<P> The 2009 Star Trek film, which takes place in an alternate timeline, features a re-conceptualization of the original Enterprise . </P> <P> Star Trek art director Matt Jefferies was the primary designer of the original Starship Enterprise . Jefferies' experience with aviation led to his Enterprise designs being imbued with what he called "aircraft logic". The final interior plans of the Enterprise were designed by Franz Joseph in 1974, with approval from both Gene Roddenberry and Paramount Pictures, six years after Star Trek had been cancelled . The plans heavily referenced both episodes of Star Trek and Matt Jefferies' design . </P> <P> The ship's "NCC - 1701" registry number stemmed from "NC" being one of the international aircraft registration codes assigned to the United States; the second "C" was added as Soviet aircraft used "CCCC" and Matt Jeffries combined the two as he believed a venture into space would be a joint operation by the United States and Russia . According to The Making of Star Trek, "NCC" is the Starfleet abbreviation for "Naval Construction Contract", comparable to what the U.S. Navy would call a hull number . The "1701" was chosen to avoid any possible ambiguity; according to Jefferies, the numbers 3, 6, 8, and 9 are "too easily confused". Other sources cite it as a reference to the house across the street from where Roddenberry grew up, while another account gives it as the street address of Linwood Dunn . Jefferies' own sketches provide the explanation that it was his 17th cruiser design with the first serial number of that series: 1701 . The Making of Star Trek explains that "USS" should mean "United Space Ship" and that "Enterprise is a member of the Starship Class". The ship's class was officially changed to Constitution Class with the release of Franz Joseph's Star Fleet Technical Manual in 1975, even though all previous references identify it as Starship Class . </P> <P> The first miniature built for the pilot episode "The Cage" (1965) was unlit and approximately 33 inches (0.8 m) long, commonly referred to as "the three foot model". This model was constructed almost entirely of wood and was made by Richard C. Datin in his shop . It was eventually modified during the course of the series to match the changes made to the larger model before and after shooting of the second pilot, and appears on - set in "Requiem for Methuselah" (1969) after some damage sustained in storage had been partially repaired . The second miniature built for the original pilot measures 11 feet 2 inches (3.4 m) long and was built by a small crew of model makers (Volmer Jensen, Mel Keys and Vernon Sion) supervised by Richard C. Datin, working out of Jensen's model shop in Burbank, California (although the larger base components were subcontracted to a shop with a large lathe). It was initially filmed by both Howard A. Anderson and Linwood G. Dunn at Dunn's Film Effects of Hollywood facility, who also re-filmed later more - elaborate models of the ship, generating a variety of stock footage that was used in later episodes . </P>

What does uss stand for in star trek