 The Earth Spacedock was a design intended to expand the scope of Star Trek . After approving a small three @-@ dimensional maquette of the final design , the effects team created an exterior Spacedock model measuring 6 feet ( 1 @.@ 8 m ) tall . Rather than painstakingly wiring thousands of small lights , ILM made the model out of clear Plexiglass and painted it ; scratching off the finish created windows , and an inner core of neon lights illuminated the resulting holes . The inside of the dock was simulated by an additional model , 20 feet ( 6 @.@ 1 m ) long , with a removable center section . The interior illumination was generated by outside fiber optics and 2 @,@ 000 – 5 @,@ 000 watt lights . 
