Bridge The bridge was the starship equivalent of an operations center or command center . On Starfleet ships , it was generally located near the top and front of a vessel . From here , the commanding officer s supervised all ship ' s operations , ranging from vessel course control to tactical systems . Starfleet bridge design . On Starfleet vessel s , the bridge was usually located on Deck 1 , on top of the vessel ' s primary hull . The bridge was the nerve - center of every starship , and it was manned by the top officers of each department except for Engineering and Medical . There was typically an engineering station that the Chief Engineer could use when on the bridge , as well as science stations that the science officer or chief medical officer could use . The commanding officer could supervise all the ship ' s operations while seated in the command chair , typically located in the center of the room , while having visual access to all major personnel stations and viewscreens , facilitating the decision - making process . By the mid - 24th century , the standard was that a first officer was assigned to assist a ship ' s captain in this process . The forward bulkhead of the bridge was typically dominated by the main viewscreen . Directly in front of this was usually the helm console , from where navigation and vessel course control were carried out . Many of the supportive stations that were present on 23rd century bridges were combined into one post by the 24th century ; mainly that of the operations officer . Some bridges feature an operations console alongside the helm station , from where the officer on duty had access to internal systems control , communication s , sensor s , resource scheduling and hardware and system usage . Each bridge typically featured several supportive consoles for engineering , gravity control , damage control , environmental engineering , sciences and library computer , most of which did not necessarily need to be manned under normal circumstances . Internal security along with weapons control could be found at the Security station Most bridges on Starfleet vessels were replaceable modules , so that adaptation for special missions or upgrading was expedited . Features . Command stations . The bridge command stations provided seating and information displays for the commanding officer and one or two other officers , typically including the first officer . The command chairs were located in the center of the bridge , to maximize interaction with all key bridge personnel , while permitting an unobstructed view of the main viewscreen . Typically , the armrests of the captain ' s chair featured miniaturized status displays . Using keyboard or vocal commands , the captain could use these controls to override the basic operation of the starship . Flight Control . The 24th century Flight Control position , also referred to as Conn , evolved from the 23rd century helm and navigation positions . The officer manning the Flight Control console was responsible for the actual piloting and navigation of the starship . Despite many of these functions being heavily automated , their critical nature demanded a humanoid officer to oversee these operations at all times . Operations management . Many shipboard operations involved scheduling resources or hardware that affect a number of departments . In many such cases , it was common for various operations to present conflicting requirements . It was the responsibility of the operations officer to coordinate such activities so that mission goals were not jeopardized . The operations position , also known simply as Ops , evolved from older 23rd century positions . The bulk of the duties held by the helm and navigation positions were combined into the Conn position . Other functions of the helm panel , such as internal systems control , became the purview of Ops , as well as some communications and sensor system usages . ( ) Security and Tactical . The bridge station dedicated to defensive systems control and starship internal security is Tactical . Parts of the default control layout presents the security officer with information readouts dealing with the internal protection of the starship and its crew . A wide variety of starship defensive systems are available to the chief tactical officer ( sometimes doubling as chief of security ) , ranging from the defensive shields to phaser and torpedo systems , as well as intrusion detection systems . Other systems that may be commanded by Tactical include communications , long - and short - range sensor array s , sensor probes , message buoy s , and tractor beam devices . Supportive stations . Every Starfleet bridge also includes several supportive consoles and backup stations . These may include consoles for Planetary science s , Engineering , Mission Ops and Environmental Control . Most of these are meant to relieve the senior bridge officers of secondary duties during alert and crisis situations . Mission Ops provides additional support to the operations officer , and is specifically responsible for monitoring activity relating to secondary missions . Mission Ops is responsible for assignment of resources and priorities according to guidelines specified by the operations officer and by operating protocols . This station is also responsible for monitoring away team s . ( " " ) The Environmental Control console provides similar relief to the operations officer , monitoring the starship ' s life support systems . Due to the highly automated nature of these systems , this console would be unattended under normal circumstances , but becomes of crucial importance during alert situations to maximize crew survivability . The bridge ' s Engineering station duplicates in simplified form the Chief Engineer ' s primary status displays from Main Engineering . The purpose of this station is to permit the Chief Engineer to maintain supervision over the engineering system while on the bridge . 22nd century bridge design . " NX " - class . Command area . When the crew of had to take shelter at the ship ' s catwalk in September 2152 , Commander Tucker and Travis Mayweather built a " command area " within one of the compartments to replace the main bridge . Conn and the communications station included , the small area also included a provisional captain ' s chair , a cargo container with a net ting and place for Archer and T ' Pol to sleep . ( ) 23rd century bridge design . Most of the bridges during the later half of the 23rd century shared a similar layout to that of the upgraded " Constitution " - class vessels , which evidently set the standard for bridge design and layout . " Kelvin " - type . bridges were large with many consoles and three windows acting as the viewscreen . They shared the joint Helm - Navigation consoles of Constitution class starships ( ) " Walker " - class . Unusually for Starfleet vessels , Walker - class ships had their bridge placed at the bottom of the saucer section . Like the bridge , it used a large window as the viewscreen . " Crossfield " - class . The bridge was placed in a spherical section within the inner negative space of the saucer section . It possessed a wide window as the viewscreen , similar to and ships . 24th century bridge design . In the early half of the 24th century , before the introduction of the " Galaxy " - class starship , bridge design was based on the successful layout of the " Constitution " - class starship , featuring a single captain ' s chair in the center of the room with two consoles directly in front of it and additional consoles surrounding this central command area . " Intrepid " - class . The bridge was ovoid in shape . At the bridge ' s rear was a large bank of consoles and data - readout screens . Center of that area was the master systems display . Control consoles flanked it on either side , mission ops I to starboard and mission ops II to port . Starboard of that information center , past the starboard side turbolift , was the chief tactical officer ' s console . This area was maintained mostly for internal security and combat situations . An identical station could be found on the other side of the bridge , where the operations console was found . Two turbolifts provided access throughout the ship , and there was an emergency ladder which connected the bridge with lower decks . Forward of the upper ship operations areas were doorways to the briefing room at one side , and the captain ' s ready room at the other . Directly forward of the central command area ( where the captain and first officer were seated ) and sunken down by two steps was the Conn . From here , the flight control officer served as helmsman and navigator for the vessel . To the Conn ' s right sat the chief engineer . The console allowed complete control over all engineering systems . Directly opposite sat the chief science officer in a similar console . ( ) Behind the captain ' s chair , there was a small secondary tactical console located on the handrail . On the USS Voyager this station was typically unmanned , however Seven of Nine used this station on several occasions , particularly on encounters with the Borg . Other crew members , such as The Doctor and B ' Elanna Torres used this station on occasion . In between the captain ' s and first officer ' s chairs there was a small console which could be folded down when not in use , or opened and accessed by either officer . Like the larger consoles on the bridge a phaser could be stored within this unit . Background information . After six years as production designer on " The Next Generation " , Richard James was no stranger to the legacy of " Star Trek " and the production requirements of episodic television . When given the assignment to create a new starship from the inside out , he had to start up from scratch . Nothing had yet been established , and thus for his first meeting with s creators and producers , James decided to push the boundaries of everything that had gone before . Early concept sketches show bridge designs without the large viewscreen in the front of the bridge and command functions decentralized , obviously breaking the traditional bridge mold . However , by exhaustively reexamining the dramatic requirements and technological underpinnings of the " Star Trek " bridge without preconceptions , James rediscovered the strengths of the basic template laid out by Matt Jefferies almost thirty years earlier . But with the broad strokes of the bridge ' s layout firmly embedded in " Star Trek " s past , James and his team went on to bring a fresh new interpretation to the heart of every " Star Trek " adventure , investing it with a sleek , efficient , and welcoming appearance that made " Voyager " something of its own – the " Star Trek " for the nineties and beyond . " Sovereign " - class . The central area of the main bridge provided seating and information displays for the captain and two other officers . The captain ' s chair was raised from the rest of the bridge officers , to that of the surrounding level which included Tactical and Operations . The two officer seats were equipped with fully programmable consoles for a variety of uses . Directly fore of the command area was the conn officer , who faced the main viewer . To the port side of the conn officer , also facing the main viewer , was the operations officer ' s console , which was identical in size and design to the helm station . At the very front of the bridge chamber was a large viewscreen . In 2373 , when the screen was not active , a standard bulkhead was present . Aft and to the left of the command area was an elevated platform on which tactical and security consoles were located . To the captain ' s right , behind the tactical console , was the mission operations section of the bridge . Against the port side walls of the main bridge were the consoles for Sciences along with others that were programmable for a multitude of functions . Located against the aft wall of the bridge was a large master systems display monitor , similar to the one in main engineering . All relevant ship information ( such as damage , power distribution , etc . ) was displayed on the cutaway image of the vessel . This monitor could be used to direct ship operations and could be configured for limited flight control if necessary . Also located against the aft wall of the main bridge was the large engineering console . This had a smaller cutaway diagram of the vessel , which displayed all engineering - relevant data and showed warp fields and engine output . There were two turbolifts on the bridge that could handle normal transit around the " Sovereign " - class starship . Besides , there was an emergency ladder that connected the bridge to lower decks . There was also one door , on the aft platform of the bridge , that led to the observation lounge , directly aft of the main bridge , with another door leading to the captain ' s ready room . ( ) " Defiant " - class . The bridge layout of the was compact , but nonetheless accommodated the familiar engineering , tactical , science , conn , and ops stations . The bridge module was sunken into a much larger deck 1 than on most Federation starships to provide added protection during combat situations . Access to the bridge was provided by two doorways at the back , located on both port and starboard sides . Just forward of the starboard entryway was the location of the ship ' s dedication plaque , as well as an auxiliary computer access panel . The port side of the bridge housed the engineering and tactical I stations , while the starboard side featured the science and tactical II consoles . Because of its nearly exclusive role as a combat vessel , stations aboard " Defiant " - class vessels were designed with speed in mind . The center of the bridge featured the lone captain ' s chair , which was on a raised platform and had a clear view of all bridge stations , as well as of the main viewscreen . On both sides of the command chair were separate control panels , allowing the occupant access to virtually every system aboard the ship . Between the command chair and the viewscreen was an integrated flight control and operations panel , capable of performing the joint duties of those stations ' larger counterparts on other Starfleet vessels . Like all of the bridge stations on " Defiant " , the conn had been designed for maximum speed and efficiency of commands input by the operator , allowing the craft to be handled almost like a fighter when under the hands of a skilled pilot . Flanking both sides of the viewscreen were two tactical stations , which had primary access to the ship ' s powerful pulse phaser cannon s , torpedo launchers and various other special ordinance packages . Working closely with conn , the officers stationed at these consoles were responsible for firing the various weapons aboard the " Defiant " - class starship during combat operations . The purpose of the tactical II station was to lighten the load on its sister station , particularly in battle . Alien bridge design . Romulan bridge design . " Narada " - type . The " Narada " s consoles were dotted around the ship due to the ship ' s spacious design . ( ) Bridge designs of other species . Borg . The Borg possessed the only known vessels not to have a discrete bridge , but whose controls were instead highly decentralized , being run collectively by the Borg drone s . ( ) However , Borg ships did have a command center known as the central plexus . Dominion . Jem ' Hadar attack ship s had a bridge that was very peculiar in that it had no chairs , and only two head - mounted virtual display devices instead of a viewscreen . Only the Jem ' Hadar First and leading Vorta were allowed to view the outside of the ship . ( ) Mirror Universe bridge design . " NX " - class . The bridge of the Terran Empire ' s NX - class " Enterprise " was quite similar in appearance to that of its counterpart from our universe , only that it featured Terran Empire emblems painted on the walls . ( ) The bridge of Admiral Black ' s flagship , the , was similar in appearance to that of the " Enterprise " . ( ) " Constitution " - class . Similarily , the only differences between the bridge of the 23rd century Imperial Star Ship " Enterprise " from the mirror universe and its counterpart from ours was the appearance of Terran Empire emblems appearing on walls and doors , and a high - backed throne - like command chair . Also , guards were stationed on the bridge under all circumstances . ( ) " Defiant " - class . The bridge of the Terran Rebellion ' s was similar to that of the bridge from our universe , the vessel ' s schematics being based on specifications stolen from Starfleet at Deep Space 9 . ( ) Alternate reality . " Constitution " - class . The alternate reality ' s bridge retained the largeness of the " Kelvin " - type bridges , as well as the use of the viewscreen as a window . It was larger than the prime or mirror universe ' s bridge , featuring more consoles in addition to the command chair , science station , communications station , helm and navigation console s , which were roughly in the same place . It was aesthetically much brighter and smoother , with white paint , blue monitor screens , more lights ( that would bathe the room red when red alert was signalled ) , and even transparent touchscreen boards . A turbolift was located on the port side , while airlock ed doors were on the starboard side . ( )