Starfleet was the deep space exploratory and defense service maintained by the United Federation of Planets. Its principal functions included the advancement of Federation knowledge about the galaxy and its inhabitants, and knowledge of all areas of study, both scientific and non-scientific. Starfleet's ancillary duties included the defense of the Federation and the facilitation of Federation diplomacy.
Starfleet personnel were frequently brought into contact with cultures and sentient species whose existences were unknown to the Federation. Starfleet officers therefore acted as official representatives of the Federation in these cases. Starfleet vessels were also frequently used to ferry ambassadors on diplomatic missions. (TNG: "The Last Outpost", "Conspiracy"; VOY: "Innocence", "The Void"; TOS: "Journey to Babel"; Star Trek)
History[]
United Earth[]
United Earth Starfleet Flag (22nd century)
Starfleet was established by the original Starfleet Charter in or around the 2130s as an Earth-based space exploration organization. (ENT: "Vox Sola", "Horizon", "Twilight") The highest authority within Starfleet was Starfleet Command, located at Starfleet Headquarters in the city of San Francisco, Earth. (ENT: "Broken Bow", "Terra Prime", "Shockwave", "Shockwave, Part II") Starfleet Command had authority to administer projects and missions, issue orders to Starfleet officers and vessels, restrict access to certain facilities, and approve security protocols. Certain flag officers, such as Maxwell Forrest, reported directly to Starfleet Command. (ENT: "Singularity", "The Catwalk", "First Flight", "Cold Station 12")
Starfleet Command/UESPA logo
In as little as a decade after its original founding, Starfleet had expanded considerably, dividing itself into three major branches commonly known as Command, Engineering-Security, and Science-Medical. In the 2140s, Starfleet adopted a uniform color scheme of gold, red, and blue which would remain relatively unchanged until the 2270s (ENT: "Broken Bow"; Star Trek: The Motion Picture). By the same time, Starfleet had formed several major offices such as Starfleet Command, Starfleet Medical, and Starfleet Engineering. (ENT: "First Flight")
The Starfleet Training Command was founded in the early 2140s to standardize the training of Starfleet personnel as well as screen and train candidates for commissioning as Starfleet officers. What few spaceships Starfleet had in the 2140s and 50s answered directly to Starfleet Operations. By the 2150s, Starfleet had also formed its own information-gathering service, known as Starfleet Intelligence. (ENT: "Observer Effect", "Demons", "Cold Front")
One of Starfleet's earliest major projects was the NX Project (an offshoot from the Warp Five program), which aimed to develop a viable and fast interstellar engine that would allow Earth ships to cross vast distances in a reasonably short amount of time. Despite some allegations of Vulcan interference (or simply lack of assistance), Earth was eventually able to perfect the warp five engine, with Enterprise NX-01, the first Starfleet vessel to carry the engine, launched in 2151. Under the command of Captain Jonathan Archer, Enterprise played a large part in the establishment of Earth as an interstellar power, negotiating treaties between the Vulcans and Andorians in 2152; saving the galaxy from the Sphere-Builders and the Xindi in 2154; uncovering the lost teachings of Surak on Vulcan and preventing a Vulcan invasion of Andoria later in 2154; helping to instigate a cultural and political coup d'état against Administrator V'Las, the dictatorial Vulcan head of state; and facilitating peace talks between the Andorians and Tellarites following a series of attacks on both races in late 2154. Throughout its tenure, Enterprise made first contact with over thirty species. (ENT: "Broken Bow", "Cease Fire", "Zero Hour", "The Forge", "Awakening", et al.)
Following the Xindi incident, Earth experienced a brief period of xenophobia, during which not all Humans supported Starfleet's objectives and policies. In one incident encountered by the crew of Enterprise, they were informed by one Human civilian that "You Starfleet people are the real problem. You fly all around space telling every species you meet where to find Earth. Did it ever occur to you that might not be the smartest thing to do?" (ENT: "Home")
Some Starfleet personnel worked in conjunction with the United Earth Diplomatic Corps. (ENT: "The Forge")
For a time, beginning in 2153, some Starfleet vessels began carrying detachments of MACOs, an Earth military service. This practice was a reaction to the devastating Xindi attack on Earth and the dangers encountered during the resulting mission into the Delphic Expanse. The decision to carry these units was left up to individual starship captains and was not a formal policy of Starfleet Command at the time. In 2154, Jonathan Archer advised the captain of Columbia NX-02, Hernandez, to ask for a squad of MACOs. Enterprise had MACO units assigned to its mission as late as 2161. (ENT: "The Expanse", "Home", "These Are the Voyages...")
Article 14, Section 31, of the original Starfleet Charter made allowances for certain rules to be bent during times of extraordinary threat. This clause was the seed for the rogue organization known as Section 31. (ENT: "Affliction", "Divergence"; DS9: "Inquisition")
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Federation[]
2250s logo
2370s logo
2390s logo
With the formation of the United Federation of Planets in 2161, Starfleet, MACO, and the deep space and defensive services of the other member worlds were folded together under the authority of the Federation. (DS9: "Inquisition"; ENT: "Detained", "Divergence"; Star Trek Beyond) That same year, Starfleet was given a charter "to boldly go where no man has gone before." (ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II", computer readout)
Until as late as the 2290s, some Starfleet operations fell at least partly under the jurisdiction of UESPA. By the mid-24th century, however, Starfleet operations were regulated solely by Starfleet Command, answering to the Federation President and the Federation Council. (TOS: "Charlie X", "Tomorrow is Yesterday"; Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home; et al.)
By 2384, Starfleet was stretched extremely thin by the Romulan evacuation, the damaged fleets from the living construct attack, and A500 androids barely keeping member worlds going. (PRO: "Ascension, Part I")
Starfleet was infiltrated by members of a Romulan secret cabal within the Tal Shiar known as the Zhat Vash. Under the command of Commodore Oh, the Attack on Mars took place in 2385, which led to the total ban on synths and all forms of artificial life enacted by the Federation Council. (PIC: "Maps and Legends", "The End is the Beginning") In addition, Starfleet pulled out of the Romulan evacuation and ceased all exploration in favor of planetary defense. Starfleet Academy was also closed for the foreseeable future, (PRO: "Ouroboros, Part II") although it would eventually reopen by 2401. (PIC: "The Star Gazer")
Five years later, Oh issued a black flag directive to Captain Alonzo Vandermeer of the USS Ibn Majid, which led to the deaths of the Coppelius androids Beautiful Flower and Jana. The ban on synthetics was eventually repealed after the truth about the attack was revealed. (PIC: "Maps and Legends", "The End is the Beginning", "Broken Pieces", "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2")
Following The Burn, the United Federation of Planets was reduced to 38 member worlds by 3189, from a maximum of 350 member worlds, but several Starfleet vessels and facilities were still in use. One such installation was a Federation relay station, administered for forty years by a non-commissioned Federation Liaison officer named Aditya Sahil. Sahil eventually encountered Michael Burnham and was commissioned as acting communications chief to aid Burnham's search for the USS Discovery and the remnants of the Federation. (DIS: "That Hope Is You, Part 1")
After the revelation of the truth behind the Burn, member worlds started rejoining the Federation, including Trill, (DIS: "That Hope Is You, Part 2") Ni'Var, (DIS: "All Is Possible") and Earth with Starfleet's defense of Earth when it was threatened by the Dark Matter Anomaly playing a role in the planet's decision to return. (DIS: "Coming Home") Starfleet Academy was reopened for the first time since the Burn and the Federation began experimenting with a new pathway drive which eventually started replacing warp drive on Starfleet ships. (DIS: "Kobayashi Maru", "Red Directive", "Lagrange Point", "Life, Itself")
By the 33rd century, Starfleet had rebuilt itself completely and was thriving once more. (DIS: "Life, Itself")
Representative species[]
Many Starfleet members of various specie
Starfleet has historically been a multiracial organization, integrating personnel from diverse species and cultures. This approach was a foundational principle even before Starfleet's incorporation into the United Federation of Planets. (ENT: "Broken Bow" et al.; PIC: "Võx")
While originally operating under the authority of United Earth, and later the Federation, Starfleet service was never limited to Humans or Federation citizens. Individuals from non-member worlds could enlist, though their admission typically required a recommendation from a command-level Starfleet officer. (DS9: "Heart of Stone"; ST: "The Brightest Star"; DIS: "The Sound of Thunder", "An Obol for Charon")
Throughout its history, Starfleet has even included individuals from former adversaries among its ranks, including Klingons, Romulans, or liberated Borg drones. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior"; TNG: "The Drumhead"; PIC: "Stardust City Rag")
- See also: List of Starfleet species
Organization[]
Overview of command structure
The president of the United Federation of Planets was the supreme authority of all Federation forces, including Starfleet. (DS9: "Homefront", "Paradise Lost", "Extreme Measures", Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)
In addition, the Federation Council, the Federation's legislature, had much sway over Starfleet's budget and operations. (TNG: "Force of Nature", "The Defector")
Commander in chief[]
The commander in chief (abbreviated C-in-C or CNC) was the head and senior-most officer of Starfleet. The CNC was responsible for directing the organization's day-to-day operations, overseeing Starfleet Command, and granting commissions to officers. The commander in chief directly reported to the Federation president. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)
| Portrait | Commander in Chief | Tenure | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fleet Admiral Gene Roddenberry |
ca. 2240s–ca. 2293 | DIS: "The Vulcan Hello" | |
 |
Fleet Admiral Bill |
2293 | Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country |
 |
Fleet Admiral Taela Shanthi |
2368 | TNG: (citation needed • edit) |
 |
President Jaresh-Inyo |
2370 | DS9: "Paradise Lost" |
 |
Fleet Admiral Kirsten Clancy |
2399 | PIC: "Maps and Legends" |
 |
Fleet Admiral Charles Vance |
3189 | DIS: "Die Trying" |
Starfleet Command[]
The Starfleet Command was the senior leadership of Starfleet. Starfleet Command assigned missions to officers and supervised the sector commands as well as other constituent services of Starfleet such as Starfleet Academy. Noticeable positions included the Commander, Starfleet, the commanding officer of Starfleet Command (such as Robert L. Comsol), the chief of staff and the chief of Starfleet Operations. (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock; TOS: "The Menagerie, Part I"; Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home; Star Trek V: The Final Frontier)
Sector commands[]
The sector commands oversaw Starfleet operations within sectors of Federation space. There were at least 23 sector commands. Sector commanders reported to Starfleet Command, and commanding officers of service vessels operating within these sectors reported to them. Starbases and outposts located in the sector likewise fell under the purview of the sector command. (TNG: "Power Play", "The Measure Of A Man", DS9: "Whispers")
Operational forces[]
The operational forces were the main component of Starfleet. They primarily consisted of exploratory and military spacecraft. The starships of Starfleet comprised enlisted personnel, charged with executing orders, and commissioned officers, charged with issuing orders (although enlisted officers in supervisory positions and commissioned officers in non-supervisory positions also existed). Flag officers usually did not command individual starships. Starfleet vessels were led by a commanding officer (CO) or a first officer (XO) if the CO was unavailable.
While Starfleet often operated ships individually on solo missions, ships were also organized into larger fleets, most often during times of war. Fleets usually consisted of several hundred ships and were typically commanded by a vice admiral, although it appears to have been standard form to refer to a vice admiral in command of a fleet as a "fleet admiral", regardless of their actual rank. (TNG: "Redemption II", "Chain Of Command, Part I")
Sub-units within fleets, such as attack wings, were often commanded by an admiral or a senior captain. Captain Bennet was one such junior officer to command a tactical wing, commanding the Seventh Tactical Wing after being promoted to the position by Admiral William Ross. It was standard practice for a tactical wing commander to be assigned an adjutant. (DS9: "Behind the Lines", "Favor the Bold")
Starfleet Academy[]
Starfleet Academy seal
Starfleet Academy was an institution maintained for the training of its officers. Prospective officers received extensive training at this facility for four years, some serving aboard starships near the end of their education. Undergraduates attending the facility were called cadets and were also known as midshipmen for a time in the 23rd century. Successful graduates were commissioned as Federation Starfleet officers. (TOS: "Court Martial"; TNG: "Tapestry"; DIS: "Will You Take My Hand?"; SNW: "Strange New Worlds")
Branches and agencies[]
There were a number of branches and agencies that made up the organizational substructure of Starfleet Command in the administration of the service.
- Judge Advocate General
- Office of the Inspector General
- Spaceframe Development
- Starfleet Administration
- Starfleet Advanced Technologies
- Starfleet Bureau of Information
- Starfleet Cartography
- Starfleet Corps of Engineers
- Starfleet Diplomatic Corps
- Exploratory Division
- Starfleet Intelligence
- Starfleet Materiel Supply Command
- Starfleet Medical
- Starfleet Mission Operations
- Starfleet Operational Support Services
- Starfleet Operations
- Starfleet Orbital Operations
- Starfleet Research
- Starfleet Shipyards Operations
- Starfleet Science
- Starfleet Security
- Stellar Imaging Division
- Starfleet Tactical
Personnel[]
Starfleet personnel were organized, using a naval-derived rank structure, into a chain of command. (TNG: "A Matter Of Honor", etc.) Personnel were in either of two groups: enlisted personnel and officers. (TNG: "Family", etc)
Some personnel formally committed to the service by taking the Starfleet oath.
Officers[]
In the 22nd century, Starfleet was a civilian organization acting as a successor to various Earth-based space agencies such as NASA, the International Space Agency, and others. Its primary function was scientific development and exploration of space.
Starfleet officers functioned as commanders and directors of the service's operations at all levels. The most senior officers ranks were known as flag officer ranks. Officers holding these ranks functioned at the highest levels of command in the service. Flag officer ranks, in descending order of the chain of command, were as follows:
Sector commanders, the superintendent of Starfleet Academy, the Commander of Starfleet, the Starfleet chief of staff and chief of Starfleet Operations, and the commander in chief, were all flag officers. (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock; Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home; Star Trek V: The Final Frontier; TNG: "Ménage à Troi", "The First Duty")
Below flag officer ranks were other officer ranks. Officers holding these ranks usually served in field command positions, such as commanding officers and senior staff on the service's vessels. These ranks, in descending order of the chain of command, were as follows:
Graduates of Starfleet Academy were commissioned to the rank of ensign, the most junior officer rank, and were promoted to higher ranks throughout their time in the service. Physicians who graduated from Starfleet Medical Academy in the 24th century were commissioned to the rank of lieutenant junior grade. (DS9: "Emissary", etc.)
Enlisted personnel[]
These personnel functioned under the command of the officers, usually serving aboard Starfleet vessels or other facilities. Instead of officers' training, enlisted personnel received basic training for whatever position they served in. (VOY: "Good Shepherd", et al.) A known school for training enlisted personnel was the Starfleet Technical Services Academy on Mars. (LD: "Reflections") The most junior enlisted rank was that of crewman. The service's enlisted rank structure, in descending order of the chain of command, was as follows:
- Master chief petty officer
- Senior chief petty officer
- Chief petty officer
- Petty officer
- 1st class
- 2nd class
- 3rd class
- Crewman
The enlisted ranks above that of crewmen were not commissioned officer ranks. To distinguish them from commissioned officer ranks, the term 'non-commissioned officer' was used. It was also common to refer to any enlisted Starfleet member in the generic title of "Crewman", while also substituting the terms "Specialist" and "Technician" when mentioning the said crewman in a log entry. (TOS: "Space Seed")
All enlisted personnel were subordinate to commissioned officers in the chain of command, however, senior enlisted personnel were occasionally assigned junior officers as specialists and technicians. (TNG: "Clues")
It was also possible for an enlisted Starfleet member to be appointed as a department head, in which case they were designated the same authority as a fully commissioned officer, including staffs of both officers and enlisted under their command. (TNG: "The Wounded", "Redemption II", DS9: "Emissary", "The Ship")
In addition to their actual ranks, Starfleet enlisted personnel also held titles known as "rates" which were used to describe an occupational specialty. Some rates in use during the 23rd century were the rates of Yeoman and Engineer's mate. It was also possible for an enlisted crewman to hold a grade or class, such as John B. Watkins, who was an Engineer, Grade 4, as well as Tina Lawton, who was a Yeoman, 3rd Class. The use of rates continued into the 24th century, with Tal Celes holding the rating of Sensor analyst, Grade 3 while serving onboard the USS Voyager. (TOS: "Charlie X", "A Taste of Armageddon", "That Which Survives", VOY: "Good Shepherd")
Career Progression[]
Career advancement within Starfleet was very much up to the individual Starfleet member, based on their own personal motivations, career plans, and future goals. Although there were certain promotions and assignments, such as that of starship commander, which were considered highly prestigious and competitive, in most cases a Starfleet member advanced through their career by requesting certain assignments in their particular field of interest. In the case of starship duty, a Starfleet member would "sign on" to a particular starship, with some ships having long waiting lists for those wishing to serve. (TOS: "Space Seed", TNG: "Ensign Ro")
Starfleet members who committed serious errors or infractions while on duty could be reprimanded, and oftentimes this would prevent advancement into higher postings or promotion to senior ranks. Such was the case of Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Finney, who was sent to the bottom of the promotion list after leaving a circuit open to an atomic matter pile. (TOS: "Court Martial")
Officers could also refuse promotion, as was often the case of starship captains, as well as department level commanders onboard larger vessels, who felt that promotion to higher rank, or transfer to a lesser-known ship, would be less beneficial to their careers. William T. Riker, who eventually served as captain of the USS Titan, had turned down three previous promotion offers to captain smaller vessels. (TNG: "The Arsenal of Freedom", "The Icarus Factor", "The Best of Both Worlds")
In the 23rd century, a procedure existed that if a Starfleet Admiral took command of a single starship, they would revert to the rank of Captain, displacing the current Captain who then reverted to the rank of Commander. By 2285, this practice appears to have no longer been in place, given that when Admiral James T. Kirk assumed command of the USS Enterprise, he continued to be addressed as an Admiral and wear a flag officer's uniform, this having not been the case when he similarly had assumed command of the same ship in the 2270s. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
By the 24th century, Starfleet allowed some career fields to "set their own pace" and if an officer wished, they could remain in a lower rank and position for decades. Jean-Luc Picard witnessed this in an alternate timeline where, with no career goal, he had remained a lieutenant junior grade and assistant astrophysics officer apparently for over forty years. Starfleet enlisted positions could also be used by civilians wishing to gain practical space experience, without any thought of promotion or advancement, such as in the case of Crewman Mortimer Harren. (TNG: "Tapestry", VOY: "Good Shepherd")
Promotions of junior officers onboard starships were often based on the availability of open positions, such as that of duty operations officer, which allowed a qualified ensign to assume the rank of lieutenant. On some starships, lieutenants so promoted were permitted to have their own quarters. (TNG: "Lower Decks")
Uniforms[]
In the 22nd century, the same basic uniform was worn by all Starfleet officers, with differences in insignia and color-coded elements designed to distinguish rank and departmental function. Starfleet departments included Starfleet Operations and Starfleet Security. (ENT: "Broken Bow")
Starfleet personnel wore distinctive uniforms while on duty. These uniforms generally displayed the department color of the department/division the enlisted person or officer served in, and also the rank insignia.
Wearing a Starfleet uniform when not actually a member of Starfleet would put one at risk of being charged with impersonating a Starfleet officer. (DS9: "Chrysalis")
Bases and installations[]
Aside from its headquarters, located on Earth, the Federation's capital world, Starfleet also maintained installations throughout Federation territory.
Starbases[]
Starbases were facilities set aside for resupply of the service's vessels and the relaxation of vessel crews, were maintained in all sectors of Federation space. In addition, the service also maintained facilities beyond Federation territory. The most well-known of these is Deep Space 9, in the Alpha Quadrant. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
By 2385, there were major starbases in the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Quadrants. (PRO: "Ouroboros, Part I")
Shipyards[]
The Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards
The service also maintained a number of shipyards at which it constructed its vessels and designed and tested new vessels and vessel types. Among the most famous of these shipyards were:
- The Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards, located in orbit around Mars
- The San Francisco Fleet Yards, located in orbit around Earth
- The Beta Antares Ship Yards, located in the Antares sector
(TNG: "Parallels", "Eye of the Beholder", "Night Terrors", "The Wounded"; Star Trek: The Motion Picture; VOY: "Message in a Bottle")
Training facilities[]
Relva VII testing facility
Apart from Starfleet Academy, the service also maintained several training facilities for both officers and enlisted personnel. These included a number of Academy annexes, located in different systems. Known annexes were Starfleet Academy (Beta Aquilae II), Starfleet Academy (Beta Ursae Minor II), and Starfleet Academy (Psi Upsilon III). (TNG: "Eye of the Beholder")
The service also maintained at least one testing facility to evaluate prospective Starfleet Academy undergraduates for admission into the academy. This facility was located on the planet Relva VII. (TNG: "Coming of Age")
Starfleet Academy also had a training program for enlisted personnel. (TNG: "The Drumhead"; DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations")
In addition, at least one other such facility was located on Mars, known as the Starfleet Technical Services Academy. (TNG: "Eye of the Beholder")
Vessels[]
Starships[]
A task force of Starfleet starships prepares for battle
The backbone of the operation of Starfleet was its fleet of starships. These warp-capable vessels helped to carry out the service's mandates: exploration, the defense of the Federation, and support of the Federation's worlds, colonies and outposts. A large range of starship classes existed. Some were multi-purpose and others were designed for a specific use. (DS9: "The Search, Part I"; VOY: "Caretaker", "Equinox"; LD: "An Embarrassment Of Dooplers"; PIC: "The Next Generation"; PRO: "Ouroboros, Part II")
Throughout its history, Starfleet vessels usually operated independently, and it was common for a single ship to be the only one in range of an unfolding crisis - whether near the Federation core or on its frontier. Reinforcements could often be days or weeks away, even at high warp speeds. (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds"; Star Trek: The Motion Picture; Star Trek Generations; Star Trek Nemesis; PIC: "Disengage")
In large-scale conflicts or as a response to an impending threat, Starfleet would, however, often organize its ships in battle groups, task forces and entire fleets. (DS9: "Favor the Bold", "Sacrifice of Angels", et al.; VOY: "Endgame"; DIS: "The Vulcan Hello"; PRO: "Supernova, Part 1", "Supernova, Part 2"; PIC: "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2", "The Star Gazer"; Star Trek: First Contact; Star Trek Nemesis)
Fleet composition[]
Starship classes[]
Galaxy-class
Starfleet usually operated starships that shared a design with other vessels. Such groups were known as a ship class. A class often included a dozen or more starships built to exact or very similar standards. (LD: "The Stars At Night"; PIC: "The Last Generation") Usually a ship class was named after a prototype vessel. (DS9: "The Search, Part I"; PRO: "Ouroboros, Part II"; Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)
Starfleet ship classes often represented significant technological advancements at the time of their introduction. (ENT: "Broken Bow"; DIS: "Context Is for Kings"; DS9: "The Search, Part I"; VOY: "Caretaker"; PIC: "The Star Gazer") Many ship classes were thus representative of a specific era in Starfleet's history, such as the NX-class for the mid-22nd century or the Walker-class for the early 23rd century. (ENT: "Broken Bow", "These Are the Voyages..."; SNW: "Those Old Scientists"; DIS: "The Vulcan Hello", "Battle at the Binary Stars") Some classes, however, were in use for several decades or even over a century, such as the Oberth-, Miranda-, Excelsior- and Magee-class. (DIS: "Battle at the Binary Stars"; DS9: "Favor the Bold" et al.; ST: "Children of Mars"; Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)
Starfleet occasionally refitted older ships with new technologies. These changes could be limited to internal components, but often refits also altered the visual appearance of a ship and sometimes even resulted in the creation of new ship classes, such as the Constitution II-class or the Constitution III-class. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture; DS9: "Homefront", "Paradise Lost"; PIC: "The Next Generation", "Võx", "The Last Generation"; DIS: "Scavengers")
At various times, different ship classes were considered the most prestigious or sophisticated of their respective era. This was the case for the Constitution-class in the 2250s, the Galaxy-class in the 2360s and the Inquiry-class by 2399. (TOS: "The Cage"; DIS: "Will You Take My Hand?", "Brother"; TNG: "Lonely Among Us", "Contagion"; DS9: "Valiant"; PIC: "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2")
By the early 25th century, Starfleet had undertaken a significant modernization effort, with all active starships now being interconnected. The roster of ship classes at the time primarily included the Akira-, Alita-, Defiant-, Duderstadt-, Echelon-, Edison-, Excelsior II-, Gagarin-, Inquiry-, Luna-, Odyssey-, Nova-, Pathfinder-, Reliant-, Ross-, Sagan-, Sovereign-, Steamrunner-, and Sutherland-classes. (PIC: "Imposters", "The Bounty", "Võx", "The Last Generation")
The 31st century saw Starfleet nearly collapse after the Burn of 3069, which destroyed most vessels with active warp cores across the galaxy. By the 32nd century, Starfleet and the Federation had barely recovered from this loss, still mostly relying on ship types that had survived the cataclysm a century earlier. (DIS: "People of Earth", "Unification III")
Fleet and task force organization[]
In some cases, for temporary or ad hoc missions, Starfleet vessels could be formed into battle groups. Battle Group Omega was one such formation, created to stop a Reman attack on Earth. In the 23rd century, temporary forces of this nature were known simply as attack forces. By the 24th century, the term task force had become more common to describe smaller groups of this nature. (Star Trek Nemesis, TOS: "The Ultimate Computer", TNG: "Redemption II")
During the Dominion War, Starfleet operated a number of fleets, some of which, such as the Ninth Fleet, were combined allied fleets containing ships from both Starfleet and the Klingon Defense Force. Within fleets were various units known as attack wings or tactical wings. (DS9: "Behind the Lines", "Favor the Bold")
Additional starship classification[]
Starfleet used a number of different starship classification systems to describe and differentiate its forces. Notably, the fleet made a distinction between capital ships, like the Luna-class, and support ships, such as California-class vessels. (LD: "Mining The Mind's Mines", "Trusted Sources", "An Embarrassment Of Dooplers", "Strange Energies")
Many Starfleet ships were officially or informally considered exploration vessels, including starships of the Galaxy-, Intrepid-, Protostar-, and Constitution III-class. (TNG: "Legacy", "Time's Arrow, Part II"; VOY: "Prototype", "Drone"; PIC: "Disengage"; PRO: "Ouroboros, Part II") Other ships were similarly regarded as science and research vessels, such as ships of the Crossfield-, Oberth-, Nova-, or Lamarr-class. (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock; VOY: "Equinox"; DIS: "Context Is for Kings"; PRO: "Into the Breach, Part I")
By the mid-24th century, Starfleet had developed a stance in opposition to the use of warships. Despite this, several ostensible battleships and warships were developed and brought into service during the 2360s and 2370s in response to the Borg and Dominion threats, most notably vessels of the Defiant-class. (DS9: "The Search, Part I")
While the term flagship usually described the lead ship of an armada or task force, Starfleet also used it as a honorific to describe exemplary ships representing the entire fleet, such as the USS Enterprise and the USS Enterprise-D. (SNW: "Ghosts of Illyria"; TNG: "The Icarus Factor", "Remember Me", "Ensign Ro", et al.; Star Trek Generations)
Some individual Starfleet ships were considered legendary vessels, among them many of the starships displayed at the Fleet Museum. (PIC: "The Bounty")
During the temporal wars of the 29th century, Starfleet operated timeships which allowed its crews to traverse through time and safeguard the timeline from temporal incursions of opposing factions. (ENT: "Future Tense"; VOY: "Future's End", "Future's End, Part II", "Relativity") By the 32nd century, all time travel technology was banned and destroyed. (DIS: "That Hope Is You, Part 1")
Other vessels[]
Aside from its starships, the service also operated other vessels. Among these were several types of shuttlecraft, which were typically used to transport personnel over relatively short distances, such as from a starship orbiting a planet down to the planet's surface. (ENT: "Chosen Realm", et al.)
Starfleet shuttlecraft of the 23rd and 24th centuries also were equipped with limited warp capability, allowing transport of personnel within a range of several light years from the starship. (VOY: "Initiations", "Tsunkatse", "Good Shepherd")
Fleet size[]
Almost all ships of the early 25th century Starfleet gather for Frontier Day in 2401.
From its humble beginnings in the 22nd century, Starfleet operated hundreds of capital ships two centuries later. (ENT: "Broken Bow", "Storm Front, Part II"; DS9: "Favor the Bold" et al.; PIC: "Vox", "The Last Generation")
In 2257, Control stated that there were approximately 7,000 active ships in Starfleet. (DIS: "Perpetual Infinity")
In 2367, the Battle of Wolf 359 destroyed 39 starships and killed over 11,000 personnel. The loss critically weakened Starfleet, with full recovery initially estimated to take at least a year. (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds", "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", "The Wounded") Similarly, the loss of over 20 starships during the Battle of Sector 001 in 2373 strained Starfleet's capacity, especially in light of escalating tensions with the Dominion. (Star Trek: First Contact; DS9: "In Purgatory's Shadow", "By Inferno's Light")
During the Dominion War, losses mounted. Of 112 ships of the Seventh Fleet sent to defend the Tyra system in 2374, only 14 survived. (DS9: "A Time to Stand", "Inquisition") Later that year, Operation Return assembled over 600 Federation starships from the Second, Fifth, and Ninth Fleets to retake Deep Space Nine, alongside a comparable Klingon force. (DS9: "Favor the Bold", "Sacrifice of Angels") The Second Battle of Chin'toka in 2375 saw the loss of 312 allied ships, many Starfleet vessels among them. The defeat halted most major offenses against the Dominion until the end of the war. (DS9: "The Changing Face of Evil", "When It Rains...")
Doctor Zimmerman stated that there were 675 EMH Mark I installations active in Starfleet before they were taken off duty in the mid-2370s, suggesting at least as many equipped ships or facilities. (VOY: "Life Line")
In 2378, Starfleet Command scrambled a fleet of 27 ships to respond to the opening of a Borg transwarp conduit in the vicinity of the Sol system. 18 starships assembled directly, with nine more en-route to the engagement. After USS Voyager emerged from the conduit, most of the fleet escorted the vessel home to Earth. (VOY: "Endgame")
Before the Battle in the Bassen Rift, Starfleet diverted Battle Group Omega, consisting of eight starships, to rendezvous with the USS Enterprise-E near the Neutral Zone. (Star Trek Nemesis)
In 2381, Beckett Mariner summoned all California-class vessels to fight against the rogue AI-controlled Texas-class. Alongside USS Cerritos, 32 ships joined the battle. (LD: "The Stars At Night") With two other California-class vessels having been destroyed in the preceding year, 35 ships of the class are known to have been commissioned. (LD: "Much Ado About Boimler", "No Small Parts")
In 2384, Starfleet assembled a large task force for the Battle near Gamma Serpentis, composed primarily of Akira-, Centaur-, Defiant-, and Sovereign-class vessels. The fleet was compromised by the Living construct aboard the USS Protostar, causing most Starfleet ships to begin firing upon each other. Although ultimately won for Starfleet, the engagement resulted in heavy casualties and great damage to the fleet, and left, among others, the USS Enterprise-E adrift. (PRO: "Supernova, Part 1", "Supernova, Part 2")
In the mid-2380s, Starfleet redirected resources to Romulan evacuation efforts, spearheaded by Admiral Jean-Luc Picard. During the Attack on Mars in 2385, 20,000 vessels of the rescue armada were lost when the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards were destroyed. In the aftermath, Starfleet completely suspended major exploration. Most vessels shifted to defense, and were ordered to patrol Federation worlds. Ships built purely for science and exploration, including the newly constructed Protostar-class, faced decommissioning. Only the USS Prodigy was spared after Admiral Janeway's protest. (PIC: "Maps and Legends"; PRO: "Ouroboros, Part II")
In 2399, Captain William T. Riker led an armada of advanced Inquiry-class starships to the Defense of Coppelius. (PIC: "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2")
In 2401, during that year's Frontier Day, 339 starships participated in a demonstration of Fleet formation mode in Earth orbit, with a few more vessels being present during the celebrations. Commodore Geordi La Forge and Captain Riker described this unprecedented assembly as "all" or "almost all" of Starfleet. The event was later revealed to be a trap orchestrated by rogue changelings and remnants of the Borg Collective, resulting in the catastrophic Battle of Frontier Day. (PIC: "The Next Generation", "The Bounty", "Võx", "The Last Generation")
General Orders and Regulations[]
The service maintained a set of regulations, known as General Orders and Regulations. These governed all aspects of service operations and covered all possible situations it was thought that personnel might encounter, from protocol to situations of first contact with unknown species.
The most important of these was termed General Order Number One, but was more commonly referred to as the Prime Directive.
Not all of the general orders and regulations were intended for general personnel knowledge. At least one, known as the Omega Directive, was a top secret of the highest order and was known only to officers ranking captain or any flag officer rank. This was due to the extreme sensitivity and danger posed by the subject the directive dealt with. (VOY: "The Omega Directive")
Opinions[]
According to Christopher Pike, as of 2255, Starfleet had become too cautious. In a conversation with James T. Kirk, the Captain compared Kirk to his father, recalling, "You know, that instinct to leap without looking, that was his nature too, and in my opinion, it's something Starfleet's lost." (Star Trek)
Appendices[]
See also[]
- Starfleet insignia
- Starfleet ranks
- Starfleet personnel
- Starfleet uniforms
- Starfleet captains
- Starfleet flag officers
- Starfleet yearbook
- Federation starships
- Federation starship classes
- Federation shuttlecraft
- Federation shuttlecraft classes
- Federation Naval Patrol
- Merchant Marines
- Starfleet Mission Control
- NX test program
Background information[]
The first episode whose production incorporated the terms "Starfleet" and "Starfleet Command" was TOS: "Court Martial". However, the final draft and a revised final draft of that episode's script (dated 26 and 29 September 1966 respectively) used the term "Galactic Command" instead of "Starfleet Command". By comparison, the term "Starfleet" was extensively used in the final draft script of "The Menagerie" (issued in October 1966). In terms of air date too, that name as well as "Starfleet Command" debuted in "The Menagerie, Part I" (which aired 17 November 1966), though the term "Star Service" and "Spacefleet Command" were later used in "The Conscience of the King" (broadcast on 29 September 1966) and "The Squire of Gothos" (aired 12 January 1967) respectively, before the initial airing of "Court Martial" (on 2 February 1967). Another early variant of the organization's name was "Space Central" in "Miri", which preceded all those episodes in both airing and production order (broadcast on 27 October 1966).
Additional early nomenclature used to describe Starfleet included: Space Command in TOS: "The Man Trap" and "Court Martial", and Space Service in TOS: "Balance of Terror".
Military[]
The extent to which Starfleet may be considered a military organization is somewhat questionable. Nicholas Meyer remarked of Starfleet's militarism, "It existed to some extent in the [original] television series but Gene Roddenberry was very adamant that the Starfleet was not a military or a militaristic operation […] I thought it was at least as militaristic as, say, the Coast Guard." (audio commentary, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Special Edition) DVD) Meyer also wrote about these ideological differences in his autobiographical book The View from the Bridge. Therein, he recalled, "[Roddenberry] was emphatic that Starfleet was not a military organization but something akin to the Coast Guard. This struck me as manifestly absurd, for what were Kirk's adventures but a species of gunboat diplomacy wherein the Federation (read America, read the Anglo-Saxons) was always right and aliens were – in Kipling's queasy phrase – 'lesser breeds'? Yes, there was lip service to minority participation, but it was clear who was driving the boat." (The View from the Bridge, hardcover ed., p. 81) In another instance, Meyer observed that beginning with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (which Meyer himself directed), later Star Trek productions placed more emphasis on the militaristic perspective of Starfleet than the original series had. (audio commentary, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Special Edition) DVD) However, in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Roddenberry was determined to downplay the more militaristic aspects of Starfleet. (Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Continuing Mission, p. 36) Those who were uncomfortable about Starfleet being depicted in a militaristic fashion in Star Trek II included not only Roddenberry but also Uhura actress Nichelle Nichols. In her book Beyond Uhura (hardcover ed., p. 248), she stated, "Portraying Starfleet as a military organization flew in the face of everything Star Trek stood for […] At one point I forcefully but tactfully reminded Meyer and Harve [Bennet] that Starfleet was the philosophical descendant of NASA, not the Air Force."
Regardless of Roddenberry's non-militaristic intent, it had been abundantly obvious that he did pattern his Starfleet, both in organization and in traditions, after the real world, militaristic United States Navy (The Making of Star Trek, p. 112, et al.; These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One, 1st ed, pp. 28-29; see also in this respect: Aircraft carrier & Federation starship class naming conventions), something he, the World War II USAAF veteran, reaffirmed in a later 1973 radio interview where he had declared that he had always been "fascinated by the Navy". [1] [2] Incidentally, Roddenberry's right hand on the Original Series, Robert H. Justman, and who had helped him to beef out the Starfleet concept, had served in the US Navy during the war.
A line included in the script for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country but not in the actual film was to have established that Starfleet was under civilian control, such that certain interstellar choices (for instance, whether to aid the Klingon Empire in avoiding economic collapse or to hamper the Empire, eventually causing them to become subservient to Starfleet) were entirely political rather than military decisions.
Ronald D. Moore commented, "I've always felt that Starfleet is the military / exploratory / scientific arm of the UFP." (AOL chat, 1997) However, the Federation has never been shown to have a standing army. In "Peak Performance", Captain Picard states, "Starfleet is not a military organization, its purpose is exploration.". Moore also explicitly compared it to a military: "Say Starfleet isn't the military all you want, it fails the duck test – looks like, walks like, sounds like, etc." (AOL chat, 1997)
Remarking on a Starfleet JAG getting involved with a civilian case with Richard Bashir, Moore said, "Starfleet is more than just a military entity and seems to have police and/or judicial functions." (AOL chat, 1997)
Writers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof tackled the theme of militarization head on in Star Trek Into Darkness. "After what happened to Vulcan, after Earth gets attacked, would Starfleet say, 'well, we dodged that bullet, back to exploration?' Or would they say 'we have to prepare ourselves if this ever happens again.' What would a more militarized Starfleet look like? Ultimately, the story would be about that, and for the soul of Starfleet." [3]
Trivia[]
A developmental note, handwritten by Jeri Taylor and dated July, concerned Starfleet's role in Star Trek: Voyager. It read, "Messages to Starfleet – one way." (Star Trek: Voyager - A Vision of the Future, p. 175)
In the reference book Beyond the Final Frontier (p. 381), critics Mark Jones and Lance Parkin observed how Starfleet was depicted in Star Trek: Enterprise; they commented, "The sense of Starfleet being made up of pioneering, rather cocky test pilots is something that the show could use more of."
External links[]
- Federation Starfleet at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
- United Earth Starfleet at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
- Starfleet at Wikipedia