Long before President John F. Kennedy gave his famous “we choose go to the moon, not because it's easy but because it's hard” speech and long before man took his first steps on the moon, we have always been looking up. We’ve been looking up at the at stars long before Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.” It should come as no surprise then that the very first motion picture was Le Voyage Dans is Lun.
Chances are if there’s a science fiction film or show, there are tons of ships, cruisers, and space stations of some kind traversing the vast cosmos. Here are 10 Of The Best Sci-Fi Space Ships Ever, Ranked.
Millennium Falcon - Star Wars
Unless the person just doesn’t like Star Wars (and you really don’t need that negativity in your life), you’d be ridiculously hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t like the Millennium Falcon. It’s been a part of every film, except Rogue One and the prequels, and has been piloted by at least four different pilots - because who doesn’t want to take a turn. Han and Chewie at the command is always preferred, but watching the Falcon hurtle through the stratosphere can always give a warm and fuzzy feeling to any fan.
Eagle 5 - Spaceballs
For some people, renting or buying a motor home and driving cross country is part of the American Dream. Driving down the highways and byways of the country with nearly a care in the world should be something a lot of people try to do.
Mel Brooks took that idea and ran with it all the way into space when he introduced Eagle 5 in his Spaceballs. Retrofitted with wings to fly around the galaxy and the ability to “go plaid” makes the Eagle 5 Winnebago one of the most fun party ships in the galaxy.
The USS Enterprise - Star Trek
The USS Enterprise NCC 1701 is most likely the most widely recognized spaceship in all of pop culture. Whether you like Star Trek or not, if you see the saucer and stem shaped vessel careening across your screen, you’ll likely throw up a Vulcan "Live Long And Prosper" sign like a metal head heaves up devil horns at a Metallica show. For over fifty years, the iconic vessel has consistently been on TV between six series and their reruns, plus 13 movies, it’s clear the creative team of Trek is (hopefully) not trying to reinvent the wheel and redesign the premier ship in science fiction.
The Milano - Guardians Of The Galaxy
With all of the drib and drab colors that most spaceships have been over the years, the orange and blue of Starlord’s ship, The Milano is the same breath of fresh air that Guardians Of The Galaxy was. The ship’s (and movie’s) use of the jump drive provided for some of the best moments of the second movie. Being named after one of the bombshells is the late eighties and nineties doesn’t hurt either.
The USCSS Nostromo - Alien
None of us would actually want to be aboard the Nostromo while there is an acid spitting alien demon from hell running around the ship. However, the USCSS Nostromo is one of the most recognizable vessels, thanks in part to the Xenomorph that was skulking around the air ducts.
The director of Alien, Ridley Scott once referred to his film as a “haunted house in space,” which sounds about right, considering the nightmare that Ripley had to endure.
Serenity - Serenity
Much like the story of Firefly’s enduring popularity, the Serenity is a beloved bucket of bolt that is held together by twigs, duct tape, and sheer force of will. Captained by Mal Reynolds and named after the last battle of a civil war his side lost, Reynolds and his crew use the ship to help with jobs. It’s an obvious riff on Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon, but thanks to series creator Joss Whedon, star Nathan Fillion, and the rest of the cast, the Serenity has become a popular ship in its own right.
Discovery One - 2001 A Space Odyssey
For fans of Stanley Kubrick, 2001: A Space Odyssey isn’t just one of the greatest films ever made, it’s part of an epic tome on filmmaking. When the movie was originally released, it inspired directors like Scorsese, Lucas, and Spielberg to set forth and make their own mark. The film’s unique ship, the Discovery One eventually gets commandeered by a malfunctioning psychopathic AI, but the shuttle itself is still one of the coolest you’ll see on film.
Endurance - Interstellar
To save all of humanity from the mass extinction event known as Blight, NASA, now outlawed by the government went underground and secretly built a shuttle to travel across the Milky Way. In Interstellar, it’s up to Cooper to head up the mission and pilot the Endurance towards a Black Hole near Saturn to find a new home for humanity. This vessel has also been fitted for “interstellar,” straight through the Black Hole Gargantua and right through to the unknown in the other side.
Star Destroyers - Star Wars
George Lucas could have played the theme from “Jaws” while watched this massive intergalactic Empire battle cruiser head take forever to get across the screen. Not only is this Star Destroyer humongous, but once you realize that this is just one Star Destroyer in an unending fleet, then you know just how badly outgunned the Rebellion is.
Vader even has his own massive Super Star Destroyer, The Executor. To help destroy the second Death Star, it took a Rebel Pilot kamikaziing himself into Executor, which careens right into the Death Star.
The UFOs - ID4
When several unidentified flying objects entered Earth’s atmosphere in the days leading up to Independence Day 1996, plenty of world citizens were completely bewildered. Some where excited, ready to welcome the visitors with open arms, but the aliens gave us their greeting in the form of a glowing green light and almost annihilating everyone on the planet. If the giant UFO’s weren’t bad enough, their manned fighters were even worse to deal with. Had it not been for the virus that David Levinson created, we’d all be serving our alien masters right now.