Shuttlecraft Galileo From 'Star Trek' TV Series Unveiled At Space Center Houston

by uInterviewAugust 2, 2013, 12:00 amNews >

Shuttlecraft Galileo, the first Star Trek shuttlecraft, was revealed on Wednesday completely restored at the Space Center Houston in Texas.

The shuttlecraft appeared in "The Galileo Seven," the sixteenth episode of Star Trek’s trailblazing first season that original aired in January of 1967. In the episode, Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Lt. Boma (Don Marshall) and Scott (James Doohan) board the shuttle with crewmen and end up crash landing on Taurus II. The shuttle did not survive the episode, and almost met a similar fate in real life.

The shuttle has been passed over to various collectors over the past fifty years, and last June, it was bought through an online auction for a reported $61,000. Adam Schneider, the Star Trek fan who bought the shuttle, assembled a New Jersey team to restore Galileo to its original state – a process that took nine months.

Now, the revamped shuttle will be part of a permanent exhibit in Space Center Houston’s "Zero-G Diner."

“If you had told us a year and a month ago that we would have been able to obtain this thing [and] that we’d be able to figure out how to fix it…and that we’d be able to donate it to Space Center Houston, the home of America’s manned space program, I would have said that’s just fabulous,” Schneider said at the ceremony.

Don Marshall, an actor who appeared in "The Galileo Seven," was on hand for the big unveiling, which drew Trekies and sci-fi stars from around the globe. Space lovers and NASA personel alike hope that the fictional shuttle will inspire future space adventurers.

“The addition of Galileo adds to the rich history of space exploration as it pays tribute to the way science fiction ignites our imaginations and has inspired generations of innovators,” said president and CEO of Space Center Houston, Richard Allen.

“[Galileo] will serve as a tool with which we can imagine endless possibilities,” Allen said. Perhaps it will inspire young explorers to 'go where no man has gone before.'"

— Olivia Truffaut-Wong

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