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23 Coolest Onscreen Spaceships

23 Coolest Onscreen Spaceships

''Endurance'' from ''Interstellar'' cruises at the multiplex, following the trail of many other smooth rides for a galaxy quest -- see our ranking!

By Darren Franich

Updated June 13, 2012 at 07:20 PM EDT

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23. Prometheus (Prometheus)

Coolest Feature: This trillion-dollar vessel echoes the raw functionality of the earlier ships from the Alien franchises. But it also features a beautiful bespoke lifeboat for company woman Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron), complete with a hologram picture window and an extremely precise medical pod.

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22. The SA-43 Hammerhead Endo/Exo-Atmospheric Attack Jet, a.k.a. the Hammerhead (Space: Above and Beyond)

Credit: Fox

Coolest Feature: There are two basic species of fictional spaceship: vessels that are fantastical, and vessels defined by a rough attempt at realism. And then there's the main fighter jet featured in the all-but-forgotten late-'90s series. The SA-43 could be straight out of Top Gun, except that the ship's nose makes it look like a hammerhead shark.

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21. Discovery One (2001: A Space Odyssey)

Credit: Everett Collection

Coolest Feature: The spinning deck of this exploration vessel is perfect for maintaining a solid jogging regimen. Regular aerobic exercise is necessary on deep-space missions, especially when the only other onboard activities are playing chess with a computer and being killed by a computer.

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20. Executor (The Empire Strikes Back)

Credit: Lucasfilm

Coolest Feature: The all-encompassing size of this Super Star Destroyer makes it one of the most imposing ships in sci-fi. But the designers didn't scrimp on the interior. If you're the lucky commander of this vessel, you'll get your very own meditation chamber, complete with a manual open-sesame door function that can create hours of fun.

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19. The Borg Cube (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

Credit: Everett Collection

Coolest Feature: The sheer WTF wrongness of this giant floating space cube — suggesting Stalinist architecture gone cosmic and IKEA packaging gone dystopian — makes it one of the scariest visuals in the Trek universe.

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18. The Mothership (Close Encounters of the Third Kind)

Credit: Everett Collection

Coolest Feature: Oooh, the lights, so pretty!

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17. Serenity (Firefly)

Credit: Zoic Studios

Coolest Feature: Like many of the vessels on this list, the Serenity is a piece of junk. But it's a dependable piece of junk, with character to burn. The niftiest aspect of the Serenity is the pair of smaller shuttles that can detach from the main body of the vessel, one of which is leased as a living space by glamorous Companion Inara.

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16. The Moon (Space: 1999)

Coolest Feature: Um, it's the moon. Reboot, please?

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15. Shinra No. 26 (Final Fantasy VII)

Coolest Feature: The decaying ship that dominates the Rocket Town skyline is the perfect metaphor for the broken dreams of wannabe-astronaut Cid Highwind. But there's nothing metaphorical about the Huge Materia inside of the rocket, which can only be snagged if you enter the correct code. Huge Materia is so powerful, you guys.

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14. Red Dwarf (Red Dwarf)

Credit: BBC

Coolest Feature: The spaceship that provided the main setting for the BBC cult classic sci-fi spoof is infinitely huge, with eight seasons of plot lurking in its bowels. However, the most enjoyable aspect of the Dwarf's operation is the ship's tendency to resurrect dead crewmates. If you're lucky, you can stay on the Dwarf forever. Forever...forever...

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13. The Shadow Ship (Babylon 5)

Coolest Feature: Like the Borg cubes, the ships used by the mysterious antagonists of Babylon 5 are freaky because they don't look the way spaceships are supposed to look. Unlike the Borg, though, the Shadows traveled in vessels that looked eerily organic — your worst spider nightmare reimagined as a star-hopping megaship.

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12. Titanic (Futurama)

Credit: Fox

Coolest Feature: Just like its namesake back on earth, the biggest space cruise ship is absolutely invinciBLACK HOLE BLACK HOLE!

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11. Slave I (The Empire Strikes Back)

Credit: Lucasfilm

Coolest Feature: Bounty Hunter Boba Fett (and his clone-daddy Jango before him) modified this transport ship with a nasty array of assault weapons. But the most interesting feature of Slave 1 is that it rotates upright after it takes off. Why? Because it looks cool! This is a DeLorean, if a DeLorean came with enough artillery to end a Star Destroyer.

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10. SDF-1 Macross (Robotech)

Credit: Harmony Gold

Coolest Feature: An entire city resides inside this massive extraterrestrial ship — SDF stands for ''Super Dimension Fortress.'' But the size isn't the impressive thing. No, what makes the Macross awesome is that, when attacked, it transforms into a giant attack robot with aircraft-carrier arms.

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9. Satellite of Love (Mystery Science Theater 3000)

Coolest Feature: The SOL is used to conduct the most important experiment in the history of science: testing the effects of horrible movies on the human mind. The onboard movie theater might not get artsy foreign films or big Hollywood blockbusters, but hey, at least the movies are free!

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8. SSV Normandy SR-1 (Mass Effect)

Coolest Feature: Sleek as an X-Wing but as expansive as the Enterprise, the Normandy is the perfect ship for a franchise that remixes the great sci-fi franchises into something intriguingly new. Still, the best part of the Normandy is the crew, an opinionated gang of soldiers and mercenaries who don't mind engaging in a little intra-ship fraternization between missions.

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7. Nostromo (Alien)

Credit: Everett Collection

Coolest Feature: A commercial towing vessel, the Nostromo looks like what would happen if you fired the worst part of the dirtiest city in America into outer space. But if you like scary corridors filled with steam and dripping sewer pipes, then this ship is for you.

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6. The X-FLR6 (The Adventures of Tintin: Destination Moon)

Coolest Feature: The prototypical pop-art starship can make the journey from the earth to the moon in just a few hours, thanks to a nuclear-reactor engine and a hefty dose of comic-book science.

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5. Darth Vader's TIE Fighter, (Star Wars)

Credit: Lucasfilm

Coolest Feature: X-Wing Schmex-Wing. When it comes to the climax of the first Star Wars, all the savvy backseat astronauts drool over this Imperial vessel customized for the Dark Lord of the Sith, with its iconic bent-wing design. Vader could've ended the Rebellion single-handedly with this ship, if not for a sucker-punch assault from Han Solo.

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4. Galactica (Battlestar Galactica)

Credit: SyFy

Coolest Feature: The Galactica feels less like a grand exploration vessel and more like a World War II-era submarine. But the ship's age is also its best strength — unlike more up-to-date ships, the Galactica never networked its computers, leaving it impervious to Cylon cyber-attack. Sometimes, the old ways are the best ways.

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3. Heart of Gold (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

Coolest Feature: The starship at the center of Douglas Adams' absurdist sci-fi romp contains an Infinite Improbability Drive, which runs on quantum theory and allows the ship to be everywhere and nowhere (and also everything and nothing) all at once. My head hurts.

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2. USS Enterprise (Star Trek)

Credit: CBS /Landov

Coolest Feature: The Trek universe has updated the saucer-and-dual-engine ship configuration throughout various spin-offs — and, most memorably, added in a holodeck in The Next Generation — but nothing beats watching the warp engines fire up on the original Constitution-class vessel.

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1. Millennium Falcon (Star Wars)

Credit: Lucasfilm

Coolest Feature: The matched set of gun turrets. That symmetry-breaking cockpit. The Monster Chess set in the lounge. The moan of the malfunctioning warp drive, which sounds like the mournful cry of a lovelorn emu. Seriously, what isn't cool about Han Solo's iconic smuggling ship?

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By Darren Franich @DarrenFranich

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23 Coolest Onscreen Spaceships

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23. Prometheus (Prometheus)

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22. The SA-43 Hammerhead Endo/Exo-Atmospheric Attack Jet, a.k.a. the Hammerhead (Space: Above and Beyond)

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21. Discovery One (2001: A Space Odyssey)

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20. Executor (The Empire Strikes Back)

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19. The Borg Cube (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

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18. The Mothership (Close Encounters of the Third Kind)

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17. Serenity (Firefly)

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16. The Moon (Space: 1999)

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15. Shinra No. 26 (Final Fantasy VII)

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14. Red Dwarf (Red Dwarf)

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13. The Shadow Ship (Babylon 5)

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12. Titanic (Futurama)

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11. Slave I (The Empire Strikes Back)

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10. SDF-1 Macross (Robotech)

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9. Satellite of Love (Mystery Science Theater 3000)

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8. SSV Normandy SR-1 (Mass Effect)

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7. Nostromo (Alien)

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6. The X-FLR6 (The Adventures of Tintin: Destination Moon)

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5. Darth Vader's TIE Fighter, (Star Wars)

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4. Galactica (Battlestar Galactica)

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3. Heart of Gold (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

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2. USS Enterprise (Star Trek)

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1. Millennium Falcon (Star Wars)

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