeed Murf would be the first test subject of the technology. However landing the Protostar allowed for the ship to be placed into danger as well as doubled down on the inexperience of the young crew. Rarely has the hero ship itself been so integral to the series premise or been placed into such dangerous land-based predicaments.
Also, touching down allowed for the use of the Runaway and made much more sense as to why the prototype ship had such a prominent cargo bay door. The Enterprise-D might have flown through a Borg Cube but the Protostar landed in one!