Memory Alpha
Don't have an account?
Register
Advertisement
Register
Memory Alpha
Memory Alpha
59,428
pages
in: Cartography, Transporter technology
English

Coordinates

Sign in to edit
Constitution helm console with viewer

Destination coordinates were laid in at the helm console

Regula I transport console

Transporter coordinates on the transporter console

Spatial grid with coordinates

Coordinates on a spatial grid

Coordinates, also known as galactic coordinates or spatial coordinates, were a set of two, three, or four numbers used to indicate the location of a star, a planet, an asteroid field, or any other object or position in space. When setting a heading for a starship, the course was laid in to the destination coordinates at the helm console. (ENT: "Stratagem"; VOY: "Unity"; Star Trek Into Darkness)

A set of coordinates was also used to indicate a specific location on a planet or a planetoid. Surface or underground coordinates were used as transporter coordinates when beaming up from or down to a planet with the transporter. A set from one to three numbers was used to determine a location. These coordinates could be automatically obtained by locking onto a communicator signal or by tying into the ship's sensors. They could also be manually input into the transporter console. (TOS: "A Piece of the Action", "Day of the Dove", "The Mark of Gideon") These coordinates were labeled as vector coordinates in the lambda, psi and phi axis on the transporter console. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)

Following the crash of Shuttlepod 1 beneath the surface of Terra Nova, Captain Archer asked T'Pol to give him the coordinates the shuttlepod came to a stop. (ENT: "Terra Nova")

In June 2151, Captain Jonathan Archer informed helmsman Travis Mayweather about a course correction and told him that Sub-commander T'Pol would give him the coordinates. (ENT: "The Andorian Incident")

When Malcolm Reed's assault team was ready to be beamed to the Vulcan monastery at P'Jem, he asked Hoshi Sato if she had the coordinates set. (ENT: "The Andorian Incident")

Examples of galactic/spatial coordinates[]

Constellation class tactical station

Maxia Zeta system at coordinates 16453/452.45

  • 003-1040808, 1230 003-111309.3 (Grid 07 Quad 09 block 3 sector 1): The location of the planet Xahea (DIS: "Such Sweet Sorrow")
  • 21 alpha prime/936 zeta: The spatial coordinates of the USS Voyager in the Delta Quadrant in 2372 on stardate 49123.5621. (VOY: "Relativity")

The episode implies but not outright states these transporter coordinates to correspond to Xahea, as Tilly inserts them after deciding to send Me Hani Ika Hali Ka Po home. However, the ship is not shown to be at that planet, which would be necessary for the transporter to bridge that distance (without transwarp beaming). The issue is further complicated in that Tilly appeared to be working alone, precluding the possibility that Po was transported to a nearby transport.

  • 140-mark-317: A location of space in the Delta Quadrant. A Kazon buoy dropped at these coordinates was used by Seska to relay a communication to the USS Voyager in 2372. (VOY: "Basics, Part I")
  • 158-mark-13: Coordinates of a gas giant used by the Suliban to hide a helix in 2151. More specifically these were coordinates near the helix inside the atmosphere of the gas giant. (ENT: "Broken Bow")
  • 206.80/102.8/128.59: The location of a Vidiian ship in the Delta Quadrant in 2371 that was contacted by Kes. (VOY: "Fury")
  • 227-mark-359: Coordinates of the planet Iconia, inside the Romulan Neutral Zone. (TNG: "Contagion")
  • 237.101: A location of space near the planet Vagra II. After experiencing an on board systems failure, the drifting shuttlecraft 13 of the USS Enterprise-D was caught in the planet's gravity at these coordinates and crash landed in 2364. (TNG: "Skin Of Evil")
  • 314-mark-21: Coordinates of a small Kazon raider in the Delta Quadrant moments before it attacked the USS Voyager in 2372. (VOY: "Basics, Part I")
  • 370.236: A location of space in the Zed Lapis sector. Shuttlecraft 13 experienced an on board systems failure at these coordinates in 2364. (TNG: "Skin Of Evil")

These numbers were seen both without context on a graphic depicting the planet in its system, and later as transporter coordinates given by Saru to beam down.

Examples of surface/underground coordinates[]

Gravett Island, map

Gravett Island at coordinates 18/136/128

Appendices[]

See also[]

Background information[]

According to Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, (p. 36) spatial coordinates are used to establish a standard galactic X, Y, and Z position.

According to Star Trek Maps, the XYZ spatial coordinates 0,0,0 used by the Federation are those of a central navigation beacon located near the core worlds of the Federation. The galactic XYZ values are in a grid in relation to this central beacon. Units in the grid are parsecs. The first value, X, is the distance towards (positive) or away from (negative) the center of the galaxy. The second value, Y, is the distance towards the left "Alpha Quadrant" direction (positive) or the right "Beta Quadrant" direction (negative). The third value, Z, is the distance in the galactic north direction upwards (positive) or galactic south downwards (negative) away from the galactic plane. Based on the various canon references, the system of coordinates used in Star Trek appears to be more complex than this.

Deutsch
Community content is available under the CC-BY-NC license unless otherwise noted. See <a href="/wiki/Memory_Alpha:Copyrights" title="Memory Alpha:Copyrights">Memory Alpha's copyright information</a> for full details.
More Fandoms
Advertisement

Fan Feed

More Memory Alpha