Friendship 1 (UESPA-1) was a probe launched from Earth by the United Earth Space Probe Agency in 2067, only four years after Zefram Cochrane's first warp drive flight. The probe was involved in a planetary disaster. In the mid-24th century, Friendship 1 was recovered by the Federation. (VOY episode: "Friendship One")
Service history and disposition[]
Service[]
Gary Seven and Mestral watched the launch of Friendship One on the Beta-8 computer in the Aegis office in New York City. On 7 June, Mestral traveled to Florida to correct a flaw in the rocket's computer to enable the successful launch of the ambitious project. (TNG novel: Hearts and Minds)
After launch, Friendship One left the Sol star system on a heading towards the Delta Quadrant of the Milky Way galaxy. After Earth became a member of the United Federation of Planets, Starfleet maintained contact with the probe for the next 180 years. Communication was finally lost in 2248. (VOY episode: "Friendship One")
In 2178, the probe transmitted the first images of what was later determined to be the Nystrom Anomaly back to Earth. A few months before 2248, Friendship 1 was still performing a long-distance flyby when a junior scientist assigned to the long-running Friendship 1 project, Doctor Loretta Nystrom, learned that this spatial phenomenon was not a mere nebula. The probe was in its 12th decade of service by then. Contact was lost a few months later. (TOS novel: The Shocks of Adversity)
Disaster[]
In the year 2247, the probe was already in the Delta Quadrant and on a direct course for Uxal IV. In 2248, Friendship 1 entered into orbit of the planet Uxal IV. The Uxali were able to decipher the data contained within the probe, which included instructions on how to construct warp drives and antimatter-based power systems. However they had not developed far enough technologically to handle what they built safely, and poisoned their planet with antimatter radiation. (VOY episode: "Friendship One", ST reference: Star Charts)
Legacy[]
89 years after its first discovery, in 2267, the USS Enterprise visited the Nystrom Anomaly to study nystromite. (TOS novel: The Shocks of Adversity)
In 2377, on stardate 54775.4, the Federation learned that the starship USS Voyager was approaching the area of the Delta Quadrant where communication had been lost with the Friendship 1. Starfleet sent Voyager to locate and retrieve the probe, and Voyager learned about the damage done to Uxal when they encountered the probe. Voyager helped neutralize the radiation in the atmosphere, beginning to reverse the damage done by the Human probe. Afterwards, Voyager retrieved the Friendship 1 to return it to the Alpha Quadrant. (VOY episode: "Friendship One")
Appendices[]
Appearances and references[]
Appearances[]
- VOY episode: "Friendship One" (first appearance)
- ST reference: Star Charts (referenced)
- TOS novel: The Shocks of Adversity (referenced)
- TNG novel: Hearts and Minds
- The Official Starships Collection Issue Bonus issue 23: "Friendship 1"
References[]
External link[]
- Friendship 1 article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.