Author Archives: Greg Bryant

X-Ray Analysis of the Starship Enterprise

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When the National Air and Space Museum opened in 1976, the production model of the Starship Enterprise was prominently and dramatically displayed hanging at the entrance of “Life in the Universe” gallery.

Later, when that gallery closed, and the starship was moved to several other locations within the museum.

Star

Star Trek Starship "Enterprise" Model on display in "Life In The Universe" gallery.

  

Star Trek Starship "Enterprise" Model on display in Flight and the Arts gallery.

Star Trek Starship "Enterprise" Model as it appeared in "Rocketry and Spaceflight" gallery.

Though these were dramatic displays, hanging the starship from the ceiling was not entirely favorable.  It had to be hung well above viewer’s heads, safely out of the reach of curious hands. From there, it could only be seen from below, which did not offer the best viewing, certainly not for loyal fans. In addition, hanging the starship left it at the mercy of accumulating dust and grime – a very serious issue in museums.

In fact, the starship had not been built to be hung. When filmed for the television series Star Trek, it rested upon a stand.  This stand, only 17 and a half high inches and ten and a quarter inches wide, seems scarcely substantial enough to support the eleven foot by five foot starship.

The original stand used during filming of the "Star Trek" television series.

By 1999, the starship had been hung, frequently moved, and re-hung for close to a quarter of a century. Museum staff responsible for caring for the starship determined that a close examination of the structure was required. Maryland QC Laboratories (MQC Labs, Inc.) at Aberdeen, Maryland, were contracted to do an X-Ray analysis of the starship, with special emphasis on possible stress at the attachment points, where the cables from which the starship was suspended were attached to the ship itself.

X-Ray Photograph from Saucer to Pylon Top

X-Ray Photograph from Saucer to Pylon Top

Port Nacelle, Top

X-Ray Photograph of Port Nacelle Top

X-Ray photograph of Hull, Starship Enterprise Model.

A composite of four X-Ray photographs showing the hull of the original Starship

After considerable discussion, museum staff decided not to hang the starship any more. Instead, a special case was built for it, and it now rests upon two stanchions specially built to hold it. The case protects the ship from dust, grime and fingerprints, while at the same time, presents the model at eye-level, so that the serious (and the merely curious) viewer can study it closely, and from all sides. Alongside the starship is the original stand it rested on, when filmed for the television show.

Starship "Enterprise" on display in the Museum Store.

Gregory K. H. Bryant is Museum Registrar in the Office of the Registrar at the Smithsonian, National Air and Space Museum.

To see the “Enterprise” Model on display, visit the lower level of the National Air and Space Museum Store at the National Mall Building in Washington, DC.

1909 Alexander Graham Bell Letter

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One hundred years ago, on May 14, 1909, Alexander Graham Bell wrote to Charles D. Walcott, then Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, detailing his plans to donate C. H. Claudy’s photographs of the Wright brothers’ 1908 Army Trials at Fort Myer, Virginia.

This historically profound two-page letter speaks for itself

In this short letter, Bell provides historians a virtual treasure trove of key words, “Aerial Experiment Association”, “Lt. Thomas Selfridge” (for whom Selfridge Field in suburban Detroit is named), “C. H. Claudy”, “Eastman”, “Winfield Cline”, as well as “Orville Wright”, “Charles D. Walcott”, and “Alexander Graham Bell”. Bell also notes that he is shortly taking an extended tour of Europe (of interest to biographers), and thoughtfully provides us his forwarding address while there.

Also of note are the markings on this letter. They give us a detailed `biography’ as it were, of the letter itself. We see that the letter was stamped `Received’ by the Smithsonian on May 17, stamped again by `R.R.’ on the 19th, answered on the 20th of May, and then turned over to the Registrar’s Office, where it has since resided throughout a very tumultuous century.

This letter is now stored in a set of bomb-proof and fireproof safes, along with other papers and accession files which document the legal title, the provenance and the significance of the roughly 57,000 objects in the Museum’s collections.

The Wright brothers’ 1909 Military Flyer itself is on display at the National Air and Space Museum, in the Early Flight gallery on the ground floor.

The Wright 1909 Military Flyer as it appears today. SI#2009-4949 Eric F. Long, Photographer

Gregory K. H. Bryant is Museum Registrar in the Office of the Registrar at the Smithsonian, National Air and Space Museum.

Restoration of the Starship Enterprise

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The original studio model of the Starship Enterprise used in the television series “Star Trek” came to the Smithsonian Institution thirty-five years ago, donated by Paramount Studios in 1974.

When the television show ended in 1969, the starship had been crated and stored at the studios.  Over time, heat, cold, humidity and other elements had taken a toll on the structure, the wiring and other internal components as well as the exterior paint scheme.  Before it could be put on exhibit, extensive restoration was required.

The hull and one nacelle of the Starship Enterprise as it was received by the National Air and Space Museum from Paramount studios on March 1, 1974.

The first Smithsonian restoration took place shortly after the starship was received and was completed by July 29, 1974.  This restoration was coordinated with Matt Jeffries, one of the original designers of the starship, and Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek.

The Starship Enterprise during its first Smithsonian restoration. SI Neg # 74-3977

A second restoration was done ten years later, between August  8, and September 11, 1984.  And a third restoration was carried out in the Winter of 1991.

The Starship Enterprise during its third Smithsonian restoration, December, 1991. Frank H. Winter, Photographer

In addition to these restoration and conservation efforts, on June 22, 1999, the starship underwent X-Ray analysis at QC Laboratories, Inc., in Aberdeen, Maryland.

The Starship Enterprise undergoing X-Ray analysis at QC Laboratories, Inc. Frank H. Winter, Photographer.

X-ray , detail.

X-ray photograph, detail.

In the 35 years that the National Air and Space Museum has held it, the Starship Enterprise has gone through in-depth conservation and restoration, making it one of the more extensively preserved and studied objects in the Museum’s collection.  It is currently on display in the lower level of the National Air and Space Museum Store, where every year it is seen by millions of people from all over the world.

Gregory K. H. Bryant is Museum Registrar in the Office of the Registrar at the Smithsonian, National Air and Space Museum.