Daedalus class model Perceived by the " Star Trek " production staff as having played a significant role in the early exploration - era of the United Federation of Planets , the designation " " was only established in dialogue for the otherwise unfeatured in the season five episode . And while the appearance of was established as a display model in the first season episode , it should be noted that the link between appearance and class designation has never been established in canon . However , production staff fans , most notably Greg Jein , Doug Drexler and Michael Okuda ( in his and reference work s in particular ) have vigorously championed the appearance of the " Daedalus " - class – including that of USS " Essex " , being established as a class member in " Power Play " – as derived from a design concept by Art Director Matt Jefferies . As the official franchise has as of 2002 deemed the contents of Okuda ' s two works as " quasi - canon " ( thereby becoming the only ones they consider as such from then on ) , it follows that the " Daedalus " - class appearance has attained this status as well . ( ) Design . According to the " Encyclopedia " ( 1999 , p . 97 ) , the , what was essentially conjectural , design of the " Daedalus " - class was " " based on an early design by Matt Jefferies and built by Greg Jein . " " Jefferies himself seriously considered his design as a possible contender at the time , as he deemed the sphere the best possible pressure vessel for use in a vacuum , but eventually dispensed with the design as being " too bulky " , or as he had put it himself , " " Then for the hull , I didn ' t really want a saucer because of the term ' flying saucer ' , and the best pressure vessel of course is a ball , so I started playing with that . But the bulk got in the way and the ball just didn ' t work . I flattened it out and I guess we wound up with a saucer ! " " . ( , pp . 25 , 28 ) Reference model . Greg Jein , out of his own volition , constructed an " Essex " reference model for Michael Okuda to photograph and photoshop , and who had it prominently featured in his works , firstly in his 1993 edition of the " Chronology " , and subsequently in the first , 1994 edition of the " Encyclopedia " , perpetuated as color photographs in all subsequent editions of both works . Okuda has recalled , " ( . . . ) Greg modeled the " Daedalus " for us for the " Star Trek Chronology " . When Doug and I were photographing it , I asked Doug to add a little bit of weathering detail to Greg ' s model to bring out a little more of the panel detail . We were thrilled to have a real Greg Jein model for the project , and Doug was just a bit nervous to be working on a model that had been created by one of the masters of the art . " " I feel like I ' m defacing a Greg Jein original " , " he said . I disagreed . " " Look at it this way , Doug : You ' re actually * completing * a Greg Jein original " . " Faced with that unassailable logic , Doug went back to work , with beautiful results . Oh , and by the way , thanks again , Greg ! " Okuda had the model , measuring about 20 inches in length , upon delivery originally labeled USS " Horizon " for its entry in the " Chronology " , before relabeling it on its bow as USS " Essex " ( NCC - 176 ) , but has felt no need to change its registry nor the small name decal on the stern of the model , as he was aware that they would not be discernible in the small black and white pictures . Therefore the model was incorrectly labeled in the first 1994 edition of the " Encyclopedia " for its " Essex " entry – though he had the ship endowed with the intended " NCC - 173 " registry , in both the individual entry ( p . 94 ) as well as in his starship list ( p . 320 ) – , aside from having it featured as as well ( p . 14 , though that ship was otherwise not established in canon as being " Daedalus " - class ) . Aside from the photos , the " Encyclopedia " also featured diagrams of the class by Drexler , which " ( . . . ) were drawn directly from Greg Jein ' s model " . Nor has Okuda corrected this for subsequent editions of the " Chronology " / " Encyclopedia " , when he took new , additional color photographs of the model , but by careful angling and lighting , the registry for " Essex " has remained obscured . Interestingly , at the time the nacelles were equipped with spikes akin to those seen on the original " Enterprise " studio model in . Apart from photographing the model , Okuda had Drexler also retouch the photos for representation in the " Chronology / Encyclopedia " by adding background and lighted windows ( neither this model nor the later copies were equipped with an internal lighting rig ) , whereas for the later " Chronology " / " Encyclopedia " color editions , beauty stills of the model against planet backdrops were composited by Visual Effects Supervisor Gary Hutzel . ( ) Production copies . Additional castings were taken from the molds of this model and have been refurbished as USS " Horizon " , one minus the spikes and with an unchanged registry , and first appeared in " Deep Space Nine " as a model kept in Deep Space 9 ' s classroom in " The Nagus " , before being subsequently used as a desktop display model in Benjamin Sisko ' s office as well . ( , " et . al . " ) Okuda elaborated , " There were at least two models of the " Horizon / Essex " . The first was the one that Greg built for the " Chronology " . I later asked Greg to make a casting of that model , so we could use it as set dressing in Sisko ' s office . I believe he made another casting for display at " " [ " remark : which he actually did , as the USS " Horizon " and where it was , as per plaque , specifically designated " Daedalus " - class " ] . I may still have the original model somewhere , although I seem to recall it was damaged in an earthquake some years ago . . . The ' painted over stripes ' were present on the cast resin copies . The original stripes were fairly thick graphic tape , so they showed up as ridges on the cast copies . Doug and I did the taping after Greg delivered the finished model . We also applied tape over the ridges on the copy in Sisko ' s office , at least partially , but I don ' t think we ever got a chance to tape the copy made for The Experience . " Okuda has relocated some of the ( above featured ) original photos he had taken of his model for the book , and had them featured on Drexler ' s in March 2009 . In 2015 , Okuda relocated his model as well and sent newly taken pictures of his model to Ben Robinson , in a solicitation bid to have the design incorporated in Robinson ' s " " partwork publication . While Okuda has retained ownership of the original reference model , the current whereabouts of the Sisko , and " Experience " display model copies are unknown , as they have not been sighted since . CGI models . As an ancient , decommissioned ship - class in the history of " Star Trek " , no need was perceived to have any vessels of the class featured in any of the live - action productions as a full - fledged CGI model . Yet , need was perceived for one when the number of in - universe reference work publications started to proliferate in the late 1990s . The first one was constructed as USS " Horizon " at either Digital Muse or Foundation Imaging at the behest of the aforementioned Associate Editor Ben Robinson for use in the British partwork publication " Star Trek Fact Files " , where it made its debut in , and on the cover of , Part 57 , 1998 . The model made subsequent appearances in " Fact Files " derivative publications ( pp . 6 , 34 , 2000 ) , and ( 2003 ) . As the software package of choice for both digital effects companies at the time , the model has been constructed in . In 2003 Drexler , under his " nom - de - guerre " " Max Rem " , constructed a second CGI model of for use in one of James Cawley ' s episodes of the fan series " Star Trek : New Voyages " , " " Almost ten years ago I had built a rough and ready CG model of this Jefferies classic for the " Star Trek : New Voyages " episode " In Harm ' s Way " , " " stated Drexler on a later occasion , " " The amazing Greg Jein had built a physical model of this ship for our use on Deep Space Nine , and it was seen in Captain Sisko ' s office through the run of the series . When it came time to bash out a CG model on my lunch break , I went down to set dressing and borrowed Greg ' s model from Laura . Now it sat on my desk , the best reference in the world , and I got to work . You ' d love to spend a few days on something like this , but we were in the middle of making a TV show . " " Drexler had likewise constructed his model in LightWave 3D , as he had learned to use the software package during his stay at Foundation Imaging , a few years earlier . It has been Drexler ' s model that was later exclusively used in subsequent licensed print publications , such as the cover of the novel " Summon the Thunder " – as – , the " " calendars and their book derivatives . Legacy . In the finale of , , a hospital ship , the , turned up that bore a striking resemblance with the " Daedalus " - class ; this was by no means a coincidence , as it turned out that Drexler , Jein and Okuda were not the only ones that were taken with Jefferies ' original design . Like them , " Pasteur " designer and builder Bill George was an " Original Series " fan and an admirer of Jefferies , and had based his work on the same Jefferies design , as his predecessors had theirs . If it had been up to Designer Doug Drexler , the " Daedalus " - class would have been his starting point in designing the for the series , " " I like the NX - 01 , even though it was a frustrating experience . I ’ m a " canon " kind of guy . I would have liked to have seen the Daedalus style ship . You know . . . the sphere instead of saucer . The producers wanted it to be a saucer because they wanted it " recognizable " " " , or as he had put it on another occasion , " " In the Enterprise art department , we favored this design for the NX . Not a chance . " " He was not alone in this regard as he explained on another occasion , " " Mike Okuda and I pushed for it to be the basis of the NX , but the studio was afraid to abandon the familiar saucer config . " " Despite this he has added , " " Ultimately we both very much like the NX we ended up with . It is highly thought out , and you can draw a line directly to Matt ' s TOS ship . " "