CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — With the 50th anniversary of Star Trek about a week away, the Smithsonian Channel will explore the science behind the franchise in a special premiering tonight.
Building Star Trek, airing at 8:00 p.m. ET, will feature a conservation team from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum as they took two years meticulously restoring the U.S.S. Enterprise model from the original series. The model has been on display at the museum since 1974, but over the decades suffered considerably from age and neglect.
The two-hour program will also showcase engineers and scientists who’ve worked on inventions inspired by Star Trek, like phasers, cloaking devices and tractor beams.
The original Star Trek TV show debuted September 8, 1966.
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