Kelvin type The " Kelvin " type was a class of Federation survey vessel operated by Starfleet in the 2230s . History . In 2233 , a vessel of this type , the , was deployed near Klingon space . While investigating a " lightning storm in space " , the " Kelvin " was attacked and destroyed by a Romulan mining vessel , called the " Narada " , from the late 24th century . The incursion of the " Narada " and destruction of the USS " Kelvin " triggered the creation of the alternate reality . In 2255 of that reality , the Shipyard Bar in Iowa , on Earth , featured salt shakers shaped like " Kelvin " - type starships . While there , had fiddled with a broken shaker pondering his discussion with , who had once written a dissertation on the " Kelvin " . Kirk was born aboard one of the " Kelvin " ' s medical shuttles shortly before its destruction which had claimed the life of his father . ( ) In 2259 , a desktop model miniature of the USS " Kelvin " was on display in Admiral ' office on Earth among other historically significant vessels . ( ) Technical data . Layout and capabilities . Comprised of enough room to carry a crew of at least 800 , the " Kelvin " - type contained at least thirteen decks . It had a single ventral warp nacelle housing the ship ' s warp drive engine , an upper saucer section topped by a central dome , and a topmost secondary hull , which featured a single shuttlebay at the aft and a navigational deflector at the front . The low warp nacelle had an unusual extra exhaust at its aft end , which lit up when the nacelle was energized . An impulse drive was also at the aft of the saucer section . The navigational deflector had an extremely thin emitter at its center , surrounded by a circle that was completely black in the middle but had a blue petal - like pattern at its fringe , retaining the black as a background . The forward end of the nacelle had a ring that looked similar but was primarily colored gold . A spine ran from the nacelle and the secondary hull along the under and upper sides of the saucer section , respectively . The saucer section was approximately equidistant from the secondary hull and the nacelle , though the hindmost connection between the spine ' s bottom half and the saucer section was slightly more forward than that between the spine ' s topside and the saucer ; unlike its underside , the spine ' s top half extended across the entire distance from the aft of the saucer section to the middle of the saucer . At the midpoint , the spine connected with the central dome . Slightly aft of here , the starboard side of the spine featured a circular portal ( most likely an escape pod hatch or a docking port ) , another of which was on the starboard side of the secondary hull . The " Kelvin " - type was equipped with subspace communications as well as numerous sensor s , including gravitational sensor s . This form of vessel could even track , remotely , the health of absent members of the ship ' s crew . From its bridge , the ship could be set on red alert and autopilot function could be engaged . Three antennas were used in conjunction with the autopilot , labeled a , b and c . Even if the autopilot system was destroyed , the manual guidance system could still be employed . Tactical systems . The " Kelvin " type was armed with turret - mounted phaser bank s and photon torpedo launcher s . The dorsal and ventral surfaces of the saucer section each featured two pairs of dual phaser banks and three pairs of multiple torpedo launchers . The turrets were stowed beneath hatches when not in use . ( ) Interior design . Bridge . Located in the central dome atop the saucer section , the " Kelvin " - type bridge had a variety of lighting schemes , depending on the ship ' s alert status . The room featured a trisected viewscreen that additionally served as a window and could be polarized , negating any glaring light outside the ship . The bridge also had multiple overhead handrails and featured a single command chair at its center , positioned on an area that was slightly raised from most of the rest of the deck . The right arm of the chair was outfitted with a control panel , whose instruments included a manual steering column for navigation and an intercom that could be used to contact the rest of the ship . The command chair was near a central grouping of stations , with a joint double station – containing more helm functions – directly ahead and two stations at either side , slightly forward of the command chair . Aboard one particular vessel of this type , the ship ' s first officer typically occupied the station to the left of the command chair . Additional stations were positioned at the outsides of the bridge , three of which were located in a row beneath and facing the viewscreen , with the double station to the rear . Another grouping of three stations was located at the aft of the room , which were on the same raised level as the command chair . A door was at either side of this row of stations . Shuttlebay . The " Kelvin " - type shuttlebay was a darkly - lit , cavernous area that had a track in the middle of its floor , with the shuttlebay ' s pair of large double - doors at one end . Green running lights could advance along the track , towards the doors , to guide crafts out of the shuttlebay in cases of emergency . On either side of the track , two decks were available for the storage of shuttlecrafts . Regularly arranged vertical partitions separated spaces for the crafts to be parked on the landing decks , from which the crafts lifted off at their own accord . Sickbay . The " Kelvin " - type contained a brightly white - lit sickbay that was furnished with at least one biobed in roughly the middle of the room , beside which were a pair of overhead monitors and two free - standing consoles . Engineering . The " Kelvin " - type had an enormous , industrial - looking engineering area that included numerous walkways , several of which were elevated , and at least one flight of stairs . Red - lit cylindrical conduits were at various points in this environment , such as vertically in some of the structural supports and horizontally on several of the railings at the sides of the walkways . The area also incorporated at least three exposed turboshafts , ropes for easy descent , many pipes of various sizes and at least four consoles . Corridors and turbolifts . Travel within the " Kelvin " - type was available mainly via turbolift s and corridor s . At regular intervals throughout each corridor , supports with an obtuse angle formed a flat roofed corbel arch , making the overall shape of the corridors an elongated hexagon . Each corridor was dimly illuminated , with circular pools of light shining down from the ceiling and lighting strips running the length of the floor and supports , at their perimeters . During a red alert , a cylindrical red glowing conduit – much like an extremely long version of the ones in engineering – ran horizontally along both walls . The floor lights would also turn red , while the support lights and ceiling lights would remain white . The " Kelvin " - type turbolifts each had six walls and a door . As seen from inside one of the turbolifts , the walls had glowing panels that changed between a dimmed setting to a brighter luminosity when a traveler entered the lift . At least in times when red alert was engaged , these panels were lit red . The outsides of the turbolifts had bright white panels of light , which could be glimpsed as the lifts traveled through the exposed turboshafts in engineering . At least one of the turbolifts was built at the end of a corridor , close to the outside of the ship ' s saucer section . Another corridor led from the bridge ' s starboard door to an intersection where one direction led straight on while another turned left and continued to a turbolift . This lift provided access to the engineering area , as did a turbolift near the medical bay . From engineering , travel to the shuttlebay was facilitated by passage through a wide walkway – one of the passageways lined with the short conduits – then across a short bridge , at a right angle to the wide walkway , and through a set of double - doors that led from the end of the bridge to the required shuttlecraft . Typically , where the walkway and the short bridge met had a board of signage extended from the ceiling and large numbers , showing the related shuttlecraft ' s registry , emblazoned on the ground . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Class identity . Writers and producers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman did not select any name for this class of vessel . The name used here for this type of ship is therefore unofficial and taken from the USS " Kelvin " , the only ship of its type to have appeared on screen . The " Kelvin " was originally to have been named the USS " Iowa " . The " " reference book names this class as the " Einstein " - class . This type of ship is similar to a few rarely - seen classes in the prime universe that likewise have a single nacelle ( rather than the usual quantity of two nacelles ) , including the , and . Quantum Mechanix , who built the desktop model of USS " Kelvin " for , describes the class on their website as the Federation starship design that was the workhorse of Starfleet in 2233 . A dossier on the official website for the movie states that the " Kelvin " was used primarily as a survey vessel . However , before the film ' s release , Roberto Orci hinted that , while science was one of the " Kelvin " s functions , the vessel was not " a strict science ship . " Once , production designer Scott Chambliss even characterized the craft as a " big warship . " ( ) Designing the " Kelvin " - type . In at least one draft of the screenplay for the film " Star Trek " , the " Kelvin " - type is said to have multiple shuttlebays and two massive flashlights on the saucer section , the latter of which could be remotely operated from the bridge . The same script draft does not include any outright statement that the " Kelvin " should look older than the movie ' s . However , when Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman were asked if they had indicated this age difference in the screenplay , Kurtzman replied , " " We indicated that it was an older generation ship , so it did not have the same look . In the description , we were setting up when you reveal the " Enterprise " that it is a different class . There was a sense almost that you were starting on the ships from . We wanted to feel that a bit in the texture of the " Kelvin " . " " ( ) In fact , prior to the film ' s release , Orci claimed , " " When you meet the " Kelvin " it is pristine , it is a beautiful site . " " The writers did not devise any such specifications as the dimensions and tonnage of the " Kelvin " - type . Art director Dennis Bradford oversaw the design work on the USS " Kelvin " . Although the film ' s two concept artists ( Ryan Church and James Clyne ) usually worked on separate projects , Scott Chambliss assigned both artists to work on designing the " Kelvin " . ( " Star Trek - The Art of the Film " , p . 15 ) The ship ' s exterior was designed by Ryan Church ; the interiors , including the bridge , corridors , turbolift and shuttlebay , were designed by James Clyne . Industrial Light & Magic also contributed more exterior elements than just the previously explained deployment system used by the photon torpedo launchers . Noted Church , " " ILM was responsible for a lot of the details . " " Some other aspects of the " Kelvin " design have been attributed to Scott Chambliss . For instance , Alex Jaeger commented , " " Scott Chambliss designed the interior sets to have a claustrophobic feel , with a lot of handrails and fittings . " " ( " Cinefex " , No . 118 , p . 48 ) Executive producer Bryan Burk said of Chambliss , " " [ He ] really made the ship really tangible . " " ( audio commentary , / Three - disc Blu - ray ) Devising how the outside of the " Kelvin " should look was a fairly detailed process . " " I did many concepts for the look of the " Kelvin , " Ryan Church related , " " some conservative and some fairly pushed . In the end we figured out that it really had to look a lot more ' traditional " Trek " . ' It ' s a very simple basic shape . " " Similarly , J . J . Abrams and Scott Chambliss made it clear to James Clyne that they intended for the " Kelvin " s interior – in comparison with some of the film ' s later - era vessels – to be more like traditional " Star Trek " designs . Chambliss explained , " " That is how J . J . [ Abrams ] and I wanted to start the movie , with ' oh look it is a " Star Trek " space ship ! ' and make it really recognizable . Supe it up and make it more lavish , because we had more money , but honor what has come before and make it familiar in a way that old fans would like . But that was also a dramatic ploy on our part , because in doing so , we wanted to create the highest contrast possible for the " Enterprise " . Because how do you make the " Enterprise " feel fresh and new , if it looks exactly like something we have seen for the last 40 years ? The " Kelvin " was the contrast we did to hopefully make the " Enterprise " feel cool and new . " " While it was known as the USS " Iowa " , the " Kelvin " had an exterior far more typical of the Starfleet ships from the original series than its final design . One concept painting by Ryan Church shows the ship with a warp nacelle and secondary hull very similar to those of the traditional , with one side of both sections showing a familiar yellow arrowhead symbol backed by red racing stripes . The secondary hull also has a gold - colored navigational deflector that is more prominently in the shape of a dish than how it ended up . This is also true of another image , although the red striping along the side of the warp nacelle is gone , and there are very few details on the saucer section . ( " Star Trek - The Art of the Film " , pp . 22 - 23 ) As was made clear to James Clyne , both J . J . Abrams and Scott Chambliss wanted the " Kelvin " to look more " functional " and have " more of a battleship aesthetic " than the rest of the ships in the film . Comparing the " Kelvin " to the " Enterprise " , Abrams said of the former vessel , " " I tried to make [ it ] [ . . . ] more submarine - like , clunky , darker , metallic . " " ( ) Indeed , Abrams also recalled that the look of the " Kelvin " stemmed from a " submarine - like , almost Soviet - era design . " ( " Star Trek - The Art of the Film " , p . 22 ) Alex Jaeger ultimately thought this influence remained apparent , remarking , " " The " Kelvin " had a very run - down , old submarine feel to it . " " ( " Cinefex " , No . 118 , p . 48 ) Chambliss concurred that , alternative to the " Enterprise " , the " Kelvin " has a " more typical militaristic style . " Scott Chambliss accounted for another facet of the ship ' s " retro feel " by saying , " " The " Kelvin " recalls sci - fi of the ' 30s through ' 50s . " " ( " Star Trek - The Art of the Film " , p . 22 ) He elaborated , " " It refers to the sci - fi of , like , the late ' 30s – like the stuff – and also , like , the early ' 50s things , like " The Day the Earth Stood Still " . That ' s all kind of mashed together to create this look . " " ( documentary featurette " Starships " ) According to Chambliss , deciding to make the " Kelvin " " feel more like " than the " Enterprise " does was another way in which the two ships were made to look vastly different from one another . ( ) ILM tried to match the aged quality of the " Kelvin " s interior with the ship ' s outer appearance . " " We aged the exterior with streaks of grease and rust , " " Alex Jaeger clarified . ( " Cinefex " , No . 118 , p . 48 ) He further commented , " " It ' s very worn , very used . It ' s a lot darker than we ' re used to seeing ships in " Star Trek . " ( documentary featurette " Starships " ) The " Kelvin " - type warp nacelle was not only generally modified to become less visibly influenced by the original series but also underwent some very subtle changes . For example , the " Kelvin " - type shuttlebay doors underwent very minor additions and detailed adjustments , as demonstrated in an example of computer artwork dated . ( " Star Trek - The Art of the Film " , pp . 23 & 25 ) By or on , the " Kelvin " was scaled to be a total of 2 , 148 feet ( 655 meters ) long . ( " Star Trek - The Art of the Film " , p . 145 ) However , by or on , this size was decreased to a length of 1 , 500 feet ( 457 . 2 meters ) . ( documentary featurette " Starships " ) Before filming any scenes in his role of USS " Kelvin " captain Richard Robau , actor Faran Tahir had not seen any exterior designs of this type of ship , although he had done a small amount of research on the basic architecture of Federation vessels . " " My feeling was that it would probably have the qualities that we know as a Federation ship , " " he said of the " Kelvin " . " " It might be a little dated , a little older , which is exactly what it ended up being . " " Tahir was pleased by the ship design , remarking , " " What I liked about the ship was that it felt like it had history . It had been out there for a while . That was the great thing about the way they designed it ; it wasn ' t pristine . I like that – it gives the audience a real hook [ . . . ] [ and ] makes it more of a robust ship in its own way . " " ( ) Bridge design . Both the viral site and number 118 of " Cinefex " ( p . 46 ) suggest that the station forming the starboard half of the joint double station on the " Kelvin " - type bridge was actually manned by the ship ' s security officer . The bridge ' s overhead handrails were meant to be used in cases of spatial turbulence but their usage is not demonstrated in the film . ( " Star Trek - The Art of the Film " , p . 21 ) James Clyne illustrated two concept paintings of the " Kelvin " - type bridge for each of its two lighting variations in which the room is shown in the movie : lit normally and at red alert . Clyne ' s inspiration for the " Kelvin " s bridge came from the bridge of the original , the bridge of the , and current military ships and submarines . Scott Chambliss believed the effort to make the " Kelvin " appear consistent with traditional " Star Trek " design influenced the presentation of the vessel ' s bridge , helping distinguish it from the equivalent areas aboard the other ships in the film . " " It ' s the most that you would look at and go , ' Oh , yeah , this must be the new " Star Trek " movie , ' ' cause it kind of looks like what you ' ve seen before , " " he reckoned . ( documentary featurette " Starships " ) Particular attention was spent on making the room look varied from the bridge of the film ' s " Enterprise " . Chambliss observed , " " { It ] feels a lot more analog and old school . " " ( ) Director of Photography Dan Mindel likewise noted that the " Kelvin " s bridge " had less sleek fixtures . " ( " Star Trek - The Art of the Film " , p . 18 ) The set for the " Kelvin " s bridge was built on Paramount Stage 8 . ( " Star Trek - The Art of the Film " , p . 26 ) For some of the production period , the bridge was only a partially built set , with greenscreen replacing the walls , although lines of dialogue that were either rehearsed or shot while the room was in this state were not ultimately included in the movie . ( documentary featurette " Starships " ) Ryan Church was happy with the bridge once it was constructed . " " It really looked great on set , " " he reminisced . The seats on the bridge set were rubbed down , such as by on - set painter Andy Flores , to make them seem slightly weathered with age . Faran Tahir was of the opinion that this minor aging of the seats augmented the realism of the set . ( documentary featurette " Starships " ) Bryan Burk was similarly impressed with the inclusion of the set ' s overhead handrails , believing that they made the set look more authentic and were a testament to Scott Chambliss ' attention to detail , which Burk cited as heightening the plausibility of the ship ' s layout in general . ( " Star Trek - The Art of the Film " , pp . 20 - 21 ; audio commentary , / Three - disc Blu - ray ; documentary featurette " Starships " ) He remembered , " " A friend of mine , a huge " Trek " fan , visited the set , saw the rails , and said , ' Oh , my God – this is going to work ! " " ( " Star Trek - The Art of the Film " , p . 21 ) Burk continued , " " [ The visiting friend ] was commenting that , when you think about it , and you ' re flying through space and you ' re bouncing around , just the fact that these are here and you can hold on to them is something that you would assume would be on all spaceships . And I can ' t remember seeing it in another film . " " ( audio commentary , / Three disc Blu - ray ) Representing engineering . Not only was the " Kelvin " s shuttlebay represented by the Long Beach Generating Station but so was the ship ' s machine room . Supervising location manager Becky Brake recalled of this filming site , " " When we saw a particular area , J . J . [ Abrams ] fell in love with it for the engine room of the " Kelvin . " ( documentary featurette " Starships " ) Stunt coordinator Joey Box suggested that one reason the location was used was " to give credibility to the engine room of an older Starfleet ship . " ( ) The area of engineering containing the turboshafts was filmed with greenscreen , later to be replaced with CGI . ( documentary featurette " Starships " ) Due to the grunginess of the power station ' s interior , the location appealed to not only Abrams but also to Scott Chambliss , who later remarked , " " It feels like a place that ' s been around forever , which is how we wanted the " Kelvin " to feel . It had all the wear and tear , and the texture that J . J . and I love working with , the layers and layers of reality , and the dirt and the grime . " " ( documentary featurette " Starships " ) Believing that this engineering area was ultimately successful in helping visually differentiate the " Kelvin " - type from the movie ' s " Enterprise " , Chambliss concluded , " " Along with the two very different Bridges , it sells the difference between the old ship and the new ship . " " ( ) actress Jennifer Morrison was also wowed by how elaborate the environment of the power station ' s interior was , while it stood in for the engineering area , regarding it to be " incredible . " ( documentary featurette " Starships " ) Apocrypha . A 1 / 2500 scale model kit of the USS " Kelvin " , released by Gizmotron models , names this ship type as the Federation deep space scout . According to Intel Corporation ' s , the " Kelvin " s impulse engine s were powered by four deuterium fusion reactor s and the inside of the warp nacelle contained two rows of massive semi - circular warp coil s . According to " " , the NCC - 0509 was a member of this class . Before attended Starfleet Academy , he helped restore the integrity of the ship ' s dilithium chamber , and , in return for his assistance , the captain put in a good word for Scotty with Commander Alexander Marcus at Starfleet Academy .