Zefram Cochrane became the first human to achieve warp flight in Star Trek: First Contact, but how did his ship, the Phoenix, make it back to Earth?

The question of how the Phoenix landed back on Earth in Star Trek: First Contact finally has an answer. Star Trek: First Contact follows Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the USS Enterprise-E as they travel back in time to April 2063, to stop a Borg invasion. The Enterprise arrives on Earth just before Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell) is meant to make the first-ever warp flight in his ship, the Phoenix. This historic flight catches the attention of the Vulcans, who beam down to Earth to initiate first contact with the human race. The Borg intend to prevent Earth’s First Contact with the Vulcans and take over the planet when it is at its most vulnerable.

As Captain Picard remains on the Enterprise to take on the Borg, Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) remain on Earth to help Zefram Cochrane repair his damaged ship. After Riker and La Forge help ensure that the Phoenix’s first warp flight happens as it was always meant to, the Enterprise crew members watch from a distance as Cochrane greets the Vulcans. When Picard first sees the Phoenix in Star Trek: First Contact, he remarks that he often visited the ship at the Smithsonian in the future, but the film never answers how the Phoenix landed back on Earth after its first flight.

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Production illustrator John Eaves provides the answer.

Star Trek: First Contact may not have shown how Zefram Cochrane’s ship made it back to Earth, but production illustrator John Eaves always knew how the ship made it home. Eaves, who has served as a production illustrator for many Star Trek projects, helped design the look and configuration of the Phoenix as it was depicted in First Contact. Eaves had the difficult task of making the Phoenix appear as though it had been designed and built from the shell of an intercontinental ballistic missile in the 21st century, while also suggesting the design future Starfleet starships would adapt. An illustration in the book Star Trek: The Art Of John Eaves by Joe Nazzaro depicts the Phoenix’s warp flight, including how it landed back on Earth.

The Phoenix launched using traditional chemical engines before the nacelles were extended and the warp core and plasma injectors were brought online. The same engines used to launch the ship were also used to bring the ship back home. After the warp flight was completed and the warp engines powered down, the Phoenix reentered Earth’s atmosphere by way of a feathered reentry configuration. The nacelles then retracted, allowing parachutes to be deployed, so the Phoenix could land safely. Although this process is not shown in Star Trek: First Contact, the landing process for the ship was built into its original design.

The Phoenix inspired generations of future explorers.

With its historic warp flight, the Phoenix became one of the most recognizable ships in Earth’s history. The original ship eventually found its way to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, where Jean-Luc Picard visited it as a child. In the Star Trek timeline, Star Trek: Enterprise takes place less than 100 years after Zefram Cochrane’s flight and contains the most references to his iconic ship. The Phoenix appears in the opening credits of Enterprise, and Admiral Maxwell Forrest (Vaughn Armstrong) and Ensign Travis Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery) both have models of the Phoenix in their offices or quarters.

The USS Enterprise of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds also has a picture of the Phoenix on display in one of its conference rooms. An amusement park is eventually built in Bozeman, Montana at the site of Zefram Cochran’s first meeting with the Vulcans. The Lower Deckers of the USS Cerritos visit this amusement park in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3, and they commandeer the model of the Phoenix that serves as a ride vehicle. Because of its significance to the United Federation of Planets, Starfleet, and the history of space travel, the Phoenix will always be one of Star Trek’s most important and iconic ships.