Star Trek: 10 Secrets Of The USS Discovery You Need To Know
2. From Another Mother
Set in the years preceding Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: Discovery is ostensibly a prequel to the classic 1960s show. However, unlike earlier flashbacks to the TOS era (see: TNG's "Relics", DS9's "Trial and Tribble-ations", Enterprise's "In a Mirror Darkly" two-parter), Discovery features a fresh new look for the mid-23rd century.
While Discovery's look can be seen as a discrepancy, the designers behind the starship did take this into consideration and attempted to reconcile the seemingly too advanced look of the USS Discovery with the more primitive 1960s Starship Enterprise.
According to illustrator John Eaves, the unique look of the titular starship is due to the USS Discovery having been produced by a different construction yard than the contemporaneous USS Enterprise. Eaves also explained that the long, angular warp nacelles – a contrast to the Enterprise's cylindrical, rocket-shaped engines – are due to fleet-wide experiments in new propulsion technology, which include but are not limited to Discovery's displacement-activated spore hub drive.