What comprises a Starbase?

[Warped9]

I've wondered about this for awhile. What goes into a Starbase? What facilities does it need to have and what forms can it take? Is it analogous to a contemporary naval base?

In TOS and TNG we've seen starbases on planet surfaces or at least what seems to be the main hub or administrative parts of it. But of course since we're dealing with starships that (generally or mostly) cannot land then there would have to be extensive orbital facilities to service the ships.

From that line of thinking would a starbase even need to be situated on a planet surface? It could be a hollowed out asteroid similar to that seen in some of Ralph McQuarrie's early concept paintings for TMP. Or it could be much like the spaceport seen in TSFS and TNG's "11001001."

Would a starbase most likely be situated on or near a colony or could it be a solitary facility?

Any thoughts?

 

[Wingsley]

This topic has been on my mind, on and off, since the first time I watched "Court Martial", "The Menagerie", "The Ultimate Computer" and "The Trouble With Tribbles". Starbase 11, at least, what we see of it, is obviously a Starfleet naval base situated on a Class M planet. "The space station", seen in the M-5 war games, in neither clearly identified or rules out as a Starfleet installation. K-7 is left vague, but it seems to be under civilian authoirty if that means anything.

Note that I'm not touching any of the subsequent series or movies.

The bottom line: at some point, this line of thought begs the question:

PLEASE DEFINE THE TERM "STARBASE"!

It's left vague.

We can assume it's a set-in-stone term that clearly defines a naval installation, with specific facilities, personnel, and baseline capabilities of serving the needs of the fleet.

Starbases could also be like starships, with set specs and classifications to define different units with different roles and capabilities. So if there's a distinct billet for a "Class Four stardrive vessel... crew of forty-seven...", then maybe there's such a thing as a Class One Starbase, distinct from a Class Two, some are planet-based and some are space stations, some are orbital and some are in deep space, and so on.

At the end of the day, the most vivid example of a "starbase" in all of TREK was Starbase 11. And it was quite an impressive exhibition for being brief peeks of artwork and set-work.

 

[Warped9]

When the Enterprise in "Coutmartial" pulls into Starbase 11 for repairs after its encounter with an ion storm we see only the planet bound part of the base. But if the ship needs extensive repairs then shouldn't there have been some sort of orbital component to facilitate this? I can understand that in TOS they couldn't afford to show this, but in TOS-R I think it's something that should have been shown. Or am I missing something?

 

[C.E. Evans]

I always felt that starbases vary. As mentioned, some are planetside facilities, but most are probably space stations. Some are big, some are small. Some are multipurpose, others are single-purpose (i.e., medical or starship repair). Some may have a large Starfleet presence and commanded by a Starfleet officer, while others may only have a minimal Starfleet contingent and run mostly by civilians, with a civilian starbase director.

I generally think that starbases are located in points that are considered "strategic" by either Starfleet or the Federation, and not necessarily just for tactical purposes. In some distant parts of the Galaxy, a starbase may be the only Federation facility period for many sectors around and serves as the only link some member worlds may have with the Federation Council or Starfleet Command, IMO.

 

[Cicero]

When the Enterprise in "Coutmartial" pulls into Starbase 11 for repairs after its encounter with an ion storm we see only the planet bound part of the base. But if the ship needs extensive repairs then shouldn't there have been some sort of orbital component to facilitate this? I can understand that in TOS they couldn't afford to show this, but in TOS-R I think it's something that should have been shown. Or am I missing something?

It's possible that repair facilities are located on the planet. An organization with the gravitational and inertial control exhibited by Starfleet might be capable of constructing or projecting quasi-microgravity environments on planetary surfaces.

Such environments might have several advantages over orbital facilities, including the presence of atmosphere (which could be advantageous for a number of reasons, including safety, comfort, and ease of heat dissipation), and, apparently, at least some protection from ion storms, which seem to be very dangerous to starships.

 

[Wingsley]

When the Enterprise in "Coutmartial" pulls into Starbase 11 for repairs after its encounter with an ion storm we see only the planet bound part of the base. But if the ship needs extensive repairs then shouldn't there have been some sort of orbital component to facilitate this? I can understand that in TOS they couldn't afford to show this, but in TOS-R I think it's something that should have been shown. Or am I missing something?

Good points and a very on-point question.

Nobody ever explicitly said that Starbase 11 was a strictly planet-based facility. In fact, it's possible that an unseen major portion of Starbase 11 is in orbit of the planet. For all we know, the Federation could be using Starbase 11 as a kind of terraforming or settling project with designs on making the planet into a future colony. Maybe the ground installation was see in "Court Martial" and "The Menagerie" is just the beginning of this settlement operation.

Thinking about this subject today made me wonder what Jefferies and Wah Chang and the rest of the TOS crew would have done if they had been handed the right script with a starbase space station and given a chance to exhibit their artwork. I started imagining a somewhat large space station (larger than K-7, but smaller than the Mighty Mushroom known as SpaceDock) that would be completely modular but also consolidating all operations and components into a single comprehensive structure. (In other words, there isn't an orbital office complex here, a dry dock there, and so on.)

I imagined something like polyhedron shape, with the corners being Daedalus-like spheroids and the edges being tubular connectors. The interior would be a hollow drydock, capable of sheltering multiple starships. The ships would pass through the outer structure through the openings between the spheres and tubes. These spheres and tubes would be roughly analogous to the modular sections of starships, each module containing facilities for specific functions from crew quarters and offices and lounges to labs, hospitals and engineering facilities.

Does that sound like a possible unseen Federation starbase deep space station facility to you? Does to me.

Back to the idea of classification for bases: It would be interesting to consider a stratified class system for bases that would make it easy to tell which base offers specific facilities and what the size and type would be. Maybe it would go like this...


Class I: largest of starbases, a sprawling mixture of orbital and planet-based. Starbase 11 could be this type.

Class II: large facility, but more limited. Spacedock would be an example.

Class III: substantial facility capable of servicing multiple space vessels. The K7-like unnamed "space station" in "The Ultimate Computer" could be this type. Deep Space Nine might also be Class III or IV.


None of this touches a base's military capabilities. (If we assume that starbases have any such capability.)

 

[Cicero]

^ Deep Space Nine, at least, does have military capability. In later seasons, it appears to be substantially armed.

 

[Warped9]

When I envision an orbital facility for starship service and repair I imagine something along the lines of the TMP dry dock although most likely connected to a central complex. This would make for easy docking without the complexity of bringing the ship into a chamber like the mushroom spacedock seen in TSFS or the complex designed by FJ in his tech manual.

Of course this setup could also work for a spaceborne complex orbiting a star as well as a planet bound starbase.

 

[T'Girl]

In some distant parts of the Galaxy, a starbase may be the only Federation facility period for many sectors around and serves as the only link some member worlds may have with the Federation Council or Starfleet Command

Just this.

Nothing says that starbase equates to military base. A starbase on the surface of a world, especially if it the only Federation facilities on the entire planet, might hold the equivalent of the federal building that exist in many large American cities. If the starbase is on a non-Federation member world it would have the embassy or diplomatic consulate. A potion of the starbase would be a starfleet base, operations, repair, housing. It might also have civilian commerical concerns involve in off world commercial trade activities, the local Federation university would be here too. There would be living facilities, shops, parks and schools for "alien" visitors.

Another term for a starbase would be a "off-worlder enclave community."

 

[Wingsley]

What T'Girl seemed to be suggesting would mean that the term "starbase" would mean something like a combination of Federation embassy, World Trade Center, residential compound, and possibly a naval base / space station. Starbase 11 seems to support and challenge this. On the one hand, what we see of the facility looks to be a substantial Starfleet naval base. We see office complexes, officer's club, Starfleet courtroom, arrayed computerization server farms, apparent Starfleet hospital, and implied starship repair and resupply facilities. It is clearly shown to be a place where Starfleet personnel work and live. There is clearly a naval base there. And Kirk and company seem to refer to this world as Starbase 11, implying the whole planet is a Starfleet facility.

At the same time, it is also clear that there is a significant civilian presence there. Sam Cogley, a civvie lawyer, apparently lives and works there. And young Jamie Finney apparently lives there, at least temporarily. I doubt we would see kids and lawyers working and living in a place where there is not excellent living quarters and civilian presence / economy as well.

Deep Space Nine definitely suggests a kind of "enclave" space station, that's for sure.

So, it's not clear to me what the definitions or the boundaries are as far as Starbases and other Federation installations go.

 

[Timo]

When the Enterprise in "Coutmartial" pulls into Starbase 11 for repairs after its encounter with an ion storm we see only the planet bound part of the base. But if the ship needs extensive repairs then shouldn't there have been some sort of orbital component to facilitate this? I can understand that in TOS they couldn't afford to show this, but in TOS-R I think it's something that should have been shown. Or am I missing something?

We might argue that the episode proves dockyard time is at a premium. Commodore Stone would thus probably have the Enterprise off the orbital dock boxes as soon as possible, with every repair operation that can be performed without dockyards (such as replacing the ion pod) being performed without them. Thus, no orbital dockyard in the TOS-R scenes, even though the base had those.

Deep Space Nine, at least, does have military capability. In later seasons, it appears to be substantially armed.

OTOH, we don't know if DS9 has any ship repair or even replenishment capability at all. The station was built as an ore refinery and then converted to a trading outpost; there might be little or no facilities for, say, refueling a starship. (That is, something minimal would be available for runabouts, and adaptable for use on the Defiant, but DS9 would still be a recipient of fuel services more than a provider of those.)

And Kirk and company seem to refer to this world as Starbase 11, implying the whole planet is a Starfleet facility.

Might be the place is uninhabitable, by and large. Perhaps the atmosphere is all wrong outside the one city; perhaps the soil is bad for farming and nobody thus wants to try and make a living outside the city.

Or then it might be an oversimplification on our heroes' part, just like "Norfolk" or "Miramar" might be referred to by military heroes as if being nothing more than military bases. Even the entire "Hawaii" might be "implied" to be just a naval base... Or the entire "Germany" just a war zone in the 1940s, or a garrison in the 1950s.

Certainly it would make sense that whenever Starfleet sets up a Starbase, this attracts civilian attention, and "camp followers" soon cling on to the base. Starfleet might do wisely to actively encourage this sort of thing, too. Perhaps those giant mushroom starbases are largely civilian cities and factories, with just a token Starfleet presence, much like SB 11 might be just a fraction of the city down on the planet, and just a fraction of the swarm of orbital assets. Star Trek may not literally be "Wagon Train to the stars", but Starfleet is still allowed to have its frontier fortresses follow the Wild West example.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Wingsley]

This thread got me to wondering: Does Starfleet maintain any purely military naval bases? If so, what would they look like and what functions would they serve? Would they be called starbases or something else entirely?

 

[Saquist]

^ Deep Space Nine, at least, does have military capability. In later seasons, it appears to be substantially armed.

But is there a difference between a space station ...simply a station and a starbase?

I get the feeling that a starbase is more than just a station. I think it's an administrative anchor and Sector support for supplies...like a hub for the explorative and engineering organizations of Star Fleet.

 

[SWHouston]

StarBASE implies Fleet Operations.
A Starbase can be a Space Station.
Space Station (alone) implies more Shopping Mall.

 

[T'deD'Edkeid'Ende'Dejdid]

Though we've seen huge mushroom starbases/space dock, I would think most starbases would be planetary based with an orbital component for ship repairs.

 

[T'Girl]

Does Starfleet maintain any purely military naval bases?

The outposts along the Romulan neutral zone would be an example of a pure military naval (starfleet) bases.

StarBASE implies Fleet Operations.

Because commercial concerns don't have bases all over the world?

 

[Wingsley]

Well, let's keep in mind that in "Balance of Terror", the Romulan Neutral Zone stations were referred to as "Earth Outpost Four", etc. This implies they are maintained by Earth / UESPA operations that predate the Federation. There were never any starbases mentioned in "Balance". (Although Kirk did mention a "command base", implying some centralized facility in the rear echelon.)

 

[Timo]

TNG "The Neutral Zone" in turn refers both to outposts and starbases at the RNZ.

One might postulate that the outpost chain guarding the Romulans consists of "sectors" that for both historical and practical reasons are the responsiblity of the wartime partners, with one former combatant handling one sector and another the next. The Romulans would have attacked the Earth sector for reason X, be it coincidence, specific hatred of Earth, or the relative weakness of the Earth sector.

By the time of TNG, the "nationalistic" aspect would be gone, even if sector thinking remained (as perhaps evidenced by the letter codings of outpost numbers: Tango and Sierra in canon, Foxtrot et al. in novels).

Timo Saloniemi

 

[T'Girl]

Does Starfleet maintain any purely military naval bases?

The outposts along the Romulan neutral zone would be an example of a pure military [snip] bases.

There were never any starbases mentioned in "Balance"

Well I never said there were, but there's no way around that the outposts were pure military bases.

One might postulate that the outpost chain guarding the Romulans consists of "sectors"

Like what you had (have) in Iraq, where there's areas of American bases, British bases, Polish bases, others. You might also postulate that the rest of the Federation had largely put the Romulans behind them. There apparently had been no contact with the Romulans of any kind in a full century, the Federation council decades before could have discontinued monitoring the zone. Earth's government feeling differently independently continued the practice.

When the outposts picked up something, they then call Starfleet.

 

[ngc7293]

Any Star base built on a planet with a space based component makes no sense. It is like going to the expense to build this land based facility when all your energies could have been put forth in space. Either build just the base alone on planet or build in space. (ie. space station in orbit with facilities)