Star Trek: 50 Years Later

On the 50th anniversary of the first showing of Star Trek television series, it is worth reading the statements of scientists who carry out the real mission of exploring strange new worlds, seeking out new life and new civilizations, and boldly going where no one has gone before.  This piece from NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program gives you a good cross-section of scientists impacted by the television series.

For instance, Marc Rayman, Director and chief engineer for NASA’s Dawn mission, states: 

I started watching the "Star Trek" original series when it was on in reruns, when I was a youngster. I was a very avid "Star Trek" fan. I’d already been a very serious space buff; I knew in the fourth grade that I wanted to get a Ph.D. in physics. I only ever wanted to work for NASA. I started writing to JPL when I was nine years old. Two of the missions I worked on at JPL were Deep Space 1 and Dawn, which I’m working on now. Those are NASA’s only two planetary missions to use ion propulsion. The first time I ever heard of ion propulsion was in a "Star Trek" episode called “Spock’s Brain.”

I am not sure how many television programs today are driving kids into science, unless it is a police lab, but hopefully we will find more hopeful tales in the future and lead more kids to dream about the wider world and universe.  

The Science of Star Trek on the Smithsonian Channel

 Tonight you can watch the Smithsonian Channel's special Building Star Trek.  The summary for the program states:

When "Star Trek" first aired in 1966, it expanded the viewers' imaginations about what was possible in their lifetimes. Today, many of the space-age technologies displayed on the show, like space shuttles, cell phones, and desktop computers, have already gone from science fiction to science fact. Other innovations, like warp drive, teleportation, and medical tricorders are actively in development. Join us as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of "Star Trek" - a show that continues to inform, enrich, and inspire.

I hope the new television series bring back some of that inspiration.  This summer's blockbuster Star Trek Beyond did nothing for me.  It was no different than all the other super hero films that are more about blowing things up than building things.  One can only hope the new Star Trek: Discovery can bring back both the technology and ideas that can inspire a new generation of fans. 

U.S.S. Enterprise: Cleaning an Icon

The Smithsonian Institute made a film showing the cleaning process the curators went through before displaying the original model of the Enterprise used in the 1960s series. It was an act of devotion that is appreciated by fans around the world.

Vimeo provided this summary of the film:

This is a short film showing the process of the detail paint work on the conservation of the original U.S.S. Enterprise miniature, used in all 79 episodes of the original Star Trek television series. The detail paint work was done between the 11th and the 23rd of April 2016 at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. The model is now on display in the Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.

If you watched the recent film Star Trek Beyond you might remember a similar scene at the end of the film. However, I believe that the repair process was a little more elaborate and on a larger scale (in the movie, at least). 

Star Trek Discovery

This weekend at Comic-Con Star Trek fans saw the first clip for the new CBS series Discovery.  The 13-part series is expected to premiere next January. 

It is an interesting teaser given the hidden USS Discovery and accompanying war-like music. Why is the ship in hiding? It is not clear and CBS is remaining quiet.

With a new Star Trek movie appearing last week, fans should be happy everywhere and particularly at Comic-Con. Given the multitude of movies and television iterations, no one can question Gene Roddenberry spoke for more than one generation. 

Starship USS Enterprise at the Smithsonian

Star Trek fans wil be happy to know the original USS Enterprise from the 1960s series has been refurbished and has its own display at the Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC (rather than sitting in the gift shop). 

The 11-foot, 200-pound, spacecraft has arrived just in time as movies and now a TV series keep the crew in our thoughts.

And here are a few interesting pieces of trivia from a recent NPR article: (1) the spacecraft is green not gray to improve the camera shots against a blue screen and (2) only one side of the spacecraft was competed since that was sufficient for filming. I know, it's like learning the Millenium Falcon is really pink. 

Time for a road trip. 

Star Trek Returns in Many Forms

If you are awaiting the new Star Trek series on CBS, you may enjoy this new clip setting the stage for the series' release in 2017.  It does not reveal any characters or plot lines, but it does promise new crews, new villains, new heroes, and new worlds.  What else can you ask for?

Of course, you can ask for more information on the next Star Trek film, Star Trek Beyond, and this trailer provides that as well.  As always, the scenes will keep you on the edge of your seat.  Better yet, you will only need to wait until July 22 for the film. 

Star Wars Versus Close Encounters

In a recent interview with Smithsonian magazine, Richard Dreyfuss shared his opinion on the 1977 release of both Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind:

If Close Encounters had opened first, the idea of space and stories about aliens would have been lifted to a certain level of audience maturity.  And I think that some of the great writers and some of the great screenwriters would have been making films in that genre as opposed to bang-bang Star Wars and Star Wars sequels.  Close Encounters was, from the beginning to the end, about something far more intelligent, or intellectual, or uplifting...The first line for Close Encounters was 'You have nothing to fear by looking up.

It is clear that Star Wars won, as we see with the billion-dollar release of the seventh episode of the franchise.  I don't remember a sequel to Close Encounters.  But that does seem to be the way of the world and Hollywood.  And yet I am hopeful.  The release of The Martian last year was a stunning scientific film that captured everyone's imagination without light sabers and Death Stars.  And let us not forget the movie Contact, putting Carl Sagan's book of the same name onto the silver screen.  And even Star Trek can be said to be a somewhat more realistic take on human expansion into space, or at least a little more hopeful that the Star Wars version of the galaxy (or some other galaxy far, far away), and it precedes Lucas' story by a decade.  So cheer up, Richard. 

Update:  Tom Shone has an informative article in Slate that discusses the overlapping careers of Lucas and Spielberg.  It is worth a look.

New Horizons: First Class Act

The US Postal Service is commemorating New Horizon's flyby of Pluto with a new forever stamp to be issued in 2016.  A nice idea. And you can expect even more stamps in 2016 covering the other planets in the solar system, our moon, and Star Trek. A great idea!

Smithsonian Restores the USS Enterprise

Do you have any early photos of the USS Enterprise from the first season of Star Trek? The Smithsonian is putting out a call for such images as it attempts to restore the ship to its original condition (the image above is from 1964).  As you can see from the image below, what the museum received in 1967 was in pretty tough shape.

The Smithsonian notes:

 The ship has been modified eight times since it was built in 1964. But the studio model's 1967 appearance in the episode “Trouble with Tribbles” was the last time the Enterprise was modified during the original "Star Trek" television series.

Fans are encouraged to submit firsthand, original images or film of the ship under construction, during filming or on public display at any time before 1976.

If you have anything you can share that can help with this archiving event, please contact StarshipEnterprise@si.edu.

Kickstarter Campaign by Spock's Son

Okay, it is a Kickstarter campaign by Leonard Nimoy's son Adam to produce a documentary about his dad.  Here is more on the Kickstarter project to make the film "For the Love of Spock" in time for the 50th anniversary of Star Trek:

This film was originally conceived as a tribute to Mr. Spock to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the original series. Now, with Dad's passing on February 27th, the film will also explore the incredible career and artistry of Leonard Nimoy. But what has become increasingly apparent as I continue to work on this project is that it's also a personal journey. 

Although I had initially intended to take a somewhat detached, objective view of the subject matter, more and more people involved in this film have urged me to interject some of my own perspective on what it was like growing up with Mr. Spock in the house, and how Dad's new-found celebrity and meteoric career affected my life.

Here is a short clip describing the project as well.

The goal is to raise $600,000.  About $180,00 has already been raised, which is a great start.  Donations will be accepted through July 1 and the project will continue only if the donation goal can be reached. 

Adam notes:

No film project of this scale is without its own risks and challenges - but we're confident that we've assembled the right team to make this film professionally and within our deadline. And with the generous time and support of writers, directors and actors associated with STAR TREK (people like our narrator, Zachary Quinto) who have already agreed to appear on camera, I have no doubt that we will be able to tell the story that my dad and I intended.

This would be a nice and lasting tribute to his father beyond all the other ways we will remember him.

The Passing of Leonard Nimoy

Unlike the movies, the loss of Leonard Nimoy is final.  Mr. Nimoy passed away yesterday at the age of 83. And while he led a diverse life, he will always be Star Trek's Spock in the eyes of most of us left behind. Here is a little bit about his early life from a story in The Washington Post:

Leonard Simon Nimoy was born in Boston on March 26, 1931, to parents who had been peasants in what is now Ukraine. His father became a barber and urged his sons — Leonard and an older brother, Melvin — toward stable careers.

The boys grew up in a Yiddish-speaking household and attended Orthodox Jewish services, which became an unexpected influence on Mr. Nimoy’s role as Spock. His “Vulcan salute” — made by parting the middle and ring fingers of each hand — was based on a hand gesture he noticed while attending a synagogue as an 8-year-old.

So now we know where that ever famous gesture originated.

NASA has issued its own tribute with the photo below showing the Star Trek crew in front of the shuttle Enterprise in 1976:

RIP Leonard Nimoy. So many of us at NASA were inspired by Star Trek. Boldly go...go.nasa.gov/10F4Ci0 

And we can expect to hear and see a lot more about Leonard Nimoy in the weeks to come.  SyFy is planning to dedicate five hours of programming to Mr. Nimoy tomorrow. 

If imagination is the origination of much exploration, then Mr. Nimoy was a key part of the space program we see today and the dreams we have for tomorrow.