Star Trek’s U.S.S. Enterprise to Boldly Go Back to the Workshop

02 Nov 2014 • airspacemag.com

Though it’s been restored three times already during its stay at the Smithsonian, it’s in need of a major overhaul to return it to something like its original status on the Starfleet duty roster, and that’s finally about to happen. After 13 years in the gift shop, NASM has removed the model from public view for restoration at the Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy center near Dulles International Airport in Virginia. The restoration is expected to take roughly 18 months. When the Enterprise returns to the National Mall, it will at last be given a spot on the downtown Museum’s ground floor.

18 months just to restore a model? Ridiculous. In 18 months the Federation could refit the entire actual Enterprise in a Starfleet Spacedock. At this rate we’ll never have real starships.