Yeah, I think Roddenberry’s initial vision, the nacelles were set apart from the living areas because constant close contact with the source of the warp field was hazardous (and who knows, in time the Alcubierre drive may prove him right).
I think over time there’s just been this implication that the risk was reduced/eliminated thanks to advances in technology (spurred mostly by the narrative), and they stuck with the look basically out of AestheticTM.
Meanwhile, the Klingons put the nacelle inside their BoP. I guess they just YOLO it.
Design notes for the shows have said that nacelles usually work best in pairs and with at least 50% line of sight with each other, but they’re not hard requirements. The nacelles in TOS were supposed to be detachable in an emergency but it never happened on the show, similarly to the saucer section.
I think the explanation for nacelle positioning they ultimately settled on during TNG was something about the shape of the warp bubble, but I’m not sure.
Yeah, I think Roddenberry’s initial vision, the nacelles were set apart from the living areas because constant close contact with the source of the warp field was hazardous (and who knows, in time the Alcubierre drive may prove him right).
I think over time there’s just been this implication that the risk was reduced/eliminated thanks to advances in technology (spurred mostly by the narrative), and they stuck with the look basically out of AestheticTM.
Meanwhile, the Klingons put the nacelle inside their BoP. I guess they just YOLO it.
Design notes for the shows have said that nacelles usually work best in pairs and with at least 50% line of sight with each other, but they’re not hard requirements. The nacelles in TOS were supposed to be detachable in an emergency but it never happened on the show, similarly to the saucer section.
I think the explanation for nacelle positioning they ultimately settled on during TNG was something about the shape of the warp bubble, but I’m not sure.
Which honestly fits for the Klingons, who probably consider safety as an afterthought.