In 1974, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum acquired the 11-foot model of the USS Enterprise, the one used in all 79 episodes of the original series. Since then, it's undergone three restorations, the last in 1991. But now, on the 50th anniversary of the official start of the show, the museum has begun a final one.

The Enterprise will become part of the Smithsonian's "Boeing Milestones of Flight" exhibit, and will be placed in a climate controlled case that will preserve it. The restoration aims to bring the model as close as possible to how it appeared in the series, including designer Matt Jefferies' visible pencil lines. Some things will be replaced, like old electronics that could pose a fire hazard. But otherwise, this is about touching up and refinishing one of the most iconic sci-fi ships of all time.

"The lesson I learn about it over and over as the curator is how beloved [the Enterprise] is," says Margaret Weitekamp, a curator at the museum and lead on the restoration project.

"People come to see it, and in many ways, I think the best explanation of the piece is that this is a 1960s television star," says Weitekamp. "People come in, and this is the TV celebrity that created the images that they remember from their childhood. People tend to react the way they react when they encounter a live celebrity. Either they have this wonderful transcendent moment where they met the real person, or alternately they meet the real person and think 'My goodness they got old. They don't look at all like I remember from TV.'"

Popular Mechanics was able to go behind the ropes at the open house and get an up close and personal look at the Enterprise, with conservator Ariel O'Connor to guide us through the work that's already been done, as well as the work that's ahead.