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The Cygnus Reach is a large expanse of space in the Alpha Quadrant beyond Deneb, described in 2364 as "the great unexplored mass of the galaxy." At that time, Starfleet had plans to explore the area, spearheaded at Farpoint Station on Deneb IV. However, when Farpoint was discovered to be an imprisoned lifeform, the native Bandi were never able to rebuild the station[citation needed] and the Federation's continued exploration of the Cygnus Reach was canceled indefinitely. (TLE novel: The Buried Age; TTN novel: Orion's Hounds)
Appendices[]
Background[]
The name of the region was chosen by author Christopher L. Bennett to parallel that of the name "Taurus Reach" in referring to the general region of space in the direction of the constellation Cygnus.
Additionally, according to Bennett, the abandonment of Starfleet's exploratory plans within the Cygnus Reach following the events of "Farpoint" reflected the TNG television series' post-pilot shift away from the original planned, decades-long, deep-space mission of the Enterprise-D to shorter-term missions much closer to Earth and its environs, as eventually shown on the TV show.