Starfleet emblem
This page details the history of Starfleet.
Origins[]
Starfleet was formed from the United Earth Space Probe Agency and took its place as the leading exploration agency in the 22nd century. However, the two agencies would work together. Starfleet was the first to test the NX-Alpha. (ENT episode: "First Flight"; ST reference: The Star Trek Book)
22nd century[]
- See also United Earth Starfleet.
Emblem of United Earth Starfleet
During this century, the Starfleet Charter was ratified in 2135 and enabled Starfleet to become a separate entity from the UESPA. During this time, a small group from Starfleet security under Matthew Harris formed a "black ops" unit to protect Earth's security and called itself Section 31. Starfleet Command was also established to oversee leadership over the agency. Starfleet was the first to test the NX-Alpha in 2144. In 2151, Starfleet launched the SS Enterprise, the first Warp 5 in service to return Klingon courier, Klaang back to Qo'noS. For next two years, the Enterprise explored the galaxy.(ENT episode & novelization: Broken Bow; ENT episodes: "Divergence", "First Flight"; ST reference: The Star Trek Book)
In 2153, Earth came under attack by the Xindi under orders from Sphere-Builder in distant future. Thus Starfleet allowed the Enterprise to enter the Delphic Expanse to find the Xindi and stop them from finishing their weapon. They also took a complement of MACO soldiers aboard to work in consort with the Enterprise security team. (ENT episode & novelization: The Expanse; ST reference: The Star Trek Book)
Following the end of the Xindi crisis, the Columbia under Erika Hernandez was then launched in 2154. In that year, the Enterprise was tasked with subduing Dr. Arik Soong and his Augments before they started a war with the Klingons. Starfleet was also able to work with the Andorians and the Tellarites to end Romulans' efforts to sabotage their alliance. The Columbia and Enterprise then aided the klingons in ending the Augment virus. During that time, Section 31 worked with the Klingons in their kidnapping of the Enterprise's Chief Medical Officer, Phlox. When the Xenophobic group, Terra Prime threatened to destroy Starfleet Headquarters, the Enterprise was able stop Paxton and his followers from destroying Starfleet Command. (ENT episodes: "Home", "United")
In 2155, Starfleet and the Coalition of Planets then declared war with Romulan Star Empire. For four years, Starfleet, the Coalition's forces and the Romulans fought until 2160 and established the Neutral Zone. During this time, the Slayton disappeared in the Wagner-219 system. In it's last communication, it was assumed everyone died as a result of a mutiny lead by Jack Somers .(ST reference: Federation: The First 150 Years; SA - Starfleet Academy comic: "Issue 1"; ST reference: The Star Trek Book)
In 2161, United Earth and its allies founded the United Federation of Planets and reorganized the United Earth Starfleet into the Federation's Starfleet. Admiral Somers also established Starfleet Academy to ensure the future generation would not suffer the same fate as his son. (ST novel: Articles of the Federation; SA - Starfleet Academy comic: "Issue 1"; ST reference: The Star Trek Book)
The Constitution of the United Federation of Planets called for a united fleet under command of the Federation Council. The founding members Andorians, Tellarites, and Vulcans, in awe of the achievements of Starfleet during the Romulan war agreed, that the new unified feed shall be organized by the Humans. And thus the Federation Starfleet was modeled after earths Starfleet[1]. Earth Starfleet's Charter was used as the basis for that of Federation Starfleet. In fact some passages were directly copied[2]. Existing space agencies of the four powers were unified under Starfleet but kept authority over their ships and specialties. A common uniform was established reflected with an insignia reflecting their original agency [3]:
| Federation Member | Agency | Specialisation | Insignia |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Earth | United Earth Starfleet/UESPA | exploration |  [5]
|
| Andoria | Andorian Imperial Guard | border defense |  [4]
|
| Tellar | Tellar Space Administration | operational support and supply |  [6]
|
| Vulcan | Vulcan Space Council | research and development |  [5]
|
| Alpha Centauri Concordium | Alpha Centauri Space Research Council |  [7]
|
Following the Federation's founding, MACO were dissolved and absorbed into starfleet. Colonel Balthazar M. Edison was then named captain of the USS Franklin. Unfortunately the Franklin was lost when it explored the Gagarin Radiation Belt . Starfleet declared them as "Missing in Action". The Franklin, in reality, went through a wormhole. It then crashed on Altamid. Only Edison and two of his officers survived. (TOS movie: Star Trek Beyond)
23rd century[]
In 2245, Starfleet commissioned twelve Constitution-class starships for five-year missions which included the USS Enterprise. (ST reference: The Star Trek Book)
In 2293, Starfleet was informed by the USS Excelsior under Captain Hikaru Sulu of the destruction of Praxis. During this time, Captain Spock, at the behest of Ambassador Sarek, opened negotiations with the Klingon Imperial High Council's Chancellor Gorkon to dismantle the Neutral Zone. However, several officers such Lance Cartwright opposed the idea of making peace with the Klingons. Cartwright, along with several members of the USS Enterprise-A's crew, the Romulans, and Klingons conspired together to end the peace process. However, it failed when Captain Kirk exposed and saved the President Ra-ghoratreii at Khitomer. (TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: The Undiscovered Country)
Kelvin timeline[]
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The Starfleet emblem in the Kelvin timeline
Following the attack on the USS Kelvin in 2233, Starfleet continued to explore the galaxy. During this time, the Klingons attacked Starfleet over a dozen times. In 2239, the USS Enterprise under Captain Robert April did a survey of Phaedus IV. Captain April, with help from his XO, Alex Marcus faked his death, violated the Prime Directive, and stayed behind to help the blue Phaedans fight the Shadow phaedans. For the next twenty years, April received aid from Section 31 through a trader named Mudd and her father. (TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: Star Trek; TOS - Countdown to Darkness comic: "Issue 3"; TOS movie & novelization: Star Trek Into Darkness; )
During this time, a new and more advance USS Enterprise was built. It was then launched prematurely in 2258 under Captain Christopher Pike as part of a fleet to respond to a distress call from Vulcan. All but the Enterprise were destroyed by the Narada. The Narada's captain, Nero, then demanded that Pike surrender himself. Pike thus surrendered himself to Nero. Despite Lieutenants Kirk and Sulu disabling the Narada's drill, Nero then destroyed Vulcan. However, the Enterprise under it's first officer, Commander Spock was able to save Ambassador Sarek and the Vulcan High Council.(TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: Star Trek)
When Spock relieved himself of command of the Enterprise, Kirk became captain and stopped Nero from destroying Earth. Following these events, the Commander of Starfleet, Alexander Marcus and Section 31 then searched for ways to militarize Starfleet for a inevitable war with the Klingon Empire. During their search, the USS Vanguard then discovered the sleeper ship SS Botany Bay. There, they found Khan Noonien Singh and 72 members of his crew in stasis. (TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: Star Trek; TOS movie & novelization: Star Trek Into Darkness; TOS - Khan comics: "Issue 4", "Issue 5")
After Section 31 surgically altered his appearance, Khan, going under the alias of "John Harrison", designed the Dreadnought-class starship, USS Vengeance at the Io Facility. Khan then carried out a mission to Qo'noS' moon, Praxis where he destroyed it. When his memory came back, Khan then designed advanced long-range torpedoes in order to smuggle his surviving crew. However, Marcus and Section 31 found out about the torpedoes and made Khan believe that they were killed. Thus, Khan prepared for his one-man war on Starfleet. (TOS movie & novelization: Star Trek Into Darkness; TOS - Khan comics: "issue 4", "issue 5")
During this time, the Enterprise explored the galaxy, from the Galactic barrier to Iota Geminorum IV. In 2259, the Enterprise then repelled a Gorn invasion. The Enterprise then did a survey a of Phaedus IV. There, Captain April and Mudd attempted to give the Enterprise to the Klingons in order to become Phaedus's governor. However, Kirk was able to retake the Enterprise and leave Phaedus before the Klingons take the Enterprise. The Enterprise then did a survey of Nibiru, where Kirk defied the Prime Directive by revealing the Enterprise to the Nibirans when he rescued Spock from a volcano. (TOS comic: "IDW Star Trek, #1-60"; TOS video game: Star Trek;TOS comic: "Countdown to Darkness")
Starfleet and Admiral Marcus then demoted Kirk and took the Enterprise from him. During this time, Khan was able to coerce Lieutenant Thomas Harewood into suicide-bombing the Kelvin Memorial Archive in London in exchange for a cure for his daughter Lucille. After Marcus gave Pike the Enterprise and allowed Kirk to be his first officer, he then called for a meeting of all Starfleet senior officer in Starfleet Command's Daystrom Conference Room. There, he told them about "Harrison" and ordered them to hunt him down. However, Khan, in a Jumpship, attacked the room, killing all but Marcus, Kirk, and Spock before transporting himself to Qo'noS' Ketha Province.(TOS movie & novelization: Star Trek Into Darkness)
Marcus then gave Kirk back the Enterprise along with Khan's 72 torpedoes, and told to go to the Neutral Zone to kill him. After Kirk captured Khan, Marcus was then informed of this. However, he then decided to launch the Vengeance and force Kirk to surrender Khan to him. When Kirk refused, Marcus disabled the Enterprise, took his daughter Carol, and ordered the Enterprise to be destroyed. However, Scott was able to disable the Vengeance by initiating a shut down. (TOS movie & novelization: Star Trek Into Darkness)
Working Khan, Kirk and Scott were then able to stop Marcus from resuming his attack. However, Khan double-cross Kirk, killed Marcus, and demanded his crew to be returned to him. After learning about Khan from Ambassador Spock, Commander Spock was able to destroy the Vengeance by removing his crew from the torpedoes and detonating them after Khan transported the torpedoes aboard. After Kirk died after saving the Enterprise, Khan was then captured by Spock. Using his blood, Dr. McCoy was able to revive Kirk. Khan was then placed back into his stasis tube. A year later, a ceremony was then held for the lives lost during Khan's one-man war. The Enterprise then began Starfleet's first five-year mission. (TOS movie & novelization: Star Trek Into Darkness)
24th century[]
In 2350, Starfleet began to develop the Galaxy-class starship at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards. (ST reference: The Star Trek Book)
In 2358, Captain Erik Pressman of the USS Pegasus was under orders to test the interphase cloaking device, despite it being in violation of the Treaty of Algeron. During the tests, the Pegasus suffered a explosion in its engineering section that resulted in heavy casualties. The first officer, chief engineer, and members of the crew then mutinied against Captain Pressman believing he was endangering the ship and was violating the treaty. Pressman, along with his helmsman, Ensign William T. Riker, and seven others then made their way to escape pods and fled the ship. Pressman then watched as the Pegasus was apparently destroyed with the mutineers. (TNG episode: "The Pegasus"; ENT episode: "These Are the Voyages...")
The Judge Advocate General's inquiry into the events leading to the Pegasus's destruction concluded that Pressman and the others were hiding something. However, Starfleet Intelligence quietly buried it inquiry and ensured that no investigation came forward. (TNG episode: "The Pegasus"; ENT episode: "These Are the Voyages...")
In 2364, the USS Enterprise-D under Captain Jean-Luc Picard launches for the Farpoint Mission. (TNG episode & novelization: Encounter at Farpoint; ST reference: The Star Trek Book)
25th century[]
In 2400, Starfleet commissions the second Discovery-class starship, this class to serve as a mainstay in future exploration. (STO website: Ships of the Line)
32nd century[]
Following The Burn in 3069, the Federation as well Starfleet were greatly reduced in size. Starfleet was forced to abandon it's headquarters on Earth and relocate to a station known as Federation Headquarters. Starfleet was unable to fully enforce the Endangered Species Act to protects species such as the trance worms. Due to limited supplies of dilithium, they were unable to resume Five-year missions. However, in 3189, the USS Discovery under Captain Saru from 2258 rejoined the fleet.(DSC episodes: "People of Earth", "Die Trying", "That Hope Is You, Part 1")
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Appendices[]
External link[]
Starfleet history article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- ↑ Federation: The First 150 Years:
The Constitution for the United Federation of Planets provided for a unified fleet under the command of the Federation Council. […] The Andorians, Tellarites, and Vulcans did not see themselves—or one another—as the natural leaders of this kind of endeavor, and, still in awe of Earths conduct during the Romulan War, turned to their Human colleagues to carry this out. In a previous time, the Vulcans had been wary of Earth outpacing them, but now they were ready to step in line behind the Earthlings who had more than proven themselves. Add to that, the goals were in many ways the same established goals of the Earth Starfleet. Thus, it was easily agreed upon by the newly formed Federation Council that the combined service mandated by the Constitution would be built under the Earth Starfleet's framework, and for continuity it would still be called "Starfleet Command."
- ↑ Tower of Babel, Chapter 2
The agency he worked for had ambiguous legal authority at best, relying on a certain interpretation of the imprecise wording of Section 31 of the Earth Starfleet charter—a section that, perhaps suspiciously, had been copied without alteration into the Federation Starfleet charter upon the merger of the founder worlds’ space services.
- ↑ A Choice of Futures, Chapter 1:
Admiral Archer was still getting used to the sight of him in the new Federation Starfleet uniform. Although the various space agencies of the UFP’s five founding members still existed and oversaw their own ships and specialties within the combined fleet they jointly administered, they’d agreed they should adopt a common uniform with elements reflecting all its member states.”
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 A Choice of Futures, Chapter 1:
Archer smiled slightly, glad that his longtime friend had agreed to come out of retirement once again to serve as chief of staff for the Andorian Guard—the division of the combined Starfleet that specialized in the defense of the Federation’s borders, just as UESPA handled exploration, the Tellar Space Administration handled operational support and supply, and so forth. Shran now wore a green command tunic much like Archer’s, but the division patch on his breast was the new Andorian Guard insignia, a stylized initial in Andorii script which looked to Archer like a lopsided pretzel with its upper loop tapering to a point.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 A Choice of Futures, Chapter 1:
She [T'Pol] wore the UESPA arrowhead on her breast rather than the circle-and-triangle IDIC patch of the Vulcan Space Council; after all, it was an Earth-administered ship she commanded, and she had been a member of Earth Starfleet for seven years before the services were combined.
- ↑ Tower of Babel, Page 21:
A dark-haired, stout Tellarite male appeared on the viewscreen. He wore an avocado-green command tunic with three stripes on each sleeve and shoulder strap, identical to her own in design (if not in proportion) except that its left breast bore the hoof-like service patch of the Tellar Space Administration rather than the stylized arrowhead of the United Earth Space Probe Agency, and its right sleeve was adorned with the name of his ship in Braille-like Tellarite script rather than a UESPA-style circular mission patch.
- ↑ A Choice of Futures, Chapter 3:
She was a compact woman with wavy blond hair, her uniform bearing the vertical rectangular logo of the Alpha Centauri Space Research Council.