The USS Discovery, in the form of a light effect, flies over New York.
Mike Sorrentino/CNET“Star Trek: Discovery” blasts off this weekend, and in celebration, so has a real-life USS Discovery.
To mark the show’s Sunday premiere, CBS launched a re-creation of the show’s new spacecraft into the skies over New York Saturday night. (Disclosure: CBS is CNET’s parent company.)
The ship was actually an illusion put together via LED lights attached to a truss. The USS Discovery flew from City Vineyard at Pier 46 out to the George Washington Bridge with the help of a Black Hawk helicopter.
The effect was put together by Remarkable Media, a company that did a similar type of aerial stunt for the MTV Video Music Awards last year. Remarkable CEO Simon Powell said his company worked with CBS’ assets of the ship to put together the visual effect.
While CBS has kept to a minimum details of the new ship, registration number NCC-1031, we do know it has an iconic saucer section and dual nacelles, but with a much flatter overall design than the first USS Enterprise.
The new show takes place 10 years before the five-year mission of the original 1960s “Star Trek,” and stars Sonequa Martin-Green as First Officer Michael Burnham.
“Star Trek: Discovery” debuts its first episode in the US on CBS and CBS All Access Sunday, Sept. 24 around 8:30 p.m. ET/PT (a late afternoon NFL game and an episode of “60 Minutes” may shift the premiere time slightly). Subsequent episodes will debut on the CBS All Access streaming service.
Internationally the show will stream on Netflix.
In the meantime, here’s everything we know about the show so far.
