They want to build the Starship Enterprise!

[kiwi_2005]

A trekkies dream come true

Build the Enterprise
http://www.buildtheenterprise.org/compare-to-star-trek

source
http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/ga...a-takes-flight

A space-worthy replica of Gene Rodenberry's 23rd-century Star Trek starship has been proposed at buildtheenterprise.org.
The project requires nine years of research and 11 years of development, with the ship built in space. It would be powered by a 1.5-gigawatt nuclear reactor and include three landing craft. The project attempts to solve the problem of gravity by including a gravity wheel in the ship's saucer section. At 960 metres long, the Enterprise would be the largest craft made by man. "The Enterprise will inspire us," the website says. "The ship will be over a half mile in length. The size and technological achievement will be truly awe-inspiring a worthy successor to the Apollo space programme. "It will be bigger than any craft or building ever constructed by humans. We can finally demonstrate that the human race has figured out how to build comfortable and sustainable living quarters in space and that we are there to stay."

If the idea seems far-fetched, most of the gadgets conceived in the Star Trek series are now a reality and the United States government spent almost US$1 trillion (NZ$1.3 trillion) bailing out banks when the latest recession hit. Hamilton Astronomical Society president Dave Owen loved the idea, but thought it impractical, because the Enterprise was designed to travel vast interstellar distances, rather than within the solar system.
"It's possible to build a large ship like this with modern technology, but the idea of making it look like the Enterprise is unnecessary," he said. "You will spend huge amounts of money trying to get it a certain shape and there's no way it's going to have warp drive."

A better idea would be to build a space station resembling one of Star Trek's starbases, like Deep Space Nine.
"That's much more realistic than the Enterprise," he said.