this post was submitted on 06 Dec 2024
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Captain's mess
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There have been tons and tons of diagrams, but in the show itself I think it communicates decently that most of what happens is in the saucer section. The bridge is clearly on top of the ship. The hallway sets tend to be curved to give the impression they are inside the saucer.
I don't know if it was ever stated, but I never questioned that engineering was down near the deflector dish, which is where it is in the diagrams. The warp nacelles are just giant engines. The shuttle bay is is the rear of the ship; I'm not sure if that was shown in the original footage, it's been a while since I've watched anything but the "touched up " version with CGI.
In TOS design logic, ships need two warp nacelles spaced left and right and they tend to be placed far away from the crew. This is a design consideration that is pretty consistent throughout TOS, so it is a design trying to communicate a logic of the technology. Thus, the Enterpise is a flying saucer with a giant external engine bolted on, more or less.
The logic of needing warp nacelles arranged like this has mostly been followed for the rest of Trek.
If you are small enough there is no saucer.
Also the Vulkan ships have a ring.
I suppose it is whatever fits the fancy of the production crew. I assume the ring shape also creates a stable warp field. Interestingly enough, I think the Defiant had the most function design.
I always really enjoyed when they would separate the saucer section in TNG, the whole 2(?) times they did it. I always thought that was a really cool concept and i liked the sleekness of the little warp fighter with the battle bridge.
I'm aware. There has never been a requirement for a saucer, even in TOS, and I did not say that. But the nacelles are arranged at the extremes of the ships, even in compact designs in later Trek, which does follow the established logic. Vulcan rings are a rare exception to the left and right nacelles - covered under the word "mostly".
I was mostly just trying to provide some examples other designs. You are completely correct most ships (especially Earth ones) are the classic saucer design.