History Main / CoolStarship

* [[http://www.dresdencodak.com/cartoons/dc_015.htm This ship]] from ''Webcomic/DresdenCodak''.

** ''The Cloak of Untrammeled Dignity'', [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20040620.html here]].

* In the Wiki/SCPFoundation, [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2722 SCP-2722]], ''SCPS Solidarity'', is a universe-hopping [[MileLongShip 23 kilometer long starship]] constructed through the collaboration of multiple universes. Its explicit purpose is to aid in the defense of worlds with organizations devoted to "Maintaining Normalcy" during their DarkestHour, and represents the absolute best of countless other species on (mostly) parallel Earths.

* The Freelancer Project's ''Mother of Invention'' from Machinima/RedVsBlue is an incredibly cool starship, controlled by an equally cool AI. A Charon class light frigate, the ''Mother of Invention'' has extensive facilities so as to serve as a mobile base for the Freelancer Project, including a presumably aftermarket giant reconfigurable training room.

* Imperial admirals' ships in ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'', primarily Reinhard's Brunhilde and Muller's Percivale.

** Also the J-Ark, a CoolStarship whose bridge detaches from the ship and turns into a [[HumongousMecha Cool Robot]] that can then recombine with the rest of the Ark to form the even ''[[UpToEleven Cooler]]'' Robot King J-Der. It's also piloted by Soldato-J, one of the biggest badasses in the series, for even ''more'' cool points.

** Centauri's car took the angular wedge design of the [=DeLorean=], turned it UpToEleven, then made it a ''[[TransformingMecha transforming]]'' FlyingCar and CoolStarship.

* ''[[AwesomeMcCoolName Nemesis]]'' in ''Literature/TheLastAngel'' is the first Dreadnaught built by Humanity and its first true warship. Six and a quarter kilometers long, both her primary reactor and [[WaveMotionGun main gun]] harness this universe's form of [[HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace FTL]] to, respectively, provide more power than anyone else in the 'verse can come close to matching and OneHitKill any known warship in existence. Perhaps most importantly, by the time of the main story she has been active for two thousand years and has been run solely by her AI, [[SapientShip Red One]], for almost all of them.

* ''ComicBook/StarWarsKanan'': SpacePirate Janus Kasmir's personal starship ''Kasmiri'' -- named after himself of course -- is a speedy little vessel with an attractive proflie and paint job and an impressive defense system, which allows Caleb to survive being ambushed by a squad of Imperial fighters.

* The Starjammer, of the SpacePirate group of that name who are friends of the ComicBook/XMen.

** The ''other'' [[http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Lightning_class_Frontier_Cruiser Lightning Class]], a [[TheBattlestar battlestar]] built around a [[WaveMotionGun spinal-mounted meson accelerator]]. One specific example, the ''Emissary'', which was 'accidentally' sold to a MerchantPrince still armed, and protected his ships from [[SpacePirate Vargr]].

* ''Film/{{Doppelganger}}'', known outside Europe as ''Journey to the Far Side of the Sun'', features the ''Phoenix'' interplanetary spacecraft, which transports the protagonists to and from the CounterEarth, the ''Dove'' lifting body, and an impressive Saturn V-inspired launch vehicle.

* In Creator/BillMantlo's ''ComicBook/Micronauts|MarvelComics'', the team's RobotBuddy Biotron gets destroyed, only to be rebuilt as a LivingShip-slash-HumongousMecha named Bioship. Bioship later gets destroyed, and he is rebuilt again in his original human-sized "Biotron" form.

* In Creator/BillMantlo's ''ComicBook/{{Micronauts}}'', the team's RobotBuddy Biotron gets destroyed, only to be rebuilt as a LivingShip-slash-HumongousMecha named Bioship. Bioship later gets destroyed, and he is rebuilt again in his original human-sized "Biotron" form.

* [[ParodiedTrope Parodied]] by Spaceball-1 from ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}''. The film's opening scene is an OverlyLongGag in which the ship scrolls across the screen for well over a minute (all the while, even ''the background music'' grows impatient for it to end)[[note]]But they throw in an EasterEgg if you're patient enough to see the sequence through to the end: an [[EstablishingCharacterMoment attitude-establishing]] ''bumper sticker'' that reads, "We Brake For Nobody"[[/note]]. It {{transform|ingMecha}}s into a {{humongous|Mecha}} RobotMaid, and houses a mall, a three-ring circus, and a zoo.

* Spaceball-1 from ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'' is a parody of cool starships. Its introduction is an OverlyLongGag about how huge the actual thing is (to the point that even the ''BGM'' grows impatient for it to end)[[note]]But they throw in an EasterEgg if you're patient enough to see the sequence through to the end: an attitude-establishing ''bumper sticker'' that reads, "We Brake For Nobody"[[/note]], it {{transform|ingMecha}}s into a {{humongous|Mecha}} RobotMaid, and it includes a mall, a three-ring circus, and a zoo. Lon Starr's space ship Eagle-5 is, likewise, a parody of the Millennium Falcon. It's a Winnebago with wings. It still seems decently cool because it has a secret [=FTL=] drive...which then gets subverted because using it quickly burns up the gas.

** ''Anime/TransformersMasterforce'' introduced Fortress's brother Grand Maximus, whose battleship mode is... ''New'' Battleship Maximus. ''Really''. Unlike his big brother's Transtector, though, Grand's is only a bit larger than God Ginrai, comparable in size to the [[ComicBook/TheTransformers Marvel Comics version]] of Fortress Maximus; both of them are just large enough in battleship mode to allow God Ginrai or Powermaster Optimus Prime to stand on. As a result, full-size Transformers can't hitch a ride inside Grand's ship, but it can accomodate humans (or human-sized Transformers).

** ''ComicBook/TheTransformers'':

* ''Script/AHDotComTheSeries'' has several, most notably, of course, the eponymous MES ''AH.com'', which subscribes to the "vast rickety old warship with skeleton crew" setting similar to ''Series/RedDwarf''.

* In the Wiki/SCPFoundation, [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2722 SCP-2722]], ''SCPS Solidarity'', is a universe-hopping [[MileLongShip 23 kilometer long starship]] constructed through the collaboration of multiple universes. It's the explicit purpose is to aid in the defense of worlds with organizations devoted to "Maintaining Normalcy" during their DarkestHour, and represents the absolute best of countless other species on (mostly) parallel Earths.

%%* Planet Express Ship in ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'', which can comfortably fit the entire Planet Express crew.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekProdigy'' features the USS ''Protostar'', a PintsizedPowerhouse of a starship capable of LudicrousSpeed and an impressive BeamSpam. [[ShinyLookingStarships She]] especially stands out when first found on the CrapsackWorld of [[UsedFuture Tars Lamora]].

** Han Solo's ''Millennium Falcon'' is the "junky" kind: a set of engines, a bunch of plating and a couple of guns held together with bubblegum, duct tape, and the will of TheForce. However, although the ship's systems can be unreliable, the ship is faster than anything and has enough armaments (guns, missiles) to be considered a powerful warship for its size. The most techno-miraculous thing about it is that it flies at all, let alone so well. Not to mention that it's over 100-years-old, [[ExpandedUniverse per the ''Legacy of the Force'' series]]. Never mind that it's falling apart at the seams, the Falcon is, quite simply, an ostensible ''light freighter'' that can outshoot, outrun, and outmaneuver ''starfighters.'' A [[AceCustom heavily modified]] light bulk freighter (in fact, customization's the ''raison d'etre'' of some of the manufacturer's starship lines including the ''Falcon'''s) piloted by a top of his class naval academy graduate. The Falcon is even cool enough to jump franchises and [[http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Battle_of_Sector_001#Visualization fight the Borg]] in a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo in Film/StarTrekFirstContact.

* USS ''Discovery'' of Creator/StanleyKubrick's ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''. A spaceship controlled by a genius computer in which the only real way to travel is in a cryo-chamber. Admittedly not FTL, but ranks highly on the SlidingScale/MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness in that respect. However, as humanity's first long distance spaceship, its a pretty good effort, delivering the astronauts to Jupiter (Saturn in the book). Also the inspiration for the StandardEstablishingSpaceshipShot, accompanied by [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic the "Adagio" from ''Gayane'' by Khachaturian]].

* USS ''Discovery'' of Creator/StanleyKubrick's ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''. A spaceship controlled by a genius computer in which the only real way to travel is in a cryo-chamber. Admittedly not FTL, but ranks highly on the MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness in that respect. However, as humanity's first long distance spaceship, its a pretty good effort, delivering the astronauts to Jupiter (Saturn in the book). Also the inspiration for the StandardEstablishingSpaceshipShot, accompanied by [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic the "Adagio" from ''Gayane'' by Khachaturian]].

* ''Anime/UFORoboGrendizer'': The title HumongousMecha is both a giant robot and a starship. Grendizer can [[CombiningMecha combine]] with a flying device to form a CoolStarship allowing FasterThanLightTravel between planets. Vegans' spaceships also count.

* The ''Blue Typhoon'' from ''Anime/SonicX''. It even has a [[Series/{{Thunderbirds}} Thunderbird 2 style launch pad for the smaller vessels!]]

* The ''Swordbreaker'' from ''Anime/LostUniverse''.
* The ''Soyokaze'' from ''Anime/IrresponsibleCaptainTylor'' The junky rust bucket trope is somewhat subverted here, as the ship is recognized as junk by everybody and their mother's dog.
** The played straight component of it includes the fact that it has a bar, spa, fighter hangar, and marine detachment.
* The ''Arcus Prima'' flying Simoun carrier from ''Anime/{{Simoun}}'' (and the ''Messis'' as an example of a junky rust bucket).
** Technically just airships - no space-travel exists in ''Anime/{{Simoun}}'' universe.
* The ''Silvana'' airship from ''Anime/LastExile'', and the [[spoiler:Exile itself when the Mysteria awaken it and it sheds its defensive cocoon]].
* Space Battleship Ryo-Ohki from ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'', who also doubled as a WeaselMascot.
** Not to mention Kagato's ship, the Soja, from the OVA. It had as many dimensions as it did floors. [[spoiler: Including a PocketDimension where its ''actual'' creator, Washu, was kept prisoner, sealed inside a CrystalPrison.]]
** Jurian ships in general look like nature preserves.
** The Galaxy Police are no slouches at building cool starships either.
* The ''Arcadia'' from ''Anime/CaptainHarlock'' and all related series.

* The ''Nirvana'' in ''Anime/{{Vandread}}''.
** And the bigger enemy ships too.

* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'''s Super Galaxy Dai-Gurren was the Moon for awhile (not a typo).
** The fact that it turns into a Planet-sized Mecha with sunglasses on both torso and head only makes it more awesome.
** The Anti-Spirals have the Ashtangas which look like a HUGE (as in, several times the size of a planet) stone with several dozen faces and arms - scary as hell.
** The original Dai-Gurren and the Tengen Toppa Dai-Gurren (a billions times bigger version that looks more demonic). The fact that the latter can shoot inter-dimensional anchors or fire missile barrages that [[WindsOfDestinyChange affects probability]], as in missiles that make it more improbable that the enemy will evade future attacks. And that's considered weak.

* The Bay Tower Base, and later the Orbit Base from ''[[Anime/GaoGaiGar Yuusha-Oh GaoGaiGar]]'' are multiple [[CoolShip Cool Ships]] connected to a hub, which can deploy and serve various purposes. Three of them transform into the handle of a [[DropTheHammer giant hammer]] in the OVA.
** Also the J-Ark, a CoolStarship whose bridge detaches from the ship and turns into a [[HumongousMecha Cool Robot]] that can then recombine with the rest of the Ark to form the even ''[[UpToEleven Cooler]]'' Robot King J-Der. It's also piloted by Soldato-J, one of the biggest badasses in the series, for even ''more'' cool points.
* The Shangri-La from ''Manga/TowardTheTerra'' contains wide open fields, gardens, flowing rivers, palisades, a massive shrine for its leader, and a "bridge" in the form of a platform suspended above the aforementioned fields. Further, the ship uses psychic energy to attack, defend, and conceal itself, is capable of both space and atmospheric flight, and can even warp from the surface of a planet.
* Believe it or not, the manga version of ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'' actually contains a (spoileriffic) example. [[spoiler:Pandaemonium, the demon's world, is actually a gigantic spaceship that crashed into Earth and sank to the bottom of the ocean. It's huge, containing a huge city inside of it, including a large field of grass and trees. And yes, this means the [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demons]] are actually [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens aliens]].]]

* ''Manga/GetterRobo'' has the Emperor Machines, three planet-sized starships made from MarsAndTheDinosaurs.
* La Muse and various other ships from ''Anime/KiddyGrade''.
* All of the ships from ''Anime/{{Gankutsuou}}'' are unbelievably cool.
* Imperial admirals' ships in ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'', primarily Reinhard's Brunhilde and Muller's Percivale.
* Frieza and Cooler of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' each have at least one.
* The Bell from ''Anime/MagicUsersClub''.
* ''Anime/{{Planetes}}'' has Debris Section's ''Toybox'', which is the epitome of UsedFuture and is still working fine despite being ''older than some of the crew'' [[spoiler:and gets a [[SaveTheWorld spectacular sendoff.]]]] The Wernher von Braun fits into the "techno-miracle" category.
* Many of the ships in ''LightNovel/BodaciousSpacePirates'' such as the ''Bentenmaru'', the ''Barbaroosa'', the ''Odette II'', the ''Parabellum'' and the ''Grand Cross''.
* ''Anime/TransformersHeadmasters'' has Rodimus Prime's successor, Fortress Maximus - a Headmaster whose massive (non-living) Transtector body becomes the Battleship Maximus. Like his [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers Western counterpart]], Fortress Maximus is roughly city-sized.

* The Ship of ''Starlord'', simply called "Ship", a sleek, highly maneuverable starship-- which is actually a sentient shapeshifting EnergyBeing who is in love with her pilot.
* The giant Celestial-built Ship (also simply called Ship) of ''ComicBook/XFactor''. Eventually blows up, but the A.I. survives and becomes an ally of Cable.
* Friday, the "Smartship" of ComicBook/PowerPack.
* The Starjammer, of the SpacePirate group of that name who are friends of the ComicBook/XMen.

* The shiftship from ComicBook/{{Planetary}}

* The ComicBook/FantasticFour used to have an orbital rocket that [[RefugeInAudacity launched from the middle of Manhattan]]. It was phased out in favor of a captured Skrull starship.

* Spaceman Spiff's little red rocketship from ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes''. Come on, you know you love it.
** Regular Calvin's little red wagon deserves a mention for somehow managing to get to Mars and back.
** Calvin's cardboard box has to be one of the coolest devices ever: it's anything the plot requires it to be, including a time machine, but still looks like an ordinary cardboard box to most people.

* ''ComicBook/StarWarsKanan'': SpacePirate Janus Kasmir's personal starship ''Kasmiri''--named after himself of course--is a speedy little vessel with an attractive proflie and paint job and an impressive defense system, which allows Caleb to survive being ambushed by a squad of Imperial fighters.

* As seen in ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'' story ''Comicbook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'', [[BadassCrew the Red Lanterns]] have the Kaalvar, their flagship. It's a large, sleek, silver-grey starship armed with a WaveMotionGun.
* Any and all space vessels designed by Creator/JackKirby.
* In DC's ''ComicBook/StarRaiders'' graphic novel, the titular ship is a fast, nimble one-man attack craft with a galaxy-skipping warp drive and disproportionately heavy armament and defenses. It's so cool that simply ''discovering'' it inspires [[ActionDuo Jed and Tommy]] to start LaResistance against [[TheEmpire the Zylons]] and use it as their flagship.
** Averted in the [[VideoGame/StarRaiders original video game]], where the ship is never shown.
* In Toys/{{Bionicle}}, the entire universe of the first 8 years of the story is contained within a 16 million feet tall sentient robot which travels between planets.

* ''ComicBook/DarkEmpire'': The ''Eclipse'' Dreadnought, the big brother of the ''Executor'' Super Star Destroyer of ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' fame. How awesome is it? It's twice as big mass-wise (albeit a little shorter), [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience jet black]], and has a [[WaveMotionGun mini-superlaser on its nose that can render a planet uninhabitable in a single shot]]. It's meant to take on entire ''fleets'' and come out victorious.
* ComicBook/{{Impulse}}'s spaceship from ''ComicBook/YoungJustice'' is a really nice and well made ship in addition to being completely random and unexpected. It's the favor he asked from Ali Ben Styn back when the grateful ruler offered boons to the first three members of the team since Imp has no concept of just what a huge deal building such a thing would be and showed no restraint in his request.

* The RLS Legacy from ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet'' should count as well. It's a classical sailing ship traveling through space (or the Etherium) and in one scene it ''even escapes from a black hole!''. If that isn't cool, nothing is.

** ''The Rexcelsior'' from ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie2TheSecondPart'' is a huge fist-shaped, time-travelling [[TheBattlestar battlestar]] that's crewed by velociraptors.

* ''Film/ForAllMankind'' is a documentary about the original Cool Starships, all the cooler because they were real — the starships of NASA's Apollo program.
* The titular starship from the live action adaptation of ''Film/SpaceBattleshipYamato''. Built from the wreck of a UsefulNotes/WorldWarII battleship giving it even more reason to be [[RuleofCool awesome]], comes complete with a [[StandardSciFiFleet starfighter]] [[TheBattlestar squadron]], massive beam cannons, [[MoreDakka rows]] [[MoreDakka upon rows of]] [[BeamSpam beam gatling guns]], and of course, THE WaveMotionGun. Not to mention this [[OneManArmy one ship fought off an entire alien race]] and is the only reason the Earth was saved.

* From the ''Franchise/StarWars'' movies:
** Han Solo's ''Millennium Falcon'' is the "junky" kind: a set of engines, a bunch of plating and a couple of guns held together with bubblegum, duct tape, and the will of TheForce. However, although the ship's systems can be unreliable, the ship is faster than anything and has enough armaments (guns, missiles) to be considered a powerful warship for its size. The most techno-miraculous thing about it is that it flies at all, let alone so well. Not to mention that it's over 100 years old, [[ExpandedUniverse per the ''Legacy of the Force'' series]]. Never mind that it's falling apart at the seams, the Falcon is, quite simply, an ostensible ''light freighter'' that can outshoot, outrun, and outmaneuver ''starfighters.'' A [[AceCustom heavily modified]] light bulk freighter (in fact, customization's the ''raison d'etre'' of some of the manufacturer's starship lines including the ''Falcon'''s) piloted by a top of his class naval academy graduate. The Falcon is even cool enough to jump franchises and [[http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Battle_of_Sector_001#Visualization fight the Borg]] in a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo in Film/StarTrekFirstContact.
%%** General Grievous' Invisible Hand.
** Darth Vader's dagger-shaped flagship, the Super Star Destroyer ''Executor''. If you weren't in awe when you first saw it dwarf a freaking '''Star Destroyer''' in ''The Empire Strikes Back'', then you were watching it wrong.
** The standard-issue T-65 X-Wing-- of which the one we see the most of is Luke's-- cuts an impressive and distinctive silhouette. It's not the fastest or the toughest or the best-armed, but it may well be the most versatile, and in the hands of a skilled pilot can take on darn near any mission. It got upgraded for ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', with the T-70, which is an upgraded version with better shields, improved manoeuvrability, and a small antipersonnel turret.
** The Nebulon-B and Acclaimator class frigates look pretty damn cool, and the Nebulon-B is quite formidable for its size.
** The standard-issue Imperial [[CarrierBattleship Star Destroyer]]. The way it ''looms'' into the scene after the title crawl in ''A New Hope'' is just awe-inspiring. And damn if it doesn't look intimidating.
** The Death Star, so large that it's easily mistaken for a ''moon'', so powerful that it's the rough equivalent of ''the rest of the Imperial fleet put together'', with a laser that blows up planets.
** Vader's personal TIE Advanced x1. It manages to take a TIE Fighter, essentially the ''Franchise/StarWars'' version of [[VideoGame/StarCraft Zerg]][[ZergRush lings]], and actually ''make it a decent combatant''. Shields and a hyperdrive go a long way to making it the Imperial version of an X-wing or Y-wing. The only drawback is that it moves slightly more slowly than average TIE Fighter, although the fact that the only one we see in the films is ''flown by the greatest pilot in history'' tends to make up for this.
** On that note, the TIE Interceptor. While still just as fragile as a typical TIE Fighter, it's [[FragileSpeedster wicked-fast]] and has a dagger-like profile that absolutely ''screams'' "Evil" with a capital E. Then there's the Defender, an upgraded, more durable Interceptor with three wings, all fitted with guns, plus shielding and a hyperdrive. When New Republic pilots run into them in the novels, they conclude that if the Empire had managed to mass-produce ''those'', the war would have gone very differently.
** The Delta-7 Aethersprite. For the curious, that's the wedge-shaped one Obi-Wan flew in ''Attack of the Clones''. That thing is ''tiny'', yet Obi-Wan is still able to take on another cool ship, the ''Slave I'', which is owned and maintained by a ''[[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Mandalorian]] BountyHunter''.
** Carracks are pretty cool too. They're smaller frigate-sized warships, but they're fast and bring to bear ''a lot'' of heavy turbolaser batteries, meaning that small squadrons of them can bring down capital ships many times their size. Their weapon mounts are also modular, meaning they can easily and inexpensively swap out turbolasers for quick-firing laser cannons when used as anti-starfighter escorts, or ion cannons when used in a police role against smugglers and pirates.

* The Gotengo of ''Atragon'' and ''Film/GodzillaFinalWars'' has a massive beam shooting [[ThisIsADrill drill]] on its bow and can function in the air, under the sea and dig through the ground.
* The ''Cygnus'' from Disney's ''Film/TheBlackHole''. It's made of thin struts of metal supporting acres of glass. It looks like an enormous spaceship-shaped greenhouse, lit by millions of twinkly lights. The only reason such an amazingly beautiful but fragile thing can survive spaceflight is the RuleOfCool. The [[AllThereInTheManual novelization]] increases her coolness factor, giving it eight powerful matter-antimatter engines more than powerful enough together to provide Earth's energy requeriments.

* USS ''Discovery'' of Creator/StanleyKubrick's ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''. A spaceship controlled by a genius computer in which the only real way to travel is in a cryo-chamber. Admittedly not FTL, but ranks highly on the MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness in that respect. However, as humanity's first long distance spaceship, its a pretty good effort, delivering the astronauts to Jupiter (Saturn in the book). Also the inspiration for the StandardEstablishingSpaceshipShot, accompanied by [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic the "Adagio" from ''Gayane'' by Khachaturian]].
* The brief external shot of the ''Venture Star'' in ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' was pure scenery porn. The spacecraft design was incredibly realistic, perhaps more so than any other movie starship to date, being based on Charles Pellegrino and Jim Powell's [[http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/rocket3aj.html#valkyrie Valkyrie]] antimatter starship, with an additional Laser Sail for "ground power" acceleration while outbound from Earth.
* The possible patron saint of this trope is the bubble spaceship from ''Film/TheFountain''. It's a freaking ''bubble'', and it houses some land, the Tree Of Life, and Hugh Jackman. How can you beat that?
* The NSEA ''Protector'' from ''Film/GalaxyQuest''. Lovingly and accurately modeled by the Thermians after the ship from the (cancelled) TV show, it can do everything a TV starship can do. It's also the last holdout of Thermian civilization against Sarris's forces.
* ''Film/TheLastStarfighter'':
** Centauri's car took the angular wedge design of the [=DeLorean=], turned it UpToEleven, then made it a ''[[TransformingMecha transforming]]'' FlyingCar and CoolStarship.
** Then there are the [[http://rpggamer.org/uploaded_images/gunstar_concept_ship.jpg Gunstars]] themselves, with the iconic quad engine pods and 360-degree gunner's chair. Alex's SuperPrototype even gets a MacrossMissileMassacre add-on.
* The ''Messiah'' from ''Film/DeepImpact''. An ambitious OrionDrive-powered spacecraft, theoretically capable of interstellar travel (but put to emergency use as a comet-buster). Oddly, the coolest thing about it -- how the Orion drive actually ''works'' (it throws nuclear bombs out the back of the space ship and rides the blast waves) -- was never mentioned in the film.
* Spaceball-1 from ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'' is a parody of cool starships. Its introduction is an OverlyLongGag about how huge the actual thing is (to the point that even the ''BGM'' grows impatient for it to end)[[note]]But they throw in an EasterEgg if you're patient enough to see the sequence through to the end: an attitude-establishing ''bumper sticker'' that reads, "We Brake For Nobody"[[/note]], it {{transform|ingMecha}}s into a {{humongous|Mecha}} RobotMaid, and it includes a mall, a three-ring circus, and a zoo. Lon Starr's space ship Eagle-5 is, likewise, a parody of the Millennium Falcon. It's a Winnebago with wings. It still seems decently cool because it has a secret [=FTL=] drive...which then gets subverted because using it quickly burns up the gas.
* The ''[[http://epizodsspace.no-ip.org/bibl/pervushin/zvezdy-filmograf/06.jpg ZARYa]]'' from the Soviet sci-fi classic ''Film/MoscowCassiopeia''. As you can see, most of the ship is taken up by its giant {{Antimatter}}-powered nuclear engines, which serve to accelerate it to near-light speeds.
* The "Tet" space station, and the "Odyssey" (for how little time it appears on-screen, anyway) in ''Film/{{Oblivion 2013}}'' .
* In the ''Film/EndersGame'' film, the fleet that humans bring to battle the [[InsectoidAliens Formics]] has a number of dedicated AttackDrone carriers, dreadnoughts capable of shredding Formic capital ships with a single volley, and a unique ship armed with the [[WaveMotionGun MD-500]] (AKA the "Little Doctor"), capable of obliterating an entire fleet or [[spoiler:causing an EarthShatteringKaboom]]. The Formics, for their part, appear to only use carriers that launch swarms of fighters, typical of their bug-like mentality.
* ''Film/JupiterAscending'' has both the functional and cool looking Aegis ship and the over-the-top elaborate personal ships of the Abrasax family.
* ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'': Frank N Furter's gothic castle, complete with a ballroom and swimming pool [[spoiler: turns out to be a spaceship]].
* ManOfSteel: Firstly we have the film's version of the Fortress Of Solitude, an [[AncientAstronauts ancient Kryptonian scout ship]] Clark freed from the ice, and then we have General Zod's ship, a black monster of a ship equipped with a powerful WaveMotionGun and complete with Black Zero, a [[{{Terraform}} terraforming]] device.

*** Just to up the ante, Imperial observers have noted that neither version of the Planet Killer (and newer Chaos ships in general) should be ''physically impossible'' - as in it should not be able to exist in the universe, let alone fight. Unfortunately for everyone else, it was constructed on a planet in the Eye Of Terror, a rip in space where the Immaterium intermingles with the physical world - in other words a place where the laws of physics are what you want them to be.
** Imperial Ironclads - turned into giant rams.

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': The Weatherlight, although it was designed by what was essentially a god to be part of a weapon that was powerful enough to kill an actual god So Yeah.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}'' has lots of these, as well as [[DesignItYourselfEquipment detailed rules for building them]]. The Terran Confederation Navy had the Indomitable class battleships, which practically destroyed the Vilani navy on their own.
** The Lightning class frontier merchant, half warship, half merchant. These were able to cruise in Vilani space at will, changing to privateers or scouts when needed.
** A fairly normal feature is a computerized surface that can be used to customize any imagery the captain desires. Similar features are available on several of the bulkheads. Thus even fairly ordinary Starships can look cool.
** The ''other'' [[http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Lightning_class_Frontier_Cruiser Lightning Class]], a [[TheBattlestar battlestar]] built around a [[WaveMotionGun spinal-mounted meson accelerator]]. One specific example, the ''Emissary'', which was 'accidentally' sold to a MerchantPrince still armed, and protected his ships from [[SpacePirate Vargr]].
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'', the advanced technology found throughout Numeria comes from the ''Divinity'', a *vast* starship that crashed there thousands of years ago. The largest portion of the wreckage became a dungeon complex known as the Silver Mount. Player characters get to experience the coolness firsthand in the ''Iron Gods'' adventure path.
* One of the possible settings in ''TabletopGame/MaidRPG'' is space. Given the nature of the game, at least one of these will be involved in any game taking place in that setting.
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' the very ''Sun'' itself is a battlestation known as '''Dirigible Engine Daystar''' designed to fight back armies of billions of Raksha and rogue Primordials. The Daystar is detailed in five parts on the Ink Monkeys' Blog ([[http://forums.white-wolf.com/cs/blogs/freelancers/archive/2010/05/19/ink-monkeys-vol-13-the-daystar-part-i.aspx I]], [[http://forums.white-wolf.com/cs/blogs/freelancers/archive/2010/05/22/ink-monkeys-vol-14-the-daystar-part-ii-1.aspx II-1]], [[http://forums.white-wolf.com/cs/blogs/freelancers/archive/2010/05/23/ink-monkeys-vol-15-the-daystar-part-ii-2.aspx II-2]], [[http://forums.white-wolf.com/cs/blogs/freelancers/archive/2010/05/24/ink-monkeys-vol-16-the-daystar-part-ii-3.aspx II-3]], [[http://forums.white-wolf.com/cs/blogs/freelancers/archive/2010/05/31/ink-monkeys-vol-17-the-daystar-part-iii.aspx III]], [[http://forums.white-wolf.com/cs/blogs/freelancers/archive/2010/11/09/ink-monkeys-vol-the-daystar-finale.aspx Final]]).
** In Shards of the Exalted Dreams, a lot of cool spaceship are also discussed, especially in Heaven's Reach (the science fiction version of Exalted, quite appropriately) and Gunstar Autochtonia. The Son of Heaven III, one of the largest warships ever built in the Heaven's Reach universe, certainly deserves a place on this list, being described as a fortress-city flying through space, with skyscrapers-modules decorated with immense frescoes, capable of housing a whole fleet of smaller ship, or of serving as a conference hall for negociations with the Son of Heaven. However, it is dwarfed (both in size and in cool factor) by the titular Gunstar Autochtonia, a world-sized starship crafted out of the body of a living god, modified for millennia by mad geniuses to become the greatest weapon in the galaxy, capable of winning the war against the creators of the universe. The Gunstar is home to billions of humans, dragon-kings, Exalted and rogue gods, and has never been completely explored or maped (it helps that Elsewhere technology allows it to be bigger on the inside), and is defended not only by all the weaponry that the Exalted are able to build, but also by the Gunstar Defense Line Voidfighters, spacefighters who can transform into (what else?) mecha suits.
* The ''TabletopGame/{{Starfire}}'' hex-map-based wargame is ''all about'' combat between fleets of starships. The units varied in size from tiny one-man fighters all the way up to Monitors four times as large as a space battleship, armed with quasi-inertialess ion engines, nuclear missiles, {{antimatter}} missiles, [[EnergyWeapon Energy Weapons]], {{Tractor Beam}}s, DeflectorShields, and a host of other deadly hardware.
* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' subverts this, in the Star League era the SLDF had plenty of cool starships, but the the first two succession wars saw the destruction to most of them. Fortunately the Clans brought many of them in their exodus, and possess some of the most advanced warships in the Inner Sphere. Comstar still possess some of those older ships, and IS Houses are still trying to make new ones.
* The titular rockets of ''TabletopGame/RocketAge'', which come in all manner of sizes and designs. Europan Saucers also count.

* In the long-running comedy [[MilitaryScienceFiction Mil-SF]] ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' the mercenary company "Tagon's Toughs" advances through a series of starships of various sizes, the latter three with AI shipminds that are full characters. They start with the ''Kitesfear'' (small and patched, but with excellent fire coverage), to a used Tausennigan Ob'enn Thunderhead-class superfortress (ridiculously oversized) which dubs itself the ''Post-Dated Check Loan,'' then to one of its troop boats (the ''Serial Peacemaker,''), and most recently acquired the ship of a larger merc company, renaming it the ''Touch and Go.''
** This says nothing compared to some of the UNS Fleet. For example, the UNS Battleplate ''Morokweng'', a ship design originally intended to block asteroid impacts the hard way, and this particular example is implied to be even bigger than previously seen battleplates. Gets into a pissing match with both the ''Touch and Go'' and the ''Athens II'' at the same time, and is carrying enough pee to outpiss both of them and nearly feed the crushed remains into its annie plants.
** ''The Cloak of Untrammeled Dignity'', [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20040620.html here]].
* In ''Webcomic/RoninGalaxy'', Cecil and Giancarlo [[http://www.roningalaxy.com/comic/page-42/ amaze Taylor with their extravagant ship,]] while declining to answer her question about how a couple of scruffy mercs were able to afford it...
* In the comedy SF webcomic ''Webcomic/{{Starslip}}'', the ''Fuseli'' is a star-traveling art museum, a repurposed "luxury battleship" originally named the ''Crimson Fall.'' It still carries its diamond-lined mahogany laser cannon.
* [[http://project-apollo.net/mos/mos233.html This ship]] from ''Webcomic/AMiracleOfScience''. The martians are not allowed to have battleships, so they call it a police cruiser.
* The ''White Knight'' from'' Webcomic/{{Terinu}}'', personal fighter of Rufus Brushtail. Not only does it look cool, it's got the requisite "recovered from a junkyard" background.
* In ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' Torg, Riff, and Zoe are ''very'' excited to [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=081124 get one of these]]. Though Riff ''is'' a bit disappointed it doesn't come with space lasers.

* ''Webcomic/QuentynQuinnSpaceRanger'' has two thus far--- Quinn's own ship, the Thunderbird, and the recently introduced Sapphire Star, a luxury cruise ship with a diameter measured in kilometers.

* The Chainless from ''Webcomic/MushroomGo'' sails on land and is powered by a star.
* ''Webcomic/DriveDaveKellet'' has the Machito after it's upgraded, and La Invencible.

* In ''WebComic/CommanderKitty'' we have the Velvet Knight, the starship of [[TheAce Ace]] and [[SimilarSquad his crew]]. [[http://www.commanderkitty.com/2012/06/03/this-years-model/ The main viewport even looks like a pair of sunglasses]].
* Quite a few in ''Webcomic/AmongTheChosen'', but the ''Sabrosa'' stands out the most.
* The ''Webcomic/{{Galaxion}}'' used to be a yacht of an insanely wealthy eccentric. She may not be the most efficient, but she's definitely got it where it counts. Especially when you want ''style''.
* The Widowpunisher in ''Webcomic/CaptainUfo'' is a "jewel of Gronkian technology"; It's hinted that there may be something else about it, but it hasn't been revealed in the comic, yet.

* ''[[AwesomeMcCoolName Nemesis]]'' in ''Literature/TheLastAngel'' is the first Dreadnaught built by Humanity and its first true warship. Six and a quarter kilometers long, both her primary reactor and [[WaveMotionGun main gun]] harness this universe's form of [[HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace FTL]] to, respectively, provide more power than anyone else in the 'verse can come close to matching and OneHitKill any known warship in existence. Perhaps most importantly, by the time of the main story she has been active for two thousand years and has been run solely by her AI, [[SapientShip Red One]], for almost all of them.
** Triarch's Chariots, the flagships of the Compact of Species, and ''Nemesis'' intended prey, also count. While they lack both AIs and much of ''Nemesis'' advanced weaponry, they make up for it by being much larger and more massive, allowing them to pack even more [[MoreDakka guns and missiles]]. Also, there are [[WeHaveReserves several hundred]] of them, compared to one ''[[SuperPrototype Nemesis]]''.
* ''WebOriginal/OrionsArm'' is chock-full of Cool Starships. Even though none of them are faster-than-light, it doesn't matter since everyone is immortal anyway. Most of the said starships are also {{sapient|Ship}}, and often transparent, and have extremely propulsion technology - monopole-based "conversion" drive, which can render antimatter engines obsolete, is a commonplace standard-issue drive system, and the greater [=AI=] powers use various forms of ReactionlessDrive. The pinnacle of all are the Voidships, created and used only by the greatest architects, which leave normal space altogether and exist within Alcubierre-esque void bubbles, and can only be detected as very fast-moving gravimetric distortions.
* ''WebVideo/StarTrekPhoenix'' has the new Ascension class [[http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs42/f/2009/122/4/3/USS_Phoenix_in_low_orbit_by_MarkKingsnorth.jpg USS Phoenix]]
* ''TabletopGame/TechInfantry'' has several. The ''EFS Stornoway'' is a fleet destroyer with an experimental graviton cannon. The freighter ''Resolve'' is a rusty bucket of junk with as much personality as the ''[[Franchise/StarWars Millennium Falcon]]''. And then there are the Star Control Ships, massive warships several miles long, and the Vin Shriak Worldships, hollowed-out asteroids refitted as warships several ''hundred'' miles long. [[HordeOfAlienLocusts The Bugs]] create starships partly by gluing together the dead bodies of their own workers and soldiers with ''saliva''.

* The setting of [[http://www.countryshipyoors.wordpress.com The Countryship Yoors]] qualifies for this. As the same suggests, it's a ship. The size of a country. Of course, which country is never specified...

* ''Comicron 1'' from ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall''. It's a massive ship with warp drive, a specialized fighter craft and a powerful main gun. However, Linkara only uses the ship when he does a series of ''Star Trek'' comics. The 2021 version of the theme song {{lampshade}}s this in the lyrics, claiming "He has a spaceship/but he's always on his couch."
* The ''USS Exit Strategy'' from ''WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee''. Not only can it reach Jupiter in just a few days[[note]][[BeyondTheImpossible and have wireless internet the entire way!]][[/note]], but it's converted from The Nostalgia Critic's house. Indeed, General Zodd was so impressed, he ordered Turrell to convert their ship into a house.

* Literature/WhateleyUniverse: Tennyo's ship in "Tennyo's Easter", which is fast even for a [=FTL=] craft, has a [=AI=] which may be smarter than Tennyo, and maybe older than our solar system.
* On ''Roleplay/CerberusDailyNews'' a [[http://www.cerberusdailynews.com/valiant/forum/board/thread/?t=484 thread]] in the OOC section is all about making even more ships up to us in [=RPs=].

* ''Blog/HowToHero'' discusses these frequently. In their entry on alien invasions, there's an entire paragraph discussing how to work the invasion to your advantage so you can secure one of these. The entry on space battles also talks about them and introduces Dirty Denny's Starship Dealership.
* ''LetsPlay/{{Mahu}}'': In "Second Chance", as the Galactic Commonwealth grows, so too does its fleet. Not only does the nation's superior technology allow for new designs, but they also discover and bring back online several long-dead alien ships. The largest of these has enough power to destroy a small fleet all on its own.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' has the ''Ghost''. It's a Corellian freighter with a unique design that has a signal masker allowing it to evade the sensors of Imperial Star Destroyers. It also has a smaller ship attached called the ''Phantom'', which became cooler after getting its own hyperdrive in season 2. [[spoiler:After the ''Phantom''[='s=] destruction in [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsStepsIntoShadow "Steps Into Shadow"]], it was eventually replaced with an old Separatist shuttle dubbed the ''Phantom II''.]]
%%* All three GPSS Absolutions from Creator/{{Toonami}}

** ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' the Autobots had a junky old decommissioned warship serving as their mode of transportation. While not ''that'' cool, what made it cool was in the last episodes of season 2...[[spoiler:where it turns out the big but creaky old ship is in fact a single Transformer, [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Omega Supreme]]]]. There's also Lockdown's ship that has the ability to become invisible.

* There is so far nothing in existence that can be called a "starship", i.e, a space-equivalent of an oceangoing vessel, which could be loosely defined as a reusable space vehicle [[note]]Oceangoing ships are reusable - they can be resupplied, and make the same trip several times, or travel to different destinations. A one-shot exploratory craft could be more accurately described as a probe, than a ship.[[/note]] capable of practically traversing interplanetary or at least cislunar distances [[note]]I.e, they're not limited to the harbor of Earth orbit.[[/note]], and not necessarily aerodynamic in any sense or designed to land anywhere[[note]]I.e, the vehicle stays in space, although it can deploy landers or shuttles to planetary/lunar surfaces - similar to ocean vessels, which never intentionally come ashore, but can carry small boats or hovercraft which do.[[/note]]. And a true starship -- a spaceship which can practically traverse the huge distances between stars -- is much farther off. The International Space Station was built in space and stays in space, but it doesn't go anywhere, and even the Apollo command modules were one-shot non-reusable deals. So technically, this trope is not yet TruthInTelevision. That doesn't stop the following quasi-examples - unmanned probes, surface-to-orbit launch craft, and realistic proposed spaceships which could be (but have not yet been) built - from being cool.

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Space_1 Deep Space 1]] was only an unmanned space probe, but it was propelled by an ion engine, several times more efficient than a normal (chemical) rocket. ''Dawn'' and ''Hayabusa'' are also propelled by ion engines - the latter being the first spacecraft to collect samples form an asteroid and bring them back to Earth, and the former being the first double-orbiter probe - orbited the asteroid Vesta from [[TheNewTens 2011]] to late 2012, then left under power once it was done collecting data and flew to the dwarf planet Ceres that began to orbit in 2015 -. Ion engines accelerate much much more slowly than rockets[[note]]at max. throttle, Deep Space 1's engine produced a third of an ''ounce'' of thrust[[/note]] so they can't be used as launch engines, but once in space, their ability to fire for a very, very long time means that they eventually hit velocities far greater than what a rocket with the same amount of propellant could manage.

* The ''Galileo'' probe to {{UsefulNotes/Jupiter}} deserves to be listed here because of its TroubledProduction. The ship was designed to be launched from the Space Shuttle, but the Challenger explosion delayed until 1989 that. Once en route to Jupiter, its main, umbrella-like, antenna did not fully deploy despite the efforts of mission' engineers to do that[[note]]It's thought the lubricant evaporated after years of having the probe stored[[/note]], thus transmitting data to Earth at a lower rate than expected. Once in Jupiter, there were troubles with the onboard data recorder[[note]]Forcing to leave unused a part of the tape's recorder -less scientific data to be recorded-[[/note]] and, of course, Jupiter's strong radiation belts played havoc with the spacecraft's systems. Despite that the mission was a great success, ''Galileo'' launching an atmospheric probe to study the Jovian atmosphere, being sturdier than what their engineers thought, and making a lot of discoveries on Jupiter and its moons before being sent to burn on Jupiter's atmosphere in [[TurnOfTheMillennium 2003]] (and, why not, she was one of the coolest space probes ever launched by NASA.)
* The ''Cassini'' mission to {{UsefulNotes/Saturn}}, that was also one of the heaviest[[note]]Only the ill-fated Soviet [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phobos_Program Phobos program]] probes were heavier[[/note]] and most complex spacecraft ever launched -extra coolness points because she carried a lander (''Huygens'') that landed on Saturn's moon Titan in January 2005-. Like ''Galileo'' above it had a TroubledProduction but mostly on Earth being victim of budgetary cuts[[note]]That forced a heavy redesign of her[[/note]], being about to be cancelled a number of times due to cost overruns and other problems[[note]]The UsefulNotes/{{NASA}} administrator at the time even nicknamed it derisively "Battlestar Galactica", and only European pressure as the ''Huygens'' probe was [[UsefulNotes/{{ESA}} European]], averted that[[/note]], and when it was about to be launched in 1997 protests of anti-nuclear groups due to the plutonium carried by her [=RTGs=] almost derail that. However the mission is considered to have been succesful beyond expectation, ''Cassini'' having orbited the ringed planet making a lot of discoveries on it, its rings, and its moons from 2004 to [[TheNewTens 2017]] when it was also deorbited into Saturn's atmosphere.

* And apart from the above craft, which exist, there are plans for spaceships we ''could build'' in the near future if we had a reason to - they'd be awfully expensive, probably built in orbit like the $157 billion International Space Station, but unlike the station, they would need to have engines, large amounts of propellant, much stronger shielding and cooling, and a greater stock of supplies for manned missions, if the journey is years long and two-way with no resupply from Earth. And would thus be proportionally more expensive. Notably, chemical rockets of the sort used for launching into orbit would be woefully inadequate for taking manned missions or heavy robotic payloads to other planets, given their terrible fuel efficiency. Any true spaceship would need a far more powerful propulsion system. A few such designs existing today include:
** Project [[OrionDrive Orion]][=/=]Nuclear Pulse Propulsion - a spaceship powered by ''[[DeusExNukina frickin' nuclear bombs]]'', which works by dropping a nuke behind it, detonating it and riding the explosion using a massive inertial plate at the back of the ship. With thousands of thermonuclear shaped charges, such a ship could conceivably reach a small fraction of the speed of light, making it useful for trips to Mars or the outer solar system, or very slow interstellar travel. Such a ship ''could'' feasibly launch from Earth directly, but with... unfortunate and rather obvious side effects. Orion, despite its inelegance, is the most powerful propulsion system presently in existence, and the closest thing we have, at the moment, to a fusion drive. BUT... it can't be built due to international treaties banning the use of nuclear weapons in space, not to mention the fear that terrorists might get their hands on some of the bombs or the technology used to manufacture them. Fictional implementations often switch it from nuclear bombs to pellets of fusion fuel mix with the detonation arising from laser-based inertial-confinement fusion.
** [=NERVA=] / Nuclear Thermal Propulsion - a spaceship powered by nuclear thermal engines, which use a fission reactor to heat up and energize a propellant before spitting it out the back at high velocity. There are several versions of the design using solid, liquid and gaseous reactor cores and various different choices of propellant. The reactor would also generate power for the ship when not being used to fire the engines.
** [=VASIMR=] / Electric Propulsion - a spaceship driven by [=VAriable=] Specific-Impulse Magnetoplasma Rockets, a type of electromagnetic plasma engine which heats propellant and ionizes it before accelerating it out through magnetic fields to generate thrust. This, of course, requires a source of electric power, which can be solar for inner system missions but would probably require nuclear reactors for outer system or manned missions. An alternative to the [=VASIMR=] would be the Magnetoplasmadynamic Thruster ([=MPDT=]), which uses different methods - combined electric and magnetic fields - to achieve similar effects. A prototype [=VASIMR=] module is slated to be installed on the International Space Station soon, used for station keeping (maintaining orbital altitude) and for testing the properties of plasma propulsion in an actual space environment.

* One overall proposal for a true deep space ship is the [=NAUTILUS-X=] - a large reusable vessel for human exploration of the Moon, near-Earth asteroids, and interplanetary space. Designed around modular units, with an integrated centrifuge for creating artificial gravity, to be assembled in Earth orbit like a space station. The proposal is designed to use solar power, and be driven by some manner of ion or plasma propulsion. The Long-Duration variant of the design can theoretically support a crew of six for a two-year mission. (The obvious destination for such a mission? UsefulNotes/{{Mars}}.)

** Played straight in one episode with the USS ''[[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/2/26/USS_Vancouver.png/revision/latest?cb=20200903103828&path-prefix=en Vancouver]]'', which the main characters freely acknowledged was way cooler than them.
** Played ''gloriously'' straight with the USS ''[[https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ5VSHnLnq1zuG9vW3hq0gEunlTuvCXwtFPZA&usqp=CAU Titan]]'', a {{Beam Spam}}ming LightningBruiser that specializes in {{Gunship Rescue}}s and can wipe the floor with three much larger enemy ships.

* Benny's SPACESHIP! SPACESHIP! SPACESHIP! in WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie.

* There is so far nothing in existence that can be called a "starship", i.e, a space-equivalent of an oceangoing vessel, which could be loosely defined as a reusable space vehicle [[note]]Oceangoing ships are reusable - they can be resupplied, and make the same trip several times, or travel to different destinations. A one-shot exploratory craft could be more accurately described as a probe, than a ship.[[/note]] capable of practically traversing interplanetary or at least cislunar distances [[note]]I.e, they're not limited to the harbor of Earth orbit.[[/note]], and not necessarily aerodynamic in any sense or designed to land anywhere[[note]]I.e, the vehicle stays in space, although it can deploy landers or shuttles to planetary/lunar surfaces - similar to ocean vessels, which never intentionally come ashore, but can carry small boats or hovercraft which do.[[/note]]. And a true starship - a spaceship which can practically traverse the huge distances between stars - is much farther off. The International Space Station was built and space and stays in space, but it doesn't go anywhere, and even the Apollo command modules were one-shot non-reusable deals. So technically, this trope is not yet TruthInTelevision. That doesn't stop the following quasi-examples - unmanned probes, surface-to-orbit launch craft, and realistic proposed spaceships which could be (but have not yet been) built - from being cool.

* [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Energia_buran.jpg How about the shuttle and its accompanying tank/booster combo that the Soviets built?]]