Balok ' s cube Balok ' s cube was a First Federation warning buoy . It was encountered by the while that starship was mapping beyond previously charted space . The " Enterprise " s sensor s registered the cube as entirely solid , each edge 107 meter s long , and massing just under 11 , 000 metric ton s . But neither the sensors nor Montgomery Scott ' s experience were able to explain how the device sensed the ship , moved to block it , and moved to remain in position . The cube held a position 1 , 593 meters in front of the " Enterprise " . Kirk elected to play a waiting game . Eighteen hours later , with no change in the cube ' s status , Kirk convened a briefing . Spock speculated that the device was either a space buoy , or " flypaper " – designed to hold ships in place , or to measure their capabilities . He conjectured it would be unwise to appear too weak . The ship attempted to pull away , using a spiral course . The cube maintained its position but , at half - speed , began to emit dangerous radiation , and started to close on the " Enterprise " . Kirk first ordered a halt ; when the cube continued to close and emit radiation , he retreated before it . It maintained its approach , closing even at warp factor 3 speeds , and emitting increasingly deadly radiation . It was finally destroyed , at point - blank range , by a short burst of phaser fire . Events that followed revealed that the cube had been intended first to hold the ship , and later to threaten it , so that the alien Balok could learn what sort of reaction this would prompt . At one point , Balok used Kirk ' s destruction of the cube as " proof " that the Federation was a hostile organization ; this was a ploy , on his part , to goad Kirk for the purpose of testing him . ( ) Appendices . Background information . The original version of Balok ' s cube was filmed at the Howard Anderson Company . ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 27 , No . 11 / 12 , p . 76 ) As per Desilu ' s purchase orders to him ( currently archived at the UCLA ) , the studio model was built by Wah Chang , whereas the model was made to appear functional by the studio ' s own special effects staffers Jim Rugg and Roger Dorney . Behind - the - scenes imagery has revealed that the design was , onstage , simply referred to as " cube " and that the model was being filmed at Anderson ' s at the end of . When the buoy was digitally rendered for the remastered version of the episode , it was intended that the cube not be drastically changed from its original appearance . VFX Line Producer Michael Okuda recalled , " " We wanted CBS Digital to recreate that almost exactly . " " Fellow VFX Line Producer Dave Rossi noted , " " We gave it a little more sense of dimensionality , I think . " " ( " Spacelift : Transporting Trek into the 21st Century " , TOS Season 1 Blu - ray special features ) Seeing Balok ' s cube in " The Corbomite Maneuver " was one of " Star Trek " author David R . George III ' s earliest memories of watching " Star Trek " . In his adulthood , he remarked , " " The varicolored space buoy , growing ever brighter as it neared its destruction , captivated me ( especially since I thought it looked like a multihued marshmallow ) . " " The design of Balok ' s cube – or conceivably even the ( modified ) model itself , considering the tight budgets the production had to adhere to – was reused as the Kalandan outpost computer in the third season episode . According to " Star Trek Maps " ( chart B ) , these First Federation buoys were referred to as outpost buoys . There was a network of them with each buoy approximately ten parsec s apart from one another , at the border of First Federation space . Apocrypha . This type of buoy was seen again , en masse , in the video game " " , this time belonging to the mirror universe Balok , used against the ISS " Excelsior " . Each individual buoy was dispatched by a few shots from the " Excelsior " fighters .