In the Star Trek: Enterprise opening credits it seems to step through starship history up to the Enterprise NX-01. After Cochran's Phoenix, there is a ship that we see almost only from behind, and then the Enterprise. Do we know what that ship is?
1 Answers
This is the S.S. Emmette, designed by Doug Drexler.
This time for real! Here it is, one of the most mysterious of all the Enterprise ships, the S.S Emmette. Teasingly seen in the notorious title sequence over what appears to be a moon base.
Look at the massive rocket style motors on the back of this bucket! These giants suggest that perhaps this ship was meant primarily for solar exploration and testing. The reasoning being that you would not devote so much of the ship’s resources to engines like these unless they could made a difference. Set up like this, if you lost warp drive within the solar system, you were still capable of making it home.
Fascinating similarities to the Romulan Bird of Prey, suggesting some truth to the theory that the Romulan’s had stolen intel on this ship, and built their own version.
When the gang at Foundation Imaging were working on the title sequence, clearly they only built as much of the Emmette as they needed. Note the absence of detail on the front of the model.
