earth on star trek

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Star Trek Map Of The Alpha & Beta Quadrants

The map above is Shakaar’s Alpha/Beta map v3.3; a fan-made creation showing the Alpha and Beta quadrants of the Star Trek universe.

The map shows both major and minor powers that have appeared in the various series over the years.

At the centre is the United Federation of Planets, which borders the major power of the Klingon Empire, Roman Star Empire and the Cardassian Union. More minor powers include the Breen, Ferengi Alliance, Tholian Assembly, Sheliak Corporate and the Gorn Hegemony among many, many others.

The map highlights:

• Principal Systems
• Minor Systems
• Non-Aligned Systems
• Dead Systems
• Government Borders
• Points of Interest
• Navigation Hazards
• Star Clusters
• Stations or Starbases

For more Star Trek maps see:

• Star Trek Stellar Cartography: The Starfleet Reference Library
• Star Trek Star Charts: The Complete Atlas of Star Trek
• Star Trek Maps

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December 13, 2017 at 8:14 pm

I know that: a) it’s a bit of fun b) it’s hard to make a 2d map of 3d space and c) there no official maps to go off

But Christ, there’s a lot of stuff on here which makes no sense.

Justin Spaulding says

September 7, 2019 at 2:36 am

Isn’t gamma haromi 2 supposed to be in the haromi cluster…. Good effort though! S3. E8 I think. The “gatherers”

Danny Beans says

November 11, 2019 at 11:18 pm

Why are Ceti Alpha V and Ceti Alpha VI in completely different sectors? I mean, okay, Chekov can be a little dumb sometimes, but that’s one helluva mistake to make.

Jadziah Dax says

April 7, 2021 at 6:03 pm

Can’t wait to see the one you do!

petewinsemiusyahoocom says

November 23, 2022 at 3:47 pm

I agree, several planets said to be in the alpha quadrant are in the beta quadrant and vice versa or not listed at all.

Resolute_Phoenix says

February 8, 2018 at 11:41 pm

Okay so Xindus by Vulcan…. kys I’m not even gona bother looking further don’t make a map if you don’t know what your talking about

February 18, 2019 at 9:03 pm

Romulons should have Dyson sphere (at least at Romulus and Remus). Their ship tech is based on creating black holes which will give a ship a reactor core with a life of a handful of years BUT it’s just like an inefficient battery because it takes way more energy to initially create it then it will give off over its life BUT it’s portable. Sure beats light sails if your depending on home system energy and way more flexible too. This was their tech wheelhouse, and was their interstellar travel energy source instead of antimatter. It makes total sense for them to have harnessed the majority of their native suns energy to create reactor cores wherever they needed a portable energy that couldn’t tap into the system wide grid.

February 22, 2019 at 9:26 pm

A few questions… 1) Why are there several Indus VIII on the map?, 2) I do not see the First Federation on this map — they should be near the Ferengi!, 3) Where is the Kelvin planet? (The planet colonized by the Kelvins from “By Any Other Name”), 4) Maybe I’m wrong, but I do not see the Dyson Sphere that TNG crew ran into?

Shane Montgomery says

March 4, 2020 at 10:25 pm

I don’t see Barzan II or the Barzan Wormhole here?

Pickard says

January 23, 2021 at 3:39 pm

They are there. Literally the only Dyson sphere symbol near the bottom.

August 6, 2019 at 5:03 pm

Spock: He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking.

Glenn Bryson says

November 15, 2019 at 6:52 pm

Not your fault, I know;

Vulcan is “Supposed” to be “A little over sixteen” light years from earth. Yet the map has it at around 1000. That’s one of my biggest gripes about Star Trek (I absolutely love Star Trek, don’t get me wrong). Distances and travel times are so inconsistent and unrealistic based on the documented scales, maps, etc.

March 14, 2020 at 11:46 pm

Did you mean Starbase 375 instead of 395? As in the starbase from S6 of DS9 after the Dominion took over the station?

Avro Arrow says

March 24, 2020 at 7:04 pm

I love this map, especially how you have the Hydran Kingdom, the Lyran Star Empire and the Kzinti Hegemony are listed (where is the Interstellar Concordium?). I have one small nit-pick to make and that is you have two systems named “Nelvana III”. They’re both in the upspin Beta quadrant but one is in the Romulan Neutral Zone and the other is further upspin and outward (left). I think that you might consider making most of the empty space that is coreward of Klingon and Romulan space into the ISC. They were referred to as being a Galactic Superpower residing on the far side of both those Empires (so, coreward).

Gray.Elton says

May 19, 2020 at 3:21 am

If we do or don’t do it, someone will laugh

July 15, 2020 at 1:53 am

I dont understand how this can be called a map of the star trek galaxy when there isnt even a spot or indication of where earth is. Who makes a map without earth when you have a series where its location is based on earth. In the series they refer to Earth as Earth. Yet the closes thing to it is on the map is Volcan. Y not add Earth as well? If there is an alternative name how come it’s never mentioned in the shows and a secret for fans?

Brandon says

August 15, 2020 at 4:14 pm

Earth is 100 percent there. It’s Sol. It’s a common alternate name for our star system and has been used in Trek.

February 8, 2021 at 3:26 pm

Sol system. The Greek word for sun. Follow the bold line and look for the team Terran and Vulcan sectors. Sol is on the 4 corners there

May 23, 2021 at 11:35 pm

Cheron is not in the Romulan sphere of influence. It is located in the “Southern most part of the Galaxy”, Captain Kirk. Episode “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield”

That dude says

September 6, 2021 at 5:31 am

Issues: Tykens rift, not Titans. Starbase 47 is about 10 sectors off as memory Beta says it is located between the Tholian assembly and the Klingon empire. Prophets Landing is in the gamma quadrant.

That’s all for now!

That Guy says

May 17, 2022 at 11:20 pm

Alpha Onias III is on here multiple times

John S says

November 16, 2022 at 4:31 am

Don’t the Klingon and Cardassian Empires border each other? A lot of DS9 s4 doesn’t make sense if they don’t…

martijn says

March 18, 2023 at 11:16 pm

where is earth ?

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A Wannabe Blue Shirt Officer’s Guide to the Map of the Galaxy in ‘Star Trek’

No matter the fictional universe— be it fantasy or sci-fi or somewhere in between (looking at you, space operas)—I’ve always found maps and cartography one of the most fascinating parts of worldbuilding. There’s something about actually seeing how an author imagines the setting of their story that immediately grounds it in the realm of possibility, and helps immerse viewers in the worlds in which these stories unfold.

Sure, it’s somehow easier when the map consists of a single continent, kingdom, or city on Earth or any other Earth-like location. Bringing the action up into space definitely makes everything a tad more complicated—and a whole lot more fascinating. 

And now that the third season of Star Trek: Picard is in full swing , there’s no better time to refresh our collective memory on the “astrogeography” the crews of the USS Enterprise explore.

Star Trek and maps

The decades that have passed since Star Trek first premiered on television screens have made it possible for the saga to acquire beautifully complex and detailed lore on pretty much everything related to it—including the planets that make up the United Federation of Planets, and the powers that border it, like the infamous Klingon Empire.

There have actually been several maps made for Star Trek and its locations over the years, as it reads on The Map Room blog . “While original series canon assigned aliens to known nearby stars, and the shows occasionally used real locations, episode writers did not start with a map and generally did not take spatial relationships into consideration, which no doubt has made the belated mapping process a bit more challenging,” The Map Room blog continues, explaining how creating a comprehensive map of the Star Trek galaxy might be easier said than done.

Still, while none of the maps ever put to print or screen have ever been accepted as official canon, most of them have the major power players of the galaxy in more or less the same location. This means we can reasonably assume that this is the actual position in which they can be found in-universe. 

The galaxy quadrants

Most of the action in the Star Trek canon takes place within our galaxy, the Milky Way, which has been divided into its famous four primary quadrants, each named after a letter in the Greek alphabet: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta.

The Alpha and Beta quadrants are the ones that are better known, even in-universe, and that house many of the major players we see throughout the various series—the United Federation of Planets chiefest of all. The Federation has a strong foothold in both quadrants, spanning Alpha and Beta from their shared border outwards. 

According to Memory Alpha , the official Star Trek fan wiki, the Alpha quadrant contains two all-important planets that we all know very well: Earth, from which a good majority of the characters in Star Trek canon hail; and Vulcan, the homeworld of the Vulcans and especially of Spock. This quadrant also contains the Cardassian Union, the Ferengi Alliance, and the Breen Confederacy—among other smaller factions—whose representatives make an appearance in the canon, particularly in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .

The Beta quadrant includes a couple of relatively smaller players like the Nyberrite Alliance and the Tholian Assembly, and then the major forces of the Romulan Star Empire and the infamous Klingon Empire—who both have their respective homeworlds, Romulus and Qo’noS, in this quadrant.

In contrast to the Alpha and Beta quadrants, the Gamma and Delta quadrants are considerably less well-known and less visited—which makes sense, considering the notable distances that separate them from the other areas of the galaxy, which would require years to bridge even at warp speed. Their reputation also isn’t as stellar as the areas in Federation space.

Still, they are of course mentioned time and again in the canon, as are the planets and people located within them. The Delta quadrant, for example, is the place of origin of the infamous Borg Collective, made up of the terrible Borg cyborgs.

(featured image: Paramount+)

Memory Beta, non-canon Star Trek Wiki

A friendly reminder regarding spoilers ! At present the expanded Trek universe is in a period of major upheaval with the continuations of Discovery and Prodigy , the advent of new eras in gaming with the Star Trek Adventures RPG , Star Trek: Infinite and Star Trek Online , as well as other post-57th Anniversary publications such as the ongoing IDW Star Trek comic and spin-off Star Trek: Defiant . Therefore, please be courteous to other users who may not be aware of current developments by using the {{ spoiler }}, {{ spoilers }} OR {{ majorspoiler }} tags when adding new information from sources less than six months old (even if it is minor info). Also, please do not include details in the summary bar when editing pages and do not anticipate making additions relating to sources not yet in release. THANK YOU

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Earth (also known as Tellus , Terra or Sol III ) is a class M planet , the third planet in the Sol star system in the space of the galaxy 's Alpha Quadrant , at coordinates 1.23N 2.79W. It is the Federation capital, and the primary political subdivision of United Earth , one of five founding members of the Federation. Its sentient species include Humans and cetaceans .

Earth served as the model for the class M classification. ( ST website  : StarTrek.com )

It has one moon , Luna . ( FASA RPG module : The Federation )

It is often called Terra , its Latin name, by many non-Humans throughout the Federation. ( DS9 novella : Andor: Paradigm ) The term Terran can refer to Humanity in general, to things related to Earth, or specifically to its citizens. See also: Terran Empire .

• 1.1 Early history
• 1.2 Humanity
• 2 Alternate timelines
• 3.1 Bodies of Water
• 3.2 Continents (and Provinces)
• 3.3 Geographic Features
• 3.4 Cities and Settlements
• 3.5 Points of Interest
• 3.6 Moons and Satellites
• 4 Notable Locales
• 5.3 Species and cultures originating from Earth
• 6 Earth-related categories
• 7.1.1 Event connections
• 7.1.2 Political and geographical connections
• 7.2 Appearances
• 7.3 References
• 7.4 External links

History [ ]

See also Human and United Earth .

Early history [ ]

Earth was formed 4.6 billion years ago within a nascent Sol system. Its biosphere began forming 3.5 billion years back as amino acids appeared in the region known as France . ( TNG episode & novelization : All Good Things... ) Two billion years ago, single-celled life began evolving. ( Last Unicorn RPG module : All Our Yesterdays: The Time Travel Sourcebook )

Life on Earth evolved. For several million years dinosaurs were ascendant. Their era ended when a large asteroid , or comet , hit Earth during the galactic battle between the Q and the forces of the being 0 . ( TNG novel : Q-Strike , ENT episode : " Azati Prime ") One dinosaur species survived to become the Delta Quadrant species Voth . ( VOY episode : " Distant Origin ") The Preservers moved another promising reptilian species off Terra to ensure their development, and they became the Clan Ru . ( TOS novel : First Frontier )

Some four million years ago, the rogue planet of Cybertron drifted near Earth, the ships of both Optimus Prime and Megatron crash landing on Earth in their attempt to clear a path for their homeworld through the Sol asteroid belt . ( TAS - Star Trek vs. Transformers comic : " Issue 2 ")

As mammals reclaimed a mending planet, primates dominated the land while cetaceans ruled at sea. At one point, a probe from an alien cetacean race made contact with native humpback whales . ( TOS movie : Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , TOS novel : Probe ) Several alien races contacted, and were worshiped by, early Terrans. ( TOS episode : " Who Mourns for Adonais? "; TAS episode : " How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth? ")

Q visited the planet in mankind's prehistory only to wind up trapped by Vandar who used Q's power to accelerate Earth's development and turn it into the capital of the Imperial Planets . Via manipulating time however, Q was able to undo these events before Vandar's conquest progressed further than a single tribe. ( TOS - Star Trek—Legion of Super-Heroes comics : " Star Trek—Legion of Super-Heroes, Issue 5 ", " Star Trek—Legion of Super-Heroes, Issue 6 ")

Humanity [ ]

In the last half of the 20th century , a subculture developed which believed that the planet had been visited by extraterrestrials. Between 1955 and 2018 , at least eighteen Vulcan probe ships were photographed by Humans, though this evidence was dismissed as being hoaxes by authorities and the public at large. ( TOS novel : Prime Directive ) Other races also visited Earth during this period, though most, like the Vulcans, were subject to a rule of non-interference. An exception to this was the Reticulans . ( TOS novel : Preserver )

In the 1980s, the Autobots and Decepticons on Earth awoke and began a secret war for the planet's energon supply, remaining until 2026 . ( TAS - Star Trek vs. Transformers comic : " Issue 2 ")

From 1992 to 1996 , Earth suffered during the Eugenics Wars , a series of conquest brought on by the Augments, genetically superior humans under the leadership of Khan Noonien Singh . ( TOS episode : " Space Seed ")

Various temporal incursions over time were undertaken to remove Khan from the timeline and prevent the Eugenics Wars. As described by the Romulan Sera , time was able to "heal" itself and keep reinserting Khan into the timeline, even if his rise to power was delayed by several decades. ( SNW episode : " Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow ")

In the 23rd century / 17th century , James T. Kirk , possibly to avoid breaching the Prime Directive , stated to the Prosecutor he was from an "island" on Sarpeidon called Earth. ( TOS episode : " All Our Yesterdays ")

Earth in the 24th century was a successful world whose peace was won at great cost. Unlike other races, Humanity was split for much of its history into hundreds of religious, ethnic, cultural and national divisions. Early efforts to unite its peoples -- such as the League of Nations , the United Nations , and the New UN -- met with limited success. As an odd twist of fate, (328 years after its 2037 disappearance), Charybdis ' wreckage was discovered at Theta 116. Its American flag -a remnant from the period. When the front desk clerk was asked what he called planet Theta VIII, he replied "Earth." ( TNG episode : " The Royale ")

Earth was visited by the Reticulii in the 20th century to conduct genetic profiling of Humans, who were transported to orbiting medical ships. The Reticulii used Missing Time Syndrome to prevent the abducted Humans remembering their encounters. ( DS9 - Millennium novel : The Fall of Terok Nor )

The Bell Riots of 2024 were a turning point in Humanity's development. ( DS9 episodes : " Past Tense, Part I ", " Past Tense, Part II ")

In the early part of the 21st century , Humanity had developed a practical fusion-drive system which in turn allowed for the first manned vessel Icarus to be launched to the Alpha Centauri system. ( FASA RPG module : The Federation )

In the year 2026 , Earth began World War III , a catastrophic nuclear conflict that ended in 2053 and left the planet a burnt out husk. The slow recoveries were accelerated a decade later in 2063 when humanity made first contact with the Vulcans . A watershed in Terran history spurred by Cochrane 's first warp flight, the contact eradicated poverty, war and disease within fifty years. A final war concluded in 2079 and even more reform progressed. ( TNG movie : Star Trek: First Contact , TNG episode : " Encounter at Farpoint ")

By the early 22nd century , organizations moved toward a world government. The first serious attempt was made through the formation of the United Earth Republic in 2113 . Unfortunately the would be global state failed to obtain the admission of several major nationstates and within ten years most nations that had joined left. The UER was defunct by the year 2123 - a mere decade after it's founding. ( ST - Section 31 novel : Control ) The attempt that eventually succeeded was made by the European Hegemony and culminated in a United Earth that, by 2150 , had absorbed a final nation state and was fully unified. ( TNG episodes : " Up the Long Ladder ", " Attached ")

In 2151 , Starfleet launched its new warp-five NX -class starships , whose flagship , Enterprise , first made contact with many races including the Klingons , Andorians , and Tellarites . These established United Earth as an interstellar power, and paved the way for the founding of the Federation ( ENT episodes : " Broken Bow ", " The Andorian Incident ", " Shadows of P'Jem ", et al)

During the Federation-Klingon War of 2256-2257 , Earth was nearly invaded by the Klingon fleet before L'Rell became the leader of the Klingon High Council and called off the war. ( DSC episode : " Will You Take My Hand? ")

Following the end of James T. Kirk 's historic five-year mission in 2270 , Earth was conquered by the Tholian Assembly under the manipulations of Aegis only for the Tholian youngling Bright Eyes to speak to the Tholian Elders and call off the war. ( TOS comics : " Year Five, Issue 22 ", " Year Five, Issue 24 ")

In the years following the Tholian invasion, V'Ger returned to Earth, threatening to destroy the planet if its creator was not brought before it. Upon discovering that V'Ger was the NASA probe Voyager 6 , captain Willard Decker willingly merged with V'Ger to save Earth. ( TOS movie : Star Trek: The Motion Picture )

In 2286 , the Cetacean Probe arrived in Earth orbit, its transmission signals nearly destroying the planet, before a pair of humpback whales answered its call and it left the planet. ( TOS movie , novelization & comic adaptation : Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home )

Following the Battle of Wolf 359 , Earth was nearly assimilated by the Borg Collective in 2386 only to be saved by the USS Enterprise -D . ( TNG episode : " The Best of Both Worlds ") The Borg attempted another invasion in 2373 but the invading cube was destroyed. ( TNG movie : Star Trek: First Contact )

In the aftermath of The Burn in the 32nd century , United Earth withdrew from the Federation. ( DSC episode : " People of Earth ") In 3190 , Earth was at risk of being destroyed by debris from the Dark matter anomaly , the Federation aiding in the evacuation efforts before Unknown Species 10-C disabled their device. In gratitude, Earth rejoined the Federation. ( DSC episode : " Coming Home ")

Alternate timelines [ ]

In an alternate timeline created by the death of Gabriel Bell prior to the Bell Riots in 2024 , Earth remained a pre-warp civilization , which had never expanded beyond the Sol system by the 24th century . Consequently, neither the Federation nor Starfleet ever existed. The USS Defiant , having been protected from the changes in the timeline by a subspace bubble , detected Romulan transmissions emanating from Alpha Centauri . This would indicate that the Romulan Star Empire was able to expand considerably further in this timeline due to the lack of Federation interference. ( DS9 episode : " Past Tense, Part I ")

Earth is destroyed in an alternate timeline .

In another alternate timeline, the Xindi succeeded in destroying Earth in 2154 after Enterprise failed to stop the Xindi superweapon . ( ENT episode : " Twilight ")

In the alternate reality created by Nero 's temporal incursion, Nero attempted to use the red matter device to destroy Earth, but was prevented from doing so by James T. Kirk and Commander Spock . ( TOS movie : Star Trek ) In a splinter of this timeline, Nero destroyed Earth via red matter, crippling the Federation and causing it to rebase itself on Vulcan. What survived of humanity established New Earth . ( TOS - IDIC comic : " Part 3 ") In a possible future shown to Kirk by Q , Earth had been conquered by the Klingon Empire and became home of the Tera' Colony , with its capital in San Francisco . Worf was eventually slain by Changelings who immediately claimed Earth for the Dominion . ( TOS - The Q Gambit comic : " Part 3 ")

The homeworld of Miri and her friends, the Onlies , appeared at first to be a simple copy of Earth; however, it was later discovered that Miri's homeworld was actually Earth itself, of an alternate timeline. Miri's Earth had briefly drifted into the main universe due to instability in the local sector of space. It later returned to its original timeline. ( DTI novel : Forgotten History )

In another alternate timeline where Montgomery Scott rescued Kirk before he could be absorbed into the Nexus , Earth was assimilated due to the time-traveling Borg sphere , launched from the attacking Borg cube at the climax of the Battle of Sector 001 in 2373 . The USS Enterprise -E was not present to follow the Borg back in time, and thus they were free to complete their goal of taking over the seat of the Federation, preventing its initial warp flight and eventual founding of the interstellar confederation. The Borg Queen utilized the Sol system as a base of operations, mining all of the worlds for raw materials, and eventually erecting a sensor shield, building thousands of cubes behind the curtain of secrecy. ( ST novel : Engines of Destiny )

In one timeline, Earth never recovered from World War III and remained a burnt out husk. Rather than humanity rebuilding, the apes of Earth developed sentience and became the dominant races of the planet, organizing themselves into a strict and rigid caste system while humanity regressed into an animalistic state. This Earth would eventually be rendered lifeless following the detonation of a massive cobalt weapon. ( TOS - The Primate Directive comics : " Issue 1 ", " Issue 2 ", " Issue 5 ")

When showing off his powers, Gary Mitchell brought James Kirk to an Earth ruled by the Romulan Empire , noting it was a quite a common sight in the multiverse to find the planet either under Klingon or Romulan rule. ( TOS - IDIC comic : " Part 5 ")

In a timeline caused by Q 's interference, Renée Picard never undertook her mission to Europa . Without her discovery to both cure Earth's biosphere and bring out the best of humanity, Earth became the capital of the Confederation of Earth . ( PIC episode : " Penance ")

Geography [ ]

Bodies of water [ ].

• Pacific Ocean
• Atlantic Ocean
• Indian Ocean
• Arctic Ocean
• Southern Ocean
• Caribbean Sea
• Mediterranean Sea
• Sea of Japan
• Great Lakes
• Victoria Falls
• San Francisco Bay

Continents (and Provinces) [ ]

• North America
• Central America
• South America
• Pangaea (see TOS novel : First Frontier )

Geographic Features [ ]

• Rocky Mountains
• Death Valley

Cities and Settlements [ ]

• Palais de la Concorde
• Paris Spaceport
• Starfleet Academy

Points of Interest [ ]

• Yosemite National Park
• Golden Gate Park
• Golden Gate Bridge
• Eiffel Tower
• Starfleet Headquarters
• Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Moons and Satellites [ ]

Notable locales [ ].

Starfleet Academy and Starfleet Command are located in San Francisco . ( TOS movies : Star Trek: The Motion Picture , Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan )

The Federation's seat of government , the Palais de la Concorde , is located in the Federation capital city of Paris . ( TOS movie : Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , ST novel : Articles of the Federation )

There are shipyards located in San Francisco, Oakland and Marin County in California , and Naples , Italy .

Cities such as London house state dinners, and the embassies of various foreign states and Federation Member States can be found throughout the globe. The Federation News Service maintains offices in Tokyo , and Starfleet Command maintains secondary command facilities in Mexico City . ( ST novel : Articles of the Federation )

Natural History [ ]

Species and cultures originating from earth [ ].

• Neanderthal
• Terratin (a.k.a. " Terra 10", from TAS episode : " The Terratin Incident ")
• Gaian (from DS9 episode : " Children of Time ")
• Thirty-Sevens (from VOY episode : " The 37's ")
• Enterprise multigeneration crew (from ENT episode : " E² ")
• Soong-type android
• Sentient hologram
• Salamander offspring of Kathryn Janeway and Tom Paris (in VOY episode : " Threshold ")
• Proto- Borg fusion, with Caeliar (from ST novels " Gods of Night "; " Mere Mortals ")

Earth-related categories [ ]

• Earth settlements
• Earth nations
• Earth articles

Appendices [ ]

Connections [ ], event connections [ ], political and geographical connections [ ], appearances [ ], references [ ].

• ↑ ST reference : Star Charts
• ↑ Last Unicorn RPG module : Planets of the UFP
• Last Unicorn RPG module : Raiders, Renegades & Rogues
• ST video game : Klingon Academy
• ST video game : Infinite
• PIC novel : Firewall

External links [ ]

• Earth article at Memory Alpha , the wiki for canon Star Trek .
• Earth article at Wikipedia , the free encyclopedia.
• 1 The Chase
• 2 Ferengi Rules of Acquisition
• 3 Preserver (race)

• More to Explore
• Series & Movies

Published Jun 8, 2022

How The Day the Earth Stood Still Informs Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

The classic film's appearance in the series premiere goes deeper than just being an Easter egg

StarTrek.com

In the first episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , “Strange New Worlds,” Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Science Officer Spock (Ethan Peck), and acting Number One La’An Noonien-Singh (Christine Chong) beam down to the planet Kiley 279. Thanks to the procedure performed by Nurse Chapel, the fact that they are human is disguised, allowing them to walk among the Kiley undetected.

After La’An incapacitates a pair of guards, she suggests the Enterprise “abduct” them: after all, the only negative effects will be that the Kiley guards will only experience some lost time if they are placed in medical sedation. As La’An makes this suggestion, the score by Nami Melumad features the trembling and distinctive sound of the theremin. The fact that the sound is so closely connected in the popular imagination with the idea of Unidentified Flying Objects has its origins in the soundtrack of the 1951 science fiction classic The Day the Earth Stood Still … and that’s far from the only way that the seminal film has had an influence on SNW.

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Robert Wise directed The Day the Earth Stood Still from a screenplay by Edmund H. North, which was adapted from a short story by Harry Bates. Wise, who went on to direct Star Trek: The Motion Picture three decades later, accepted the directing job for The Day the Earth Stood Still based on the strength of the screenplay: not just its story and characters, but also the themes it contained.

The story begins with a fourth-wall shattering sequence in which an UFO circles the globe, a montage that features appearances by many contemporary real-world journalists (whose faces and voices would be recognized by audiences in 1951). When the saucer lands in Washington, DC, a spacesuit-clad figure named Klaatu (Michael Rennie) emerges and is immediately shot by military forces. This causes a second occupant, Gort (Lock Martin), to emerge from the UFO. Klaatu asks Gort to stand down as he is taken to a hospital for treatment.

Earth authorities subsequently detain Klaatu, but he escapes and adopts the identity of a human named “Carpenter.” Klaatu briefly poses as a human and learns more about our violent and war-torn society. However, his true identity is eventually revealed, and he is killed attempting to evade authorities. Thanks to the effort of a human, Helen Benson (Patricia Neal), Klaatu is returned to the saucer.

Gort uses a device that is able to temporarily revive Klaatu, and he appears before a crowd gathered around his ship to deliver a climactic message. He informs the people of Earth that Gort is a member of a robot force constructed by the citizens of the galaxy to enforce universal peace. “There must be security for all or no one is secure,” Klaatu tells the people of Earth. It’s out of any one individual’s hands: Gort and the rest of the force will destroy Earth if humans cannot renounce violence and learn to live in peace.

A Message from Above

In a commentary track for The Day the Earth Stood Still , Nicholas Meyer, the writer and director of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan conducted an interview with Wise about the 1951 film. In addition to the story and themes, Wise asserts that there was another reason he was so enthusiastic about making the film.

“I’ve always been a strong believer in UFOs, in the existence of UFOs,” Wise told Meyer. Wise went on to explain the idea of an extraterrestrial intelligence coming to Earth and proving not to be a monster but rather a harbinger of peace appealed to him.

According to Space and the American Imagination by Howard E. McCurdy, UFO sightings by Americans began in 1947. In the wake of the events that occurred in Roswell that year, societies centered on the idea that extraterrestrial visitors had arrived to save Earth from destruction began to arise. But these heralds were not supernatural in nature. McCurdy writes, “[UFOs] were the product of advanced science, evidence of the length to which technology could carry a civilization.”

Strange New Worlds

The parallels between SNW and The Day the Earth Stood Still begin to emerge in the first episode’s opening scenes, as the people of Kiley 279 report the appearance of an UFO above their planet. While the U.S.S. Archer may have a nacelle attached to its saucer, the sequence nevertheless heavily evokes the opening of the classic sci-fi movie.

The allusion is locked down by the subsequent sequence, which not only shows Pike watching the film as he cooks breakfast for himself and his companion, but also includes dialogue confirming he watches the movie about as frequently as William Riker visits Captain Jonathan Archer on the holodeck. As Pike watches the movie, we see snippets of the scene in which Klaatu delivers his climactic speech, including a meaningful shot of the faces of the humans listening to his words on the lawn surrounding the saucer.

This shot in The Day the Earth Stood Still plays an important role: it is a mirror image for the movie-viewing audience, who are also listening to Klaatu’s message. By showing the faces of the people in the movie giving their rapt attention to Klaatu, the distance between the crowd watching the film and the crowd on the Washington, DC lawn collapses.

In the third act of SNW’s pilot, after the away team has rescued Una and the other Starfleet officers, Pike requests the Kiley guards “take [him] to [their] leader.” From here, Pike fully accepts his place in the role occupied by Klaatu in The Day the Earth Stood Still : the extraterrestrial visitor tasked with delivering a message… and an ultimatum.

Pike’s Message

Pike uses the arrival of his “flying saucer” above Kiley 279 to seize the attention of the Kiley. Once a national broadcast is taking place, he appears in person to deliver his climactic speech. Just like the climax of The Day the Earth Stood Still , in which Klaatu’s message was directed towards the audiences both within and watching the movie, Pike’s message is clearly directed towards not just the Kiley, but also the Earth audience in 2022.

When they first arrived on Kiley 279, dialogue between Pike and Spock established the similarities between the state of the 23rd century Kiley society and the state of Earth society today, observing that the civil unrest recalled “Old Earth” and the United States of the 21st century. This comparison is driven home as Pike delivers his speech, and we see a recreation of the shot of the human crowd in The Day the Earth Stood Still, but with Kiley faces standing in for (but still representing) humans.

Just as Klaatu informs the people of Earth they are headed for destruction, Pike warns the people of Kiley 279 that they are hurling towards what appears to be a very dire fate indeed. However, while Klaatu’s companion Gort will be the source of Earth’s destruction in The Day the Earth Stood Still , the (soon-to-be-named) Prime Directive prevents Pike from enforcing any ultimatum on the people of Kiley. Nevertheless, it seems clear that the Kiley do not need help destroying themselves.

Pike delivers his own ultimatum: the Kiley can continue in their conflicts with one another, or they can unify in order to accomplish something greater: developing warp capabilities and joining the Federation.

The Day Kiley 279 Stood Still

In The Day the Earth Stood Still , Klaatu’s ultimatum is clear: humans must learn to live in peace or they will be destroyed. But on SNW, although Pike’s companion may speak in monotone, he is not a robot armed with the world destroying ability to enforce an ultimatum. Instead, Spock is a half-human half-Vulcan armed with logic.

And while the idea that the UFO is not supernatural but rather from advanced science does apply to the arrival of the Enterprise in SNW, the Enterprise goes one step further. While the Kiley represent humanity in the 21st Century and Pike represents humanity in the 23rd Century, both the speaker and the audience both represent us (a fact further driven home by Pike being disguised as a Kiley for part of the episode).

The Enterprise isn’t a messenger from above or from another civilization, the Enterprise is a messenger sent by ourselves. And while the ultimatum Pike offers cannot be enforced by a robotic police force, it is supported by the logic offered by Spock. Given the ultimatum is between destroying ourselves or using science to build a better world for everyone, there is no choice: only an obligation to commit to the latter.

A Strange New Hope

In the aforementioned commentary track to The Day the Earth Stood Still , Meyer points out that the peace “offered” by Gort isn’t exactly voluntary, but rather fascistic in nature. The response Wise has to Meyer is somewhat pessimistic, asking how the governments of the world could be persuaded to renounce violence except in the face of an overhanging existential threat.

By contrast, the ultimatum offered by Pike in SNW is characterized by hope. While the Enterprise may possess the firepower to dominate the people of Kiley 279, General Order One forbids Pike from enforcing his ultimatum in the way Gort enforces the one delivered by Klaatu. Instead of being motivated by their destruction, the Kiley are inspired by the aspirational aspects of the opposite side of the ultimatum, embodied by Pike and the rest of the glimpses of the Federation that they have received.

In some of the final scenes of the SNW pilot, we see the Kiley take inspiration from their photographs of the Archer and the Enterprise , beginning to reverse engineer the ships for their space program as they follow the example set by Pike. Once again, the Kiley can be considered a mirror for humanity, including steps we have already taken; consider, for example, that in 1976 Trekkies ensured the first NASA space shuttle was named Enterprise .

But will humanity’s future continue to parallel the progress made by the Kiley as they are inspired by the Federation’s example? SNW is showing us where we could go if we can avoid destroying ourselves and instead achieve unification; the kind of security we could achieve if we put aside factions, personal avarice, and war, and instead focused on science, personal growth, and exploration.

No wonder the Kiley find the Federation aspirational. Aren’t you inspired to follow that path, too?

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Avery Kaplan (she/her) is the Features Editor at Comics Beat. You can also find her writing on NeoText, Geek Girl Authority, Comics Bookcase, and in many issues of the Eisner Award-winning PanelxPanel. She is the co-host of the Matrix 404 podcast and the Comm Officer at Prism Comics. Find her on Twitter @averykaplan6

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streams exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, South Korea, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In addition, the series airs on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave in Canada and on SkyShowtime in the Nordics, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Central and Eastern Europe. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

• Vulcan Sector planets
• Beta Quadrant planets
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Earth (or Sol III ) is the third planet of the Sol system . Earth is the home world of humanity and the seat of the government of the United Federation of Planets .

• 1 Locations
• 2.1 Distant past
• 2.2 Space exploration
• 2.3 24th century
• 3 Missions involved
• 6 External links

Locations [ | ]

• Bozeman, Montana : only during First Contact Day
• Starfleet Academy : player duty officer recruitment
• Starfleet Headquarters: only via “Vorgon Conclusions”
• Aenigma Nebula : access to captains table
• Earth Spacedock : primary Starfleet player hub
• Luna : colonized in 21st century (not visitable)
• San Francisco Fleet Yards : shipyards seen in orbit (not visitable)

History [ | ]

The symbol of United Earth as a comm badge

Distant past [ | ]

4.5 Billion years ago , Earth was seeded with humanoid life by the Preservers . The first actual life on Earth appeared 3.5 billion years ago, over time evolving into two sentient species, Voth and Humans . Several million years ago, the Voth left Earth, leaving Humanity to become the sole sentient, humanoid species on the planet.

Space exploration [ | ]

Compared to their galactic neighbors, Humans began the exploration of space comparatively recently. They achieved powered atmospheric flight at the beginning of the 20th century , and rapidly progressed to short-range space flight based on chemical rocketry within the next 60 years.

In the 1960s , Humans started to explore their own solar system , including manned landings on Earth's satellite Luna . Over the next few decades, they also sent out numerous unmanned probes which landed on, flew by, or orbited Mars , Venus , and the other planets of the Sol System .

In 2063 , despite the post atomic horror from world war 3, humanity's first warp flight was conducted by Zefram Cochrane , leading to the First Contact between Vulcans and Humans . They quickly established a United Earth government and a number of offworld colonies. Earth operated a number of low-speed warp freighters under the Earth Cargo Authority, and later a military force was established, known as Starfleet , and based in San Francisco on the North American continent.

Enterprise , Earth's first vessel capable of warp 5. She played an instrumental part in the formation of the Federation

It was not until almost a century later , that Starfleet launched its first deep-space exploration vessel, Enterprise , which was capable of Warp 5. At this time, Starfleet also operated a number of slower ships used for short range military and exploratory operations and for planetary defense.

In the years following the launch of Enterprise , Earth began to play an increasingly important role in the politics of the Alpha and Beta Quadrant . By 2155 Earth had allied itself with Tellar , Vulcan , and Andoria , and made contact with the Klingon Empire . Earth and its allies also fought a war with the Romulan Star Empire in the 2150s.

In 2161 the anti-Romulan alliance became permanent as the United Federation of Planets , with the Earth city of Paris becoming its main seat of government, and Starfleet becoming the military arm of the Federation government. (Inscriptions at Starfleet Academy date its founding to this year, although the Academy was almost certainly established some years earlier.)

During the 23rd and 24th century several Starfleet facilities were built in Earth's orbit, including Earth Space Dock and the San Francisco Fleet Yards .

24th century [ | ]

Even though Earth has been considered a peaceful, almost utopian world for centuries, the planet has come under severe threats by alien forces several times since the late 24th century . Most notably, the Borg tried to assimilate Earth in 2367 and 2373 , and the planet was attacked by Breen forces during the Dominion War in 2375 . In 2409 it is discovered that Earth is actively monitored by the Iconians , among several other planet in the Milky Way .

Missions involved [ | ]

Notes [ | ]

• It is likely that the Voth gained sentience and created space-faring technology long before Humanity. However, it is never actually established how they managed to leave Earth for the Delta Quadrant .
• Even though first contact between Humans and Vulcans did not occur until 2063 , the planet has been visited by several alien species before that. Among them were Devidians , the Borg and even Vulcan observers.

See also [ | ]

External links [ | ].

• Earth at Memory Alpha , the Star Trek Wiki.
• Earth at Memory Beta , the non-canon Star Trek Wiki.
• Earth on Wikipedia
• Earth at Starbase UGC , the user-generated-content Wiki for STO.
• 1 Playable starship
• 2 Infinity Prize Pack - T6 Ship

Stacey Abrams Explains How She Was Cast as President of Earth in ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ (Video)

“I got a communicator, which I’m probably going to sneak into my pocket,” the voting rights activist said

“Star Trek: Discovery” fans were treated to a surprising cameo in the show’s Season 4 finale, when politician and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams appeared playing the President of Earth. The president greeted Captain Michael Burnham and her crew as the Federation and Starfleet visited Earth for the first time in 100 years, and Abrams’ casting as the president of the planet soon took flight on social media.

In a new video posted on Abrams’ Twitter account , the Democratic candidate fo governor of Georgia and producers from “Discovery” explain how she was cast and why she’s such a big “Star Trek” fan in the first place.

“We knew that she was a fan of the show and I had read an interview with her at some point where she was talking about her love of ‘Star Trek’ and her love of ‘Discovery’ specifically and Burnham,” executive producer and writer Michelle Paradise explained. “We reached out to her people and were like we wanna just ask about this, and she’s so lovely and was so excited about it and genuinely excited to get to do it. And it was just the neatest thing.”

“One of the reasons that I love ‘Star Trek’ is that it is not one thing, it is so many different shows and it’s so many different vantage points,” Abrams said in the video. “It has this idealized notion of what can be but a very grounded understanding of how hard the work will be to get there. And what has been so remarkable about every iteration of the show is that they take that same construct, but they do it so differently and so well that you never get bored with the journey.”

Abrams said it didn’t quite matter which role she was playing, she was ready to jump onboard. “They give such care to how they craft spaces and worlds,” she said. “Whatever the story was, I wanted to be a part of it because watching Michael Burnham come into her power as a captain, watching this hearty crew reclaim itself not only in a new era but in a new space that is so reminiscent of what they remembered but so different. That, to me, speaks of why we do the work we do in politics. It’s about giving people hope and giving them a better life and creating this vision of what is possible. So regardless of the role that I was gonna get to play, I wanted to be a part of it.”

Abrams also couldn’t help but nerd out about the experience of getting into costume to play a character in the “Star Trek” universe. “I went to a performing arts high school, and it was nothing like this,” Abrams said in the video. “I’ve been very lucky to get to sit in a chair and have someone do my hair and my makeup in ways I wouldn’t have imagined. I’m not wearing prosthetics, I don’t get new ears or a new forehead, but my hair is different. And then I got to be outfitted for my uniform and that was just an extraordinary experience. And I got a communicator, which I’m probably going to sneak into my pocket.”

Watch the full video above . The “Star Trek: Discovery” Season 4 finale is now streaming exclusively on Paramount+.

Why Teri Garr walked off the Star Trek set

By rachel carrington | may 29, 2021.

Teri Garr wasn’t fond of her time on Star Trek

Teri Garr appeared in one episode of Star Trek: The Original Series , playing secretary Roberta Lincoln in Assignment: Earth which was meant to be a spin-off series for Robert Lansing. It didn’t get picked up, and in an interview she did with Starlog Magazine , she said she was glad the backdoor pilot didn’t go to series. The interview includes some unkind words Garr has about Star Trek fans as well, but she had an unpleasant experience on the set of Star Trek which probably shaped her opinion of the franchise.

According to a story Lance Parkin, the author of The Impossible Has Happened: The Life and Work of Gene Roddenberry, wrote, Teri Garr ended up walking off the set off Star Trek when Gene Roddenberry wanted her skirt to be even shorter than it already was. If you’ve seen the episode, you know there wasn’t a whole lot more material that could have been removed to shorten it even more.

Gene Roddenberry’s request had Teri Garr walking off the set

Roddenberry’s desire to have the skirt lose another inch or two led to the then 20-year-old Garr putting some distance between her and Roddenberry. Though she finished her role on that episode, she refused to have anything to do with Star Trek after her one-time appearance. In fact, Garr has said that she mostly denies she ever did it [the episode].

In the book about Gene Roddenberry, Parkin added that Garr “hated the experience so much that she continues to refuse to be involved with Star Trek in any capacity, including discussing it in interviews.” In fact, Bill Warren, who interviewed her in 1990 for Starlog, warned his editor that the interview with Garr was “akin to a bad date.”

Whether or not Garr’s opinion of Star Trek has changed in the 31 years since that interview, we don’t know, but she made it very clear that she did not want to be associated with Star Trek in the future.  Perhaps Roddenberry’s request was the straw that broke the camel’s back for her. Whatever the case, Garr got her wish and hasn’t been in a Star Trek production since.

Janice Rand was supposed to be a CEO on Enterprise. dark. Next

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Tomorrow Is Yesterday

• Episode aired Jan 26, 1967

The Enterprise is thrown back in time to 1960s Earth. The Enterprise is thrown back in time to 1960s Earth. The Enterprise is thrown back in time to 1960s Earth.

• Michael O'Herlihy
• D.C. Fontana
• Gene Roddenberry
• William Shatner
• Leonard Nimoy
• Roger Perry
• 33 User reviews
• 11 Critic reviews

• Captain James Tiberius 'Jim' Kirk

• Mister Spock

• Major Christopher

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• Enterprise Computer
• (uncredited)

• Lieutenant Leslie
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• Trivia Later in 1967, physicist John Archibald Wheeler would popularize the term "black hole" to refer to the phenomenon Kirk describes as a black star, at the suggestion of a student. While several sources credit Wheeler for coining the phrase, it was used in science journals as early as 1963. The term is now credited to physicist Robert H. Dicke, comparing the phenomenon to a life prison dungeon in Calcutta known as the "Black Hole of Calcutta".
• Goofs In Requiem for Methuselah (1969) , Spock, during a mind meld, can order someone to "forget". It is unclear why he didn't meld with Captain Christopher for this purpose.

Capt. Kirk : All right, Colonel. The truth is, I'm a little green man from Alpha Centauri, a beautiful place. You ought to see it.

Lieutenant Colonel Fellini : I am going to lock you up for 200 years.

Capt. Kirk : That ought to be just about right.

• Alternate versions Special Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song
• Connections Featured in The Outside Man (1972)
• Soundtracks Theme From Star Trek Written by and credited to Alexander Courage

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• Apr 8, 2021
• January 26, 1967 (United States)
• United States
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• Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
• Desilu Productions
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• Runtime 50 minutes

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How ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Cast Stacey Abrams as United Earth’s President

Christian blauvelt.

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[Editor’s Note: The piece below shares major spoilers for the “Star Trek: Discovery” Season 4 finale, including its ending.]

She’s one of the most prominent “Star Trek” fans in the public eye. She’s spoken at length about how much she reveres Kathryn Janeway and that “Voyager” is her favorite “Trek” show. She co-hosted, with Pete Buttigieg and Andrew Yang, the “Trek the Vote to Victory” online fundraising drive for Joe Biden in 2020. And now she’s gone where few political figures have gone before: actually acting in a “Star Trek” show. Stacey Abrams appeared in the Season 4 finale of “Star Trek: Discovery” as the president of United Earth.

How did the producers of “Star Trek: Discovery” pull this off?

Related Stories ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Hasn’t Even Aired Its Third Season, but It’s Getting a Fourth What Happens When Travis Kelce Invests in Your Indie Film Project?

In an interview with IndieWire, showrunner Michelle Paradise revealed she can hardly believe it herself: “Honestly, the number of times I’ve seen the episode, every time I see her face, I’m like, ‘Wow, that really happened. That’s awesome.'”

It’s a cameo appearance for sure, but one on which the entire season ends and resolves itself. And Abrams has lines — she is a SAG-AFTRA cardholder and previously narrated an episode of “Black-ish.” Whether we’ll see her again is another matter. “Oh my gosh, I would love that,” Paradise said. “I mean, I have no idea. She’s certainly busy doing other things.” Abrams is running for governor in Georgia in 2022, so she will have a lot on her plate indeed.

She’s certainly not the first politician to dabble in acting while still being engaged in politics: former Senator Fred Dalton Thompson was a series regular on “Law & Order” for a time and sitting Senator Pat Leahy has appeared in multiple “Batman” movies. And there have been all manner of cameos in “Star Trek” specifically: King Abdullah of Jordan even popped up as a crewmember on “Voyager,” but did not say a line (no SAG card in his case). But Abrams is a particularly inspiring figure, for her advocacy for voting rights and access, and someone whose values line up particularly well with those of “Trek”. In the finale a character talks about the ideals the Federation holds dear: the right to pursue happiness, freedom, equality, diversity, participation. Abrams channels those like few political figures today.

And that’s why, for Paradise, she made perfect sense to cap off a two-season-long meta arc about how the Federation comes back together in the far-distant future of the 32nd Century, after Earth had left the interstellar government following a cataclysm known as The Burn.

“We knew, coming into season three, that bringing the Federation back together again would be a two season arc,” Paradise said. “And in the third episode of Season 3, we go to Earth and we find out that Earth is no longer a member. So we were teeing up that Earth equals the Federation coming back together again. So we knew that, by the end of season four, we would need to focus on Earth.

“And as we got into season four and got halfway through breaking it, we realized: We need a person to represent Earth. And then the question became: who should that person be? I don’t remember where the idea came from, honestly. But I texted Alex to say, ‘What do you think of Stacey Abrams?’ Immediately, [he sent] exclamation points. And he said, ‘Let’s set up a meeting. Let’s talk to her. Let’s see.’ So we did. And she was so kind. And we got on Zoom with her, and we pitched her where we were for the season and who this character was and what this character would represent. And asked if she would be a part of this with us. Honestly, I can’t think of anyone better to represent the president of Earth in all of that.”

Abrams had a role in shaping her character too.

“When she saw the script and we started talking about costumes and stuff like that, it was just really wanting her input on those things,” Paradise said. “It’s a character that she needs to embody. She’s so collaborative and was really just wonderful about all of it. It really was just such a treat to have her there and get to have her in Toronto on set.”

While some other franchises have turned being apolitical and “playing it safe” into an art form, it’s remarkable to see “Star Trek” wear its values on its sleeve like this and take a stand. But if “boldly going” isn’t what “Star Trek” is all about, then what is?

“Star Trek: Discovery” is now streaming on Paramount+. 

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Stacey Abrams Becomes President of United Earth on 'Star Trek: Discovery' : 'She's a Civil Hero'

Stacey Abrams previously shared that she hopes to serve as president of the United States at some point in her career

Kelly Wynne has been a TV writer at PEOPLE digital since 2021. Her work has been seen in Newsweek, where she acted as a reality TV and true-crime writer, Atwood Magazine and her mental health blog, The Chronically.

Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams looked presidential in her recent acting role.

The longtime Star Trek fan, 48, made a cameo in the season 4 finale of Star Trek: Discovery as the new President of United Earth.

Abrams, who is currently the only Democratic candidate in Georgia's race for governor, has been vocal about her future plans to serve as the president of the United States. She previously told Five Thirty Eight that she hopes to run by 2040.

Discovery star Sonequa Martin-Green raved about Abrams' cameo, telling Deadline that the cast, including Chelah Horsdal, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, Wilson Cruz, David Ajala, Blu del Barrio and Ian Alexander, were all ecstatic to spend time with the politician.

"I'm still floored when I think about Stacey gracing us with her presence in our Season 4 finale," Martin-Green said. "We spent so much of our time fanning out and pretending to be cool in her midst."

Praising Abrams, the actress added, "She's a legend in the making and a civil hero, and she was an absolute delight to work with. She wowed us with her charm, humility, and generosity, and she whipped out some acting chops too! It was an honor for me as a Black woman to stand with her in the story. It's an experience I'll cherish for the rest of my life."

Abrams has been vocal about the impact the Star Trek franchise has made in her life, even using plotlines from the show to illustrate her own worldviews in her book Lead from the Outside: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change .

Because of her deep love for the series, Abrams had one request when stepping into the role as fictional president, according to executive Producer Michelle Paradise. Abrams agreed to the role if they promised not to spoil anything from season 4 — and just give her the information she needed to play the role.

"She was very specific about that," Paradise told Variety . "She wanted to be able to just watch it and enjoy when the show finally came out. So, yeah, we avoided all the spoilers."

Paradise also said Abrams was a natural choice for the role. "We always knew that Earth returning would be a big, big moment, and coming into season 4, we knew that was going to happen in the finale," she said. "As we started to look ahead to the finale, we realized we are going to need a face for this moment, someone to represent Earth."

Paradise added, "When the time came to start talking about the president of Earth, it seemed like, 'Well, who better to represent that than her?' "

Casting Abrams paid off. "There's just something that made us think, 'Well, of course she can do it,' " Paradise continued. "And she did. She just blew us away."

Georgia's gubernatorial race is expected to conclude in November and Abrams is running against current Georgia Governor, Brian Kemp.

This isn't her first time running for the position. She lost to Kemp in 2018.

Related Articles

Star Trek: 7 Alien Civilizations Discovered By Captain Kirk

Throughout the Star Trek franchise, Captain Kirk has met a diverse array of alien civilizations, as these examples illustrate.

• Star Trek: The Original Series lays the franchise's foundations by exploring strange new worlds and new civilizations with Captain Kirk.
• Not every episode can be a winner, "Spock's Brain" details the quest to rescue Spock's brain from the Eymorgs, an entirely female alien civilization.
• Star Trek addresses social issues like race through metaphor, as seen with the Cheronians in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield."

At its core, Star Trek is a franchise about exploring the depths of space and, as a result, exploring various facets of the human condition. Indeed, while later iterations of the franchise, such as Star Trek: Discovery and J.J. Abrams' Kelvinverse chose to prioritize action set-pieces over measured exploration, Star Trek: The Original Series lays the franchise's foundations by depicting the adventures of Captain Kirk's Starship Enterprise .

Star Trek: The Original Series – 8 Alien Civilizations Based On Earth History

The Enterprise 's five-year mission saw the crew of the Federation vessel coming into contact with all manner of strange creatures, from the furry and promiscuous Tribbles to godlike individuals like Trelane. Ultimately, however, nothing distracts Kirk from carrying out the show's mission statement: to explore strange new worlds, and to seek out new life and new civilizations.

1 The Eymorgs

"spock's brain" | season 3, episode 1.

The Star Trek franchise is remembered for many amazing episodes , from "The City on the Edge of Forever" to "The Best of Both Worlds." However, not every episode can be a winner, as evidenced by "Spock's Brain." This much-maligned episode details the Enterprise 's quest to rescue Spock's brain after it is stolen by an entirely female alien civilization, the Eymorgs.

Led by Kara, the Eymorgs inhabit an underground complex on the planet of Sigma Draconis VI. The Enterprise discovers that a life of luxury (all Eymorg desires and needs are handled by a powerful supercomputer) has resulted in intellectual atrophy. Despite possessing powerful technology, few Eymorgs understood how to use it. As such, they felt compelled to replace their vital computer with Spock's brain.

"Return To Tomorrow" | Season 2, Episode 20

The universe of Star Trek is no stranger to disembodied entities, from the Saltah'na in Deep Space Nine 's "Dramatis Personae" to Beverly Crusher's ghostly lover in The Next Generation 's much-maligned "Sub Rosa." A notable early example of the trope can be seen in "Return to Tomorrow," in which the discorporate Sargon, an Arretan, demands that the Enterprise crew construct android bodies for his compatriots.

As a stop-gap measure, Sargon and two other Arretans assume control over several members of the Enterprise crew while their new bodies are under construction. This leads to conflict when one of the Arretans refuses to leave Spock's body. The resulting power struggle sees the Enterprise crew emerge victorious, while the remaining Arretans choose to consign themselves to oblivion rather than cling to life.

3 The Eminian Union

"a taste of armageddon" | season 1, episode 23.

Before Deep Space Nine 's Dominion War, Star Trek avoided depicting open warfare between major powers. However, this is not to say that war stories are absent from the franchise's early days, as evidenced by the novel take on conflict depicted in "A Taste of Armageddon." The Enterprise makes contact with the Eminian Union, a civilization that conducts its wars through computers rather than on the battlefield.

Star Trek: The Fates Of Every Live-Action TV Show's Main Character

Nonetheless, there is a cost to this strategy, as the Eminians allow themselves to be killed if the simulation determines that they are a casualty. Kirk and his comrades point out that this sanitized approach to war robs the conflict of its immediacy, allowing it to drag on for decades with no resolution. Luckily, a classic speech by Kirk causes the Eminian Union to see sense.

4 The Providers

"the gamesters of triskelion" | season 2, episode 16.

The Original Series is not the only entry into the franchise that might be accused of an over-reliance on humanoid aliens with various forehead bumps. As such, the Providers depicted in "The Gamesters of Triskelion" are a welcome break from this norm, even if the show itself has rarely looked cheaper.

Despite being little more than brains in a jar, the powerful Providers are one of the Federation's most worthy opponents. Their advanced transporter technology allows them to ensnare individuals over vast distances, while their control over the planet of Triskelion is absolute. It's perhaps a mercy, then, that they dedicate their time to betting on gladiatorial battles rather than making wider plans against the galaxy.

5 The Cheronians

"let that be your last battlefield" | season 3, episode 15.

Gene Roddenberry did not shy away from using Star Trek 's utopian future to address contemporary social issues. His foregrounding of Nichelle Nichols' Lieutenant Uhura was genuinely groundbreaking , as was the interracial kiss depicted in "Plato's Stepchildren." Nor did the series shy away from discussing issues like race via metaphor, as with the Cheronians in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield."

The black and white Chellonians are locked in a brutal racial conflict over differences that appear trivial to the enlightened crew of the Starship Enterprise . Lokai, a Cheronian with white skin on the left side of his face, is pursued by Bele, who has white skin on the right. Each possesses historical racial grudges against the other, but the episode suggests that their mutual hatred is ultimately suicidal. Prejudice, as demonstrated by the Cheronians, can only end in disaster.

6 The Kelvan Empire

"by any other name" | season 2, episode 22.

Star Trek 's galaxy is divided into four regions: the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Gamma Quadrants. Many of the franchise's most memorable creations hail from these diverse areas, but some civilizations come from even further afield. For instance, "By Any Other Name" sees the Enterprise make contact with scouts from the Kelvan Empire, a powerful state situated in the distant Andromeda Galaxy.

Star Trek: 8 Best Book-Only Characters, Ranked

The Kelvans are ruthless in the pursuit of their survival, even killing a female redshirt (a rarity for The Original Series ) to demonstrate their power. Additionally, they possess impressive technical knowledge, as they can easily modify the Enterprise to pass the Galactic Barrier. The Kelvans' downfall is the result of their social ineptitude, a flaw that allows the Enterprise crew to regain the upper hand over this domineering race.

Terran Empire

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The Terran Empire was a repressive interstellar government dominated by the Terrans from Earth , locally named Terra by the 23rd century, in the mirror universe . The Empire ruled by terror, its Imperial Starfleet acting as its iron fist. In the Imperial Starfleet, officers often promoted themselves by killing superiors that did not follow the rules of the Empire. Torture was a common form of interrogation and discipline. ( ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly "; TOS : " Mirror, Mirror ")

• 1.1 Religion
• 2.1 Early history
• 2.2 21st century
• 2.3 22nd century
• 2.4 23rd and 24th centuries
• 3 Subjugated races
• 4.1 Background information
• 4.2 Apocrypha
• 4.3 See also
• 4.4 External link

Culture [ ]

Going by rebellion sources, the culture of the Empire was fascistic , described as oppressive, racist and xenophobic , predicated on an unconditional hatred and rejection of anything and everything "other". Michael Burnham summarized this information by identifying the Empire as the antithesis of the United Federation of Planets in every way. ( DIS : " Despite Yourself ")

Humans of the prime universe could be violent, but violence was so ingrained in Terran culture that it self-propagated as an evolutionary survival mechanism, resulting in a strength that Michael Burnham described as "painted rust" – a facade hiding mutual fear between target and potential killer. From what she had heard of the Terran Empire, Katrina Cornwell came to the conclusion that, on the basis that prime universe Humans would be unaccustomed to the barbarism commonplace on Terran starships, the prime universe's Gabriel Lorca could not have survived his trip to the mirror universe. ( DIS : " Despite Yourself ", " The War Without, The War Within ")

Philippa Georgiou claimed that the only motivation Terrans had for any given action was revenge . ( DIS : " Die Trying ")

Religion [ ]

During a debrief at Starfleet Headquarters in the 32nd century , the former Terran emperor , Philippa Georgiou , revealed that an alternate First Contact Day was celebrated in the Terran Empire as a Holy Day, commemorating Zefram Cochrane 's successful repulse of the first wave of a Vulcan invasion and the acquisition of Vulcan technology which was used to establish the Empire as a space-faring power. ( DIS : " Die Trying ") She also claimed that an emperor's victims became their servants in the afterlife. ( DIS : " Terra Firma, Part 1 ")

History [ ]

Early history [ ].

In 2155 , Commander Jonathan Archer stated that the Empire had existed for "centuries". ( ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly ") One of the Empire's early outer space conquests was a landing on Terra's moon , Luna , where it planted its flag. ( ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly ", " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II " opening credits ) Millennia ago, Terrans abandoned ideals such as freedom, equality and co-operation as they found them to be, in Georgiou's words, "destructive ideals that fuel rebellions". ( DIS : " Vaulting Ambition ")

21st century [ ]

Humanity's first contact with an alien species in the mirror universe began exactly as it did in the traditional universe. Upon detecting Zefram Cochrane 's warp signature , the Vulcan scout ship T'Plana-Hath landed in Bozeman , Montana , to make first contact with Humanity. Instead of welcoming the Vulcans in a spirit of friendship and understanding, the mirror Cochrane killed the first Vulcan to set foot on Terran soil with a shotgun , as the he and his fellow Terrans boarded and ransacked the Vulcan ship after killing the first officer also. According to mirror Archer, the Vulcan first contact was considered a prelude to invasion.

Instead of the Vulcans gradually releasing technology to Terra over time, the Terran Empire applied the stolen Vulcan technology to a policy of aggressive interstellar expansion. Because of this, the Empire was able to engage in technological research and development considerably earlier than its United Earth counterpart in the prime universe. ( ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly ")

22nd century [ ]

By the 2150s , the Terran Empire had already conquered the Vulcans , Denobulans , Andorians , Aenar , Orions , and Tellarites and had launched attacks against the Klingons , Rigelians , and Xindi . The flagship of the Empire, the ISS Enterprise , under the command of Captain Maximilian Forrest , had a much more racially-diverse crew than its prime-universe counterpart, with numerous Vulcans and Tellarites serving as crew members.

Due to the rapid initial expansion made possible by the captured Vulcan technology, the Empire's hold on its territories was initially weak. By 2155 , some of the worlds conquered by the Terrans were beginning to rebel against Terran rule, leading to a long-running conflict , and after a disastrous defeat at Tau Ceti , the Empire came to the brink of collapse. Propaganda , however, conveyed the message that things were going in the Empire's favor and that the war would be over soon.

In that year, the USS Defiant , a Federation ship launched in the 23rd century of a parallel universe , was reported in Tholian space. The first officer of the ISS Enterprise , Commander Archer, reviewed this report and proposed a bold surgical strike at an asteroid base at which the Tholians were keeping the Defiant . Archer's proposal was quickly rejected by Forrest, causing Archer to mutiny against his captain and take control of Enterprise to retrieve the Defiant so its technology could be utilized against the rebellion. Enterprise traveled to the base and dispatched a boarding party to gain all information they could about the ship, and destroy it to prevent the Tholians from being able to use it. Unfortunately, during the retrieval operation, the Tholians attacked Enterprise and destroyed it, stranding the boarding party aboard the Defiant . ( ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly ")

The truth about interphasic space and the origin of the Defiant remained classified for "Emperor's Eyes Only" into the mid-23rd century.

Following the destruction of the ISS Enterprise and the death of Captain Forrest, Commander Archer and his away team commandeered the USS Defiant . They proceeded to destroy the Tholian hangar in which the ship was being held and rescued a number of former Enterprise crewmembers , including Hoshi Sato , after apparent consideration of leaving their comrades stranded. Archer made a rendezvous with the ISS Avenger , the flagship of Admiral Black . Archer vaporized the admiral and took command of both vessels.

However, this coincided with Commander T'Pol and Crewman Soval leading the other non-Human crewmembers on board the Avenger in a mutiny aboard the ship. They attacked the Defiant in hopes of destroying it but the mutiny itself was destroyed after Commander Charles Tucker III reinitialized power systems that Phlox had attempted to disable. Commander Archer, acting as captain, then set a direct course for Terra, where he intended to declare himself Emperor of the Terran Empire. However, Hoshi Sato poisoned him with the assistance of his bodyguard , Travis Mayweather . The two then took control of the Defiant , and upon arriving at Terra, Sato declared herself Empress . ( ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II ")

At some point between 2155 and the 2250s, the symbol of the Empire appears to have been altered. The earlier symbol closely resembled that of the United Earth government, depicting all of Terra's continents, though replacing a laurel of peace with an aggressive sword. However, by the mid- 23rd century , the symbol, while remaining essentially the same, had a mirrored globe and what seemed to be an inverted delta in the background. ( ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II "; DIS : " Despite Yourself ")

23rd and 24th centuries [ ]

Terran emblem in 2256

By the mid- 23rd century , the Terran Empire had conquered much of known space. However, it continued to be resisted by an alliance of non-Human species, including Vulcans , Andorians , and Klingons . Furthermore Gabriel Lorca of the ISS Buran attempted a failed coup against Emperor Philippa Georgiou . By 2256 or 2257 Starfleet engaged a rebel fleet at Porathia . ( DIS : " Despite Yourself ")

The same year, the Imperial Intelligence located the headquarters of the resistance on Harlak , which was destroyed by the ISS Charon . ( DIS : " The Wolf Inside ")

In 2257, Lorca was able to resume his coup against Georgiou, having escaped the mirror universe and manipulated his way back with a Federation starship, the USS Discovery . For a while, the coup was successful, but Discovery had been informed that Lorca was Terran by the prime Michael Burnham , who Lorca had become obsessed with due to his relationship with the mirror Burnham , and Discovery defeated Lorca. However, although Lorca was killed, not only was Georgiou deposed, but the Charon had been destroyed, and she had been brought to the prime universe, resulting in a power vacuum. ( DIS : " Vaulting Ambition ", " What's Past Is Prologue ", " The War Without, The War Within ")

Not long after this, the symbol was changed yet again, returning to its delta-less version and, this time, depicting only the continents of Terra's western hemisphere.

Eventually, the power vacuum was filled. The Empire encountered a Gorlan uprising, to which the ISS Enterprise , captained by James T. Kirk , responded with the destruction of the rebels' home planet. Other feats of Captain Kirk by 2264 included the execution of five thousand colonists on Vega IX and the annihilation of all remaining inhabitants of Talos IV . In 2267, the Empire coveted the dilithium reserves of the Halkan homeworld and Kirk interceded to demand mining rights on behalf of the Empire.

Emblem worn by a Terran slave

In that year, crewmembers of the ISS Enterprise , including Captain Kirk, accidentally switched places with their prime universe counterparts of the USS Enterprise , who in the same time were transported aboard the mirror version of the Enterprise . Kirk believed that the mirror Spock would one day become captain of the ISS Enterprise , and before returning to his own reality, he planted a seed of doubt about the inevitability of the Empire and whether violence was the only logical answer. Spock promised to consider Kirk's words, after realizing the Empire would only last about 240 years before being overthrown. ( TOS : " Mirror, Mirror ")

As Kirk predicted, the mirror Spock later eventually rose to become Commander-in-Chief of the Empire. He began instituting major reforms that were very popular, turning the Empire into a more peaceful and less aggressive power. However, Spock's reforms left the Empire unprepared to defend itself against the emerging threat of a united Klingon-Cardassian Alliance , which managed to conquer the entire Terran Empire, turning the Terrans themselves into a slave race. The Bajorans , a people conquered by the Empire, came to be a powerful voice in this Alliance. ( DS9 : " Crossover ")

Subjugated races [ ]

Appendices [ ], background information [ ].

Robert Hewitt Wolfe decided to give the Terran Empire some formidable enemies. " Empires aren't usually brutal unless there's a reason. There are usually external or internal pressures that cause them to be that way, " he commented. " So I just thought that if the parallel Earth was that brutal, there had to be a reason. And the reason was that the barbarians (the Klingons and the Cardassians ) were at the gate. " ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion  (p. ? ))

Wolfe based the Terran Empire's predicament on historical precedents. He further elaborated, " My analogy was to the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was as brutal and as nasty as it was because all around it, it had very aggressive barbarians that it was afraid of. The Chinese had the same thing, the Mongols were always there. So if you suddenly make the Romans nice guys, or the Chinese nice guys, well that's great and everything, but then the Mongols come across and it's all over. So that was kind of the idea. " ( citation needed • edit )

In the first draft script of DS9 : " Through the Looking Glass ", Benjamin Sisko described the Terran Empire as "corrupt, brutal, and doomed to collapse in any case." Mirror O'Brien, however, longed for the days when the Empire still existed and, later in the same script, Rom suggested reestablishing the Empire once the Terran Rebellion succeeded, with Sisko as the head of the Empire. Sisko himself, though, was against that idea, commenting, " The Terran Empire was every bit as corrupt as the Alliance. " The Empire wasn't referenced at all in the final draft script of "Through the Looking Glass". ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion - A Series Guide and Script Library ; [3] )

After the premiere of DIS : " Vaulting Ambition ", screenwriter Jordon Nardino answered fan's questions through his Twitter feed. On the topic of the Terran Empire's relation to ancient Rome, Nardino stated that, " Lots of discussion in the room about the origins of the Terran Empire. In terms of canon, as always, it's what's on screen and nothing more. Unanswered questions leave avenues for future seasons / iterations of Trek to explore. I do not know if MU's "point of departure" is a specific incident, or the entire history of the MU somehow darkly mirrors ours. Canon locks us into an origin no later than the 20th century. Georgiou's "millenia" could be construed as hyperbole. But I firmly do not believe the Terrans are merely a continuation of the Roman Empire. MU earth history should roughly (but darkly) mirror our history as much as possible. I think Rome never falling would diverge too much. Leaders with imperial pretensions have adopted the styles and titles of the Romans since… well… the minute Rome "fell"! Napoleon took the title Augustus. So it's natural the Terrans looked back to Rome too. " ( 'After Trek' Gives Details On Georgiou's Meal, Mirror Stamets, Terran Empire History And More ; [4] )

On the topic of Terran history and the meaning behind mirror Philippa Georgiou 's elaborate title, Nardino stated:

" All Hail her most Imperial Majesty, Mother of the Fatherland, Overlord of Vulcan, Dominus of Kronos, Regina Andor, All Hail Philippa Georgiou Augustus Iaponius Centarius. " But what's it mean??!? When we began digging into the Terrans last year, I had just read a newer history of Rome and was excited to use it as inspiration. ( SPQR by Mary Beard, check it out.) Here's some of the titles Roman Emperors used: [LINK ] So into her titles: – Father of the Fatherland is easy, we turned that into Mother of the Fatherland (even tho we de-gendered Emperor, it felt right) – Overlord of Vulcan : an early conquest of the Terrans, they see themselves as their protectors. It's paternalistic / delusional. – Dominus of Kronos : Terrans are very proud of conquering Qo'noS. Dominus is a harsher title the Emperor at the time took as a result (and Georgiou kept for herself). "We OWN them." Qo'noS mispronounced out of cultural chauvinism. – Regina Andor : Andoria is a jewel in the Terran crowd. Subjugated warrior race. Early Terran conquest, pre-Sato. The title was created to celebrate this achievement. Now as for Georgiou's many names… "Philippa Georgiou Augustus Iaponius Centarius" Philipa Georgiou: her given name and her family name, just like Prime. Augustus: the Terrans see themselves as inheritors of the Roman Empire so their Emperors take the title of its first Emperor. ( 'After Trek' Gives Details On Georgiou's Meal, Mirror Stamets, Terran Empire History And More ; [5] )

Additionally, Nardino considered that Centaurius was the first system colonized by the Terrans owing to its proximity to Sol, thus resulting in the then-ruling Emperor taking its title in tribute. ( 'After Trek' Gives Details On Georgiou's Meal, Mirror Stamets, Terran Empire History And More ; [6] )

Apocrypha [ ]

In the game Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force , part of the story involves going through a scavenger base composed of many species' ships. One of these ships is an Imperial Starfleet vessel, apparently dating back to the 23rd century. It is populated by Humans, who behave typically for the mirror universe. How it came to be in Voyager 's canon dimension is unknown.

The novel The Sorrows of Empire depicts Spock becoming Emperor of the Terran Empire in 2277 and reforming the Empire into a democratic society, only to be overthrown and killed by the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance in 2295. At the same time, he engineers events leading to the formation of the Alliance, believing that their conquest of the former Empire will ultimately lead to their downfall and the establishment of a Federation-style republic in the future (which occurs in the follow-up novel Rise Like Lions ).

In the Star Trek: The Next Generation novel Dark Mirror – written and published before DS9's televised visits to the Mirror Universe – the Terran Empire (called the United Empire of Planets) is depicted as still existing in the 24th century, with Spock's reforms having been cut short by his death , speculated by Captain Jean-Luc Picard to be the result of his assassination after he pushed the Empire too far, too quickly. The crew of the mirror Enterprise -D are assigned a new mission to devise a means of bringing a ship from the prime universe into the mirror universe and then return after replacing its crew, the Empire having run out of territory that it can easily conquer in its own universe, but the Enterprise crew of the prime universe manage to sabotage their efforts and devise a method of detecting future incursions.

In the computer game Star Trek Online , by 2409, the Terran Rebellion has succeeded in overthrowing the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance and restored the Terran Empire to its former status as a major power in the quadrant . The Terran Empire of the 25th century has also returned to the old ways, having engaged in a series of hostile incursions into the prime universe. The Empire attempts to invade that universe using a trans-dimensional portal in the Badlands , and later allies with the Temporal Liberation Front. Imperial ships have markings similar to those used in the 22nd century, albeit red instead of yellow. The Emperor in the 25th century is revealed in the episode "The Eye of the Storm" (released in September 2022) to be the mirror counterpart of Wesley Crusher , who seeks to combine his powers from the Traveler with those of "the Other" (the mirror counterpart of V'ger ) to become a god and destroy all of existence. After he is defeated, he is replaced by Leeta , who up to that point had commanded the ISS Enterprise -F.

The mirror universe novella Saturn's Children identifies Andorians, Bolians , Tellarites, and Denobulans as part of the rebellion. Whereas the success of the Terran Rebellion has led to the reinstatement of the Terran Empire in Star Trek Online , in the novels, the democratic Commonwealth is established.

See also [ ]

• Mirror universe people
• Mirror universe casualties
• Mirror universe history
• Starfleet ranks
• Terran Rebellion
• Starfleet uniform

External link [ ]

• Terran Empire at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works

Screen Rant

Discovery was built on earth like uss enterprise in j.j. abrams’ star trek.

Burnham's time jump reminds us that, unlike other Star Trek hero ships, both the USS Discovery and J.J. Abrams' USS Enterprise weren't built in space.

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery, season 5, episode 4, "Face the Strange". Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4, "Face the Strange", reminds us that the USS Discovery was built on Earth, just like the USS Enterprise in the J.J. Abrams Star Trek movies. Written by Sean Cochran and directed by Lee Rose , "Face the Strange" catapults Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) through the personal history of the USS Discovery. From its construction in the 23rd century to the crew being killed by the Breen in the 32nd century, Discovery season 5, episode 4, covers the full spread of the starship's history.

Star Trek: Discovery season 1 established that the USS Discovery was still a new and groundbreaking vessel in 2256 . It's unclear exactly when Burnham and Rayner's trip to the in-construction USS Discovery takes place, but deck seven hadn't quite been completed on schedule. However, it's very clear from a glimpse of the outside world where Burnham and Rayner have traveled to, the San Francisco Fleet Yards on Earth, drawing a direct link with J.J. Abrams' version of the starship Enterprise from the Kelvin Timeline movies.

Star Trek: Discovery’s Enterprise Crossover Made 1 Of Burnham’s Crew Very Happy

Uss discovery was built on earth just like uss enterprise in j.j. abrams’ star trek.

The USS Discovery was built at the San Francisco Shipyards, something first mentioned way back in Star Trek: Discovery season 1 . "Face the Strange" reveals the location of the shipyard, via a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge. This places Starfleet's San Francisco Shipyards somewhere in or around Starfleet Academy and Federation Headquarters. A huge amount of space must be required to construct starships, so it's possible that specialist platforms have been erected in the area around San Francisco Bay. The height of Burnham's view means that the audience don't see the ground, suggesting that the Crossfield-class starship could be constructed on a floating platform.

The Kelvin Timeline version of the USS Enterprise was also built on the Earth's surface, at the Starfleet Shipyard in Riverside, Iowa . However, while the majority of construction took place in Iowa, the Enterprise itself was launched from the San Francisco Fleet Yards. This draws a direct link with Star Trek: Discovery , suggesting that the nature of starfleet construction in the 23rd century was largely unchanged by the destruction of the USS Kelvin. However, the USS Discovery and the Kelvin Timeline USS Enterprise are still unique, because the majority of Star Trek 's starships are built in space.

Star Trek: Discovery was the first Star Trek show in 12 years, released after the three J.J. Abrams movies, which may account for season 1's reference to the Earth-based construction seen in Star Trek (2009) .

Starfleet Ships Are Usually Built In Space

In the Star Trek universe, Starfleet's ships are generally built in space, either at the Utopia Planitia Shipyards above Mars, or in various space docks. The USS Excelsior, first glimpsed in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock was being built and tested at Spacedock One. A century later, the USS Enterprise-D, USS Defiant and USS Voyager were all constructed at the orbital Utopia Planitia Shipyards. This makes the USS Discovery unique in the prime Star Trek timeline, as it's the only hero ship confirmed to be built on Earth. In fact, Discovery is unique among other starships in Star Trek: Discovery 's 32nd century timeline.

Starships in the 32nd century are built and refitted at Starfleet's Archer Spacedock , unveiled in Star Trek: Discovery season 4. The USS Discovery has made several trips to Archer Spacedock for repairs following its encounters with the Dark Matter Anomaly and the avalanche on Q'Mau. All of which proves that, while starships can be constructed on Earth, it's far more convenient and efficient for them to be built and repaired in space so that they're primed to join Starfleet's armada at the nearest opportunity.

Star Trek: Discovery streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

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Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.

Star Trek (2009)

J.J. Abrams' 2009 movie Star Trek rebooted the iconic sci-fi franchise in a totally new timeline. When a Romulan ship travels back in time and alters the past, the lives of James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), and the future crew of the USS Enterprise are drastically changed. In this new timeline, the Romulan Nero (Eric Bana) sets out for revenge on Spock, setting off a chain of events that reshape the entire universe.

Star Trek: Best Book-Only Characters

• The Star Trek novels introduce unique characters like Akaar and Treir, adding depth to the expansive Starfleet universe.
• Characters like Nick Keller and Elias Vaughn bring new perspectives to the post- DS9 era, facing challenging galactic events.
• Mackenzie Calhoun leads the USS Excalibur in a new hero ship series, showcasing tactical genius in the New Frontier books.

Just like the universe itself, the Star Trek franchise is huge and far-reaching, encompassing several television shows, and numerous video games, movies, and books. While many of Star Trek 's most iconic characters appear in various series and films, there are many other great characters who only feature in alternative media sources. For instance, the final frontier has spawned some memorable video game-based characters .

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Yet perhaps the richest source of characters is the now questionably canon series of books that take place following The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine . From fresh takes on classic species like the Andorians and Orions, to some of Starfleet's finest officers, the Star Trek novels are a treasure trove of notable figures.

Leonard James Akaar

First appearence: star trek mission gamma book one: twilight.

• Author: David R. George III
• Publication Date: September 2002

Leonard James Akaar is unique among novel-only characters in that he does, in fact, make a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance on televised Trek . "Friday's Child," an episode of The Original Series , ends with his birth; however, the Capellan royal would not be seriously fleshed out until 2002's Mission Gamma: Twilight . By the time of the Deep Space 9 novels, Akaar had risen through the ranks of Starfleet to become an influential admiral with the ear of the Federation president.

Akaar's strategic mindset and steely resolve proved essential in preserving the Federation through some of its darkest periods, including the Borg invasion depicted in the Star Trek: Destiny series. The Starfleet legend may have been born in The Original Series , but the Star Trek novels were where he made his name.

First Appearence: Star Trek: Demons of Air and Darkness

• Author: Keith R. A. DeCandido
• Publication Date: September 2001

Star Trek features many inspirational female characters, from Kira Nerys to Katherine Janeway. However, few are as resourceful or as motivated as Treir , an Orion Dabo girl who transformed Quark's Bar into a highly successful business during the post- DS9 novels. Following her escape from Orion servitude, Treir earned her place as Quark's right-hand woman by implementing a series of radical reforms, including hiring a Dabo boy to attract more customers.

Star Trek: The Fates Of Every Live-Action TV Show's Main Character

Treir may not play a significant role in the canon-shattering events depicted in the Deep Space 9 novels, but this ruthless businesswoman helped to make Star Trek 's prose universe feel like a living, breathing place. If anyone is capable of giving Quark a run for his latinum, it's her.

Nick Keller

First appearence: star trek new earth: challenger.

• Author: Diane Carey
• Publication Date: August 2000

New Earth , a series of six novels that take place between Star Trek: The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan , was intended to act as a backdoor pilot for a new narrative focusing on Commander Nick Keller . In the final novel, Keller takes command of a makeshift starship in order to defend the human colony of Belle Terre from alien attack. Keller was conflicted between overthrowing his inept captain and preserving the lives of his comrades, and it's a great shame that a full series based on the space cowboy's adventures never emerged.

Interestingly, author Diane Carey based Keller's appearance on Scott Bakula, who would go on to play Captain Jonathan Archer in Star Trek: Enterprise . Keller, however, would make only two more appearances in the Star Trek universe, with both being part of the multi-series Gateways crossover event.

Elias Vaughn

First appearence: star trek: avatar (book one).

• Author: S. D. Perry
• Publication Date: July 2001

Elias Vaughn was a Starfleet officer and intelligence operative who joined Deep Space 9's command staff following the end of the Dominion War . Despite only holding the rank of commander, Vaughn's expertise proved a boon to the Federation outpost, and he played a role in several key events, including the USS Defiant 's post-war exploration of the Gamma Quadrant (depicted in the Mission Gamma sub-series).

Star Trek: 8 Impressive Things Kirk Did Before Joining The USS Enterprise

Vaughn was haunted by the death of his wife, Ruriko, and his troubled relationship with his estranged daughter, Prynn. This relationship was complicated by the fact that Prynn was also assigned to Deep Space 9. However, father and daughter were eventually able to reconcile–but not without some bumps along the way.

Christine Vale

First appearence: star trek: the belly of the beast.

• Author: Dean Wesley Smith

While William Riker's USS Titan has made notable appearances in Star Trek: Lower Decks , the starship's adventures were originally chronicled in a series of spin-off novels. These books featured Christine Vale , a former detective turned Starfleet officer, as Riker's second-in-command. Vale was initially unwilling to take the post, as she disliked the idea of Riker working so closely with his wife, Deanna Troi.

Luckily, Vale took the post, which allowed her to act as a counterweight to any of Riker's Troi-related biases. During her time aboard the USS Titan , she helped to explore the Beta Quadrant and fend off a Borg invasion. Indeed, her record was so good that, following Riker's promotion to admiral, she took command of the Luna -class starship.

Thirishar ch'Thane

From their initial appearance in 1967's "Journey to Babel" and 2001's "The Andorian Incident," references to Star Trek 's Andorians were true and far between. One important detail was disclosed in The Next Generation , however: Andorians have four sexes , with all four required for successful reproduction.

The character of Thirishar ch'Thane (or "Shar") was a response to this premise. Shar served as Deep Space Nine's science officer following the end of the Dominion War, but was torn between his commitments to Starfleet and to his mating group, who wished him to return to Andor. This dilemma was further complicated by a dangerous decline in Andorian fertility, which threatened to cause the Andorians' extinction in the long term. Shar was eventually able to use his scientific knowledge to help solve the Andorian fertility crisis.

The Jem'Hadar are one of Star Trek 's most iconic creations , a powerful race of warriors motivated by their addiction to the chemical ketracel-white. During the Dominion War of 2373–2375, the Jem'Hadar were central to the Dominion assaults which nearly overwhelmed the Federation Alliance.

8 Best Starfleet Ships During The Dominion War

After the war's conclusion, Taran'atar , a Jem'Hadar without a ketracel-white dependency, was sent to Deep Space Nine as a cultural observer. Taran'atar's struggle to adjust to the Alpha Quadrant during peacetime makes for fascinating reading, as does seeing the fearsome warrior growing closer to his former enemies. Taran'atar's story takes some strange twists and turns, but he remains a fascinating character.

Mackenzie Calhoun

First appearence: star trek new frontier: house of cards.

• Author: Peter David
• Publication Date: July 1997

In 1997, Pocket Books published the first of Peter David's New Frontier books. While these novels included several characters from TV Trek (mostly notably Commander Shelby from "The Best of Both Worlds" ), they focused on a new hero ship, the USS Excalibur , and a new captain: Mackenzie Calhoun . Calhoun, an alien warrior modeled after Mel Gibson, was depicted as a tactical genius capable of beating Starfleet's toughest challenges–including the infamous Kobayashi Maru test.

Calhoun soon became a fan-favorite, with his New Frontier series including over 20 volumes. The Xenanian captain was even popular enough to be made into an action figure, the only example of this honor being bestowed on a character originating from any of Star Trek 's novels.

Created by Gene Roddenberry

First Film Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Latest Film Star Trek Beyond

First TV Show Star Trek: The Original Series

Latest TV Show Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Creation Year 1966

This is Ceti Alpha V from Star Trek Sleep from Space : Astronomy for Peaceful Dreams

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What would happen if Mars suddenly exploded?  Would a starship mistake the Earth for Mars?  A look at the Cet Alpha system.

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