In order to cut production costs on the Star Trek series, the transporter was devised as a way to get ship personnel from the Enterprise and onto a planet without the need for a lot of special effects. It also moved stories along. But there were occasions when another form of conveyance was shown – the Shuttlecraft.
These were short-journey, warp-capable craft, typically used for ferrying passengers to other systems while the Enterprise was engaged on a primary mission elsewhere.
The Enterprise had quite a few Shuttlecraft in its service, though you’d think it only had one. The hangar deck was only big enough to contain a single craft, or at least it appeared that way.
The most famous of these Shuttlecraft was the “Galileo”, which featured heavily in the Season 1 episode, The Galileo Seven.
So what happened to this prop, which stood in for other shuttles in the series, after Star Trek wrapped?
This video details the eight-month restoration of the Galileo, between October 2012 and June 2013…
Once the restoration work was completed, there was the public unveiling….
Here’s a collection of images of the restored Shuttlecraft…
So, once the restoration work was completed, here’s where it was proposed that the Galileo end up…
Here’s the story of the Galileo being put on display at Space Center Houston, the official visitor center for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas. Star Trek Continues later filmed there with the shuttle for their episode “The Fairest Of Them All“.
More info about the restoration project can be found at www.galileorestoration.com.
Tagged with: 2010 star trek convention schedule • Galileo Shuttlecraft • star-trek • The Galileo Seven
Filed under: Star Trek Documentaries
