star trek galileo shuttlecraft

The Galileo (NCC-1701 ⁄ 7) was a Federation Class F shuttlecraft that was in service to Starfleet in the mid- 23rd century , attached to the USS Enterprise . Galileo was the successor to a shuttle of the same name and hull number . ( TOS : " The Immunity Syndrome ")

• 1.1 The Gallows
• 2.1 See also
• 2.2 Background information
• 2.3 External link

History [ ]

In 2267 , it was used to transport the critically-ill Nancy Hedford from Epsilon Canaris III . The shuttle was inexplicably pulled off course by the Companion and forced down on a planetoid in the Gamma Canaris region . Kirk , Spock , and McCoy discovered Zefram Cochrane alive and well, and Hedford remained behind when the Galileo left, as she merged with the Companion. No record of this encounter was made at the request of Cochrane. ( TOS : " Metamorphosis ")

The Galileo brought Ambassador Sarek and his wife Amanda from the surface of Vulcan to the Enterprise prior to the historic Babel Conference in 2268 . ( TOS : " Journey to Babel ")

This Galileo was nearly lost following an encounter with a space amoeba creature on stardate 4307. Spock, motivated by the loss of the USS Intrepid , piloted the Galileo into the creature with the intention of destroying it. The explosion threw both ship and shuttle clear. Spock later returned to the Enterprise . ( TOS : " The Immunity Syndrome ")

The Gallows [ ]

The Galileo was later piloted by Ensign Garrovick and crash landed on Planet 0042692 , the homeworld of a pre-warp civilization . The shuttle became wrecked in a large cavern on the planet, where it began leaking warp plasma . Garrovick survived the wreck and salvaged what technology he could from the Galileo . The cavern, which was rich in dilithium crystals , experienced a chain reaction that created toxic runoff that brought a sickness to the natives . The injured Garrovick eventually joined the natives, an imitative people, who were warned by Garrovick, or "En Son", of " a great evil " that had followed him there, adding, " do not enter the woods where it lurks or your land will be cursed by The Gallows !'" Many did not heed En Son's warning and perished. ( PRO : " All the World's a Stage ")

In 2383 , Hologram Janeway showed the young crew of the USS Protostar an image of the Galileo while explaining the history of the Federation and Starfleet to them. ( PRO : " Starstruck ")

In 2384 , the last of the natives to encounter "The Gallows", Huur'A , described what she saw as having " two glowing eyes , roaring smoke , breathing fire and death . " In an attempt to discover the cause of the sickness brought on by "The Gallows", the crew of the Protostar sought it out on their own and discovered it to be the lost Galileo , and the cause of the localized subspace distortion field which was a side effect of the shuttle's broken warp engine. Jankom Pog , who had recently been studying up on 23rd century Starfleet ships, boarded the shuttle and repaired the duotronic comm relay , in order to break through the interference and contacted the Protostar . When the surrounding cavern began to fall in, Rok-Tahk and Gwyn sought cover with Pog aboard the Galileo , until it fell into a crevasse. As it fell, the trio were beamed from the shuttle on the Protostar 's bridge , moments before the shuttle landed atop the toxic runoff it had created and sank, completely disappearing. ( PRO : " All the World's a Stage ")

Appendices [ ]

See also [ ].

• Galileo Galilei

Background information [ ]

The Galileo was named after Galileo Galilei . ( Star Trek Encyclopedia , 2nd ed., p. 165)

Stock shots from " The Galileo Seven " were used to represent a shuttle stolen from a starbase in " Let That Be Your Last Battlefield ", even though the Galileo 's markings were clearly visible. The model was recreated as a CGI for the remastered print of "Journey to Babel" in 2007. It shows the shuttle on approach, landing, and being prepped for launch.

External link [ ]

• Galileo (NCC-1701/07) (II) at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• 1 Bell Riots
• 3 Daniels (Crewman)

Building the Shuttlecraft Galileo

Midway through Season 1 of The Original Series , the Enterprise got a shuttlecraft and, eventually, a place to put it in.

The shuttle was not designed at the same time as the rest of the ship. The reason for that was simple: shuttlecraft do not get built until a storyline calls for one, because they are just too expensive. So Matt Jefferies was not asked to produce one of these small, short-ranged vessels until “The Galileo Seven” was written.

“The Enterprise was never supposed to sit on a planet’s surface,” Jefferies told Star Trek: The Magazine in an interview that was published in 2000, “so we needed something other than the transporter room. I think, looking at it in later years, it should probably have been a shuttle like a city bus, because several times a script came up that called for more people than we had seats for.”

I worked up sketches for it. But AMT, who were going to build the model in their shops in Phoenix in exchange for being able to market the kit of the Enterprise , felt it was beyond their capabilities, so it was designed by Gene Winfield, an automotive designer who had a custom body shop that primarily serviced the automotive industry through AMT. The Galileo as everybody knows it today was not my design. Overall I was a little disappointed, but I think within their capabilities it was a good solution. And it did work, obviously. People did accept it.

Winfield employed another company, Raymond Loewy Associates, whose Thomas Kellogg made the color rendering of the preliminary redesign. It was based on a separate Jefferies sketch for a “space dock utility craft personnel carrier”, which was boxier and therefore easier to build.

Jefferies’ original design was more aerodynamic.

Basically it was a teardrop thing, and the whole side panel, the outside door, would slide back and you could just step right off on the ground. The seats were like bicycle seats mounted on each side of the keel.

AMT duly produced a miniature of the shuttle. The design did not lend itself to Jefferies’ bicycle seat arrangement, so he had to come up with an interior that worked with the exterior shape.

Jefferies explained the exterior “was a separate set.”

A certain percentage of that had to be done in the studio shops. They brought it all over in a big truck. It was on a steel frame; it was bulky, and it was heavy. I think if it had been lighter and easier to move, and of course if we’d had the time or the equipment, we would have probably got much more use out of it. We could have lowered it to the surface and had the doors open and the people get out or get in. But it would have taken a lot of engineering and probably beefing up the stage structure to be able to lower the thing as it was.

The producers used the Galileo miniature for the photography alongside the interior set, which was designed to accommodate the seven personnel the script called for.

It was never specified how many shuttlecraft the Enterprise carried, but Jefferies assumed there were several and gave the Galileo the “number 7,” tacked onto the main starship registration number. The vessel was “destroyed” during that episode but was later seen in other shows.

Jefferies also noticed that within a single script the description of the shuttle varied:

In one of Gene Coon’s stories [“Metamorphosis”] a description said there were no doors or opening in evidence, and then once we got inside there four or five entrances and people kept coming into the thing. I went to Coon and said, “Mr Coon, what am I going to do?” He said, “That’s your worry.”

Jefferies also designed a control console, but he did not consider this to be a major item. “We just tried to come up with something that looked sensible; some intrumentation they would have to have, compared to what could be done automatically on the Enterprise . Unless you had a story that involved a shuttlecraft entirely then it would have been such a quick, transitory thing that it would have been wasted effort.”

The Enterprise ’s shuttlebay was deemed to have room for several shuttles. According to Jefferies,

We had the large curved clamshell doors at the back, and it didn’t look too much different from a lot of today’s modern hangers on the inside. The shuttlebay itself was only in miniature.

The view of the shuttlebay in “Journey to Babel” was created by shooting through a set of sliding doors toward sections of the interior wall placed 8 or 10 feet further back.

All of our interior walls were of the same finish, which would have included the shuttlebay.

The Galileo was reincarnated as the Galileo II in the Season 3 episode “The Way to Eden,” after the writers had conceded that the original no longer existed. However, the same model was used for photography.

Jefferies came up with a range of other designs for potential shuttles and small vehicles, one of which he labeled a “space tug.”

They were just noodling, daydreaming on my part. But of course the writers were as hard up for ideas as I was and sometimes we could spread a seed if they were looking for something different. There’s one with a man sitting in a bubble and then there was another one with a hook on the back as though it would be for towing. They’d be service vechicles around a space port or a navy yard kind of thing. We would have been able to work from the top of the stage on wires and float them or move them around. They would have been fun to do.

No mention of Thomas Kellogg? His is the red-and-black concept art on the far right. Also, have a look at Bill George’s model of the Kellogg version .

Thanks for the tip! I added the appropriate credit.

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Published Aug 19, 2011

The Shuttlecraft Galileo - Part 2

Today, in our guest blog, Star Trek enthusiast Steve Thomas chronicles the real-life travails of Star Trek's iconic shuttlecraft, the Galileo 1701/7. This is the second half of an extensive two-part feature that includes photographs and video.

The final design of the Shuttlecraft shows a sleek craft that does not allow occupants the headroom to stand up fully (unless you’re under 5-1/2 feet tall). This was intentional as the shuttle was intended to be a compact vehicle, kind of like a mini-van. However, for “ The Galileo Seven ” episode, AMT elected to build a stand-up interior for best dramatic effect. The rear compartment is larger and even included a magical second hatch not seen on the exterior!

Compare the screencaps with Leonard Nimoy (6’-1”) inside the interior shuttle set (IMAGE 1), and Mark Lenard (6’) outside the door of the mock-up (IMAGE 2).

See IMAGE 3 for drawings of the finished shuttle by Franz Joseph (Schnaubelt), of the infamous “Star Fleet Technical Manual” and “Constitution Class Blueprints.

The Galileo model kit actually came out in 1974, 5 years after Star Trek was canceled! The entire line of “ Star Trek ” models would prove to be very profitable for AMT. (IMAGE 4)

In the series, the Galileo was “destroyed” in “The Galileo Seven” episode, but returned in “ The Doomsday Machine ” (#35-presumably), “ Metamorphosis ” (#38), “ Journey to Babel (#39) and “ Immunity Syndrome ” (#47- where it was destroyed again). It appeared as the “Galileo II” in the third season episode “ Way to Eden ” (#75). It was easier and inexpensive to paint “II” on the mock-up than re-letter a new name and designation; but because of the continuity overlook of its second destruction, it should have been “Galileo II” in “Metamorphosis” and “Galileo III” in “Way to Eden”.

POST CANCELLATION

After three seasons, Star Trek was canceled in 1969. Paramount donated the shuttle mock-up to “The Braille Institute” in Los Angeles, where it was used as a plaything for the young students. However, because of safety concerns, they sold it to Roger Hiseman of Palos Verdes, who wanted it for his older son. For whatever the reason, Mr. Hiseman kept the shuttle in his front yard, where it was considered an eyesore by his neighbors. (IMAGE 5)

They petitioned that it be removed, and luckily for the owner, a man named Stephen Haskins bought the shuttle from him. Mr. Haskins paid about $8500 to restore the Galileo and, in 1986, it was unveiled and displayed at the California Creation Convention celebrating the 20th anniversary of Star Trek. (IMAGE 6)

When not on display, the Galileo was stored in the open (!), uncovered and exposed to the elements. She was restored twice more, but ultimately left to ruin, physical damage and at some point, it was even filled with sand! Here she rots amongst old RVs and busses in California. (IMAGE 7)

HER SECOND RESTORATION

In 1989 for $3000, the Galileo was purchased by Lynne Miller of Akron, Ohio. Her plan was to restore the shuttle once again; ultimately to display it at the National Air & Space Museum alongside the shooting model of the Enterprise. To help raise money for the project, she displayed the shuttle at the “LaGrangeCon” convention in Cleveland, sponsored by the Akron chapter of the “Starfleet International” Star Trek club “USS LaGrange” and Vulkon conventions.

Commemorative t-shirts were sold to raise funds, and con attendees could see the Galileo and the beginnings of her restoration under a tent outside of the con hotel. (IMAGE 8)

Members of her restoration team included Tim Gillespie and William “Buck” Krause. They, along with Lynne, are members of the USS Lagrange. Here’s a video put together by the “Galileo Restoration” team, documenting her condition before her transport to Ohio, and showing the start of her restoration. (IMAGE 9)

Here are pictures of the Galileo kept and worked on in a hangar at the Akron-Canton Airport in 1992. Image 11 shows prop-maker Ed Miarecki (l) visiting with restoration team members Buck Krause (c) and Tim Homa (r). (IMAGE 10-13)

HER 3rd DEMISE

In 1993, the owner and her restoration team had a falling out and parted ways. Not much was known as to the condition of the Galileo after the parting. She was moved from the Akron Airport as the hangar property was sold and the hangar demolished. After that, the Galileo’s location was a mystery.

In 2009 on the “Hobbytalk” forum, Phil Broad, who is a Galileo aficionado with an excellent site dedicated to the shuttle, “Cloudster.com,” related these details about the Galileo:

“The woman who owned it had it moved to a sand blasting company in Akron, Ohio. She wanted to have some work done on it, but eventually it became clear to the owner of the company that she was not coming back. they never heard from her again and could not reach her via the phone number she left with them.

"The mock-up sat in their storage yard for over 5 years with no one coming forward to claim it. Finally, I was contacted by a local fan who stumbled across it by accident when he went to that company and suggested that it needed to be "rescued." Well, he was right but there were so many issues and costs involved that I could not see any practical way to do it.

"Last year, the company went out of business and their property was cleared out, and the Shuttlecraft disappeared at this time. It is not known if the original owner came and got it or if some other fans rescued it or if it was bulldozed. More than likely it was demolished.” (IMAGE 14)

With this discovery, I contacted Tim Gillespie, who was part of the restoration team and lived near the yard, to try to find out more. Tim went out to the yard and verified that it was no longer there. I’m hoping it may have been taken by someone who recognized what it was, or possibly that it was reclaimed by the owner. Attempts to date to find the owner have failed. At this point I believe once the owner is found, she will be able to reveal if she still has it, sold it, or if it was abandoned and left for trash. I and many others hope it wasn’t trashed.

Recently, on Doug Drexler’s blog “Drexfiles,” Tim Gillespie posted the following in response to a poster who suggested her restoration was “mishandled” by the “USS LaGrange” club. He also supplies details about how the restoration team and owner Lynne Miller parted ways.

"This may be a bit late, but I want to clarify something concerning the USS LaGrange and the restoration of the Galileo Shuttlecraft.

"The Galileo was the sole property of Lynne Miller. Although some chapter members assisted Lynne from time to time and two of our members were handling the actual restoration, all the decisions regarding the shuttle were in the hands of Lynne. As club president at the time (and knowing Lynne as I did), I insisted that anything regarding the shuttle was done purely at Lynne’s discretion and not as an “official” LaGrange project. Lynne was a very difficult person to deal with and when the inevitable problems arose (and they did) I didn’t want any fingers pointed at the chapter. To suggest that the LaGrange “mishandled” the Galileo is completely wrong. We neither owned it nor did we make any decisions regarding it. Whatever happened to the Galileo was completely the responsibility of Lynne Miller.

"Personally, I haven’t seen Lynne Miller since 1998 when I left Trek fandom for good. If I had to guess, the Galileo no longer exists or it is in such disrepair that it is no longer salvageable. It was not something you could move around easily and (it) required constant upkeep. Bill and Tom, when they gave up the project due to problems with Lynne, had completed most of the restoration of the main hull. Bill Krause is probably one of the most talented and meticulous people you could ever hope to meet, and I assure you what they did with the restoration was first class. However, if this thing has been hauled around from location to location and left outside for any length of time without proper storage, it’s just not going to hold up. You have to remember that it was a prop – meant to be used on a sound stage and then discarded. It wasn’t built to withstand California sandstorms and Ohio winters. The guys did the best they could with it under difficult conditions, but God only knows what has happened to it in the last 13 years. I know how much such an iconic piece of Trek history means to many out there, but actually owning this white elephant, if it exists, would be a huge, major undertaking – a veritable money pit, if you will.

Sorry about rambling on so much, but I get a bit touchy when someone disses the ol' LaGrange (not to be confused with the ‘current’ LaGrange)."

A NEW DEVELOPMENT

Before completing this article, I thought to see if there might be more recent aerial photos of the Galileo in that yard…and then I found an aerial view on Bing. (IMAGE 15)

This appears to be a more recent view of the yard. It shows the shuttle covered in a tarp in another location behind a truck! The yard where she was has been cleared. If this view is more recent than the “Google Earth” or “MS Virtual Earth” views, then it’s very possible the Galileo survives! Either the owner has her or someone else. There may still be “possibilities!"

WHITHER GALILEO?

An attempt is now underway to locate the owner to learn the fate of the Galileo. If she was not destroyed, then there is the chance that a prominent “Star Trek” prop collector/dealer and businessman will buy her and (hopefully) see to her final and complete restoration! And if the worst is confirmed, I personally hope that this businessman will consider approaching AMT (now “AMT/ERTL”) to build a new Galileo… the “Galileo II”

To read part one of Steve Thomas' blog about the mysterious fate of the Galileo 1701/7, click HERE .

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The Galileo Seven

• Episode aired Jan 5, 1967

The Galileo, under Spock's command, crash-lands on a hostile planet. As the Enterprise races against time to find the shuttlecraft, Spock's strictly logical leadership clashes with the fear ... Read all The Galileo, under Spock's command, crash-lands on a hostile planet. As the Enterprise races against time to find the shuttlecraft, Spock's strictly logical leadership clashes with the fear and resentment of his crew. The Galileo, under Spock's command, crash-lands on a hostile planet. As the Enterprise races against time to find the shuttlecraft, Spock's strictly logical leadership clashes with the fear and resentment of his crew.

• Robert Gist
• Oliver Crawford
• Shimon Wincelberg
• Gene Roddenberry
• William Shatner
• Leonard Nimoy
• Don Marshall
• 46 User reviews
• 12 Critic reviews

Top cast 19

• Captain James T. Kirk

• Commissioner Ferris

• Yeoman Mears

• (as Buck Maffei)

• Transporter Chief
• (as David Ross)

• Enterprise Computer
• (uncredited)
• Lieutenant Hadley

• Lieutenant Leslie
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia After this episode was filmed, no new shots of the shuttlecraft miniature were taken. All shuttlecraft model shots used in the series were stock footage from this episode, sometimes matted into different backgrounds.
• Goofs Spock is reluctant to use deadly force in order to deal with the giant humanoids and instead instructs his men to use their phasers to fire at 2 and 10 o'clock (not hitting them) in an attempt to scare them off. McCoy, Latimer and Boma are all in favor of killing a few of them instead. Apparently no one thinks of using the "stun" setting on their phasers. Stunning one or two of them would be more effective than firing to their left and right and yet would do no permanent damage,

Scott : Mr. Spock, you said a while ago that there were always alternatives.

Spock : Did I? I may have been mistaken.

Dr. McCoy : Well, at least I lived long enough to hear that.

• Crazy credits In the closing credits of the show, the title for Script Supervisor, George A. Rutter, is misspelled "SCPIPT SUPERVISOR".
• Alternate versions Special Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song
• Connections Edited into Star Trek: Journey to Babel (1967)
• Soundtracks Theme From Star Trek Written by and credited to Alexander Courage

User reviews 46

• Steve_Nyland
• May 2, 2010
• January 5, 1967 (United States)
• United States
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Technical specs

• Runtime 50 minutes

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Building an Incredibly Detailed Star Trek Galileo Shuttlecraft

By Roger Garrett

Roger garrett.

Roger is a retired software engineer. He worked on everything from military computers (UNIVAC AN/YUK-7) for nuclear submarines, to DEC PDP-11s, to PCs, to the latest microprocessors (Arduino, Raspberry Pi, etc.). Author of The Inventors Sketchpad column in Interface Age magazine for several years, and Star Ship Simulation, a book about how a set of small computers could be networked to simulate the bridge of the Starship Enterprise, written and published long before the advent of personal computers. Founder and current president of Hawaii Inventors Association.

I’ve been a lifelong fan of Star Trek and was motivated, like many other students at the time, by the original TV series (as well the amazing space programs at NASA) to pursue a career in engineering. I even wrote a book, Starship Simulation.

So, when I heard about the restoration project  by Adam & Leslie Schneider, Alec Peters, and Gene Winfield in which the original Galileo Shuttlecraft was located (in a garbage dump) and fully, painstakingly, and lovingly restored to its former glory, ending up as a permanent display at the Houston Space Center , I was again motivated. This time I wanted to build my very own Galileo Shuttle, but not the little plastic one that was originally offered back in the sixties. I wanted to assemble a large-scale, hand-built model.

My original thoughts were to build a full-size Galileo that was accurate in every detail inside and out. Then, I wanted to tour the country with it as a traveling educational exhibit, keeping the love of Star Trek alive; Trekkies, old and new, would get to see it up close and personal. My Galileo would, perhaps, inspire yet another generation of students to pursue careers in science and engineering. Unfortunately, that plan didn’t work out when CBS Productions, which owns the Star Trek franchise, informed me that they wouldn’t allow it to happen.

I started my project by searching the web for photos and diagrams that I could use as the basis for my own CAD and other engineering drawings. Fortunately there are many people who have taken the time to draw up excellent engineering drawings and publish them on the web. I used many of those drawings, as well as photos of the “real” shuttle, to prepare files, mostly using Alibre CAD software, that were then used to drive a laser cutter and CNC router at our local makerspace . Almost the entire shuttle is made from ⅛” MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) cut with the laser, the router, or by hand on a small table-top jigsaw.

In 1978, I wrote and published, through Dilithium Press, my book, Star Ship Simulation , describing how the bridge of the Enterprise could be simulated using small interconnected computers. This was long before the advent of personal computers or even before hobby computers. In the intervening years I’ve heard from a number of people and hobby groups who have used my book as the basis for actually building both hardware and software simulations of the Enterprise.

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Restored 'Star Trek' Shuttlecraft Galileo to open at Houston museum

After close to 50 years in disarray, an iconic piece of restored "Star Trek" memorabilia is about to boldly go on display in its new home.

On Wednesday, Space Center Houston — the visitor's center for NASA's Johnson Space Center in Texas — will unveil the new permanent display for the Shuttlecraft Galileo , a life-size spaceship prop from the original 1960s "Star Trek" TV series.

The Galileo's restorer, "Star Trek" superfan Adam Schneider , thinks that the space center — which is next to NASA's home base for Mission Control and the astronaut corps. — is the ideal place for the shuttlecraft. [ See Photos of the restored Shuttlecraft Galileo (Gallery) ]

"If somebody told me when I was a little kid that I'd be donating a spaceship to NASA, I would have said that they were kidding," Schneider, whose restoration took about nine months, told Space.com. "How does it feel? It feels amazing. It almost feels like it's all downhill from here because this is such a high. It feels truly like a success."

The Galileo's road to Houston has been a long one. Before Schneider won it at auction in June 2012, the shuttlecraft was in shambles. Schneider and his wife, Leslie, employed the help of craftsman Hans Mikaitis and his team of ship restorers at Master Shipwrights in Atlantic Highlands, N.J., to help return the shuttlecraft to its former glory.

The finished 23 foot (7 meter) long Galileo was revealed for the first time in late June before a crowd of more than 350 "Star Trek" fans and friends of the restorers before being shipped via truck to Texas for tomorrow's opening.

"The life-size spaceship will be on permanent display inside the Zero-G Diner and will be one of the few exhibitions in the world where visitors can see iconic sci-fi history that influenced generations of innovators," officials from Space Center Houston wrote on the center's website.

Space Center Houston will play host to a public event in honor of the arrival of Galileo on Wednesday. A celebrity panel will discuss the influence of science fiction on space exploration and an astronaut will make a presentation.

According to the visitor's center, celebrity guests will include:

• Don Marshall, Lieutenant Boma from the original 1967 "Galileo Seven" episode of "Star Trek"
• Robert Picardo, the Doctor in "Star Trek: Voyager"
• Sylvester McCoy, the seventh Doctor on "Doctor Who" and Radagast from "The Hobbit"
• Jason Carter, Ranger Marcus Cole on "Babylon 5"
• Adrienne Wilkinson, Jedi Maris Brood in "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed"
• Marshall Teague, a supporting player in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Star Trek: Voyager"
• Tracy Scoggins, Capt. Elizabeth Lockley from "Babylon 5"
• Gil Gerard, Capt. William Buck Rogers in "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century"

"Like any good project, when it ends you're a little regretful because the experience was positive," Schneider said. "We had fabulous people to work with. We had a fabulous experience in the 'Star Trek' community, so I think we're a little sad and regretful that it's over at one level. On another level, this is a permanent addition to the fan base, so to speak, and we're really very proud that it actually is going where it's going."

Follow Miriam Kramer @mirikramer  and Google+ . Follow us @Spacedotcom , Facebook and Google+ . Original article on Space.com.

• 'Star Trek' Galileo Shuttlecraft – How It Was Restored To Flight Status | Video
• Inside Star Trek's Galileo Shuttlecraft (Infographic)
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The Fate of Star Trek’s Galileo

Last summer, classic-“Star Trek” geeks were captivated when the full-sized mockup of the Galileo shuttlecraft that ferried passengers to and from the U.S.S. Enterprise was offered in an online auction in Ohio. After eleven days of bidding, Adam Schneider of Livingston, New Jersey, was the winner. He paid seventy thousand one hundred and fifty dollars for the Galileo, but he’s not keeping it. He wants to donate it to an air-and-space, science, or children’s museum—any place that can accommodate its twenty-four-foot-long, one-ton corpus.

“It’s not exactly a living-room piece,” said Schneider, who has filled four rooms of his house with trophies, like an eleven-foot, four-hundred-pound Starfleet dry dock from “Star Trek: The Motion Picture.”

Right now, the Galileo is being restored at Master Shipwrights, a boat-building operation in Atlantic Highlands, near Sandy Hook. On a cold Saturday morning, the repair crew was noisily straightening out the van-shaped shuttle’s metal skeleton and fitting wood bracings to its new plywood hull. Temporarily stripped of its twin tubular, eighteen-foot propulsion units, the Galileo sat on concrete blocks and a dolly under the gaze of a large portrait of Cosmo Kramer that was hung high on the workshop wall.

“I think it’s sharp,” said the welder and grinder Ken Foster. “You could put a set of outboards on it and row it across the bay.”

“It looks like an amphibious duck,” said his colleague Frank Monticelli.

“No,” said Foster, “an armored personnel carrier.”

Schneider, a principal at Deloitte, is an amiable man who calls to mind Ray Romano. But he wasn’t happy to see some disintegrating pieces of the Galileo’s vintage exterior lying on the floor. “I need this out of there,” he said. “That’s valuable. Maybe it goes on the wall if no one wants it.”

Master Shipwrights’ gray-bearded owner, Hans Mikaitis, hefted a chunk bearing the faded black registration number 1701/7 and, below that, the fragmentary letters “ ERPRISE .” “Not a hell of lot of this one,” he muttered. “But it’s got to be worth at least a thousand bucks.”

The Galileo spent more than forty years getting passed among owners who tried, without much success, to spruce it up and exhibit it; sometimes it was in storage but mostly it was exposed to the elements. The ship was a crumbling wreck when it arrived, in late October, its guts ornamented with raccoon excrement and a few mouse carcasses.

“When I saw it for the first time, I said, ‘This needs a lot of T.L.C.,’ ” said Foster. “Pictures didn’t do it justice.”

Schneider shrugged. “Listen, it would have been fabulous if the wood was in great condition and we could just slap a new coat of paint on it—”

“But the more we dug into it,” Foster interrupted, “the more it was rotted rotted rotted rotted. The only way to rebuild it was to stick to the frame and start all over.”

“I bought it without looking at it,” Schneider acknowledged.

“This is how he operates,” said his wife, Leslie, who was taking photographs.

Schneider shrugged again. “Well, this is my thing. Fixing strange starships would appear to be my life’s passion.”

The shuttle was built in 1966, by a twelve-member team working for two months around the clock supervised by its main designer, a California automotive customizer named Gene Winfield. Schneider is in close touch with Winfield, who is now eighty-five (“He was shocked that people could give a crap about this”), but no vintage blueprints or as-built plans exist. So even with paint chips, screen grabs, and myriad other guides, the team is bracing for mistakes.

“I’m sure,” said Monticelli, “we’ll have the critics going after us for silly little things.”

Another challenge is that the Galileo’s interior was too cramped for actual filming; a separate, roomier set was used to depict the action within. So, while the ship’s hull should be finished by April, Schneider hasn’t quite decided how to fashion the insides. He does want at least one special feature: “A control panel that will explode. Because in the TV show it always exploded.”

Mikaitis regarded him. “You’re thinking. What’re you thinking about?”

“I’m just shaking my head,” said Schneider. “What’s the expression—‘another fine mess you’ve gotten me into’?” He turned to Leslie. “Right, honey?”

At one o’clock, the crew adjourned for lunch to a nearby restaurant, On the Deck, overlooking the water. When Monticelli’s cell phone went off, belting forth a “Star Wars” Imperial March ringtone, there was a collective groan. “Get your franchise right!” said Schneider.

“So what’s your next project?” Mikaitis asked him.

“Well, there are other shuttles,” Schneider said.

Leslie pointed her finger at her husband, cocked her thumb, and pulled the trigger.

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Houston, Texas : Star Trek (Original Series) Shuttlecraft (Gone)

The "Galileo" was featured in the original Star Trek TV series (1967). Restored in July 2013 after spending decades rotting in a warehouse. You can't climb inside (it's hollow) but it is a full-size prop.

Space Center Houston

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Visitor Tips and News About Star Trek (Original Series) Shuttlecraft

Reports and tips from RoadsideAmerica.com visitors and Roadside America mobile tipsters . Some tips may not be verified. Submit your own tip .

The full-size "Galileo" shuttlecraft film prop from the original Star Trek series had been on display at Space Center Houston, but was removed when new management felt that it didn't fit their mission statement of real-world space exploration. On November 4, 2022, it was announced that the prop will be moved to Ticonderoga, New York, where it will be on long-term display at the Star Trek Original Series Set Tour attraction.

Visited the Space Center in mid-May. The shuttlecraft hasn't been there for a couple of years, the docents say. They didn't know where it went.

Perhaps it went to Taurus II or Talos IV, famous destinations for this Original Series prop.

The shuttlecraft is only temporarily gone from the Johnson Space Center. It is on loan to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City from April to December 2016, when it should return to Houston.

Moved to New York as of 04/05/16 (temporarily they say) to a different museum.

The shuttlecraft "Galileo."

This is the original prop created in 1967 for the Star Trek TV series, used for exterior views of the shuttlecraft. It's one of the highlights of the Space Center Houston tour, restored and put on display in 2013.

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Original 'Star Trek' Galileo Shuttlecraft Restored (Photos)

Galileo shuttlecraft, meet the zhang heng.

The Zhang Heng, a Toyota Prius modified to look like a "Star Trek" shuttlecraft, appears with the fully restored Galileo shuttlecraft at Master Shipwrights Inc., in Atlantic Highlands, N.J. on June 22, 2013. The Galileo is an original prop from TV's "Star Trek" and inspired amateur astronomer Willie Yee to create the Zhang Heng.

Galileo Shuttlecraft 2012 Condition

A photo of the Galileo shuttlecraft from "Star Trek" taken in 2012 shows its heavily degraded condition. [ Full Story ]

Restored Galileo Shuttlecraft from "Star Trek"

A close-up of the fully restored Galileo shuttlecraft from TV's "Star Trek" television show. The huge TV prop was originally built in 1967 and restored to mint condition by a team led by Trek superfan Adam Schneider and Trek blogger Alec Peters.

Star Trek's Galileo Restoration Team

"Star Trek" superfan Adam Schneider (center left) stands with wife Leslie (center), boat restoration craftsman Hans Mikaitis (center right) and the rest of the Master Shipwrights Inc. team in front of the fully restored Galileo shuttlecraft from "Star Trek" fame.

Star Trek Superfan Adam Schneider and Galileo

"Star Trek" superfan Adam Schneider (right) receives a plaque from Hans Mikatis of Master Shipwrights, Inc., during the unveiling of the restored Galileo shuttlecraft on June 22, 2013. The Galileo was originally featured on the original "Star Trek" TV series in 1967 and restored by Schneider and his team.

Star Trek's Galileo Saviors: Master Shipwrights Inc.

The door at Master Shipwrights Inc., in Atlantic Highlands, N.J., opens on an unusual sight: The fully restored Galileo shuttlecraft from the 1960s TV show "Star Trek." Craftsman at the boat restoration company restored the shuttlecraft to its original glory so it can be donated to Space Center Houston in Texas.

Tasty Trek: Galileo Shuttlecraft Restoration

Fans of "Star Trek" celebrated the restoration of the Galileo shuttlecraft from the original 1960s TV show with a tasty cake emblazoned with the shuttle's image on June 22, 2013 at Master Shipwrights Inc., in Atlantic Highlands, N.J.

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Exterior Galileo Front Quarter

On May 3, 2013, SPACE.com visited the Galileo Restoration project in New Jersey, which intends to repair the shuttlecraft once used for filming the iconic TV series, "Star Trek." This photo shows the current condition of the Galileo shuttlecraft.

SPACE.com Staff Visits Galileo

SPACE.com Managing Editor Tariq Malik (left) and SPACE.com Staff Writer Miriam Kramer walk inside the Galileo. Photo taken May 3, 2013.

Looking Into Galileo’s Door

Looking into Galileo’s open 3-panel door. Photo taken May 3, 2013.

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Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor. 

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