The NASA Space Shuttle Enterprise at the Palmdale manufacturing facilities with cast members from Star Trek and NASA staff in 1976. Shown, from left to right, are: James C. Fletcher (NASA Administrator), DeForest Kelley (Dr. "Bones" McCoy), George Takei (Hikaru Sulu), James Doohan (Montgomery Scott), Nichelle Nichols (Nyota Uhura), Leonard Nimoy (Spock), Gene Roddenberry (Star Trek creator), an unnamed official, and Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekov).
The naming of the space shuttle after Star Trek's lead ship is only part of the series' extensive cultural influence. The first American series to feature an interracial cast, it drew public interest to space travel, birthed a new language, and spawned five successor series, thirteen movies, a plethora of merchandise, and a multi-billion dollar industry.Photograph: NASA