Bridge module
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In the Star Trek fictional universe, the Bridge Module contains the ship's Main Bridge - where primary control of a starship is located. The Bridge Module is located on Deck 1, at the top of the saucer section.
The Bridge was a modular device. It was designed so that starships undergoing maintenance periods could have their main bridges replaced. This contributed to greater flexibility for starships, and often increased the lifespan of these ships.
At first, the module only had the main bridge. The model of the original Constitution class Enterprise shows the bridge dome, with the enclosure for the turbolift shaft visible at the rear. Bridge modules installed on refit Constitution class and other vessels of that era - such as Miranda class - also had a docking port for shuttle craft and travel pods. In Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Spock is shown boarding the Enterprise through this docking port. Later modules, such as those on Galaxy or Intrepid class starships often included extra facilities. The extra facilities would include a Captain's Ready Room, a Briefing Room, and separate restroom facilities for the Captain and crew.
Galaxy class starships had two bridge modules installed. One was the main bridge, installed at the traditional position at the top and center of the saucer section. The second was the Battle Bridge, located at deck eight on the top of the stardrive section. The battle bridge module was used as a control center for the stardrive section for separated flight operations. The Enterprise had two battle bridge modules - the one that was seen in two episodes of the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and a new one installed sometime between the first and fourth seasons.
There are several notable instances of a Bridge Module being replaced. The first was during the refit of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 between the time of the original series and the first movie. During this refit, a new module was placed on the ship. Another instance was with the Enterprise NCC-1701-A. At the end of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the Enterprise-A is shown with a bridge based on the design of the previous refit Enterprise. In Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, the design was totally different due to the old set designs being scrapped. This was explained as the Enterprise-A having had her Bridge Module replaced shortly after launch. Also, the USS Excelsior bridge module was replaced at some point between the third and sixth Star Trek movies. In the third film, only a small portion of the bridge set, namely the portions which would be shown on film, was actually built. In the sixth movie, when the Excelsior had a larger role than in the previous films, a completely new bridge set was built for the movie.
According to the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, when the Enterprise-D was undergoing final tests her Bridge Module was not yet ready. As a result, a specialized testing module was used which could be ejected if something went seriously wrong with the ship. There were at least three different types of bridge module used on Galaxy class vessels - the type seen during the course of the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series, the type seen in Star Trek: Generations, and a different type that had been placed on the Galaxy class USS Odyssey.
