“To the Stars,” Starship Enterprise NCC-1701 (created by Gene Roddenberry, designed by Matt Jefferies and owned by Viacom), is a glass on glass mosaic made entirely with stained glass.  It measures 29x35in. framed All glass pieces have been cut and placed by hand on 1/8in thick glass and grouted with grey and black sanded grout.  This piece can be lit from behind to give it a stained glass window look.

The original Star Trek series, which aired from 1966 to 1969, has spawned five spin-offs, numerous comic books, toys, novels, and other products.  Although this sci-fi phenomenon has garnered billions of dollars in revenue, the money brought in is dwarfed by the cultural impact that the “Wagon Train to the Stars” has had on society…… and it all took place on this ship.

According to Roddenberry, The Enterprise was to be “the equivalent of a cruiser-size spaceship… (with) No streaks of smoke, no jet intakes, rocket exhaust, or anything like that…. It will be like a deep space exploration vehicle, operating throughout our galaxy,” have a crew of 100-150, and be incredibly fast.  Aboard this ship the crew would tackle some of the hottest moral and social issues of our times.  Slavery, discrimination, warfare are but a few of the topics that were addressed on the ship. From “the first multi-racial kiss on television to the multi-ethnic nature of the crew, Star Trek presented a positive image of the future at a time when the news was filled with stories of racism, social strife, and war. At its most basic level, Star Trek had a simple humanistic message: humanity will be okay.”

NCC-1701 allows us to escape our troubled world and travel to a place and time where all people are created and treated equally.  The Enterprise truly does take us “where no man has gone before."