26-580: In the fictional universe of Star Trek , the United Federation of Planets ( UFP ) is the interstellar government with which, as part of its space force Starfleet , most of the characters and starships of the franchise are affiliated. Commonly referred to as " the Federation ", it was introduced in the original Star Trek television series . The survival, success, and growth of the Federation and its principles of freedom have become some of
52-583: A cabinet . The Federation also has a supreme court and a legislature, the Federation Council, with delegates from its various member worlds. A constitution and a charter have both been referred to as founding documents of the Federation. Several planets are shown to desire Federation membership. Joining the Federation is a complicated process, and requires meeting various criteria. Disqualifying criteria include caste -based discrimination and violations of sentient rights. A single, unified government
78-489: A narrative or a work of art . This concept is most commonly associated with works of fantasy and science fiction , and can be found in various forms such as novels , comics , films , television shows , video games , and other creative works. In science fiction, a fictional universe may be a remote alien planet or galaxy with little apparent relationship to the real world (as in Star Wars ); in fantasy, it may be
104-826: A Man ", where Captain Jean-Luc Picard successfully defends Data's right to resign from Starfleet in a trial of his sentience, which extends the right not to work to robots alongside all other sentient beings following the in-universe year 42523.7 (2365 AD.). In 2020, Screen Rant noted the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode " First Contact " for exploring the United Federation of Planets and how it sometimes struggles with contact with aliens. Like many things in Star Trek , episodes and films may reference entities or laws within
130-802: A greatly fictionalized or invented version of Earth's distant past or future (as in The Lord of the Rings ). In a 1970 article in CAPA-alpha , comics historian Don Markstein defined the fictional universe as meant to clarify the concept of fictional continuities. According to the criteria he imagined: Fictional universes are sometimes shared by multiple prose authors, with each author's works in that universe being granted approximately equal canonical status. For example, Larry Niven 's fictional universe Known Space has an approximately 135-year period in which Niven allows other authors to write stories about
156-848: A sometimes adversarial and begrudging friendship with Enterprise Captain Jonathan Archer . The series revealed more about Andorian ships, the home world Andoria, and the culture and history of Andorians and their subspecies, the Aenar . The 2004 episode " Zero Hour " established that Andorians were one of the four founding members of the United Federation of Planets. Andorians appeared in four episodes of The Original Series, and were background elements in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , but remained largely undeveloped until Enterprise . Showrunner Brannon Braga originally wanted to limit
182-473: A vast interstellar alliance founded on the enlightened principles of liberty, equality, justice, progress, and peaceful co-existence, as an idealistic version of the United Nations . The optimistic view of the future present in the Federation has been highlighted as unique among most science fiction , showing how "evolved" and "civilized" the future could conceivably be. Much debate has centered on how
208-463: Is also capable of considerable military might. Section 31 is a paramilitary espionage agency, described by writer Ira Steven Behr as "...doing the nasty stuff that no one wants to think about.". The Federation is depicted as a democratic republic, led by a President based in Paris on Earth. Presidential powers include issuing pardons and declaring states of emergency. This president is supported by
234-679: Is not required for admission, but is desirable. Most Starfleet personnel are Federation citizens. Non-citizens can join Starfleet, but the process is more difficult, as with all non-Federation races. The Federation's counterpart in the Mirror Universe is the Terran Empire, a human-dominated authoritarian state which has formed an empire by conquest. In the Short Treks episode "Calypso", taking place at an unknown time in
260-610: The Man-Kzin Wars . Other fictional universes, like the Ring of Fire series , actively court canonical stimulus from fans, but gate and control the changes through a formalized process and the final say of the editor and universe creator . Andorian Andorians are a fictional race of humanoid extraterrestrials in the American science fiction franchise Star Trek . They were created by writer D. C. Fontana . Within
286-424: The Star Trek franchise 's central themes. The Federation is an organization of numerous planetary sovereignties, including Earth and Vulcan . The franchise focuses on Starfleet, the exploration and defense arm of the Federation, rather than the government. Viewers are rarely given details of the internal workings of the government; however, many episodes refer to the rules and laws that the Federation imposes on
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#1732786786290312-462: The Star Trek franchise. They were indicated to be a vital, important member of the United Federation of Planets in the 1997 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode " In the Cards ", but did not gain considerable exposure until the 2001–2005 series Star Trek: Enterprise , on which they were used as recurring characters, most notably in the person of Thy'lek Shran , a starship commander who maintained
338-399: The Star Trek narrative, they are native to the blue icy Class M moon, Andoria (sometimes referred to as Andor ). Distinctive traits of Andorians include their blue/green skin, a pair of cranial antennae , and white hair. Andorians first appeared in the 1968 Star Trek: The Original Series episode " Journey to Babel ", and have been seen or mentioned in episodes of subsequent series in
364-631: The materialist application of a post-scarcity economy in the Federation is incompatible with its own idealist ethics. It has been described, along with the series as a whole, as a vehicle to explore what it means to be human, as well as exploring mankind's efforts to build a better society. Other writers have noted that Star Trek ' s Federation has the same logistical and philosophical difficulties of other utopian economic and political schemes that make it seem unrealistic. However, Star Trek has brought up this idea of slavery or coerced service labor being necessary for its utopian society in " The Measure of
390-578: The Federation (in 2373) as being made up of "over one hundred and fifty" planets, spread across 8,000 light-years. The Federation is a major galactic power, and at various times has been at war with other powers such as the Klingons , the Romulans and the Dominion . The Federation's space force is called Starfleet , and, although most of Star Trek depicts peaceful exploration of the galaxy, Starfleet
416-595: The Federation as being incorporated at 'the first Babel Interplanetary Conference' in 2087. In books such as the Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual and the novel Articles of the Federation , the Federation's founding document is the Articles of Federation. Fictional universe A fictional universe , also known as an imagined universe or a constructed universe , is the internally consistent fictional setting used in
442-493: The Federation had undergone a near-total collapse precipitated by "The Burn", a galaxy-wide disaster. This shrunk the Federation from a peak of 350 worlds to just 38, notably excluding both Earth and Ni'Var (formerly known as Vulcan). During the fourth season, the Federation is in the process of rebuilding itself; Starfleet Academy is reopened, new shipbuilding facilities are commissioned, and many former member worlds such as Trill, Ni'Var and Earth rejoin. In non- canon sources like
468-407: The Federation, but viewers are never given a broad view of its inner workings. Many contemporary terms are assigned to the Federation, but parallels to current government bodies and their roles and responsibilities are pure speculation on the part of fans and critics. In the timeline of Star Trek , the Federation was founded in 2161, after the events of Star Trek: Enterprise but before those of
494-461: The United Federation of Planets into the show. One of the first teleplays Coon was credited with was " A Taste of Armageddon ", where an ambassador on the Enterprise is referred to as a Federation official. Eventually, the series became an allegory for the current events of the 1960s counterculture , placing great emphasis on an anti-war message and depicting the United Federation of Planets,
520-579: The characters and their adventures. Early in the first season of Star Trek , Captain Kirk had said the Enterprise ' s authority came from the United Earth Space Probe Agency. Bases visited in the series were labeled "Earth Outposts". In August 1966, Gene L. Coon was hired by Gene Roddenberry as a writer for Star Trek . Actor William Shatner credits Coon with injecting the concepts of Starfleet , Starfleet Command and
546-442: The distant future, the character of Craft refers to the "V'draysh". Little is said about the V'draysh, except that it is at war with Alcor IV, and that the V'draysh people are searching for artifacts from ancient human history. The writer of this episode, Michael Chabon , stated that the name "V'draysh" is intended to be a syncope for the word "Federation". In the 32nd century setting of the third season of Star Trek: Discovery ,
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#1732786786290572-470: The forehead, and capable of movement, used for gesturing and balancing . The design of Andorians has changed with every new production; including the placement of their antennae, additional makeup appliances, and the blue shade of their skin. Andoria (sometimes referred to as Andor), is an icy moon orbiting a ringed gas giant . In a DVD bonus feature for the 4th season of Enterprise , episode writers Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens stated that Andor
598-409: The number of original series elements on Enterprise , but came to see the challenge of "tak(ing) the goofiest aliens from The Original Series and make them a real culture that’s cool and believable." Andorians have blue blood, blue skin, white hair, and antennae on the crown of the skull. By the time of the 2001 – 2005 TV series Star Trek: Enterprise , the antennae were depicted as protruding from
624-592: The original 1975 Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual , Johnson's Worlds of the Federation , and roleplaying games, the Federation's five founding members were Earth (or Terra), Vulcan, Tellar, Andor, and Alpha Centauri . Some non-canon works assert that founding member Alpha Centauri is home to a human race (transplanted by the Preservers from classical third-century BC Greece) known as, variously, Centaurans, Centaurians, or Centauri. The 1980-to-2188 historical guide Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology posits
650-539: The other series in the franchise. Its founding members were Earth , Vulcan , Andoria , and Tellar . Over time it has expanded to include many more worlds through peaceful voluntary association. Some notable ones include Trill, Betazed, and Bolarus IX. References to the size of the Federation vary, with Captain Kirk stating in 2267 that humanity was on "a thousand planets and spreading out", while Captain Picard referred to
676-615: Was the gas giant, Andoria the moon, and that this was a conscious effort to address the discrepancy, but continued varying usage across canon, reference, and licensed sources have not fully resolved the discrepancy. Most of Andoria's cities are built underground to take advantage of geothermal warmth. Temperatures have been known to reach −28 ° C in the summer. Andoria has at least one moon or neighboring planet. Andorians share their homeworld with an obscure telepathic subspecies, Aenar , which have either light blue or white skin. The non-canonical Star Trek Star Charts (2002) cites Andoria as
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