Both Roddenberry and Matt Jefferies, the man tasked with the actual design of the original Enterprise, both had an obsession with making these fictional creations seem as realistic as possible. Thus, they created these rules so that each Federation starship would adhere to the same loose theories on how the ships worked. Jefferies would always, upon being asked to create something, go back to the closest real world example he could find, and base the designs and “science” on those. Here’s a look at what those rules were, and how they impacted the aesthetic of Star Trek.
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Rule One: Warp Nacelles Must Be In Pairs
Warp nacelles are the outbound engine housing structures that contain the warp coils that allow for the all important warp travel across the galaxy. Roddenberry was very specific that these needed to be in pairs, and he preferred if there were only two per ship.
It’s important to note that, for every single rule that Roddenberry came up with, they have pretty much been ignored after The Original Series. A prime example of this rule being broken is the alternate-timeline USS Enterprise-D Dreadnought, which was captained by Riker in The Next Generation series finale “All Good Things.” The ship had three warp nacelles: two in the usual place the Enterprise-D has them, but an extra one in the center and above. It’s worth noting that this is the only Enterprise-named ship to break the Roddenberry rules; all the others pay their respects to the late creators design stipulations. Many fans actually love the Dreadnought design, favoring it over the awkwardly-proportioned usual Enterprise D from TNG.
This rule wasn’t just arbitrary, or just for the aesthetic symmetry of the ship. Rather, it was a direct consequence of Jefferies’ research into how the warp drive would work. The closest similarity he could find to a warp field was a magnetic field, and so came up with the idea of the nacelles containing spinning cylinders in parallel, creating a field in between them. This was why there had to be two, working alongside each other to create the fictional warp field in between them. Considerint this, another ship that broke this rule even more egregiously was the USS Kelvin from the 2009 Star Trek movie, the namesake for the alternative Kelvin universe. This ship only had one nacelle, making even less fictional sense than the Dreadnought.
Rule Two: Empty Space Between the Nacelles
This is a rule that comes about from the necessity to have pairs of warp nacelles. The way in which Jefferies and Roddenberry designed the science behind warp required at least 50% of what comes between the nacelles to be empty space, with nothing physical in between that would interfere with the furled being generated.
This rule makes sense when following the fictional science: if something is being generated in the space between two engines, then anything caught in the middle will be scrambled. This rule was broken a lot in the series that followed TNG, the most memorable example being the USS Defiant from DS9. This ship had the nacelles built into the sides of the saucer (if it can be called a saucer, another slight rule-bending feature), which, while they are in pairs, would generate the warp field directly in the center of the ship. This would wreak unknown havoc inside.
Rule Three: The Bussard Collectors Must Be Visible From The Front
Bussard collectors, in this instance, basically means the same things as warp nacelles, as they were most commonly attached to the front of them. They are also called the ramscoops, and are a large device that is present on all Federation starships, designed to collect interstellar particles. They could be reconfigured to collect whatever particle desired, just by flying through an area of space that contains it. They were most often used to collect hydrogen (more specifically deuterium) which was used for replenishing fuel. They could also be used to expel plasma or gas, as seen in the TNG episode “Samaritan Snare” where the Enterprise D released hydrogen exhaust, disabling the antagonist Pakleds’ weapons and rescuing the disability icon Geordi LaForge from their clutches.
The reason these were not allowed to be obscured at all, and perfectly visible from the front, was most likely because if there was anything in the way of them, they would be far less efficient in collecting particles. It would be like trying to vacuum up some breadcrumbs through a closed kitchen cabinet.
Rule Four: The Bridge Must Be Located At the Top of the Primary Hull
This was the only rule not directly related to the warp nacelles, which were obviously the true obsessions of Roddenberry and Jefferies. The rule stipulates that the main hub of command for any Starfleet ship must be located at the top and center of the main saucer (or hull). Things like the warp nacelles can be above this, and often are, but the bridge has to top off the main bulk of the starship.
This is another rule that can be linked to a realistic explanation; however, it’s a bit of a stretch. At its core, it’s mainly for visuals, to create a more aesthetically pleasing design that shows the bridge crew at the top of the ship they command. It makes sense in an old-fashioned way, commanding everything below them. The in-universe explanation is that this is where the shields are supposedly the strongest, and while a lot of protection is desired for other parts of the ship, such as engineering, and red alert civilian shelters, the bridge is ultimately the main priority. The USS Defiant breaks this rule, with its bridge being situation on the bottom of the vessel.
While these rules were broken a lot over the years of Star Trek, they served their purpose over the course of the series. For a franchise to not fall in under the weight of its own universe creation, there needs to be some design guidelines that help cultivate a sense of style throughout. Because of these rules, even though they were not religiously followed, Star Trek has generated a very particular visual style that remains even with the newer iterations into the franchise. It ensures that newer iterations still feel like part of the same universe, despite everything being a little shinier.
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