Saucer section

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The Enterprise's Saucer
The Enterprise D's Saucer
USS Stargazer
The Miranda-class the classic saucer only starship

The saucer section is a common feature of Federation starships. It is a large, disc-shaped section of the ship that usually houses the ship's bridge and crew quarters, separating them from the ship's engineering areas, which are usually housed in a cylindrical hull component.

The saucer section of a Galaxy-class starship is often described as the primary hull (with the engineering section referred to as the "secondary hull"). In this class, the saucer can separate from the engineering section and operate independently, albeit with much less power, since it doesn't have its own warp core. Separation was intended to occur if the ship was called to battle; the engineering section would go to fight while the saucer section carried non-combatant members of the crew to safety. In practice, however, the saucer section's impulse engines provide enough power that it needs to be attached for the ship to have maximum combat effectiveness, so the saucer almost never separates in anticipation of battle.

Not all Federation ships have an engineering section. Some ship designs, including the Miranda and the Nebula classes, consist of a saucer section with warp nacelles directly attached.