Not sure the Death Star would be a good form for a scientific research station to imitate.

why not, the is nothing really wrong have it as a station but obviously like I said in my previous post dont put weapons on it.

Well, the Death Star immediately summons to mind a dangerous superweapon, even if this hypothetical Death Star were simply a research station.

If this was a Build The Enterprise Hotel in Las Vegas, then I would sign it. Not sure how successful it would be, but many of us would go there. Many of us Star Trek fans are nerds so functionality and believability are main factors in the design. I am far more likely to believe an Earth Alliance ship from Babylon 5 will work compared to the Enterprise since it has that rugged style and believable gravity generation.

Having that rotating gravity disk in the Enterprise means that is no longer an Enterprise ship. If we want gravity on the Enterprise, then it has to be through artificial gravity. All it is is some weird ship that has the frame of the Enterprise.

There's never been any harm in dreaming big.

I signed the petition as a Star Trek fan...


But I also signed it because the Imagination, is our greatest tool for moving forward.

Yeah the death star is a SCIENCE FICTION space station from a SCIENCE FICTION movie. Im sure they can build something like but no exactly like it. Like how the BTE will look like the enterprise but will not be the enterprise from the movies. You are assuming that a government were to build this it will be like the death star, but we have laws on here, i dont think they will allow someone to do it. Unless for a very good reason. Beside they can use the moon as a station, and make a city on some part that looks like the exist part of the super weapon. lol

Anyway back on topic got some good news to share

this plus

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article....-01-534642.xml

and this

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article....1_14_2013_p31-
535211.xml

star trek is defiantly coming to life next light sabres.

That's not what I meant. I'm not saying we can't do it if we want to, I'm saying that there's really no reason to. The only reason to give it an iconic form is to be inspiring. And the Death Star wouldn't inspire people, at least not the way we probably want it to.

Yes, VASIMR engines are probably the top candidate for being scaled up to be used in the engines of the Gen1 Enterprise.

That link doesn't work.

http://www.buildtheenterprise.org/wp...rop_resize.jpg

Also, check out this poster one of BTE's supporters made in response to the Death Star petition. Epic, or what?

Here is the link, http://www.aviationweek.com/Article....p31-535211.xml

the great thing with star trek is that all the science stuff is related to real life, based of what already exists and what theories have been theorized. Thankfully they were smart to get a science correspondent.

I like the idea, but as has already been said, the design's not very practical. It'd cost billions of pounds to build.

Fortunately, with warp drive being researched, that at least is a possibility.

An idea for keeping it practical and inspirational, build something like the Omega from Babylon 5. It has a rotating section that can produce centrifugal gravity and the design is robust.

Here's an image: Click here.

Obviously, take the weapons off it... and the fighters...

Make the habitation module longer.

Other than that, it's a very good design. I'd definitely be inspired to see it.

Obviously down-scale it so we can build it. The main challenge would be assembly. It'd have to be assembled in space but the components could be built on the ground. It'd take a while but you could construct it modularly like the ISS.

It's not as impractical as you'd think. The saucer and its gravity wheel are large enough to support the living space and recreation areas, a hanger for docked ships including three Universal Landers ("shuttlecraft"), a large cargo bay, science labs, supplies for the journeys, and more. The engine hulls contain the nuclear reactors and the ion engines, as well as additional space for cargo and other necessities.

The only weak spots might be the neck and the nacelle struts, but they can be different from those of the Enterprises from Star Trek. They only need to be "accurate" enough to be recognized as an Enterprise configuration.

The Gen4 might have warp drive, but that's a pretty long-term goal.

To be honest, it looks pretty ugly to me. More like a cargo freighter than a vessel of exploration and discovery.

I'm sure any large-scale interplanetary ship would be exciting and inspirational. However, I do think the Enterprise design is a much more recognizable icon for boldly going where no one has gone before, and the nostalgia such a design would generate would be hard to match.

That probably is how it will be built, regardless of the configuration.