The Helios class was a Federation space station type, a hub and research station in Starfleet and civilian service throughout the 24th century. By the 2380s, the design was considered out of date. (DS9 novel: Force and Motion)
History and specifications[]
A Helios station was mushroom-shaped. The upper decks were housed in the mushroom's cap, or saucer section, and included the bridge and officer quarters. Four to ten decks of the stalk contained additional quarters, labs, work spaces, and stowage. The station's reactor was located in a bulb at the base of the stalk. The shuttle hangar could be found just below that. Design-wise, "Every expense was spared" according to one of Engineer Nog's Starfleet Academy professors. (DS9 novel: Force and Motion)
A Helios-class hub appeared as a variation of the Watchtower-class starbases, and could be changed to have a thinner stalk and a stack of three saucer sections, like Jupiter Station. (SCE eBook: Distant Early Warning, VOY episode: "Life Line")
Jupiter Station in 2376.
Jupiter Station itself featured two mushrooms, with a stack of three saucer sections each, tethered together and placed in a planetary orbit. (VOY episode: "Life Line")
Scores of Helios-class hubs were constructed by the Federation when the second great age of exploration began between 2300 and the 2310s decade. They were dropped off as pickets for a fleet of newly commissioned ships to refuel and resupply.
By 2386, Nog did not think that Starfleet would still use Helios stations. The Robert Hooke Research Station was an example of continued civilian usage. (DS9 novel: Force and Motion)
Known stations[]
| Watchtower-class starbase space stations | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federation, Starfleet (primary universe) |
Fleet Setup Station • Starbase 6 • Starbase 25 • Starbase 47 Vanguard • Starbase 71 • Starbase 91 • unnamed Watchtower class space stations • Helios-subclass: Jupiter Station (variant) • Robert Hooke Research Station • Space Station Bravo (variant) |  
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Terran Empire Starfleet (mirror universe) |
Imperial Starbase 47 Vanguard • Helios-subclass: Jupiter Station (variant) |  
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Appendices[]
Connections[]
| Space station classes of the Federation and Starfleet | ||
|---|---|---|
| Named classes | E-class • Fleet Starbase • Frontier-class • Helios-class • K-class • Manheim Temporal Research Facility • Nor-class • R1-class (R1 Administrator-class • R1 Artisan-class • R1 Informant-class • R1 Investigator-class • R1 Invictus-class) • Sierra-class • Sigma-class • Strongpoint-class • Unity-class • Watchtower-class • Zenith-class | 
|
| Other types |
Construction support station • Mining Station 27 type • McKinley type • Spacedock type • Starbase G4 type • unnamed | |
| general type |
Federation advanced starbase • Federation advanced shipyard • Federation defense platform • Federation habitat • Federation mining station • Federation orbital processing facility • Federation phaser turret • Federation relay station • Federation research facility • Federation temporal research facility • Federation sensor platform • Federation science station • Federation shipyard • Federation starbase • Federation torpedo turret • Federation trading station • fleet station • Vulcan research institute | |