Walter "Matt" Jefferies dies...designer of original USS Enterprise

[Dr Mordrid]

Dead from cancer at age 82.

ENTERPRISE recently tipped its hat to Jefferies with reference to a "Captain Jefferies" in the episode "First Flight."

Dr. Mordrid

[bsdgeek]

A sad day for trekkies.

They also used his name for the 'Jefferies tubes'

[Dr Mordrid]

An interview with Jefferies is on startrek.com detailing his LONG career in Hollywood as well as some VERY interesting preliminary drawings of what was to become the USS Enterprise;

http://startrek.com/news/news_video_nc_w.asp?vidfile=treknation_trailer&vidformat=whi&vidfilename=st_firstperson_4a_300.wmv

I re-edited the first post as to how the Enterprises number came about. I had assumed that the rumors had been true that his private plane reg. number was the basis for the NCC-1701, but this wasn't true. He did have a plane with that number, but he bought it after the Enterprise was designed.

The real origin;

NC = US commercial aircraft prefix
2nd C = a nod to the Russian CCCP, with the thought that space travel would require international efforts.

1701 = the Federations 17th design line and 01st ship of that line.

He chose those numbers because they are easily discerned from other digits unlike 3 from 6 from 8 from 9 etc. Dunno what was wrong with 2, 4 and 5.

Dr. Mordrid