Google Celebrates 'Star Trek' Birthday With Fun Doodle

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Google Star Trek doodle
The Google logo was transformed on its search homepage Sept. 7, 2012 to honor the 45th anniversary of Star Trek. (Image credit: Google)

Set phasers to fun! Forty-six years ago this week the science fiction TV show "Star Trek" warped into existence, and today (Sept. 7) Web search giant Google celebrated the iconic series' birthday with an interactive doodle tribute.

The doodle transforms the crew of "Star Trek's" starship Enterprise into the Google logo (Captain James T. Kirk is an 'O', Spock's the big 'G') and honors some of the TV show's most popular episodes. You can beam Kirk 'O' and a hapless redshirt down to a dangerous planet, fight a Gorn alien and even jump into your trouble with Tribbles … but only if you know where to click.

The Sept. 7, 2012 Google Doodle allows visitors to fire at Gorn, an alien species from the Star Trek television series that first premiered 46 years ago today. (Image credit: Google)

The brainchild of TV writer/producer Gene Roddenberry, "Star Trek" made its television debut on Sept. 8, 1966. It starred actor William Shatner as Capt.Kirk, with Leonard Nimoy portraying the pointy-eared Vulcan Spock. The series' cast also included DeForest Kelley as Leonard "Bones" McCoy, the ship's doctor; Nichelle Nichols as communications officer Uhura; George Takei as navigator Sulu; and James Doohan as chief engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott.

Despite an initial three-year run, "Star Trek" has spawned a decades-long franchise that includes four TV spinoffs and 11 feature films, with a 12th film set to hit movie screens in 2013.

Even NASA has felt the Vulcan nerve pinch of Star Trek fandom.

In 1976, NASA's space shuttle Enterprise rolled out of the Palmdale manufacturing facilities and was greeted by NASA officials and cast members from the 'Star Trek' television series. From left to right they are: NASA Administrator Dr. James D. Fletcher; DeForest Kelley, who portrayed Dr. "Bones" McCoy on the series; George Takei (Mr. Sulu); James Doohan (Chief Engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott); Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura); Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock); series creator Gene Roddenberry; an unnamed NASA official; and, Walter Koenig (Ensign Pavel Chekov). (Image credit: NASA)

NASA named its first space shuttle Enterprise after the TV show's starship at the urging of die-hard fans, who wrote in to christen the prototype shuttle. Shatner and his fellow Enterprise "crewmates" were onhand at the shuttle's dedication in 1976.

The space shuttle Enterprise was used for landing tests only, but never actually flew in space. It is on display at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City.

When NASA delivered the shuttle Enterprise to New York City  in April, Leonard Nimoy, reprising his Spock character's catchphrase, said he hoped the shuttle would "live long and prosper" in its new museum home.

To see today's Google doodle, visit: http://www.google.com/

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Tariq Malik
Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.