In its "Classics of everyday design No 61: Starship Enterprise," the Guardian's Jonathan Glancey takes a look at the revered vessel through the ages. Would be nice if the slideshow were larger, but here's a taste of the article: This huge imaginary machine was created by Matt Jefferies, an aviation artist, set designer and pilot. Jefferies, who had wartime experience with the Flying Fortress, as well as the B-24 (Liberator) and B-25 (Mitchell) bombers, produced his definitive model--all 11 feet of it--in December 1964. This original masterpiece now hangs in the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC.

Jefferies shaped a spaceship that was hard not be fascinated by. From the very beginning it looked right. Its great central disc, ssshhing sliding doors, its underslung engineering decks, and its massive outrigged twin engines are reminiscent of a late 1950s Harley Earl cadillac. Its interiors--ship-shape in a 60s, Nasa way--seemed convincing and exciting to those who tuned in all those light years ago.

Best of all, especially for children, was trying to guess just how big the Enterprise was. Bigger than the QE2? Bigger than the state of California? Just how many velour-clad crew members were there? And how many decks?

via Design Observer