Engineering Engineering , or main engineering ( called reactor pit in Klingonese ) , was the location from which the ship ' s main power systems were controlled . Engineering was the primary assignment of engineer s and chief engineer s . In the late 20th century , nuclear vessel s of the United States Navy designated their engine room as the main machine room , or MMR . A ship , like the aircraft carrier , had at least four main machine rooms . Each of these rooms had a nuclear fission reactor . ( ) Overview . Engineering ' s primary purpose was to be the central point for control of all engineering systems aboard a starship , especially those related to propulsion and power generation . The matter / antimatter reaction chamber ( also known as the warp core ) was located in engineering . Engineering could also be used as a command and control center , overriding primary centers such as the bridge or auxiliary control . 22nd century design . starships of the 22nd century were the first Human vehicles to carry a warp reactor capable of speeds up to warp 5 . ( ) Aboard an NX - class ship , a section of engineering was situated on E Deck . ( ) 23rd century design . On the original starships , engineering was a two - deck - tall room that housed the main dilithium reactor and the engineering core as well as a large transparent grill that overlooked power conduits . The room was extensively refit ted on " Constitution " - class starships in the late 2260s to include additional computer s , offices , and rooms around the main area . ( , ) Parts of the " Constitution " - class engineering were on B deck , deck 3 , and deck 5 . ( ) Towards the end of the 23rd century , the engineering department on refit " Constitution " - class starships was drastically changed , spanning multiple decks . The uppermost level served as the structural support strong back of the ship , and was the anchoring framework for the connecting dorsal and the warp nacelle pylons . On the forward end of this level was the engineering computer monitoring room , which encircled the intermix shaft and opened , to the rear , into the engineering computer bay . The rear bulkhead of the computer bay contained an emergency section door which lowered to the deck below , and separated the warp engine room from the extended horizontal intermix area ; the door dropped automatically in the event of a radiation leak or pressure loss . On the " Constitution " - class ship , a narrow corridor bypassed the computer bay on the port side and led aft , down the center of the level . On either side of this passageway were mounted the four maneuvering thruster s which rested beneath the upper hull of the secondary hull strong back . These thrusters were used for vessel course control when within close proximity of drydock facilities . The lower engineering deck typically housed the engineering department . Located in the center of the room , and extending for many levels both above and below the deck , was the vertical linear intermix chamber . This complex , a radically new design in intermix technology , provided operational power for the impulse drive system and furnished enough additional energy to power all other shipboard systems . Both matter and antimatter for this chamber were contained in a series of magnetic bottles , which were normally housed in pods at the base of the intermix shaft . These pods could be ejected from the ship in case of an extreme emergency via two large blow - away panels in the outer hull . ( ) Alternate reality . Engineering aboard the alternate reality ' s lacked the streamlined innovations of the prime reality starship . ( ) 24th century design . 24th century starships featured a more modern approach to the engineering facility . Aboard the starship , engineering was an open - plan facility , directly accessible from the corridor . Consisting of two primary levels , it housed the starship ' s warp core and primary engineering support systems . The corridor bulkhead housed the master systems display . Inside the main section , the master systems display was the operational focus of the room . Beyond this , heading towards the warp core , the chief engineer ' s office and several support consoles were located on the left , and the assistant chief engineer ' s console on the right . These formed part of the bulkhead protecting the main part of engineering from the warp core . Access to the upper level , a circular area surrounding the warp core , could be found by a ladder on the left of the core or an elevator on the right . ( ) Background information . Engineering was first conceived and depicted in . During the early development of that episode , the area was called the " power plant " . For , the engineering was built as a set on Paramount Stage 17 ( which also included the set for an engineering lab ) . ( " Information from shooting schedule " ) " Galaxy " - class info . The " Galaxy " - class engineering set was on Paramount Stage 9 and was reused from several of the " Star Trek " films , though many of its components were repainted and its spaces were enlarged . One addition to the set was the table used as the central console which , during production of " The Next Generation " , was affectionately known as the " pool table . " It was previously used as a console in in Starfleet Command , San Francisco . Similarly , the back wall of the chief engineer ' s office had previously served as an office wall in sickbay aboard the movie . ( " " 3rd ed . , pp . 9 – 10 ) The wall - size okudagram in engineering of the reveals such secrets as the location of the ship ' s giant mouse , the giant duck , and what might be Gene Roddenberry ' s World War II bomber . | In , engineering consisted of three levels instead of only two . Crew members were shown working on levels both above and below the reaction chamber during the first shot of the ship ' s interior . NX - class info . In the script of ENT pilot episode " Broken Bow " , the NX - class engineering was described thus ; " " Unlike the spacious , brightly - lit engine rooms of future starships , this is more like the cramped , red - lit nerve center of a nuclear submarine . " " When it came time to decide how the NX - class engineering should look , Production Designer Herman Zimmerman was instructed to make the area a busy place with many moving components . ( " " , paperback ed . , p . 268 ) He gave John Eaves the directive of designing the engine room so it would look cramped and functional , Zimmerman having recently returned from a visit to a submarine where he could do some research in preparation for tackling the NX - class . " " So he was saying , ' We want it really cramped , really tight , " " Eaves reflected . ( ) At one point , the engine room was planned to be lit extremely red , inspired by how the torpedo rooms aboard old submarines are sometimes illuminated . " " They thought that might be a neat look , " " John Eaves recollected , referring to the producers ' viewpoint , " " but it was just far too red , so they toned it back down . " " ( ) John Eaves set to work on designing the NX - class engine room by illustrating some initial concept artwork . From the beginning , the room was intended to feature walkways . " " On the early drawings you can see little overhangs – those were going to be the walkways ; we were going to put chains in so you could walk up there , " " explained Eaves . " " It was going to be a very crude , very dark room . " " ( ) John Eaves found he had to slightly rework how he first envisioned the engine room , which featured an inset window where workers could view the warp core . " " The first drawing was too high - tech looking [ . . . ] The way the architecture looked was a little too far into the future , " " Eaves commented . " " This was the first set Herman had me do , and we still hadn ' t established what the look was going to be . Mr . Berman said it was a little too advanced , and to go back and make it a little more crude . " " ( ) Because John Eaves was meanwhile assuming the NX - class would have a secondary hull like the , his second drawing of the NX - class engineering included a curved ceiling which would have clearly shown the room was located at the top of that part of the ship . The visual concept of a curved ceiling was discarded when it became clear the NX - class wouldn ' t have a substantial engineering hull . ( ) At one stage , the NX - class engineering was considered to include " openable doors , " behind which the warp core could be accessed . Even without this design feature , the focus of the engine room remained , of course , the engine . ( " " , paperback ed . , p . 268 ) " " They put a lot of controls on both walls so it ' s pretty much controlled from both floors , " " John Eaves observed . This left some space on the first floor , where Eaves placed large tanks supposedly filled with materials such as deuterium and antimatter . ( ) Many of the particulars of the engineering set were made the purview of Set Decorator James Mees , who consequently once cited engineering as the set he found " most challenging " of all the sets featured in " Broken Bow " . He went on to state , " " All the detail work was left to me – the blinking things , all the pipes – and there ' s not an inch that doesn ' t have something that does something ! " " ( ) A schematic of the NX - class vessel shows the upper portion of engineering on D - Deck while its lower section was a part of E - Deck . The latter corresponds with a reference in " Zero Hour " , although says in that engineering is on C - Deck . Engineering on " Enterprise " appears to have an unseen lower level as , in , takes the lift up from beneath the deck . The scripted scene description for that scene referred to the elevator " rising up from the deck below . " In addition , Herman Zimmerman once characterized this lift as " a four - story elevator . " ( ) The " fourth story " is apparently used in when , near the end of the episode , T ' Pol is climbing the stairs to the upper level to find Tucker while the elevator is descending from above the upper level ceiling , down past the upper level , and out of the scene to the lower level . Among the set dressings for the NX - class engineering was a junction wall panel which was , in reality , a radio sound mixer echo board . This piece was sold off on the " It ' s A Wrap ! " sale and auction on eBay . Alternate reality info . The alternate engineering rooms were not built as a set , but were filmed at a Budweiser brewery due to budgetary limitations . ( " Star Trek - The Art of the Film " ) Some concept art of the originally envisioned engineering rooms were shown on the DVD :