Command chair The command chair , also referred to as the captain ' s chair or simply the chair , was the most important position on board a starship bridge . This seat , as its alternate name implies , was occupied by the captain of the vessel , or the officer who commanded the vessel in the captain ' s absence . The ship ' s duty officer sat on the command chair at all times and monitored all operations on the bridge . The chair was usually equipped with companel s and other related equipment . In addition , some versions could swivel , so the commanding officer could easily turn to face any relevant station . NX class . The right arm of the command chair on the bridge of the included a control panel that could flip up at the touch of a control . Additionally , both arms of the chair included at least one companel . An adjustable panel built into the chair ' s left arm had the additional capacity of being able to fire spatial torpedo es from the starship . ( ) While serving aboard " Enterprise " in May 2151 , Vulcan Sub - Commander T ' Pol used a companel on the chair ' s right arm to contact an away team on board an Axanar starship , and also contacted the armory by using a companel on the chair ' s left arm . T ' Pol later deployed the docking arm by remotely extending it from the chair ' s right arm . ( ) When Ensign Travis Mayweather assumed temporary command of " Enterprise " later that year , he was slightly hesitant to accept advice , from Ensign Hoshi Sato , that he occupy the command chair rather than his typical position at the helm . Once he moved to the captain ' s chair , Mayweather remarked , " " The bridge looks a lot different from here . " " ( ) In 2152 , while passing a trinary star system that was emitting a dangerous form of radiation , the entire crew of " Enterprise " – with the exception of T ' Pol – became affected and began to obsess over trivial matters . Charles " Trip " Tucker , the starship ' s chief engineer , became obsessed with the command chair which , according to Captain Jonathan Archer , was not comfortable enough . Commander Tucker eventually fixed the problem by lowering the chair one centimeter . ( ) In September of that year , a makeshift command chair , a cargo container with net ting , was set up in a temporary command area for the crew ' s evacuation to " Enterprise " s catwalk . When Captain Archer first entered the command post , Tucker asked him if he wanted to try the chair out , though Archer replied , " " Maybe later . " " ( ) In 2154 , Captain Erika Hernandez showed Captain Archer the bridge of her ship , the second NX - class starship , " Columbia " . Archer suggested the installation of a lumbar support in " Columbia " s command chair , as Hernandez would probably be spending a lot of time in the chair . ( ) When " Enterprise " was refitted following the Xindi mission , one of the additions was a completely redesigned captain ' s chair , which Commander Tucker joked " came with everything but its own protein resequencer . " ( ) " Constitution " class . The command chairs installed aboard ships of the in the 2260s featured three slightly different versions of the same command chair . Most , such as the one on the , featured a backrest that only reached the mid - back . The 2250s and 2260s version of this chair had a " gooseneck viewer " on the right armrest . ( ) A few , such as that of the , had a full backrest . ( ) During the early 2270s , " Constitution " - class starships went through a refit . The command chair of Captain James T . Kirk was upgraded with not only a full back support , including an automatically adjustable headrest , but also a safety restraint mechanism that allowed the armrests to hold down the occupant during turbulence and red alert . ( ) Upon Kirk stealing the " Enterprise " from Earth Spacedock for a self - appointed mission in 2285 , Captain Styles threatened Kirk that , if he went ahead with the theft , he would " never sit in the captain ' s chair again . " This turned out to be partly true , as the " Enterprise " was self - destructed in close proximity to the during Kirk ' s same unofficial mission , though Kirk did later assume the captain ' s chair of the " Constitution " - class as well as a couple of other vessels ( namely , a Klingon Bird - of - Prey named the and , very briefly , the ) . ( , ; ) However , Kirk also admitted , while in command of the " Enterprise " - A in 2287 , that he missed his former chair . ( ) Alternate " Constitution " class . In the alternate reality , the command chair could swivel and was equipped with an intercom . ( ) The chair also had self - extending twin - shoulder seatbelt s , as did other seats on the ship . ( ) Captain was in the command chair of the when the ship launched from on a mission to in 2258 . , as acting captain during Pike ' s absence , then occasionally occupied the chair , temporarily leaving it to go on a mission to rescue members of the Vulcan High Council including his mother , . After Spock returned , momentarily assumed the chair . However , Spock told him to get " out of the chair " , an instruction Kirk complied with . Once Kirk proved Spock was too emotion ally compromised by the recent destruction of Vulcan to continue in command , the right to take the command chair became Kirk ' s . As informed the bridge crew of the fact that Kirk was now acting captain , Kirk quickly familiarized himself with the chair ' s controls and then used the intercom system to broadcast a message ship - wide that he was now in command and they were going to follow Nero to Earth . ( ) The next year , after Kirk violated Starfleet regulations by revealing the " Enterprise " to a group of primitive Nibiran s , Christopher Pike accused Kirk of not respecting " the chair " because Pike felt Kirk wasn ' t yet ready for it . The " Enterprise " s command chair had never been occupied by until Kirk temporarily promoted him to the position of acting captain , while Kirk led a landing party to Qo ' noS and captured there . Later , Kirk , recruiting Khan to help him commandeer the , promoted Spock to acting captain of the " Enterprise " with the rationale that the person who sat in the chair needed to know what they were doing . Moments after the power grid s aboard the " Enterprise " started failing and the ship became caught in Earth ' s gravity , Spock activated the chair ' s seat belt . Shortly before the " Enterprise " commenced an historic five - year mission , Kirk assumed command and the associated chair from Sulu , who admitted he had enjoyed sitting in it . ( ) " Dreadnought " class . When commandeering the , Captain ordered Admiral to vacate the command chair . Marcus refused , even after Kirk threatened him , " " I could stun your ass and drag you out of that chair . " " Marcus hurried out of the chair in an attempt to escape when Khan , who had accompanied Kirk onto the bridge , went on the offensive . After murdering Admiral Marcus and taking control of the " Vengeance " himself , Khan assumed the command chair , though a detonation aboard the ship hurled him out of it . Immediately following the crash of the " Vengeance " in San Francisco , Khan was cowering behind the chair , though he soon left it . ( ) " Franklin " type . The starship had a more basic version of the command chair when the was discovered by members of the crew of the in 2263 of the alternate reality , as it was from nearly 100 years earlier . After boarded the ship , he was displeased when alien scavenger Jaylah situated herself in the command chair while he was on the " Franklin " bridge . This caused to mouth to Jaylah behind Kirk ' s back that Kirk liked sitting in the command chair . Later , when launching the " Franklin " to pursue Krall ( somewhat ironically , the " Franklin " s former captain ) , Kirk took the " Franklin " s command chair and remained there during a battle which followed . As the " Franklin " prepared to fly into the Swarm ship s ' midst , Kirk grabbed on tight to the armrests of the command chair . ( ) " Excelsior " class . During an honorary tour of the " Enterprise " - B on its maiden voyage , James T . Kirk – now retired from Starfleet – gave a longing gaze towards the ship ' s command chair . When Captain John Harriman asked Kirk and his companion Montgomery Scott to take their designated side seats , Kirk was reluctant to leave the command chair , briefly resting an arm atop the back of it , but then did as Harriman had suggested . Kirk later glanced at the chair again , upon advising Harriman , " " Risk is part of the game if you want to sit in that chair . " " When the ship subsequently became caught in a gravimetric field emanating from the Nexus , the craft shuddering caused firstly Harriman and later Kirk to cling onto the chair . After Kirk and Scott hatched a plan to enable the " Enterprise " - B to break away from the field , Kirk finally assumed the vessel ' s command chair while Harriman volunteered to go to main engineering to make modifications necessary for the plan to work . However , Kirk thereafter left the chair , swapping places with Harriman . Harriman thereafter left the chair to investigate a hull breach which had apparently cost Kirk his life . Kirk had actually been drawn into the Nexus , in which Captain Jean - Luc Picard attempted to recruit him to help stop Tolian Soran on Veridian III . Kirk concluded that the situation he now found himself in , of whether to make a difference again , was " about that empty chair on the bridge of the " Enterprise " , " and he proceeded to assist Picard , actually being killed in the process . ( ) " Galaxy " class . In 2364 , Captain Jean - Luc Picard showed young Wesley Crusher the command chair aboard the . A panel on the right arm of the chair had been designed for log entries , library computer access and retrieval , viewscreen control and intercom s . The left arm of the chair was equipped with a panel that could be flipped open to reveal backup conn and ops panels , plus armament and shield controls . ( ) By 2365 , the command chair on the " Enterprise " - D had been upgraded to a newer version with padded armrests and the replacement of the hidden control panels with permanently open ones . This chair remained on the bridge until the ship ' s destruction in 2371 . In hindsight , Commander Riker subsequently admitted , " " I always thought I ' d get a shot at this chair one day , " " referencing his long - held desire to captain the " Enterprise " , a goal Picard suspected he might still attain . ( ; ) " Kelvin " type . The command chair aboard the was outfitted with a control panel on the chair ' s right armrest . The controls available included a manual steering column and an intercom . Aboard the in 2233 of the alternate reality , Captain Richard Robau and Lieutenant Commander consecutively occupied the command chair while the " Kelvin " was attacked by the Romulan mining vessel " Narada " . Both officers used the chair ' s intercom but , as the " Kelvin " crashed into the " Narada " in a kamikaze maneuver , Kirk was flung out of the chair . ( ) " Kobayashi Maru " simulator . In the alternate reality , a command chair on a simulated bridge in the " Kobayashi Maru " scenario could rotate and had a control panel on each armrest . While was undergoing the " Kobayashi Maru " test in 2258 of the alternate reality , he ate an apple while sitting in the command chair . ( ) Background information . On , a particular command chair prop was included , over multiple years , in viewscreen appearances of Cardassian Gul Dukat . In , a built - up version of the chair appeared aboard the " Groumall " , a Cardassian freighter commanded by Dukat . ( " Oddments " , " " , No . 12 ) An oversized Romulan command chair was built for . " " We never shot it , " " said Laura Richarz , " " because it was way too big and very clunky . However , it " was " thronelike . " " As a result , the chair was used in , as Grand Nagus Zek ' s throne at the Chamber of Petitioners in Ferenginar ' s Tower of Commerce . ( " " , pp . 445 - 446 ) The command chair of the " Enterprise " - E was designed by illustrator John Eaves , who placed the chair a few inches above all the others on the starship ' s bridge in order to accentuate the captain ' s position , focusing the bridge design on him . ( ) In a deleted scene from , the " Enterprise " - E ' s command chair is refitted with seatbelt s . This chair design later served as the command chair for the " Enterprise " ( NX - 01 ) in Season 4 of .