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This is something that always bothered me about FC. After Cochrane makes his warp flight, how does he get back to Earth?

Is it mentioned in the novelisation or a deleted scene?

Couldn't he have just warped back?

He might mean how did he land.

Must've had landing gear.

Couldn't the Vulcan's given him a lift?

The Vulcans weren't near Earth, IIRC. Besides, they landed later.

Could there have been a capsule he rode back on?

I'm guessing they landed in a nearby lake.

You don't break the Lightspeed barrier and then leave the ship in orbit. You bring it back to auction it off

Transporters.

It could be a reentry shield/parachute job like just about every reentry vehicles other then the space shuttles use.

The US usually drop them in the sea, but the Russians usually preferred land drops, so Cockrane could have chosen the land drop option.

I doubt that the warp ship itself was left in orbit, Cochranes plan was obviously for it to be reuseable? The test flight was going to go ahead before the borg incursion, and he intended to jet off to 'beautiful women and lots of money'. So, leaving it in orbit and coming back in the capsule was not an option.

So, pretty much what Solauren- they must have landed the whole ship in a lake, but I doubt they simply crashed it down, there must have been some kind of flight control system if the vessel has been preserved as far as the 24th C

From what I remember of the novel, the Phoneix actualy made something of a loop flight. It went to warp then did a great big 'super orbit' curve so when droped out of warp, they were more or less where they had entered warp (explaining why they were still so close to Earth) Then they did a quick flight back to Earth where the Phoneix was left in orbit and the capsule detached and landed.

At some time later I guess Earth recovered the Phoneix in orbit and put it and the capsule into the display at the Air and Space Muesum.

Chris OFarrell wrote: At some time later I guess Earth recovered the Phoneix in orbit and put it and the capsule into the display at the Air and Space Muesum.

But why on Earth would he leave the Phoneix in orbit given his intention to use it for other means (according to 'real history- i.e pre borg intervention) he intended to reuse it, he didnt know an alien vessel would shortly be along that might be able to recover it for him, etc.

Jon wrote:

Chris OFarrell wrote: At some time later I guess Earth recovered the Phoneix in orbit and put it and the capsule into the display at the Air and Space Muesum.

But why on Earth would he leave the Phoneix in orbit given his intention to use it for other means (according to 'real history- i.e pre borg intervention) he intended to reuse it, he didnt know an alien vessel would shortly be along that might be able to recover it for him, etc.

Its very simple. Once they had gotten the Phoenix into orbit, they merely needed to launch command capsules to take charge of the Phoenix from that point. They would probably also need to bring up fuel rockets. But once the Phoenix was in space, they had no need to bring it back to land.

I wouldnt have thought launch vehicles/capsules were readily availiable to them (though the capsule itself might easily be reused, I suppose). Unless of course there were multiple Titan rockets lying around.

The problem lies in the fact that the one working example of a warp drive system is left derelict in orbit where it cannot be recovered and examined by scientists and engineers. Having the design specs and performance data is one thing, but successfully copying the warp drive (nevermind confirming that the system actually can and did work as claimed) would require the prototype to be recoverable —unless Cochrane had static test models of his system built beforehand which can be examined in detail post-flight. But that seems a hell of an expensive way to go about the effort.

It would hardly be impossible for them to send a shuttle or whatever hell type of space vehicle they were using at the time up into orbit to examine/make use of the ship.

Admiral_K wrote:It would hardly be impossible for them to send a shuttle or whatever hell type of space vehicle they were using at the time up into orbit to examine/make use of the ship.

What, NASA? Going after a civilian ship? Right after World War III?

You must be joking...

And how would an old man (with a drinking problem) prove to any financial backer he had gonne to Warp 1, if he had left the prototype in orbit?

[Cochrane]No, seriously, it's up there! Look, I've got a telescope right here... Oh, wait, those guys from the future must have taken it...[/Cochrane]

The whole vehicle must have returned to Earth. How? Magical fairy dust. (As much as everything else swept under the rug in that movie...)

Why would the Enterprise bridge crew nick Cochrane's telescope?

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Why would the Enterprise bridge crew nick Cochrane's telescope?

Maybe it was Barclay!

FC's novelization mentions that Cochrane was planning to sell his prototype to the Indonesian Space Agency or something like that. Perhaps they could have retrieved the Phoenix from orbit.

Admiral_K wrote:It would hardly be impossible for them to send a shuttle or whatever hell type of space vehicle they were using at the time up into orbit to examine/make use of the ship.

A country which is recovering from a nuclear war and may not even be unified anymore is going to still have an active, coordinated space programme.

Riiiiiiight....

Alyeska wrote:

Jon wrote:

Chris OFarrell wrote: At some time later I guess Earth recovered the Phoneix in orbit and put it and the capsule into the display at the Air and Space Muesum.

But why on Earth would he leave the Phoneix in orbit given his intention to use it for other means (according to 'real history- i.e pre borg intervention) he intended to reuse it, he didnt know an alien vessel would shortly be along that might be able to recover it for him, etc.

Its very simple. Once they had gotten the Phoenix into orbit, they merely needed to launch command capsules to take charge of the Phoenix from that point. They would probably also need to bring up fuel rockets. But once the Phoenix was in space, they had no need to bring it back to land.

Maintenance.

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:

Admiral_K wrote:It would hardly be impossible for them to send a shuttle or whatever hell type of space vehicle they were using at the time up into orbit to examine/make use of the ship.

What, NASA? Going after a civilian ship? Right after World War III?

You must be joking...

The Vulcans might be able to get it.