I'm Richard Sternbach. I've worked on Star Trek for a number of years as senior illustrator. Let me show you some of the designs and sketches that were produced during the seven years of [Star Trek Voyager].

[#61 Rise]

The space elevator, from the episode [Rise], is based on a very real concept with scientists looking for a way to get things up into orbit cheaply. And if you put a tether, a giant cable anchored on the ground, and you anchor the other end up in space, and then travel up and down this cable, theoretically you could transfer huge amounts of cargo for very little expenditure of energy.

maglev carriage - design sketch

maglev carriage - design sketch close-up