Engineering
Engineering, or main engineering (Klingonese translation: reactor pit), is the location from which the ship's main power systems are controlled. Engineering is the primary assignment of engineers and chief engineers.
Engineering's primary purpose is to be the central point for control of all engineering systems aboard a starship, especially those related to propulsion and power generation. The matter/antimatter reaction chamber (also known as the warp core) is located in engineering.
Engineering can also be used as a command and control center, overriding primary centers such as the bridge or auxiliary control.
22nd century design Edit
Engineering aboard an NX-class starship
NX-class starships of the 22nd century were the first Human vehicles to carry a warp reactor capable of speeds up to warp 5. (ENT: "Broken Bow") Aboard an NX-class ship, a section of engineering was situated on E Deck. (ENT: "Zero Hour")
Drawing inspiration from the engine of the Constitution-class USS Enterprise in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, production designer Herman Zimmerman suggested that the NX-class engine be of a horizontal configuration, an idea that was quickly approved by series co-creators and executive producers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. (Star Trek: Communicator issue 135, p. 64) However, much of the particulars of the set were made the purview of Star Trek: Enterprise set decorator James Mees, who consequently once cited engineering as the set he found "most challenging" of all the sets featured in the series' pilot episode, "Broken Bow". He went on to state, "All the detail work was left to me – the blinking things, all the pipes – and there's not an inch that doesn't have something that does something!" (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 3, Issue 3, p. 86)
A schematic of the NX-class vessel shows the upper portion of engineering on D-Deck while its lower section was a part of E-Deck. The latter corresponds with a canon reference in "Zero Hour", although Daniels says in "Cold Front" that Engineering is on C-Deck. Engineering on Enterprise appears to have an unseen lower level as, in "The Crossing", we see Trip taking the lift up from beneath the deck. In addition, Herman Zimmerman once characterized this lift as "a four-story elevator." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 135, p. 64)
Among the set dressings for the NX-class engineering was a junction wall panel which was, in reality, a radio sound mixer echo board. This piece was sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay. [1]
23rd century design Edit
Original configuration of main engineering on a pre-refit Constitution-class starship
On the original Constitution-class starships, engineering was a two-deck-tall room that housed the main dilithium reactor and the engineering core as well as a large transparent grill that overlooked power conduits. The room was extensively refitted on Constitution-class starships in the late 2260s to include additional computers, offices, and rooms around the main area. (TOS: "The Corbomite Maneuver", "The Naked Time", "The Conscience of the King", "The Ultimate Computer", "Mirror, Mirror", "Day of the Dove")
Towards the end of the 23rd century, the engineering department on refit Constitution-class starships was drastically changed, spanning multiple decks. The uppermost level served as the structural support strong back of the ship, and was the anchoring framework for the connecting dorsal and the warp nacelle pylons.
On the forward end of this level was the engineering computer monitoring room, which encircled the intermix shaft and opened, to the rear, into the engineering computer bay. The rear bulkhead of the computer bay contained an emergency section door which lowered to the deck below, and separated the warp engine room from the extended horizontal intermix area; the door dropped automatically in the event of a radiation leak or pressure loss.
The upper level of main engineering aboard a refit Constitution-class starship
The lower level of engineering aboard a refit Constitution-class starship
On the Constitution-class ship, a narrow corridor bypassed the computer bay on the port side and led aft, down the center of the level. On either side of this passageway were mounted the four maneuvering thrusters which rested beneath the upper hull of the secondary hull strong back.
These thrusters were used for vessel course control when within close proximity of drydock facilities.
The lower engineering deck typically housed the engineering department. Located in the center of the room, and extending for many levels both above and below the deck, was the vertical linear intermix chamber.
This complex, a radically new design in intermix technology, provided operational power for the impulse drive system and furnished enough additional energy to power all other shipboard systems. Both matter and antimatter for this chamber were contained in a series of magnetic bottles, which were normally housed in pods at the base of the intermix shaft.
These pods could be ejected from the ship in case of an extreme emergency via two large blow-away panels in the outer hull. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)
(Credit for pics to 3Dgladiators.com)
