This mid-20th century Vulcan Survey Ship investigated the launch of Earth’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, in 1957 before an on-board malfunction caused it to crash in Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania.

Unlike later Vulcan vessels of the 22nd century, the Vulcan Survey Ship did not have a large annular warp ring that encircled the main body. Instead, the survey ship of the 20th century was an American football-shaped vessel and had warp engine pods attached to its rear section. It also had impulse engines that emitted an amber glow when in use.

Inside the magazine, illustrator John Eaves explains how he came up with a concept for a 20th-century Vulcan ship for the Enterprise episode ‘Carbon Creek’, plus writers Mike Sussman and Phyllis Strong talk about their experiences of working on Enterprise in the early days.