This tutorial teaches you how to create a sci-fi interior with endless possibilities. It covers the fundamentals of spaceship design in science fiction, from function and form to materials and propulsion. The tutorial also explores how to integrate futuristic technology, develop aesthetics and iconic features, and map out the interior of a spaceship. The tutorial also discusses the visionary interior designs for SpaceX’s Starship, redefining the future of space travel. The SpaceX Starship interior balances comfort, functionality, and resource allocation for a crew of 10. The tutorial also shows you how to draw a spaceship interior with a TV, control board, window, and computer. The tutorial also provides a modular design generator for Unity, Unreal, and other 3D applications.
To create a realistic spaceship interior, start by drafting a blueprint for your ship and its various requirements. The tutorial emphasizes the importance of considering the spaces necessary and how they might serve multiple purposes. The interior of a spaceship should be at least as important as the outside, and the use of mirrors, dual-purpose furniture, and bright lighting can help create a comfortable environment for the crew.
📹 Building A Spaceship | Time-lapse Video
A time-lapse video of me constructing a spaceship in a garden shed from June to November 2019 for my film ‘Hawk’. Check out …
Are hobby rockets legal?
Model rockets require specific permits depending on their power and location. Low- and mid-power rockets typically don’t require a permit if they are in a safe and open area. However, high-power rockets often require a certification or permit, especially if the launch involves larger engines or is in controlled airspace. The largest model rocket you can build without a license depends on the engine’s power. Low- to mid-power rockets can be built and flown without a license, using engines classified as A to G.
The Estes Mean Machine Rocket, standing over 70 inches tall, is one of the tallest low-power commercial rockets available. Model rocketry is a fascinating hobby that combines engineering, physics, and excitement. Understanding the size and power limitations of model rockets is essential for both beginners and experienced enthusiasts.
What design software does NASA use?
NASA utilizes a range of CAD software, including CATIA, Unigraphics, and CADDS. Of these, CATIA is particularly effective for designing advanced spacecraft, in contrast to satellites.
What OS do spaceships use?
SpaceX uses Linux on their primary flight computers for Dragon spacecraft, Falcon 9 launch vehicle, and test vehicles like Grasshopper. The Linux version is based on the 3. 2 kernel with real-time patches, with SpaceX making mission-specific modifications and adding custom drivers. The kernel has been evaluated for scheduler performance. SpaceX uses an Actor-Judge system to provide triple redundancy to its rockets and spacecraft. The Falcon 9 has three dual-core x86 processors running Linux on each core.
Flight software is written in C/C++ and runs in the x86 environment. If both cores return the same answer, the command is sent to different microcontrollers on the rocket, controlling engines and grid fins.
Is it illegal to own property in space?
Space activities are for the benefit of all nations, and any country is free to explore orbit and beyond. No nation can claim sovereignty in space, and weapons of mass destruction are forbidden. The Moon, planets, and celestial bodies can only be used for peaceful purposes. Astronauts from any nation are considered “envoys of mankind”, and signatory states must provide assistance when needed, including emergency landings.
Signatory states are responsible for their space activities, including private commercial endeavors, and must provide authorization and supervision. Nations are responsible for damage caused by their space objects and must avoid contaminating space and celestial bodies.
The Rescue Agreement and the Moon Agreement both state that celestial bodies can only be used for peaceful purposes, should not be contaminated, and the UN should be made aware of any station on non-Earth bodies. If resource mining on the Moon becomes feasible, an international regime must be established to govern its use. The United States is not a signatory of the Moon Agreement.
Can you legally build a spaceship?
Model and high power rocketry are legal activities in all 50 states, but some states impose specific restrictions and require notification or prior approval from the fire marshal. It is recommended to meet with the fire marshal before committing to a launch site to inform them of your plans and build a relationship with them. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recognizes NAR rocketry and its safety and launch site requirements in Codes 1122 (Model Rockets) and 1127 (High Power Rockets).
In states that have adopted NFPA Code 1 or the International Fire Code (IFC), NFPA Codes 1122 and 1127 are state-wide unless overridden by a specific state or local law. The NFPA 1/IFC states include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
What are the rules for starship design?
Star Trek’s starships are designed according to specific rules, including the presence of pairs of warp nacelles, having at least 50 line-of-sight on each other across the hull, being fully visible from the front, and having a bridge located at the top center of the primary hull. However, the design of these ships can only be explained by 23rd/24th-century starship engineers, as Star Trek is a show and there is no way to explain or build starships, let alone test them in space.
What is the best shape for a spacecraft?
The Guardian Pick posits that a sphere is the optimal form for intergalactic travel, given its available interior space, material composition, and radiant heat loss characteristics. The prevalence of saucer- or disc-shaped objects in UFO sightings gives rise to questions regarding the practicality of such a shape for intergalactic travel. Readers are invited to contribute their responses and any further queries they may have to the ongoing discussion.
What are the 7 principles of interior design?
Interior design principles are guidelines used by designers to create functional and aesthetically pleasing spaces. These principles include balance, harmony, rhythm, proportion and scale, emphasis, contrast, and details. Balance is crucial in creating an equilibrium by evenly distributing furniture and decorative objects within a room. It involves careful analysis of line, shape, color, and texture of objects. There are three types of balance: formal, informal, and radial. These principles can be applied to any room in a home, from the living room to the bathroom.
Where do I start when designing a space?
Designers suggest a nine-step process for decorating a space: 1) Identify your decorating hero, 2) Pick a general color, 3) Create a space plan, 4) Bring in major impact items, 5) Focus on the rug, 6) Be intentional with art, 7) Paint your walls, and 8) Add accessories. This is a common question, as people often start with paint when deciding to refresh a room. However, there is a logical order to decorating a room, and the paint-color-first approach may not be the wisest method.
Every room should begin with something you love, whether it’s a thrift store painting, a collection of vintage badminton rackets, or a textile picked up on vacation. Designers should focus on creating a uniquely designed home that represents them aesthetically and supports them functionally, rather than just decorating a space. This approach ensures that the room feels connected to the viewer, rather than just buying random items at the store.
How to design an interior space?
In order to create a visually appealing space, it is first necessary to determine its purpose, select an anchor element, choose a color palette, arrange the furniture, design a lighting scheme, and finally, decorate the space in such a way as to create a cohesive and inviting atmosphere.
What type of software could be used to design a spaceship?
CATIA is a 3D CAD software developed by Dassault Systèmes for the design and engineering of aerospace components and systems. The software offers a comprehensive suite of tools for design and engineering, including 3D modeling, analysis, and simulation. However, the proprietary nature of the software can be financially burdensome for companies to acquire and maintain, which makes it a valuable tool in the aerospace industry.
📹 Best Starship Bridge Designs in Science Fiction
We take a look at seven unique starship bridge designs that balance function and aesthetics. FACEBOOK: …
Hey Mike. I’m wondering if I can use a couple seconds from your timelapse as B-Roll in a little article I’m editing. It’s a “making of” article for a short film and there’s a moment where director is talking about the challenge of building sets in a small space. I’d like to overlay some of this footage. I’d also be super stoked if you had the original clip to email me haha. Sorry if this is not cool. Just want to ask.
Good day, I’m a serving Naval Officer and I have to say that the presented design for the Command and Control facilities of those warships is fundamentally flawed. All serious Modern warships are build with redundancies for all vital systems and I suspect spaceships would not miss on this important design feature. A vital system cannot be a single point of failure. For exemple, if a cable going through the ship is vital, there’s two of that cable, one on each sides. Ships have multiple engine rooms, usually one or two forward and the same aft. Machinery and engines are spread through those so that if one engine room is lost, not all is lost and the Ship can still function. Now my main point, the bridge. It’s only for navigation. Serious warships have an operation rooms well shelter inside the ship for controlling sensors and weapons and for fighting the war. A warship can lose its bridge and still be very capable of fighting. Normally the CO is in that ops room for a fight leaving only essential personnel on the bridge. The Ship can even be manœuvrer from the engine room if the bridge is lost. I strongly suspect that a Ship of the size of those spaceship would have multiple rooms from where Command and Control can be exercised and would have a lot of redundancy in it’s design. Therefore, the bridge doesn’t matter all that much when assessing the capabilities of a warship when fighting a war. It’s a very important area for movement but any serious warships needs to have its nervous system somewhere else.
9:31 The explanation for why the Rocinante’s floors are oriented as they are is dead WRONG. Orientation absolutely does matter a great deal. In ‘The Expanse’ they travel from A to B with their engines thrusting the entire time. They spend half the journey accelerating, and the other half decelerating. They use this constant acceleration as artificial gravity, which is far more realistic than ‘movie magic’ artificial gravity used in most Science Fiction. The engines are constantly pushing the ship up, so the floors must be oriented correctly, or you would find yourself ‘falling’ onto the walls or ceiling when the engines fire.
Not gonna lie, the Covenant’s approach to bridges blows all of these out of the water. Buried inside a heavily armed, shielded, and armored ship-of-the-line is effectively a bunker. Not only is the bridge of a Covenant CCS-Class Battlecruiser buried in the heart of the ship, it is heavily reinforced and protected itself. To destroy a covenant bridge, you not only need to breach the already impressive ship, but destroy the bunker-like armor around the bridge. In fact, this impressive protection allows the CCS class to continue fighting despite otherwise catastrophic damage. To negate loss in direct visibility, the bridge can effectively turn the walls of that bunker into massive screens. With sensors on every surface of the hull, even buried in the heart of the ship, command crews can operate with a unobstructed view of the battlefield.
I actually almost disagree with a lot on this list. For me the best bridge in Star Trek was the one for the Defiant or actually the original Enterprise. Submarine design everyone had a chair and the Captain could see everyone’s station from his position. One of the most efficient Bridge designs aren’t even listed here. B5 Mimbari cruisers allowed their Captains and admirals to see the entire battle field by allowing them to simply stand in the middle of a room that showed them everything the ships sensors could see. Shield’s Helicarrier has a better design than the Star Destroyer’s Captain could see everything everyone is doing from his little perch, and everyone else is either in front or to his immediate sides just below him and he could see their displays. Well except the one playing Galaga.
The Rocinante’s decks are aligned along the ships primary axis of motion, so that when the ship is generating thrust, the G force experienced by the crew simulates a planetary, gravitational field. The one far fetched part of the expanse is that the Epstein drive is so efficient, that it is able to generate a constant 1G of thrust from the hydrogen fusion reactor for several days at a time. It is the only human tech in the books that seems to defy the laws of physics.
When I look at a spaceship’s bridge I look for the following: Everyone on duty has a place to sit in bolted down seats. Bonus points for restraints The bridge has more than one access point. One other than the turbolift. Access control. A vestibule at the main access so people can not just wander on. Not including emergency exits that are alarmed. A bathroom, coffee mess/break area A place for the venerated captain to sit Ship control/navigation/tactical Navigation or mission ops Communications or mission ops Science officer Engineering officer Tactical First officer Kibitzer, visitor, councilor, etc. Plus Auxiliary systems, damage control, engineering sub systems
So, in Naval terminology the bridge is (generally speaking) the uppermost deck of a vessel that spans the full width of the ship. A bridge may include a command centre like the Enterprise – D, it does not necessarily mean the same thing like the Galactica. The Galactica being a warship and not wanting to expose the command centre to too much risk of destruction by a single hull failure, has the CIC located centrally in the forward section. The Normandy is a perfect example. Along the bridge there is the cockpit, the CIC/Nav Galaxy Map, and in SR2 where Jacob and Mordin do their individual business. In short ‘bridge’ =/= Command Deck.
An observation I’ve made, in Isolation Allen seems to becoming more and more well put together, and American Ben is falling apart, and British Ben has all but disappears… Therefore, Allen must be a vitality Vampire and he’s using quarentine as a cover to drain both Ben’s of their life force. (Edit) I wrote this before British Ben appeared in the article… But seriously, he’s also looking good…. Now my theory is he and Allen are both vitality Vampires and they’re draining American Ben. (Edit edit) again wrote this before American Ben appeared… But yeah, my theory still stands. I’m bored in isolation so creating a Generation Films/Tech conspiracy is almost literally all I have right now to keep me “sane”
As for Star Trek and the Federation, there was a better bridge than the Enterprise-D (including the Enterprise-E), the Defiant. It was mounted internally and was therefore impossible to target without going through the entire ship first, at which point…what’s the point?. The only issue is it still used consoles without circuit breakers and with rock insulation. Due to the use of view screens it was just as effective as the traditional bridge module in the saucer equipped ships, but it had the added bonus that helmsmen didn’t occasionally get sucked out into vacuum. (There was talk post Nemesis of going to a new paradigm for Starfleet with internal bridges as standard, along with nacelles blended into the primary hull or main body – but Nemesis flopped so they were shelved – pity, it was to show the militarism of Starfleet post Dominion. Hopefully in further Picard series if they focus on Starfleet ships?)
I am not entirely sure of what your criteria are for determining the places (eg for ‘security’ i think the warhammer 40k universe deserves some credit because in the ships of the imperium the bridge is often literally a fortress) but before perusal i was like ‘ they better make damn sure the Galactica gets a decent spot on that list’ 😀 The list strikes me still as a bit random but it is a nice topic an it was really nice to you all in one article again!
I’d mention the bridge and the control interface room of the Destiny from Stargate Universe. The Bridge’s layout and design is not particularly special – one rotating captain’s chair in the middle, three consoles in the front – but it can be recessed into the ship when in battle for extra protection. The control interface room is more like the Galactica’s CIC – it’s deep within the ship without windows of any kind and it’s the most protected area of the entire ship. Both can be used to pilot and operate the entire ship. The Ancients knew a thing or two about redundancy back then.
What about the Borg vessel? Even though technically it doesn’t have one specific place as far as a bridge it does have what appears to be a central location in the middle of a giant Cube like vessel and it’s capable of traveling at transwarp speeds. It’s also very difficult to get to the very heart of that particular ship in order to destroy the command section. Also whenever they do need to see what’s outside of the vessel they’re able to use what appears to be advanced holographic like screens. I think the best example of that is in the show Picard where 7 of 9 actually goes to a very well protected and very secure area deep inside the Borg Cube where the Borg Queen actually resided in and 7 of 9 was able to take command of the entire Borg vessel and even survived when the Borg vessel crashed on a planet and the hull was compromised.
I’d politely suggest that you might wanna look at the bridge from the original 1978 Galactica as well, as it is a combination of visually striking, functional, and romantic. And if we’re not limiting science fiction to just space, you might also wanna look at the control room of the submarine Seaview from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964-1968) which is also quite functional, interesting, and visual
I know that you couldn’t get them all, but the bridges on Andromeda and the Cygnus (The Black Hole) rate an honorable mention. The bridge on the Nostromo was a cramped workplace but that’s to be expected on a vessel whose crew spent most of the time in hypersleep. B5’s Whitestars had a nice bridge too. Enterprise -D always reminded me of a hotel lobby.
What about the bridge of the Halo UNSC Infinity? The bridge itself is on top of the ship yes thats right BUT as soon as the battle starts armor plates can be raised over the windows and the bridge otself sunk into the ship. AT least I think you said so in one of your articles. Besides thgat the bridge is open for the commander to look at each of his officers, eaxh officer has a chair with safety features and even if the commanding oficer stands at the holotable in the middle of the bridge I think there are hidden chair built inside it.
The Expanse seems one of the most accurate, but there’s just some major issues, like: touch interface screens. Yes they would be good to use; however given a situation where the ship has technical problems from cracked screens, delayed respawns to touch interface, swetty hands, or even having to operate the systems while wearing a suit in some cases. If anything the ship should have keyboards, that should only be used for backup just in case any of these situations happen. Also isn’t 3d or halographic images bad for the naked eye, shouldn’t they be using VR like headsets or glasses, that are both wireless and wired.
Thanks Enjoy this. If you are taking request for your next “Best of”. May I suggest Best Propulsion system in Sci fi. My Vote would be The Omec Harvester Ship in the Defiance tv series. Season 3 finale “Upon The Watch We Fittest Die”. It may look like a Hybrid Nuclear fusion drive. Thanks for the consider
I’m amazed you chose Galactica over Pegasus but I guess it makes sense since Galactica was the focal point. Anyway, it’s interesting how Battlestar Galactica was the the only series that was able to design CIC that made sense; being built deep in the heart of the ship instead of at the top where it would have been easily exposed. With how far technology would have advanced in all these sci-fi series, there is NO reason for the CIC to need view ports. Cameras could be used to project the surroundings and radar/sensors/scanners can be used for targeting.
This list should’ve just been expanse ships, especially the MCRN Donnager. Taving a traditional exposed bridge is a ridiculous weakness. I’m all for the aesthetic of traditional windowed bridges but they really don’t offer any tactical advantage that a nested bridge can’t give with a robust camera system In reality I suspect if we ever build ships like these they’ll have nested bridges with most crew operating the ship in a VR enviroment.
Actually the design of the Enterprise D’s bridge doesn’t make a whole lot of sense as it is put in a very exposed position – thus making it vulnerable to enemy fire – but still doesn’t feature windows – thus making it utterly dependent on screens. So it’s somehow – wait for it! – The Worst Of Both Worlds. Please don’t hate me, I love TNG
When you combine intuitive layouts, excellent design, and a pleasing look…. you have to consider two bridge designs: the bridge of the Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda), and the bridge of USS Discovery in Star Trek. Seriously. In my view, there are only two things wrong with Discovery’s bridge; one, it’s a little too big, and two… the vertical transparent displays at the side and rear stations. Those should be either completely holographic, or have the same look as the helm and operations stations at the front of the bridge. Otherwise, the main viewscreen is beautiful, practical, and efficient; the two science/ops stations next to the captain’s chair are very functional with those moveable screen displays, and the captain’s chair is the right size, in the right place, at the right height, for the command chair. On the Andromeda Ascendant bridge is probably the BEST-designed main viewscreen I’ve EVER seen on a starship; it’s actually THREE screens, that can – and do – display different things entirely; typically, a visual representation of the ship’s AI, a main tactical display, and a regular comm screen! All of them, together, can show one large, COMBINED view…. or the three separate ones I mentioned! The rest of the bridge is very well laid out, and reminds you a lot of Federation starship bridges. This is all after the chief engineer upgraded the bridge (2nd season, I believe); basically replacing the center chair (which was the helm platform) with a pulpit-type station that had surrounding structures and attachments that swiveled out of the way when not in use (the ship was equipped with slipstream drive).
There is a article game called space engineers. A lot of ships don’t even have exposed Bridges. The cic is typically in the center of the ship on the second deck using the floors above and rooms beside you as additional armor. A good ship should still be dangerous even if it gets blown in half. Captain Robertson has some great ships.
Rocinante and Galactica. Every other one is vulnerable to impact, radiation and bright lights (though rpesumably they have tech to miitigate). However, Roci’s bridge should really be at the centre of rotation, not in the prow, since it can flip end over end pretty fast. Also, the seats should have deep gel padding and be fully gimballed so the ship can minimise the effects of g-force.
Bridge design is also a matter of function and appearance and the overall role of the ship. You’ll note most of the ‘warships’ or ships intended as combat ships have very buried and fortified bridges, or as fortified as the size of the ship will allow. The Rossi and the Enterprise D have 1 thing in common (besides lack of windows on the bridge itself), both can be fully commanded and controlled from anywhere onboard using just about any control interface on the ship. Though the dedicated interfaces are the preferred option for efficiency. I agree the Rossi’s bridge is awesome, though I am a fan of the Enterprise-D’s bridge, though both have very different design goals. The Rossi was a military assault frigate and the Enterprise-D was a diplomatic exploration ship. Its bridge had to look impressive for any diplomats or planetary govener’s the captain might be communicating with visually.
The idea of a “night shift” in space never made sense to me. No single 12 hour period is any different than another in space. I suppose you could mandate an arbitrary day/night cycle, but that’s just asking for trouble when a ship in its “Day” Cycle has violent intentions to one currently in it’s “Night Cycle” It seems to me that the more likely thing would be 2 full sets of crew (maybe even 3) that rotated. I doubt you’d swap crew members between shifts very much, either as you’d want to create a consistent team that learns to work together and not be mixing and matching all the time.
Malcolm Reed (from Enterprise): There’s no rule that the bridge has to be on top of the ship. He’s right on that. I mean I know it’s tradition for Federation ships to have their bridge on top of the ship but of all places that’s a stupid place to have it since it’s pretty vulnerable unless it has its own shields to protect that area. BTW I love the Enterprise-D bridge along with the Defiant (DS9). For the Enterprise-D I have always liked the refit version we see in Generations.
Windows are nice, but ultimately useless in space. Even today, instruments can give NASA pilots a much clearer view of what’s around them in orbit than their ship’s windows can. Now windows can be important when in atmosphere, especially during landing. But aboard a starship in interstellar space, they serve no practical purpose at all and are actually weak points in the ship’s hull.
The “Rocinante” is not a new idea. Von Braun’s first designs envisioned stacked rockets with perpendicular thrust orientations. SpaceX has also resurrected the idea. The old Traveller RPG (~1978 AD) brought forth several “Stacked” Starship designs: Arguably the most efficient use of volume for spacecraft which are not designed for runway landings on the surface of a planet (or landing on the surface at all); The small “Xavier Class” X-Boat Communications Jumpship (no sub-light propulsion), other Classic Traveller RPG designs which were vertically stacked were the “Broadsword Class” Mercenary Cruiser and the “Lightning Class” Frontier Cruisers.
The lucrhawk Bridge kind of makes sense But the 1That really made the most sense in this article was the bridge of the mighty uss enterprise and NCC-1701-D From star trek That’s bridge well it’s perfect you could be switch for a new bridge On the top of the Saucer Section And you can do multiple functions at once From the same console so basically star trek bridges Make more sense than star wars battlestar Galactica And everything else you talked about this article so yeah to quote Mr. Spock “Live long and prosper”
Fun fact: The Galactica also did have a traditional bridge though an almost vestal one that was only generally used for ceremony and when docking with space ports or other ships or any other time needing a clear view of the outside was needed which was not often. The bridge set however was never built do to budget reasons since it didn’t make a lot of sense to build a full set for something that was only going to be used in one scene in the mini-series (when they docked with Ragnar station) and instead the ship was just stared from the CIC instead.
I prefer top bridges over front bridges, but the best bridge for me is the FPA ships bridges in Legend of Galactic heroes, it’s a combination of the typical ship bridge (top of the ship) and Battlestar Galactica/submarine central bridge. In cruise or command mode the bridge is outside, giving the commander a full view of the fleet or the area they are flying into. But in combat mode (when things are about to get really spicy) the Bridge retracts inside the armored hull. And holographic projectors replace the usual open visual you get from windows. 2nd place goes to Infinite Space. All of them, you can freely change your ship bridges. But my favorite is the internal bridge that looks like a theater. The entire crew looks at one giant screen like a movie projector, the commander is at the back in an elevated position. It even has terraces that separates each crew based on their role and has smaller screens of their own.
I always imagined a spaceship more designed like a home where controls are by portable terminals, in today’s parlance by tablets, notebook computers and smart phones connected to the main servers by WiFi. Without FTL, space travel is largely uneventful and with computers highly automated. The bridge could literally be a garden breakfast table in the biosphere during the morning, the study or living room through most of the day and the home theatre during the evening.
Research ships, colonial ships, mother ships that operate a lot of spacecraft, large ships, supply ships, and civilian ships would benefit from visibility to see the status and position of the ship. For combat ships, voyage debris or asteroid belt workships, armor and damage control should be more important than visibility. The shape of the bridge should change depending on the purpose of the ship.
I cannot believe that the Enterprise D bridge took precedence over the original Constitution Class bridge (pre or post refit). The design of the bridge of the original Enterprise influenced the design of the U.S. Navy master communications centre at the Navel Base San Diego. The Enterprise D bridge was kind of ridiculous and didn’t make practical sense in that the captain did not have direct sight of all areas of the bridge. I get it: nostalgia goes a long way. lol. Anyway, awesome article! 🙂
I think the Shield Helicarrier bridge is the best bridge design, it’s a combination of the typical Star Trek federation starship bridge and the Star Wars star destroyer bridge. The only thing missing is a Captain’s chair. With the addition of a Captain’s chair, USS Defiant style, the Helicarrier bridge would become the best bridge design.
Oh… hate to be ‘that guy’ but The Normandy was a mixture of Turian and Human design. I remember at some point one of the Admirals complains that the CIC being so far back from the Helm and other posts was a Turian design, instead of having the commander being amongst the crew of the ship they are overlooking them along the length of the ship. Distinctively Turian.
The Enterprise-D is pretty much my favorite starship design (inside and out) of all time! Though I’m STILL waiting for a starship bridge to have proper (and safe) chairs, seatbelts, and railing/handles so the crew won’t get tossed from one end to the other during battles. I mean come one! One of the most visually attractive bridges I’ve seen, was the Cygnus from the “Black Hole”.
The “backup” bridge, aka the “Battle” bridge, in addition to being able to be used in case of the main bridge being heavily damaged or destroyed, functioned as the main bridge for the engines/battle-section during separated operations from the saucer section. Technically the Main engineering could function as a backup “battle bridge” in the event of the main ‘battle’ bridge being damaged during those separated options, as the touch-screen control interfaces could be quickly & easily reconfigured for bridge personnel on a moment’s notice on the main engineering console area to optimize controls efficiency for other personnel when needed.
I see only one other person (so far I noticed that is) said what I was thinking sort of!! Which is “What about Serenity?” Of course the Firefly class mid bulk transport ship model # 0364 is NOT a starship, and it DOES NOT have unlimited range so perhaps that is why it wasn’t on the list (and frankly neither was the Millennium Falcon) but many of us who LOVED the Firefly class ship thought the bridge made a lot of sense FOR WHAT the ship was designed to do!! The design of the overall ship was impressive when you look at how, why and WHAT it was desigened to do!! In short Serenity was designed with the idea in mind that interchangeable “cargo bay” modules could be attached beneath the ship so the main body of the ship could “drop its load” and move on to the next container, (think of it kind of like a tractor trailer in space) which is why its four legs extended out at the corners of the removable cargo bay area! The long neck that extended out to the bridge allowed the captain and crew to watch cargo being loaded and unloaded into the hold below the ship as well. Though the little Firefly was never intended to be a war ship, it DID have mounts for weapons in case they were needed, but the ship was used a lot by pirates because of those “pesky little nooks” for hiding stolen or illegal cargo! The crew quarters, common area, engine room and sick bay were located in the main body of the ship as well!!
Fred Saberhagen’s berserker series had some of the best bridges. Each member was in their own armored sphere sealed off from everyone else. They sat on an acceleration couch, connected by neural links to the ship. Each pod had its own life support and waste management. In combat the rest of the negative space was filled with acceleration foam. The whole cluster of command spheres were buried deep at the center of the ship. If one was destroyed it wouldn’t necessarily put the rest of the crew in danger. If the entire ship was destroyed, these pods became escape pods, without the crew even having to move. Best reading is “The Berserker wars” or “Berserker Blue Death”.
Enterprise Bridge – Why would you have a separate bridge for trials and then swop it out for a different one for active service. The bridge draws together information from everywhere in the ship and is the central point of control but the new one has not been tested in situ so can never be trusted in active service.
The Resurgence should not be called a Dreadnaught. the term Dreadnaught makes no sense in Star Wars for one thing. It became a thing because of the HMS Dreadnaught, a battleship created by the Royal Navy in the early 20th century that essentially made all others obsolete overnight. It featured heavy armor, big guns and powerful engines, but soon every ship was like that, so the classification of “dreadnaught” applied to every battleship, so it just wasn’t used anymore. So why the First Order was influenced by the Royal navy, I will never know.
The bridge on the thumbnail looks like a UEE Naval Carrack from Anvil Aeronautics from Star Citizen. The Captain’s station / pilot desk is a rudimentary control and command board for the Captain while the pilot has a full pilot rig on the lower bridge. If the Captain wants he can take command of the ship from his console immediately after the pilot stops his inputs but his console has full control of all sub systems and computers on the ship without question. Maybe this is from another sci fi series cause that might have been the inspiration for the Carrack. If anyone knows please tell me as I’m very curious, the Carrack is a gunship / exploration vessel from early UEE navy. It’s only available as a civilian variant in the game now as it was decommissioned for more powerful combat oriented ships.
Why would space ships have windows or windshields; all you’ll be seeing is darkness, and having the risk of tiny or large asteroid, or commit chunks beaming right through the glass at what ever speed you or the chunks were going at. Also would windows or glass visors only be useful if your on moons, or planets?
I prefer ships where the “bridge” is just split up between an actual bridge, where the helm is for instance, and a CIC hidden deep inside the ship. It adds some redundancy and is better from a tactical point of view. Starfleet tends to merge both into the bridge and put it on top of the ship, which is very often turned towards the attacking ships as well.
These aren’t good bridge designs. They aren’t even acceptable and definitely not the best ones. Each of them lacks one, many or even all of following features (where many of them are just basic safety features!): – railings (eg. SW and ST) – seats (BSG) – seatbelts (all of them except Expanse?) – proper seat orientation (eg. Expanse – read comment of NeoDemocedes, but also SW and ST) – compartmentalisation (especially SW and ST!) – proper window protection (again, ST and SW) – redundancies, redundancies, redundancies The worst ones are SW cruisers and destroyers together with ST Enterprise NX-01. The best starship bridge design (not perfect, but truly good one) that comes to my mind immediately (!) is battle-bridge from Destiny/Stargate Universe. It checks all of the features I pointed above. Every person on the bridge have a seat, which is properly oriented, with automated seatbelts in case of potential danger. Console operators are separated by protective half-walls. Every console is capable of any task (full redundancy). Commander have a great view on all important crewmembers (unlike Enterprise where most of crewmembers are behind him lol) and have his own screens on both sides of the seat (so don’t have to ask crewmembers what’s going on – LOL ST/SW) and CAN fly and manage the ship by himself. Windows can be protected with armored layer (!), just like seatbelts, automaticaly. Btw, do I remember properly that Destiny’s battle-bridge would hide automatically inside the ship’s body in case of a serious threat?
Always wondered how junior officers on the Star Destroyers are supposed to get in and out of their little pit, as it looks like there’s not doors down there, just solid walls of computers and stations. They don’t even seem to have a ladder to climb in or out. Do they have to clamber over their consoles?
I’m disappointed that the Command Room of the Sharlin Class Minbari War Cruiser was not on this list. Full 360 degree holographic display of the entire battlefield from within the bowels of the ship made commanding the ship to an entire fleet simple and effective. Most Bridge designs in Babylon 5 were actually quite pragmatic and well defended.
My list of TEN spaceship bridges 10. Endurance – Interstellar 9. Discovery – 2001 8. Enterprise NCC-1701 (TOS) 7. Imperial Star Destroyer – (Star Wars, 1977)\tcrew in slave pits, officers stand 6. Battlestar Galactica (BSG, 2004)\talmost a modern warship like CIC 5. Space Battleship Yamato – (Starblazers, 1979)\thuge open space, captain on a pedestal 4. Battlestar Galactica (BSG, 1978)\twide picture window, pit for crew, retractable 3. Klingon Battlecruiser (ST I: TMP, 1979)\tcaptain’s chamber, pipeless steampunk 2. Nostromo – (Alien, 1979)\tclose, bomber like cockpit 1. Rocinante – (The Expanse, 2015)\tlaptop thinkpad two level
III. Random generation Control Space type 1. The computer room – computers, blinking lights ex. Lost in Space Jupiter 2 2. The plumber’s nightmare – pipes, valves, gages everywhere ex. WWII submarine 3. Battleship – grey boxes, rotating sweeps on screens, red light ex. Battlestar Galactica 4. The living room – couches, wood paneling ex. Enterprise D 5. Thinkpad – flat panel touch screens ex. The Expanse 6. Ipad minimalist – white shiney heads up displays ex. JJ’s Enterprise
Legend of Galactic Heroes make very practical bridge. They’re bunkered in the most protected spot in the ship. The view is wide and all vision is streaming through the screen as if you can see through the ship from within. You can even make face time call during battle and have a big hologram projection of the battlefield inside. No window mean no weak spot. Some include a very comfortable captain chair as if you’re on stargazing vacation. Overall I think it’s the best design in safety, ergonomic, functionality. Everyone inside is safe as long as he hull haven’t breached. Or boarder haven’t come.
What about the Destiny from Stargate it can lower the bridge when In battle also calculates damage wreckage of other ships or stations, you can fire from anywhere on the ship and for it being well over 61 million years old it holds it’s ground. Or USS Daedalus from Stargate with a nice big view to see. Hive ship /ZPM HIVE SHIP from Stargate under layers of armor of the hull let alone by expert pilot can land half a ship both can do some much
Thanks for this guy’s. Congrats on your spawn. I am happy to see that sci-fi is moving from planet based naval bridges to a more realistic centralized bridge. 1. You need years of experience to make captain so look at the cost of “production” for a single captain. It stands to reason that they and their A team are protected, if a micro meteor were to bypass the defenses and vacuum the bridge with noone in suits…………. Well that’s just wasteful. 2. No retractable bridges, it wastes space internally to have a bridge that sinks into the ship. Aside that it’s CAF to do it is several decks of dedicated elevator for the bridge. 3. Windows!!! With camera tech today windows are a LUXURY. A SINGLE window for that astronomically small chance of power failure or all cameras destroyed is ok but needs to be behind manually retractable plating and only big enough to get a fix on something. 4. Extra bridges, ALWAYS have a backup of EVERYTHING and for the bridge a minimum of 2 backups. You never know when your main bridge gets vacuumed so a secondary and the drive system should serve as reserve CIC and each entirely separable from the main system in the event of borging.
I hate forward Viewports. There is ZERO reason to have them unless you are frequently going into Atmo. I know they are beautiful to look through, but from a practical design, you want something more like a Submarine, You want it hidden and protected. Oh and on the Lukerhulk Ship, those ships were Colony Ships, meaning if one was destroyed you lost millions-Billions of Innocents. Also why do all Alien Ships have to by law it seems like something that just Swam/Crawled out of the Ocean? Can’t we make a newer better design please!? Am I the only one getting fed up here? If I am on a Military Vessel in a game, I want it to be practical in design.
Might have missed a unique bridge design in Farscape’s Leviathans. Having a natural physiological area where a pilot can be integrated with the leviathan makes for an interesting bridge. There are no windows or an abundance of monitors (the pilot has one to speak to passengers) because the pilot is plugged directly into the beast that serves as the ship and has intuitive access to her senses. The area also accommodates visitors to come speak with the pilot directly.
The Normandy SR-1’s reason for view ports is explained away by the fact that having real windows on a warship apparently drives up recruiting. As such, the only two windows on the entire ship are located in the cockpit and manifest as small slits on each side. Both the cockpit and CIC ran on separate life support systems and an environmental barrier can be erected to isolate them from each other should one be depressurised. The SR2 featured more civilian-grade accommodations including more windows. Most of these were small and located on other decks. Like the SR1, the SR2 only had windows in the cockpit, but these were much larger and would be a massive vulnerability if it wasn’t for the fact that they had armoured shutters that could cover them during combat. The environmental barrier was also replaced with a dedicated blast door to separate the two compartments. Though the Normandy is too small to tuck the CIC and bridge away from incoming fire, the thickest armour on the ship does surround these compartments.
Allen Speaking of space ship, SpaceX DM-2 has touchscreen capabilities with a lot of room compared to Mercury, Gemini or Apollo spacecraft. I believe that Elon had his engineers think outside of the Box when designing crew compartment. Watch DM-2 astronauts touching on monitors as they talked to either Hawthorne or Johnson Space Center.
Enterprise had pretty awful bridge design IMHO. Such unused vast open space, literally a waste of space. If, hypothetically, ship crashed into something, everyone on the bridge would simply die, because they would all be thrown against the front screen. It looks like some CEO office, not a spaceship bridge.
The bridge of the Enterprise in TNG looks like a family room in a finished basement bungalow. Am I the only Trek fan who hates everyone and everything ( except Data and who Worf became, more than who he was, when he joined a real show DS9) about that show? The annoying AF qualities of the rest of the crew are well documented, except for Picard. The man is a pompous ass, The Rocinante looks like how a mid sized ship would be designed. The entire show is a masterpiece.
The “best” designed ship bridges are not in movie/TV science fiction. I get that’s what you have interesting article and pictures for, so you limit yourself to those choices. When you include written science fiction you get MANY better choices. One of my favorites being: The Skylark of Valeron. Yes, from a book originally written in the 1920’s no less. A completely featureless room with a headset, which allows the captain of the ship to mentally synch with the computers that run the ship as well as all sensors that the ship has. The user has complete mental control as well as full integration with a wide range of sensor inputs that essentially turns them into the ship. All of that, AND the “bridge room” is located in the very center of a planet sized ship which is heavily armed, armored and shielded. From a book written in the 1920’s. Talk about “ahead of its time”.
You didn’t include the original Star Trek bridge? You know, the one the Navy actually went to the set to see because of its efficient design? The original Enterprise’s bridge had the Captain in the center with the helm and navigation officers, and ALL other officers all around him, all within immediate earshot. It was a brilliant design. So often, bridges are designed in a way that places many essential officers out of reach. Worf was BEHIND Picard, making it awkward for Picard to communicate with him, and the Science, Engineering and Mission Ops stations were behind Worf, making them entirely inaccessible to the Captain unless he actually got up and WENT there. The bridge of Enterprise D was inefficient for this reason. This is also true of the Galactica, the various Star Destroyers and most other ships on your list.
On real ships, the Bridge and the CIC (Combat Information Center” are two different compartments, with entirely different functions. There is also an Emergency Steering Room back aft, that can be considered an “emergency bridge” if the main bridge is destroyed. But sci-fi shows generally don’t have the budget to show all that. So they have the “Bridge” as a do-all compartment.
The lucrehulk actually does NOT have turbolasers, as those were not yet invented for another couple of years by the Republic. They used “quad lasers,” powerful turrets with 4 lasers firing in concert, instead. If you read the Star Wars encyclopedia or the book with the blueprints you show, you’ll find them labeled as such. Fun facts from my childhood.
Well… I guess ‘best’ is a word of opinion. But, because functionality should be included in a bridge design, every bridge sitting on the outside should be crossed from this list. The expanse gets it right, but have a look at Halo covenant ships and you’ll have the ultimate version. These might not have the best looks, but come on, a star destroyer?! :’D
In the Honor Harrington series of books by David Weber, the bridge of the ship is almost ALWAYS dead center. All of those thousands of tons of bulkheads serve to protect the officers in battle. Now, this applies mainly to warships (hence the “almost”). But many civilian ships follow this design. It is human hubris and vanity, as well as stupidity, to put the brain center of your ship at the very top or right in the front with lots of windows. Sure, it’s asthetically pleasing, but it is dumb.
i know that a) im very very late and b) not many people hae watched the tv show voltron but those who have will know what im talking about, the super dreadnought “IGF Atlas” (in space ship form) has a combination of the rationalized star destroyer bridge that gives the captin a over view of the entire bridge, the comfort of the USS enterprise bridge, and rediclously heavy all around defences that mimic the real life 1920s-1950s theory of the “all or nothing” armour scheme, in other words only the ships vital parts (such as the engines, ammuntion, weapon systems, bridge/conning tower, supplys, fuel bunkers, and other things that react badly to being shot at) whilst parts of the ship like bunks, mess areas, and other lesser important areas get lighter (but in this case still increadably substantial amounts) of armour that allows for higher speed whilst retaining strong defences, this combined with a group of highly affective shield genorators each targeting specific parts of the ship (meaning that yes the bridge has its own shields) means that this ship took on more than five enemy ships single handed on a routine basis
Unfortunately space is 3d so the trade federation ship is not so much “protected” from “top” or “bottom”; tbh only the bridge design of Battlestar Gallactica and Expanse makes any sense. Windows… seriously if you are using it to spot enemy ships, they would already be in firing range. The worst offense is the Star destroyer design which is just a ripoff of obsolete ww2 battleships which feature high towers for viewing and communication; that big cross sectional area is basically screaming to be targeted. Just like how tanks dont have luxury bay window to view the terrain better; an expensive spaceship shouldn’t have structural weak points especially if they are expected to be engaging in close quarter ship to ship combat.
Do we really need bridges anymore? That is so 20th century. The internet doesn’t need a central hub of info (and safer that way), so why should ships? The captain and co-captains (democracy and not autocracy, especially with crazy feserarion captains and admirals- seriously, who vets these people?) can stay in the lounge or in pjs in their quarters playing Angry Stars on their holographic mobile. The mobile will popup anything from the sensors based on selection settings. The captains then go ahead and open the command app, wait 10 seconds for a useless ad that buffers (8G sucks when all data used up for perusal 32k holodeck Netflix), and then select the appropriate response, without accidentally clicking on an ad on the side of the choices.
Come on, not a single Star Citizen ship in here? Ok I’ll do that. Ahem: “the 890 jump from origin is one of the very most luxurious ships in the Star Citizen universe, mainly used for transportation of rich tourists. So it’s no real surprise that, besides its sauna, pools, bar, restaurant, landing bay and docking ports, it does not only has one beautiful main bridge with pure wite and glass all over the place, but also a secondary combat bridge, using cameras instead of windows, and way nearer to the landing bay. That way, if the main bridge gets destroyed, it is still possible to control the ship. And don’t worry, pirates boarding your ship will need to access the well-placed main bridge to control the ship, as it has the main accesses”
I’d say that bridges should be hidden/protected in the core of the ship with view being provided by exterior cameras. Modern day cameras/screens/VRsets would already be able to give amazing surround view safely from inside the ship. Imagine future VR tech allowing you to see everywhere around the ship no matter where in the ship( you are with mixed reality so you can operate the ship. Also have 2+ bridges for redundancy. Butting a big glass weak point on the exterior of your ship with all senior personnel is just a death sentence. Accuracy and precision are already insane with modern technology. Imagine in the future…
We see alot of “advanced” controls in these ships, but although it’s only a “shuttlecraft” I prefer the bridge and controls of the Taelon shuttle in Earth: Final Conflict. Much like the original Star Trek Enterprise’s bridge had antiquated controls compared to touchscreens we have now, I’m certain by the time a race has FTL drive it would be well advanced past what we have on our cellphones. BTW since the “shuttle” has interdimensional drive which allows for interstellar travel it would be classified as a “starship”.
There’s a little more practical part for the trade federation hauler. The command module with it’s ability to separate could be thought of as the tractor for road going long haul freight trucks. Take the cargo ring to one location, drop the ring off for unloading/reloading while it gets another ring that’s going elsewhere so there’s no real wasted time and expenses of having a whole ship and such sitting idle when there’s money to be made by moving trade goods. At such hubs I wouldn’t really e surprised if there wasn’t a bare bones spotter unit just to shuttle the main cargo hulls to and from holding areas and trans load docks. The spotter wouldn’t really need much, just power banks enough to move between rings and connect/disconnect then use the main power generators on the rings for recharging it’s own reserves and movement. If it needed one of those at all since the ring is itself basically a self contained ship.
The Rocinante is great, but for more accurate comparison to the bigger ships on this list like the Imperial Star Destroyers or Battlestar Galactica you should have shown off the Donnager. If the Rocinante is the Expanse’s version of the Millenium Falcon, the Donnager is its ISD. Flagship of the Martian navy, and we get to see its bridge.
re – 7:38 Did dudeface just say “Sir-Eeb-rus” when trying to pronounce “Cerberus?” “Sir-Ber-Us/ Ker-Ber-Us” are both acceptable pronunciations for the name “Cerberus” but “Sir-Eeb-rus” is not. This suggests that dudeface isn’t familiar with the Mass Effect universe at all, nor has he ever heard of the mythical 3-headed guardian of Hades…
You guys glazed over important details regarding the Enterprise-D. During battle, they left the bridge and took command from the “Battle Bridge.” This wasn’t even in the saucer section and provided the same sort on ‘middle of the ship’ protection as seen on the Battlestar Galactica. The whole saucer section could be left or even destroyed without disrupting bridge operations. That seems to be a significant combat advantage.
IV. Seven? The banner said TEN! Here are some honorable mentions Azhanti High Lightning (Traveller, 1980)\tsingle level Defiant – (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, 1993) Intrepid/Voyager – (Star Trek: Voyager, 1995) Warstar Pandora (BSG fan made) Tempest (Outsider webcomic, 2001)\tmulti-level Virginia-class (SSN-774) Zumwalt-class destroyer (DDG-1000) CIC Orville – (The Orville, 2017)
1:42)The upper section appears to be the same as the one in “Starship Troopers”. 4:35)The helm was called “the conn”.The conn isn’t a piece of equipment.When the Officer Commanding (OC), or the Officer of the Watch, has “the conn”, their orders are the ones that the helmsman & others follow.Calling the OC’s office a ready room is totally wrong. 5:16)He called the Night Watch the night shift. 12:03) It seems that you are talking about Armed Merchant Vessels (AMV), like the “Lusitania” was.There are also Armed Merchant Cruisers (AMC) & Armed Merchant Raiders (AMR).
As a Trek nerd, I can’t help but be biased. The Enterprise-D is my favourite ship in science fiction and that ship also boasts my favourite bridge. I know the benchmark for how good a design these spaceships are is usually based on how capable they are at holding their own in a space battle but that context is less relevant to ships of Starfleet, except obviously for the USS Defiant from Star Trek Deep Space Nine and the USS Prometheus featured in Star Trek Voyager. Starfleet is first and foremost an exploration institution and the Galaxy class starship (the Enterprise-D) was conceived, constructed and commissioned as their most ambitious vehicle for exploring the galaxy; a ship born out of an era of unprecedented peace for the Federation (so ship to ship fight capabilities were secondary considerations to its primary mission) boasting all the latest and greatest tech enabling it to be self-sustaining for up to 5000 crew for extended periods of time. Intended service life for a Galaxy class starship was 100 years, again the expectation being throughout its service it wouldn’t have to be fighting for its continued existence over all those decades. The bridge being located on top of the saucer (exposed) was a requirement issued by Gene Roddenberry so that we the audience would have a sense of scale relative to the ship’s overall size.
The Vengeful Spirit had a good bridge, it was like a cathedral and an arena, it could fit hundreds, it had conference rooms on the outer areas, and there were little spots along the sides where staff worked, and there were seats above the command post where the primarchs sat, or in Horus’s case stood, people could watch the meeting of the primarchs.
I think it would be better to have the needed crew (only a few decision making officers) well protected, feeded, rested and comfortable inside permanent life-sustaining-sarcophagus (like in Matrix) and with their minds interconnected between them and the ship systems. All physical work would be done by robots.
Re – Star Trek What the hells is a Turbolift? Is it just a normal lift that goes faster? I always imagined that the lifts in these ships not only travelled up and down between decks but also travelled laterally between various locations on the same decks. Still, I don’t know why there’s a “turbo” in front of the word “lift” there…
Rocinante bridge is the most sensible and practical. Not to mention the bridge is depressurized during combat so that punctures don’t lead to explosive decompression (it is shown that larger capital ships like the Donnager don’t have this luxury because they have larger complements of crew to keep alive).
It’s fun, but most of the spaceship bridges, even the ships, are inspired by naval ships. They’re mostly on top of a ship, with weak windows, and so on. very vulnerable. If I had to build a reliable spaceship I would build a globe or a bubble and all reasonable pieces of equipment are in the center, less important more outside, like an onion. The bridge itself would be equipped with VR projectors, combined with all forms of detection and sensor modules. This enables you to see in all directions. Space is not the sea … a threat can come from all directions and the weapons or effectors (tractor beams etc.) are on the outside and can be used in all directions, regardless of the flight vector the ship has.
My own concept for a starship built for combat is this. The outer portions of the ship would only be accessed by people servicing the various systems. Weapons, sensors, etc… The inner core of the ship, protected by multiple layers of armor, defenses and shields, would be where the command crew lived. For combat operations each member of command would be in their own personal control station, which would all be scattered around the core of the ship so as to not create a single point of failure. They would be connected to each other in a VR environment, Matrix style, that would resemble something like the Next Gen bridge. The whole system would be so well protected, and have multiple redundancies, so that if it were compromised to the point of being non-functional, well, the ship would be done for anyway.
Only those starship bridges which can be retracted inside the hull or are already built there should be called the best in science fiction. A huge capital ship gains only a major weakness from having a bridge window, it would not be flown by looking out from the window either. There would be cameras but most of the stuff would be done through computers, sensors and radars. Human eye is not evolved to see far enough and well enough so that we could detect objects in space on distances that matter. On a capital class ship most of the view would get blocked by the hull anyways. The bridges on Star Destroyers are literally only there to give the ship a weakness as it can be instantly disabled by a well aimed shot or a ramming attack. It serves cinema but is extremely poor science fiction. That’s one of the reasons why SW is more of space fantasy than of sci-fi.
I can’t help but feel that there should be no windows, which, unless you get transparent metal, would just be an structural weakspot. My favorite design would just be a smooth surface with plenty of tiny, tiny cameras all over which project into many, many screens inside a bridge that is in a very safe spot inside the ship.
Remember that old trek have no view window either. It was either a electeonic 3d screen or a hologram projection. And many ships can either battle bridges loke ent-d and excelsior, or capable of transferring command functions to other places like the original enterprise. The location of bridge becomes fluid and unimportant, since you can set up a bridge elsewhere if the actual bridge is unavailable.
The touchscreens in Star Trek is one of the most retarded idea ever…Normally they are good, but in combat or any time when some outer force shaking the ship (some kind of storm, gravitational waves, etc) makes them extremely hard to use it properly (just try to use a tablet in a car as driving on a non asphalt and/or non flat road)