'Star Trek' Starship Fetches Over $500,000 in Auction

A model of the StarshipEnterprise used in the pilot and title sequences of "Star Trek: The Next Generation'' sold for $576,000 Saturday at an auction of costumes, sets and props from 40years of the "Star Trek'' sci-fi franchise.

The 78-inch-long (198-centimeter)miniature of the "Enterprise-D,'' built by Industrial Light and Magic, debutedin 1987 in the episode "Encounter at Farpoint,'' and then was used in manysubsequent episodes, as well as the film "Star Trek Generations.''

More than 1,000 items fromthe archives of CBS Paramount Television Studios went on theblock over three days at Christie's auction house, and fans forked over atotal of $7.1 million for set furniture, pointy Vulcan ears and other props.

Some Christie's employeestaking bids by telephone wore Star Trek uniforms, and a live feed of theauction was carried on the History Channel's Web site.

Other top sellers fromSaturday's auction included a spacesuit belonging to the series' Dr. McCoy fromthe episode "The Tholian Web,'' which fetched $144,000; and a replica ofCaptain James T. Kirk's chair on the bridge in the first Star Trek series.

The painted wood chair wasonly a re-creation for a 1996 episode of "Star Trek:Deep Space Nine'' that mixed action from that newer series with oldfootage, but it still sold for $62,400.

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