Posted in: Geek Culture Posted: February 18, 2015

Conservation Of Star Trek’s Original USS Enterprise Gets Checked On By Captain Kirk

For years, the model USS Enterprise from Star Trek: The Original Series hung in the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum’s basement gift shop, surrounded by lights and protective glass. Some of the paint was chipped and the 11-foot model had started to sag.

But the infamous starship is going to be getting a new home in 2016 after some extensive examination and conservation efforts by the museum — and its efforts have recently gained viral attention after the input of William Shatner, who played as the Enterprise‘s very own Captain James T. Kirk.

“@NASAhistory Did you break my ship?” he tweeted with a picture of an unattached deflector dish. “Smithsonian! I let you borrow my ship and you broke it?” he continued.

“@WilliamShatner @NASAhistory In spacedock for conservation. Would you like to come for an inspection, Captain?” the Air and Space Museum’s official Twitter account replied.

The Enterprise model was donated to the Smithsonian in 1974, a few years after the original Star Trek series ended in 1969. It spent some time in the Arts & Industries Building, and more recently in the gift shop area, before it was taken down in late 2014 so conservation efforts could begin. The Smithsonian’s conservator, Margaret Weitekamp, explained what was going on to start.

“We took it off display in September 2014 because we were getting it ready for a new location in the Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall, which will open in July of 2016. We have been doing the evaluation that we’ve needed to do in order to figure out how to structurally stabilize the model, clean it and prepare it for its new display location.”

This isn’t the first effort the museum has tried to restore the Star Trek model. Since it arrived in 1974 it has been treated three times, but the restoration in 1991 drew some criticism for its paint job.

“It was too weathered and there were grid lines that were too extensive; that’s the key aspect of concern,” explained Star Trek model collector Adam Schneider. Schneider is on an advisory committee for the ship’s restoration.

Weitekamp also explained to Trek Core that “before the model came off display, we could see the two nacelles were starting to sag and spread apart slightly.” This problem has also happened with other Star Trek ship studio models, model kits, and other consumer products.

But Shatner’s tweets, teasing though they may be, have brought plenty of attention to the project, something that has delighted Weitekamp.

“I think it’s wonderful that people are noticing what we’re doing with the artifact. The Star Trek fan community really still feels very much an ownership of this piece and we are working hard to be responsible to the history of the artifact and also to the passion of the fan community that loves this so much.”

She also explained that the Star Trek actor’s presence at the unveiling next year “would be a lot of fun.” The ship will be put on display just in time for the 50th anniversary of the original series.

Since the show went on the air nearly 50 years ago, many technological advances in the real world have come to mirror that of Star Trek‘s incredible vision of the future, like tablet computers, video conferencing and even medical tricorders.