Trivia: Actress Lee Meriwether says she was teased daily by a playful DeForest Kelley while shooting "That Which Survives." He continually pulled down the glued-on cloth rectangle that NBC insisted should conceal her navel, then squinted at her tummy and asked, "What time is it?" On the final day of filming, she got back at him. When Kelley peeled off the cloth, he broke up laughing before he could ask the question. Meriwether had glued a small, ticking clock over her navel - set to the correct time, of course.
Trivia: Usually, when you see James Doohan's right hand, he has it closed to hide his missing middle finger (a wartime injury). When he is checking over the panels in Engineering, you see him holding a micro tape. If viewed closely, his hand is open, and you see he is missing his middle finger.
Trivia: In the 1960s, showing the female navel was forbidden by NBC's censors. This was why Losira's costume had that weird square patch sticking up from the otherwise low-cut hip-hugger pants. (Oddly, no such restriction applied to male costumes.) By 1969, the network had abandoned the rule, and "The Cloud Minders" became the only Trek episode with costumes shamelessly exposing women's navels.
Chosen answer: If they're in orbit, they're being pulled along by the planet's gravity well, therefore, impulse engines would only be used for minor corrections and would be "on standby" while in orbit, but not active. (Like keeping your car idling without revving the engine and creating plumes of exhaust).
Captain Defenestrator
Thank you for the info.
Movie Nut