JJ Abrams' NCC-1701

[mlees]

@carnivorousplant

Well, yes, but taking a precision machine on the first dive with you doesn’t offer quite the encouragement that it does to a live Welder for a Job Well Done.

(Sorry for my awfull spelling.)

Could you rephrase? I’m not sure if you’r agreeing or disagreeing with me.

[Tuckerfan]

@mlees

Is there any reason to assume that (in the 24th century), fully automated fabrication is cheap and easy?

Thing is, presently, labor is cheaper than fully automated processes. (Slower, but cheaper.) Not all components of the hull are going to need very fine tolerances.

Couldn’t some work still be done by a human union member, and the components that need it be done by computer controlled assembly?

Plenty of work done by hand is still used on Aircraft carriers and nuclear wessels… err… submarines. Some critical components are done by hand, and then inspected by xray, or some other sensor. Other things are done by presion machines. A nuclear submarine operating at or near max depth is going to be subjected to some pretty demanding environmental requirements, too.

See my comments here for why we will see fabbers building things like entire ships and aircraft one day. (Maybe not within 10 or 20 years, but certainly within 100 or so.)

[carnivorousplant]

@mlees

(Sorry for my awfull spelling.)

Could you rephrase? I’m not sure if you’r agreeing or disagreeing with me.

I hold no opinion on how they do things in a film in this case, even a Trek one. Just a smart assed remark that in WWII anyway, the sub crew took the welders out with them on the first dive. I’d probably rather have live welders in the starship with me to see if the vacuum really did stay out.

[mlees]

@carnivorousplant

I hold no opinion on how they do things in a film in this case, even a Trek one. Just a smart assed remark that in WWII anyway, the sub crew took the welders out with them on the first dive. I’d probably rather have live welders in the starship with me to see if the vacuum really did stay out.

Doh! I did not make that connection. Thanks.

[Jester]

Okay, I figured out the answer that will satisfy everybody: The Enterprise was, in fact, built by a fabricator, but its decal work was done by humans because the robots lacked a certain je nais se quoi in the artistic vision department.

BUT, the welder in the trailer is actually Kirk, who took the ship out for a secret test drive before it was ready and dinged it on another spaceship when he tried to park it in a compact space. So he slapped on the welding gear and is hoping to repair it before anybody notices (which means he obviously can’t use the robots).

So, really, the teaser trailer both showed a shot of the Enterprise, and an early cameo of Kirk! Fan service, thy name is J.J. Abrams.

[JRDelirious]

So it’s your contention that the ship needs 400+ crew members because the Federation doesn’t understand tactics? Not because their automation technology is low?

Truthfully, its kind of hard to say, since we don’t even know what all those people do. Nor do we even know how many people are on this version of the Enterprise. There were 200+ in the original pilot of the TV series, then when it went into production, it jumped to 400+, and in TNG it skyrocketed to 2000. Maybe most of them are there simply to give the important ones company and to keep them from getting space madness on those long voyages?

OK, THIS part was actually reasonably explainable – not only the part on preventing space fever, but also even right now, a capital ship in a modern Navy has a crew much greater than would a comparable-tonnage civilian vessel. Why several hundred, well, we know, the REAL reason to arrive at that number was so the screenwriters could liberally issue red shirts w/o having to dedicate one episode a season to the Enterprise touring the home planets on a recruiting drive

[Tuckerfan]

@JRDelirious

OK, THIS part was actually reasonably explainable – not only the part on preventing space fever, but also even right now, a capital ship in a modern Navy has a crew much greater than would a comparable-tonnage civilian vessel. Why several hundred, well, we know, the REAL reason to arrive at that number was so the screenwriters could liberally issue red shirts w/o having to dedicate one episode a season to the Enterprise touring the home planets on a recruiting drive

Works for me!

[Baldwin]

Robotic welding? I’m pretty sure spaceships in general are supposed to be riveted together and have lots of portholes. Hey, watch out for those meteoroids!

[carnivorousplant]

@Baldwin

Hey, watch out for those meteoroids!

Man, that’s gotta hurt.

[Baldwin]

@carnivorousplant

Man, that’s gotta hurt.

Preparation M, my friend. Soothe the burning, control the explosive decompression.