Brian Gottschalk

"Engineering the Enterprise"

ABSTRACT -- Star Trek: The Original Series has a special place in television history. It was the first serious foray into the world of science fiction. With a heavy emphasis on science, the creators and artists attempted to construct a realistic vision of the future. This was done, in large part through an emphasis on engineering and practical set design of the Starship Enterprise. This discussion highlights the artists responsible for creating this unique vision of the future, done at a time prior to man’s landing on the Moon. The review includes details of the practical engineering that was applied to the set design and its construction. A presentation of an exact recreation of these sets at the Star Trek: The Original Series Set Tour in Ticonderoga, NY highlights these principles. Illustrations of the set building activities demonstrate how innovative forethought enhanced the believability of future routine space travel. These feats were accomplished by a loose partnership between members of NASA and the creative team behind Star Trek, and over the years have created a unique synergy that captured the imagination and fostered an interest in engineering for many generations to push the boundaries of space and science.

SPEAKER -- Brian Gottschalk is a Business Analyst for a software development company specializing in utility billing software. He is an active participant of Star Trek: The Original Series Set Tour in Ticonderoga, New York as both a set builder and at special events when cast members of the many Star Trek series come to speak and interact with fans. He is a lifelong Star Trek fan who has researched and spoken about the show at multiple conventions and conferences. This passion also intersects with a fascination of the work NASA has done in manned space exploration, and he continues to follow the science developments which help with a greater understanding of the universe we all live in.

Engineering Colloquium home page: https://ecolloq.gsfc.nasa.gov