Main Bridge (Star Trek)
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In the fictional Star Trek universe, the Main Bridge, or bridge, is the primary control center for Federation Starships. Much of the action in the various series and movies takes place on the main bridge. On most Starfleet vessels, the bridge is located at the top of the saucer section, on deck one.
In most cases, the bridge is a self contained module that is designed to be removable and replaceable. The idea of a replaceable module was first expressed in Star Trek V. In this film, the bridge of the Enterprise-A was very different from the bridge seen in the closing moments of Star Trek IV. Only about a minute of the film took place on the bridge of the Enterprise-A in the fourth movie. Rather than going through the expense of building an entirely new bridge in the fourth movie, the bridge set from the previous movies was used. However in the fifth movie, the old bridge set was scrapped in favor of a new, updated bridge set. The producers rationalized that by introducing the concept of the bridge module. Some sources have said that USS Enterprise had a bridge module that was replaced during the refit between the series and the first Star Trek movie.
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Notable Bridges
Original Bridge of the Enterprise, NCC-1701
The original bridge of the USS Enterprise was a single room located on deck one. The room was serviced by one turbolift. The commanding officer sat in a chair at the center of the room. It was called the Captain's chair, or occasionally the center seat. From that position, he or she can see all bridge stations, which helped the commander in the decision making process. Usually, Captain Kirk sat in the Captain's chair. If Kirk was not present, usually Science Officer Spock would be seated there, followed by Chief Engineer Scott. This chair had buttons for communications, alert status, and computer access.
The helm (normally Lt. Sulu) and navigation (normally Ens. Chekov) officers sat at a console just forward of the command chair, facing the large central viewscreen. The console was wired in to the main navigational sensors. The other stations were arranged in a circle around the command chair. Some of these stations, going right after entering the bridge from the turbolift, included;
- Communications. Normally manned by Lt. Uhura. It was the duties of the officer at this station to handle all intra and inter ship communications. This officer would relay information from Starfleet to the commanding officer. Also, the tie-in to the main computer bank was made through this station.
- Science. Normally manned by Commander Spock. This station had access to the library computer, access to internal and external sensors, and analysis equipment.
- Environmental. This station would manage enviornmental conditions on the bridge, as well as the remainder of the ship.
- Engineering. The engineering station was manned by an engineering section officer. At times, Engineer Scott would sit at this station, and be able to control many of the engineering systems directly from the bridge.
As mentioned, the original bridge was served by one turbolift. This was the only means of entering or exiting the bridge. This proved to be a serious design flaw and security issue, the crew could be trapped on the bridge by enemy forces on board the ship. The enviornmental controls could also be cut off to the bridge by a determined enemy. As a result, the bridge crew could either be incapacitated or killed by cutting off life support to the bridge.
The Refit Bridge of the Enterprise, NCC-1701
After Captain Kirk and the Enterprise returned from the first five year mission under Kirk, Starfleet undertook a major renovation process to bring the ship back to the state of the art. During the refit process, a new and improved bridge module was placed on the Enterprise. Some novels had indicated that the original module was placed on the Yorktown, which had suffered damage to its bridge, which was then turned into a floating museum.
This new bridge, while including improved versions of the stations of the original module, had a similar arrangement. The new bridge was served with two turbolifts, one on the port and starboard sides of the bridge. The communications station was moved to the opposite side of the bridge. A new and larger science station was placed on the bridge. Initially, this was situated directly behind the Captain's chair, it was later moved just to the right of the captain.
The new bridge also had a docking port behind the main bridge. The port allowed Starfleet shuttlecraft and travel pods to dock directly behind the bridge, giving command staff quick access to the bridge. Some minor changes were made to the bridge between the first and second movies, mainly the moving of the science station and a few other cosmetic alterations.
The refit bridge was destroyed when the self destruct sequence of the Enterprise was activated. The bridge module exploded, followed shortly by the rest of the ship.
NCC-1701-A
Two bridge modules have been placed on the Enterprise-A. As the new Enterprise only had about a minute of screen time, it was too expensive to create a full, new bridge set. For the bridge of the new ship, the bridge sets from the previous films were reused.
In the fifth movie, all the previous sets had been scrapped. So the producers were able to design a brand new bridge set. This set had removable walls to better accommodate camera movement. It had more comfortable chairs for the crew, as well as a new command chair. The producers rationalized this by postulating that the bridge was a removable module, and that between the two movies the bridge module was swapped out.
On newer vessels, such as Galaxy and Intrepid class starships, the bridge module also included the captain's ready room, a conference lounge for senior staff briefings, restroom facilities for the crew, and jefferies tube access.