The Enterprise D's Saucer
The Miranda-class the classic saucer only starship
The saucer section
is a common feature of Federation starships
. It is a large, disc-shaped section of the ship that usually houses the ship's bridge and crew quarters, separating them from the ship's engineering areas, which are usually housed in a cylindrical hull component
The saucer section of a Galaxy-class starship is often described as the primary hull (with the engineering section referred to as the "secondary hull"). In this class, the saucer can separate from the engineering section and operate independently, albeit with much less power, since it doesn't have its own warp core.
Not all Federation ships have an engineering section. Some ship designs, including the Miranda and the Nebula classes, consist of a saucer section with warp nacelles directly attached.