Bajoran lightship A Bajoran lightship was a type of early Bajoran space - going vessel , partially constructed of lumber , which utilized solar sail - powered space flight . History . Lightships were used by the Bajorans as early as the 16th century . ( ) Bajorans first traveled from Bajor to Cardassia , and established ancient contact between the two worlds . For many years the Cardassian s disputed this claim , referring to it as a " Bajoran fairy tale , " because they refused to admit that the Bajorans had achieved interstellar flight before they had . However , Captain Benjamin Sisko and his son , Jake , inadvertently proved that the voyage was possible when they arrived in Cardassian space in a similar lightship . By a proclaimed remarkable coincidence , which Captain Sisko strongly doubted , the Cardassians announced that they found the remains of an ancient Bajoran lightship on Cardassia , thereby proving such an interstellar voyage was made . ( ) These vessels continued to be used by the Bajorans as late as the 22nd century . ( ) Although lightships were not capable of achieving warp speeds by design , a semi - controlled warp jump was possible if particles that were moving faster than light , for example tachyon s , were to collide with the sails . However , because the ship wasn ' t designed to endure the stress of warp speeds , the sails could be severely damaged as a result , while the hull itself was fortunately sturdy enough to protect the crew . It was thanks to such an uncontrolled warp jump that the ancient Bajorans were able to bypass the Denorios belt and reach the Cardassian system before they crashed on Cardassia Prime . ( ) Technical data . While the ship was primarily made of metal welded together , wood was also used as part of the design . As a result of the sails , they had a very large surface area relative to their mass when compared to other ship designs . ( ) Physical arrangement . Lightships were not very large ; capable of being operated by a single individual , having more than two people could quickly make things rather cramped . Beside one main area , in the aft was a bathroom with a zero gravity toilet . Several viewports enabled the crew to view space and the condition of the sails . One large main viewport dominated the bow , where measurements could be taken of the stars with a sextant , and two other large circular ports with powered dilating shutters were located near the front . There were also at least four very small viewports , two each along the port and starboard sides . ( ) Command and control systems . The rigging consisted of several systems . Hand winches equipped with brakes deployed and retracted the sails : Two for the port and starboard mainsails , while a second pair was used for the sprit sails and jib . Between the two winch sets was a large bar handle on each side for trimming a sprit . One long bar rotating at the center point from the ceiling with control leads attached at the ends appears to have controlled the jib . An electrical system provided power for lights inside the ship and other systems such as the secondary viewport shutters . Other functions it provided are unknown , except that if something went wrong with the sprits , they could be jettisoned with controlled explosions destroying the attachment points to the ship . ( ) Propulsion system . Propulsion was achieved not by any system inside the ship , but rather outside of it : light pressure provided by the Bajoran sun . The lightship made use of this with a complement of five solar sails : two mainsails and two sprit sails , one each located on the port and starboard sides , and a jib on the top protruding between the upper portions of the mainsails . ( ) Crew support . Lightships had space for a few weeks of oxygen . The Bajorans also figured out how to adapt to an environment with no gravity , consuming zero gravity rations of food and water , and invented a zero gravity toilet . How they secured themselves during sleep is unknown ; Ben and Jake Sisko had the benefit of gravity plating , so they used simple hammock s . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Illustrator Jim Martin described the idea behind the lightship ' s design as a " " Bajoran turtle with gossamer wings " . " ( " Sailing Through the Stars : A Special Look at " , DS9 Season 3 DVD , Special Features ) Production designer Herman Zimmerman , illustrator Jim Martin and set designer Scott Herbertson envisioned the Siskos as " " sailors in space " " and intentionally made the set of the lightship similar to a sailing boat . Writer René Echevarria even told Zimmerman and Martin that he wanted the ship to have a " " Jules Verne look , a wooden cabin outfitted with brass " . " Indeed , some real sailing equipment can be seen in the background at various points . Both Martin and Zimmerman count the lightship among their favorites to work on from a design point of view , and Zimmerman mentions it in the DVD special feature " Herman Zimmerman : A Tribute " . They also both discuss how much they enjoyed the project in " Sailing Through the Stars : A Special Look at " , a featurette on the DS9 Season 3 DVD . Ira Steven Behr commented : " " . . . For the ship itself I also have to give a nod to Herman Zimmerman . When we went on stage and walked the ship , it was probably how they felt about the time machine from the 1960 movie – a great little piece of equipment . I said , ' Don ' t throw this out ; don ' t trash it . Keep it somewhere because this goes in the " Star Trek " museum someday ' . It ' s just a great prop " " . ( " Captains ' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages " ) The design of the lightship itself was inspired by the , a deliberately primitive sailing craft that Norwegian explorer used to sail from Peru to Tahiti in 1947 , substantiating his belief that it was possible that a South America n civilization could have settled by making a trans - oceanic voyage . As Jim Martin explains , in reality , a solar sail would need to be several miles wide to propel a ship like this . As such , " " We needed to take it into the realm of fantasy . But that was a very whimsical idea , and we could be very whimsical with it , and do something that was kind of in a fun fantasy vein " . " ( " Sailing Through the Stars : A Special Look at " , DS9 Season 3 DVD special features ) Under the direction of visual effects supervisor Glenn Neufeld , John Knoll at Industrial Light & Magic rendered the lightship as a CGI model . ( ) He later used the model for Akorem Laan ' s ship in . At its 1995 convention , the recognized this episode for exemplifying " " the most imaginative use of a vehicle to travel in space " , " and awarded the episode the " Best Vision of the Future " award . The award was presented by Robert Staehle , the world ' s foremost expert on solar sails . Most shots of the lightship are from the aft ( rear ) because , being powered by solar " currents " , the ship always has its back to the Bajoran sun . Models of the lightship were released by Galoob as part of their " Star Trek " Micro Machines collection and in Eaglemoss Collections ' " " . Another miniature of the ship will be released for the " " game in December 2015 . Apocrypha . The " " of the " Star Trek Customizable Card Game " includes a card for the Bajoran lightship " Baraka " , said to be of the " Shabren " - class . In the Pocket DS9 novel " Dark Passions , Book One " , the mirror universe version of Annika Hansen creates a holographic representation of a lightship for Intendant Kira Nerys . The " " novel " The Worst of Both Worlds " , the Klingon - Cardassian Alliance routinely refers to the Bajoran lightships as evidence of the historic bond between the peoples of Bajor and Cardassia .