Fesarius The Fesarius was a starship built and operated by the First Federation , encountered in the mid - 23rd century . It was described as the flagship by its captain and only crewmember , Commander Balok . The " Fesarius " initiated first contact between the Federation and the First Federation in 2266 , when it was encountered by the Federation starship . ( ) Technical details and capabilities . The " Fesarius " was very large and spherical , with the surface made up of smaller , dome - like features , arranged in a distinct pattern based on triangles . The ship was able to dispatch at least one small craft , described as a " pilot vessel " , and could be controlled by just one crewman using a very simple - looking interface . The mass of the " Fesarius " was beyond the ability of 23rd century Starfleet instruments to register . Commander Spock estimated the vessel to be " a mile in diameter . " However , the screen shots showing both ships indicate that the " Fesarius " clearly is much larger than Spock ' s estimate , because one mile would be approximately 5 . 5 times as long as the 947 - foot " Enterprise . " Even at a distance of 5 , 000 meters , the " Fesarius " still filled the entirety of the " Enterprise " viewscreen at normal magnification . The vessel was able to scan the entirety of the USS " Enterprise " in a few seconds , in sufficient detail to then override and shut down some of its systems , a level of control that was described as " extremely sophisticated " and " brilliant . " ( ) Appendices . Background information . In the final draft script of " The Corbomite Maneuver " ( dated ) , the " Fesarius " was described thus ; " " No appraisal is possible , for this object [ . . . ] is completely alien in appearance . It is in the shape of a round cluster of grape s ( or fish egg s or lead shot or a honeycomb ) , but it looks very functional [ . . . ] Some of its cell - like sections pulse with an inner light . " " In the second revised draft of the script ( dated ) , this description was simplified , with the " Fesarius " said to be " in the shape of a round cluster of balls . " Also , the ship wasn ' t referred to as seeming " very functional " , and the words " some of " were omitted . Both scripts characterized the vessel as a " colossus " that dwarfed the " Enterprise " . The final draft elaborated that the " Fesarius " " cell - like sections " were to be " vari - colored " and the same script further stated , " " Not only is it formidable in size , but it is also visually impressive , looking all - powerful and frighteningly superior . " " Neither the " Fesarius " nor any other vessel of the First Federation has been seen since " The Corbomite Maneuver " . According to " Star Trek Maps " ( Chart B ) , the " Fesarius " was a patrol ship in the largely uninhabited frontier of the First Federation . The ship was an automated craft designed to respond and intercept at multi - warp speeds any hostile force encountered by the defense outpost buoy network . Based on " Star Trek Maps " ( Chart D ) , " " ( p . 36 ) , and the " " ( " Stellar Cartography " , p . 10 ; " Federation Historical Highlights , 2161 - 2385 " ) , one possible origin for the name of the ship was the homeworld Fesarius and its namesake primary and star system . The system had a primary and eleven planets , including the capital of the First Federation . The primary was a . This system was located in the Alpha Quadrant . Studio models . The " Fesarius " miniature was designed by Matt Jefferies . ( ) The construction of the model has been attributed to Wah Chang , as per Desilu ' s purchase orders to him – currently archived at the UCLA . According to Star Trek History , the model was a big ball endowed with " " a pair of dimmers to make the model ship pulsate with power . The model was covered with sliced ping - pong balls . " " However , the involved in depicting the " Fesarius " kept " The Corbomite Maneuver " from airing as the first episode of " Star Trek " . Jerry Sohl , the writer of " The Corbomite Maneuver " , explained , " " They were having such a difficult time with the special effects for the starship " Fesarius " . . . such an enormous ship . . . and this held them up for so long that it became the tenth episode to be shown . " " ( " The Star Trek Interview Book " , p . 128 ) The effects sequences were filmed at the Howard Anderson Company in the period through 31 October of that year , coming eventually in at US $ 17 , 317 – or 10 % of the total budget and US $ 4 , 000 above the allowance for the effects . ( " " , 1st ed , pp . 126 - 127 ) The delays the company experienced during the production of these effects necessitated Associate Producer Robert Justman and Post - Production Supervisor Edward K . Milkis to hire virtually every other Hollywood effects house in existence at the time in order to alleviate the pressure on Anderson and to keep production of the " Original Series " on its tight schedules . ( " " , 1997 , p . 262 ) When it came time to construct the " Fesarius " as a CGI model in 2006 for the remastered counterpart of the episode , the visual effects artists at CBS Digital tried to stay as close to the original as they could while also adding a level of detail that VFX Line Producer Michael Okuda stated " probably should have been there at the beginning , " thus showing , though not overtly , an internal infrastructure beneath each of the ship ' s many domes . ( " Spacelift : Transporting " Trek " into the 21st Century " , TOS Season 1 Blu - ray special features ) Apocrypha . In the series of books by William Shatner , this is a class of ship which is destroyed to prevent them from being captured by the Kirk from the mirror universe .