Why do holiday movies look and sound so similar?
While Han Solo's modified YT-1300 Correlian light freighter's exterior looks worn and shabby, the Millennium Falcon is nonetheless one of the fastest vessels in the galaxy, and an iconic 'Star Wars' spaceship.
The starship USS Enterprise first appeared on the small screen in 1966 in 'Star Trek,' designated as NCC-1701. Identified as one of the best-designed and most influential science fiction spacecraft of all time, the vessel has undergone several modifications over the decades. Pictured from 'Star Trek' (2009) is the D class version.
The nuclear-powered spaceship 'Discovery One' from '2001: A Space Odyssey' (1968) provided the stage for much of Stanley Kubrick's epic interplanetary saga. It's crewed by just two men, and controlled by the AI on-board computer HAL 9000.
'Prometheus' (2012) is named for the scientific vessel Prometheus, which lands on a distant moon, LV-426, only for its crew to discover a threat that could cause the extinction of the human species.
The most unlikely spaceship in the universe, the TRADIS is a time machine in the shape of a vintage police telephone box that the Doctor uses in the British television series 'Dr Who' to planet-hop. Its name is an acronym, the meaning of which is "Time And Relative Dimension In Space."
The Bubble ship that Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) pilots throughout 'Oblivion' (2013) is more cloud scraper that spaceship. But it's fast, highly maneuverable, and a genuine sci-fi screen-pleaser.
The hit 1960's British TV series 'Thunderbirds' featured five Thunderbird machines, one of which, Thunderbird 3, was a red single-stage-to-orbit spacecraft. The vessel was given a makeover in 'Thunderbirds' (2004), based on the original show.
The closing scenes of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' (1977) marks the appearance of the gigantic alien mothership, from which the curious extraterrestrials emerge to take a select group of earthlings on a trip of a lifetime.
In fact, the original 'Star Wars' (1977) introduced cinema audiences to an amazing array of incredible characters, and a fleet of truly remarkable spacecraft, including the swift and versatile rebel alliance X-Wing starfighter.
The Imperial Star Destroyer made its debut in 'Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope' (1977) with its pursuit of a Corellian Corvette, often cited as a milestone in special effects history. The Empire's signature vessel continued to menace the rebel alliance throughout the original trilogy.
Mel Brooks' space opera parody 'Spaceballs' (1987) features the zany-looking Eagle 5, a Winnebago spaceship that helped propel the movie into the cult classic realm.
Sources: (The New Yorker) (Britannica)
In 'Alien' (1979), the commercial space tug USCSS Nostromo becomes a hunting ground as its terrified crew attempt to track down and destroy an aggressive and deadly extraterrestrial. The Nostromo's rusty interior is huge, and offers up plenty of dark places for the unwelcome alien to hide in.
'Alien' (1979) and later 'Prometheus' (2012) feature what first appears to be an enormous artificial structure embedded on the surface of the remote moon, LV-426. Closer examination, however, reveals it to be a long defunct spaceship belonging to the "Engineers," colossal beings that represent humanity's forerunners.
Flying saucers on steroids best describes the monstrous vessels dispatched by an alien mothership orbiting Earth to wreak havoc on major cities around the world in 'Independence Day' (1996).
The saucer that started it all, this one piloted by a humanoid called Gort, 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' (1951) is an early foray by Hollywood into the science-fiction genre.
'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan' (1982) saw the USS Enterprise battling one of its own, the USS Reliant, which has been commandeered by Khan Noonien Singhf.
The last thing you'd want to see in your rear view mirror, the TIE fighter was the only spaceship capable of taking on the rebel alliance's X-Wing starfighter. Darth Vader's distinct TIE Advanced x1 (pictured) in 'Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope' (1977) was especially menacing.
The Earth's most powerful interstellar spacecraft, the NSEA-Protector seen in 'Galaxy Quest' (1999), served as the flagship for the National Space Exploration Administration. Its crew are seen assembled on the vessel's bridge.
The aptly-named Gunstar featured in 'The Last Starfighter' (1984) was just that, a specialist Starfighter spaceship bristling with weaponry.
'Interstellar' (2014) features the Endurance, an interstellar space exploration vehicle. Pictured is the Ranger, the ship's shuttlecraft, about to make landfall on a mysterious ocean-filled planet.
In 'Event Horizon' (1997), a missing experimental spaceship, Event Horizon, spontaneously appears in orbit around Neptune. A rescue party boards the stricken spaceship, the interior of which is spooky and hostile-looking.
The alien space ship hovering over Johannesburg in 'District 9' (2009) looks worn and used, appearing like a dirty and greasy hubcap over the South African capital. But looks can deceive!
The USS Cygnus makes its appearance in 'The Black Hole' (1979) as an apparently abandoned and long-lost spaceship that's rediscovered near a black hole.
The needle-like Pan Am space clipper shoots out of the monumental rotating space wheel station in a scene from '2001: A Space Odyssey' (1968).
The military load vehicle USS Sulaco in 'Aliens' (1986) is used to transport United Systems Colonial Marines to investigate the loss of communication with a colony of humans on LV-426.
The Soviet spacecraft Leonov approaches the crippled Discovery One in orbit around Jupiter's moon Io in this scene from '2010: The Year We Make Contact' (1984), the sequel to '2001: A Space Odyssey.'
The alien heptapod ships that hover over various locations around the Earth in 'Arrival' (2016) appear awesomely benign: the aliens' 'weapon' is their language, and humanity is charged with decoding its meaning.
Roy McBride (Brad Pitt), a major with US Space Command, travels to Mars on board the Cepheus in 'Ad Astra' (2019). But a distress signal received by the spaceship diverts its course.
A Jedi starfighter used by Obi-Wan in 'Star Wars: Attack of the Clones' (2002).
Spaceships, starships, motherships, and good old flying saucers... Hollywood's sci-fi universe has provided us with some pretty awesome interstellar spacecraft over the years. But what's the most iconic spacecraft ever to have explored entertainment's solar system?
Click through and launch yourself into the cosmos with the coolest spaceships in sci-fi.
The most iconic spaceships in sci-fi history
The most famous spacecraft ever featured in movies
MOVIES Space day
Spaceships, starships, motherships, and good old flying saucers... Hollywood's sci-fi universe has provided us with some pretty awesome interstellar spacecraft over the years. But what's the most iconic spacecraft ever to have explored entertainment's solar system?
Click through and launch yourself into the cosmos with the coolest spaceships in sci-fi.