Long range shuttle model Though only fleetingly depicted in , the long range shuttle became a fan - favorite , as it was the very first Vulcan starship design ever seen in the franchise . In retrospect , however , that was only partly true , because its designers intended it to be a Vulcan / Federation hybrid . Design . The long range shuttle was a co - design by Andrew Probert and Richard Taylor , " " The bridge " [ of the ] " was designed so that the Vulcan shuttle could actually dock with it . The Vulcan shuttle was also another model that Andy and I designed and was kind of a takeoff of a catamaran . We kept in mind its function in that part of it was going to have to detach from the warp sled and dock with the Enterprise . I had to design a shape that was going to be able to physically dock with the docking ring behind the bridge ; so anything that had too much height wouldn ’ t work and again , according to Roddenberry , it had to have a 12 foot in diameter door . " " , Taylor explained . Probert recounted , " " The script called for a shuttlecraft with warp - drive capability . Gene " [ Roddenberry ] " wanted the craft to have large warp - drive nacelle s , designed to recall the old Starfleet technology . For personnel transfer , the shuttle was required to hard - dock with the . As was brought out in the , intraship beaming was extremely hazardous . My original sketches included the configuration – almost exactly – that we finally settled on , after many tests , which Gene liked even though it did not confirm to his original idea . I reasoned that the size of the warp engines made a hard - docking impossible , so we needed a warp - drive sled and basic shuttlecraft . I did a quick sketch to show how it would operate . " " ( " " , issue 32 , p . 29 ) Elaborating on this last notion , Probert has remarked , " " In working out the design , though , I couldn ' t create a configuration with which I was really comfortable with until finally coming up with the idea of a large shuttle with removable warp engines , which quickly evolved into a " warp sled " . The shuttle could now park its sled at some distance from a destination and simply maneuver the remaining distance to dock . I never would have imagined , however , the Trumbull – inspired " half gainer " that the ship and its Vulcan pilots performed during the docking approach . " " ( " Starlog photo guidebook Special Effects " , vol . 5 , p . 94 ) According to later Probert interviews : " In the script , this was a shuttle with " long - range " capabilities . Gene wanted it to have ( relatively ) huge warp engines to indicate how it could reach the Enterprise quickly . Starting with the original TOS shuttlecraft design , I visually peeled it down to its basic cabin and then started updating that , adding ( at first ) large TOS - style warp engines . The problem I was fighting was how to hard - dock with the Enterprise ( an unexplained requirement overriding the transporters ) while keeping those large engines out of the way . Sketching extended warp engine pylons , to help solve that problem , it occurred to me that those extensions and warp engines could be detachable during the docking process and the idea of a separate Warp Sled soon came to mind . From that point , it was a matter of refining the details and , since this was to be a Vulcan Shuttle , many of those details were derived from the Vulcan society itself . I observed , in the TOS episode # 30 : , a six - sided - diamond shape as part of their motif , especially in the ceremonial gong at the center of the featured arena . I applied this motif to various parts of the shuttle as well as using it as a cross section for the new warp engines . " The Vulcan shuttle is actually a Starfleet shuttle , co - designed with Vulcan engineer s . That ' s why it has subtle repetitions of that ceremonial ' gong ' shape we saw in . Anyway , my thinking was those new ships would have the same warm gray tonalities that the " Galileo " - type shuttles had and they would be the new standard shuttle . They would be more squat and smaller because they had to fit within the decks of the starships , but yeah , those were hopeful replacements . That long - range shuttle , though , is actually my favorite design in the movie . " In regard to his notion of the design being a Federation / Vulcan hybrid , Probert has later specified , " " The back - story in my mind at the time was that the shuttlecraft itself was a Starfleet design , while the warp sled would be contributed through the efforts of the Vulcan Space Authorities . " " At the time , Probert even envisioned the shuttle part coming in two different sizes . A design sketch of 3 May 1979 specified a smaller forty feet " Starfleet - Standard - Shuttle " and a nearly one and a half larger " Starfleet - Long range - Shuttle " as the one to be attached to the warp sled . Probert explained , " " When I was asked for ideas on the Enterprise cargo decks , part of those ideas included new hanger deck spaces where one would logically expect to see shuttlecraft . Since the larger long - range shuttle had already been designed , I thought it made sense to have the Enterprise shuttles look the same , although smaller , to fit the spaces below deck . Logically if we were updating the Enterprise , the shuttles should be updated as well . Someone disagreed with that , of course , providing us all with a totally empty area back there . " " While designing the long range shuttle , Probert did not envision the craft having any secondary entrances or exits . He later noted , " " I would change that today . " " The circular door on the rear of the craft had to be of the same proportions as the docking collar of the " Enterprise " , since that fitting was intended to be a universal connection . Probert also made sure the docking collar matched up with the one seen on the travel pod , " " In the case of the long - range shuttlecraft ( Vulcan Shuttle ) , there is a small airlock adjoining it ’ s docking ring but the doors are the same as the Pod ’ s . LR Shuttles also have top & bottom emergency hatches . " " , in the process somewhat contradicting his earlier remark of the shuttle not having secondary entrances . Probert referred to only the upper part of the craft ' s two sections as being the shuttle , calling the lower section the " warp sled " ; he conceived the latter as having warp capability , equipped with both warp and impulse engines . However , this distinction is not made on screen and both portions of the craft are only ever shown traveling at slower than warp speeds ( though the shuttle ' s name implies that the craft was capable of regularly sustaining warp to traverse long distances ) . Probert did not imagine the cabin section as having the ability to travel at warp or even near - light velocities , with that compartment ' s only intended method of travel being reaction control thruster s , which Probert included on the section ' s corners . Despite the slowness of the upper module , Probert envisioned it – in accordance with his wishes that the long range shuttle become the new standard shuttlecraft for " Star Trek " – as being capable of traveling between space and the surfaces of planets . To this end , the " Surak " s landing pads were marked with reddish coloring meant to be from Vulcan soil . " " But when you ' re rushed through production to do stuff , you overlook a few things , and the problem there would have been how do you get it off the planet with only RCS thrusters . . . " " explained Probert . " " It ' s conceivable that it would have its own primary power system in addition to the RCS system , but I hadn ' t been able to think that far , and it was simply a proposal . " " In regard to the shuttle ' s perceived absence of windows , Probert commented , " " At the time , I was intrigued by the idea of total instrument flying . Certainly 200 ears from now such technology will be commonplace . And since the craft is designed to enter an atmosphere , I conceived a wedge nose to facilitate entry . The sled , incidentally , parks relative to the " Enterprise " and automatically keeps station with it . " " ( " " , issue 32 , pp . 29 - 30 ) Refining his thought processes Probert added years later , " " It ' s true , there is only a heat shield on the front , but this shuttle has always had those side windows along with one on the back . The tall windows were designed that way in order for travelers of any eye - level height to see out . The same reasoning is behind the longer windows on the Enterprise - D , which followed years later . " " Probert was the one who came up with the name of the only one seen long range shuttle in the franchise , " Surak " , " " I remembered the name from an old " Star Trek " episode . Surak was the equivalent of our Abraham Lincoln in . " " ( " " , issue 32 , p . 29 ) Probert also planned for long range shuttles to be included in a matte painting of the cargo bay , though this plan went unrealized , as shuttles were entirely excluded from the final painting as ultimately used . Paramount Pictures applied for , and received two design patents from the US Patent and Trademark Office for the design . The first , , tendered by the studio on 13 April 1979 and issued on 14 July 1981 , concerned the entire assembly of shuttle and sled . The second , , tendered on 7 May 1979 and issued on 6 April 1982 , only concerned the shuttle part of the design . In both cases called a " toy spaceship " for purposes of the patent application , as they were not real spaceships , it seemed odd that two patents were issued for one design . This however , may have stemmed from the original intent of having two differently sized shuttles , considering the fact that the second patent was tendered only four days after Probert submitted his two sizes design . In both cases Probert was , discounting Taylor ' s input , mentioned as sole inventor . The patents , when issued , were valid for fourteen years . Probert has sold off some of his concepts and design drawings in Propworx ' " STAR TREK auction III " of 4 June 2011 . Physical studio models . The studio model of the " Surak " was eventually built at Magicam / Astra Image Corporation . Its primary builder was Magicam ' s Tom Pahk . ( " American Cinematographer " , February 1980 , pp . 152 , 179 ) The model was filmed on one of Douglas Trumbull ' s stages at Future General Corporation . ( " " , p . 206 ) The paint scheme on the model was not only designed , but also partly applied by Probert himself , as he added weathering , " " The Robert Abel " [ sic ] " model builders did an amazing job , from fabrication to painting . After each was all finished & documented , I got to throw in my two cents worth by adding ' weathering ' to a couple of the miniatures . " " As to the paint scheme Probert has further stated , " " So , when considering a color for the Vulcan - based long - range shuttle , I knew that I did " not " want yet another boring - grey space ship . But I " did " consider what grey would like in the red Vulcan atmosphere , and a kind of magenta or grey - pink color came to mind . That ended up being our base color , accented with various shades of muted purples . That might sound a bit odd at first , but it really looked great . " " ( " Starlog photo guidebook Special Effects " , vol . 5 , pp . 95 - 96 ) Unfortunately for Probert , his carefully designed color scheme for the " Surak " did not come across on - screen as intended . In its very first appearance , due to post - production editing , it had a coppery appearance , very much reinforced by the depictions on period merchandise , such as the box art of the AMT model kit no . S972 , and the 1979 " Star Trek : The Motion Picture " trading cards set from Topps . Even the DVD of 2001 only partially corrected the color scheme of the " Surak " . When confronted with the footage , Probert himself was aghast , " " Unfortunately , in the movie business , a selectively " collaborative " medium , once a miniature leaves the influence of its designer it is subject to indiscreet " editing " by those who are uncomfortable when confronted with thinking that rises beyond mediocrity . Consequently , someone in that group made the decision to filter out or neutralize our unconventional coloring in favor of the more " acceptable " shades of boring - grey ; something that would come up again . " [ Note : Probert is referring to the color scheme he designed for the six - foot " Enterprise " - D model . ] ( " Starlog photo guidebook Special Effects " , vol . 5 , p . 96 ) Having made the remark in 1996 , Probert ' s anger had not abated in 2009 when he further commented , " " More like shocked . . . and then angry at how supposedly " creative " people can be so un - creative at times . " " , further affirming his conviction that it was all done on purpose , " " These people can shoot every color there is , so , yes , it was intentionally compromised . . . providing another example of that Hollywood " collaboration " process . " " The model of the long - range shuttle was reported to have been on the set for the Starfleet Officer ' s Lounge in , though it does not appear on screen in that film . ( DVD - special feature , " text commentary " ) The actual studio model itself has not been present in either the 2006 - 2008 wave of " Star Trek " auctions , nor the various exhibition tours of the 1990s and the 2000s . Still , considered a popular design , the model has been released by the studio in the 1980s for public relations purposes , appearing in various period conventions . The very last time the model was sighted was at the last Equicon ' 88 Science Fiction Convention of 1 - 3 April 1988 , held in Los Angeles . It has been missing ever since , rumored to have been stolen on that occasion . Other models . The display model that appeared as set dressing in the episodes , , and , was an unmodified AMT model kit no . S972 . The mere existence of the model was proof of the popularity of the design among fans , as it was the only truly new model kit released in 1979 that was not a revision of previously established " Star Trek " designs . In effect , when AMT was rebooted in 2008 / 2009 under the Round 2 LLC umbrella , it was the third model kit to be re - released , having received a full revision , for which original designer Andrew Probert was called in as a consultant . Another AMT model was seen in the licensed " " calendar , which was photographed by Daren Dochterman and composited into his otherwise CGI March spread . The spread was reproduced in the 2006 book derivative , and has been one of the very few official print representations of the design outside the movie references .