Why is it Deep Space "9"?

Because Deep Space 1-8 burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp. But the 9th one stayed and that's the one your getting.

[tighr]

SimpleLogic wrote:

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Because Deep Space 1-8 burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp. But the 9th one stayed and that's the one your getting.

Damn, I was about to post this one. Kudos.

[Melakon]

Because Standards and Practices refused the title "Deep Shit Nine".

[T'Girl]

MacLeod wrote:

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Perhaps unlike the desingation Starbase X, the Federation uses the designatiopn Deep Space x to refer to starbases that are/where initially built initally outside of Federation sapce.

Or, "Deep Space x" refer to a space station that belongs to a non-Federation member species, but is administered by the Federation/Starfleet.

An unusual occurrence, which is why the relatively low number of nine is employed.

[tighr]

T'Girl wrote:

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Or, "Deep Space x" refer to a space station that belongs to a non-Federation member species, but is administered by the Federation/Starfleet.

This is what I was thinking, as well. It could be a designation for starbases that were originally constructed by alien species, and not constructed by the Starfleet Corps of Engineers. Hence, Farpoint Station might have been designated as a Deep Space station had it been real and not a space jellyfish.

[Timo]

Such explanations would be doubly efficient in explaining the low number: not only might it be rare for Starfleet to build or acquire Deep Space Stations in general, but they would cease to be Deep Space Stations the moment they fulfilled their usual mission of getting the locals to join the Federation, and the number would be liberated for further use.

Fun factoid to support this take on what "Deep Space" might mean is the mission of certain starships to explore "deep space" at Sector 002, right in the middle of "shallow space" - a mission revealed by far too detailed a scrutiny of certain background Okudagrams in the new TNG blu-ray releases... It seems that "deep" is not an indicator of distance at all, but rather indeed an expression for "outside direct UFP control" or "contested" or whatnot.

Timo Saloniemi