How many ships did Starfleet send into deep space?

[C.E. Evans]

The Hansons probably had to do whatever was necessary to keep their ship flying for the three years prior to their capture by the Borg.

Realistically the Hanson probably stole equipment and supplies from the Borg cube they were following, which might have been what lead the Borg to eventual assimilate them.

Steal technology from the Borg? That's a trick that's hard even for a fully tricked-out Starfleet vessel. But the Hansons could have had to briefly stop somewhere to quickly get supplies from a friendly world they encountered along the way. They would still have to keep an eye--or rather long-range sensors--on the Borg ship to make sure they didn't lose it though...

Then again, maybe three years was is about as long as those (Aerie-class?) ships can go without having to refuel and restock. If it was only the Hanson family onboard, they may have had enough provisions for a very small crew. IIRC, the Raven was sort of big for just one family. Perhaps they were able to make resources last even longer by only living in a small part of the ship and shutting down life-support in the rest.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I thought that the Galaxy Class was designed to carry enough supplies, parts, and power to be able to explore deep space for years before returning to Federation Space.

That's right. And that's why it carried children and families on board. If you're a hop, skip, and a jump from Federation territory, there's no reason to take your family with you -- you can go on leave to visit them. You only take them with you if you expect to be gone for years and years.

It may not be such a case as how far they are away from home as it is how long they will be away from home. A ship could spend 10-15 years only a few hundred light-years from Earth or Federation space at any given time.

 

[Deks]

I find it ludicrous that SF ships in the late 24th century would be unable to operate in deep space independently for long periods of time.
Most of the time the issues that were portrayed were for drama reasons.
Their technology as initially portrayed (mentioned how it operates) would be more than enough for the crews of ships in question to resupply themselves by making pit stops after about 3 to 5 years in an asteroid field or a solar system that has any form of raw matter.

Also, replicators convert energy into matter (based on nucleosynthesis) and of course matter into energy (recycling).
Which means they only need to find any kind of matter, recycle it in large quantities (because it probably takes less power to convert matter into energy) and put it into the EPS systems/energy reserves.

The only issue that the crews in deep space could encounter would be replication of antimatter.
Then again, omicron particles have been established by Voyager as ones that can be used to boost antimatter reserves.
So it's not beyond them to create antimatter on the go (trick is finding sources of omicron particles).

Voyager's Warp core was stated it can run continuously for 3 years before refilling.
The TOS Enterprise for example which was by over a century older and had 3x more crew-members was stated to be capable of operating in deep space for 5 years.

Voyager had most of it's problems because it was never stocked up to the fullest upon launch.
It was expected to return after only 2 weeks (which explains low torpedo compliment and practically 0 provisions).

Enterprise-D was mentioned in the TM to be able to operate for 5 years in deep space without support.

Voyager being a smaller ship with less internal space but also much smaller crew, could probably go for up to 3 years in deep space if it was filled to capacity.

It's quite likely the ships in question can remain operational independently for however long their individual Warp cores can go on without refilling.

As for the fuel ... well, deuterium could have been found virtually anywhere, although I find the usage of deuterium to be useless to begin with, because these ships are meant to actually only need energy to run, and the bussard collectors were explained as the means for a ship to continuously regenerate it's energy supplies or simply convert stellar matter into necessary fuel.

Drama crippled the technology in most cases, because otherwise, with the technology SF ships have at their disposal, they WERE supposed to be able to go off into deep space and operate without support for longer periods of time.
They would probably have to get creative with the antimatter supply, but for everything else, it was supposed to have been a non issue.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I find the idea of Starfleet sending ships out all by themselves without any support for the better part of a decade or more to be purely silly and a recipe for disaster. Ships do run out of fuel and supplies and it's better that deep-space vessels still operate within range of resupply facilities, tankers, and freighters, even if they're hundreds of light-years away at maximum warp (which is still a very big distance but just not fanboy distance, IMO). That way, they can conduct deep-space missions for an almost indefinite period of time.

And I think a ship can't get very far on deuterium alone. The amount of deuterium it takes to make just one meager unit of antimatter is likely considerable and making enough for an extended voyage at warp speed could quickly deplete a ship's deuterium fuel tanks very quickly, IMO. I think that's something best reserved for emergency situations and is only feasible over fairly short distances. Replicators also use up energy as well, so their usage is dependant on how much power is available. If a ship is running low on power--and they will between refuelings--the replicators are usually the first thing to go.

The TNG Technical Manual actually infers that a Galaxy-class ship has enough matter and antimatter fuel for only three years, but can be extended by periodic refueling by tanker.

Space is big enough. Even a few hundred light-years from Federation space could take years to explore. I still believe that periodic returns to a nearby Federation starbase or member world--or rendezvous with nearby supply ships--is the best way to conduct multiyear deep-space missions and really doesn't invalidate the idea of a ship being away from home for many years, IMO.

 

[Xerxes1979]

The deuterium resupply problem does have technical issues beyond those invented for simple story reasons.

The TNG manual says the Enterprise could only produce .08 cubic meters of anti-matter an hour.

Given that the total onboard volume of deuterium storage was something like 62,500 cubic meters you can see why insitu resupply is not viable.

 

[sojourner]

^deutrium is not antimatter.

 

[Xerxes1979]

^deutrium is not antimatter.

Did I say it was? The material is still needed for the fusion reactors and the feedstock to make anti-deuterium.

The total anti-matter supply is stated at 3000 cubic meters on a Galaxy class. So given unlimited fuel it would take 156 days to top off a Galaxy.

 

[Robert DeSoto]

But the USS Olympia was away from Federation space for a full eight years. It was nothing like Kirk or Picard's assignment.

I never saw that as being feasible. I don't any ship can last out there on its own for more than two or three years at a time without running out of fuel and supplies, not even a Galaxy-class. I think the Olympia had to either rendezvous with a Starfleet tanker and a supply ship at least twice during its mission. Either that, or stock up/fuel up at a starbase or outpost that was out along that way. That would still allow the Olympia to be away from home for eight years.

The crew wore out of date uniforms and didn't even know the Federation was at war with the Dominion.

Actually, I would expect them to have older uniforms. I think that ships and starbases that far out from Earth would be the last to get new uniforms.

Another thing about the Olympia, though, was that the ship was really destroyed prior to the war with the Dominion so they shouldn't have known about that. In that episode, the DS9 crew was talking with someone who had actually died three years earlier, even before Star Trek: First Contact.

Good point. But even so, if the USS Olympia was close enough to maintain communications, Captain Cusak would've been been like Wtf? Cardassia joined the Dominion? how come I never heard about this?

Even if Starfleet sent a tanker or supply ship to refuel the Olympia, I'm sure Cusak would be like, so.... what's new in the Alpha Quadrant?

Sisko knew she'd be out of contact, so he decided to fill her in. As he put it, there have been lots of changes.

Is it feasible? meh maybe not, but this is fiction and that's what we're supposed to believe.

What two ships were sent to find the Voyager?

Admiral Hayes didn't mention them by name. Only said they were deep space vessels.

So while the majority of Starfleet probably didn't "depend on the kindness of strangers", Command must have anticipated that these four ships would.
/

Only in an emergency situation, perhaps, but I doubt they were intentionally sent out to normally operate that way.

"To boldly go where no one has gone before...and pray there are gas stations and grocery stores out there?" Not exactly the best way to run a mission, IMO. Even oceangoing vessels returned home or to an allied port when their provisions were running low.

While we didn't see the USS Olympia or the two ships sent to intercept USS Voyager, we did see the Enterprise NX-01 and she did operate without any allied ports.

 

[Sector 7]

Considering how much we have learned about recycling at this point in time, my hope is that 23rd or 24th century starships will be more self-sustaining than what we saw in the various series. Waste is still matter and can be recycled. Water can be recycled. This would make longer missions much more feasible.

 

[C.E. Evans]

But the USS Olympia was away from Federation space for a full eight years. It was nothing like Kirk or Picard's assignment.

I never saw that as being feasible. I don't any ship can last out there on its own for more than two or three years at a time without running out of fuel and supplies, not even a Galaxy-class. I think the Olympia had to either rendezvous with a Starfleet tanker and a supply ship at least twice during its mission. Either that, or stock up/fuel up at a starbase or outpost that was out along that way. That would still allow the Olympia to be away from home for eight years.
Actually, I would expect them to have older uniforms. I think that ships and starbases that far out from Earth would be the last to get new uniforms.

Another thing about the Olympia, though, was that the ship was really destroyed prior to the war with the Dominion so they shouldn't have known about that. In that episode, the DS9 crew was talking with someone who had actually died three years earlier, even before Star Trek: First Contact.

Good point. But even so, if the USS Olympia was close enough to maintain communications, Captain Cusak would've been been like Wtf? Cardassia joined the Dominion? how come I never heard about this?

Cardassia joined the Dominion two years after the Olympia was destroyed, so it didn't even happen at the time the ship was lost.

Even if Starfleet sent a tanker or supply ship to refuel the Olympia, I'm sure Cusak would be like, so.... what's new in the Alpha Quadrant?

That far out, the tanker or supply ship would have replied with news that was perhaps already a few weeks old.

What two ships were sent to find the Voyager?

Admiral Hayes didn't mention them by name. Only said they were deep space vessels.

Admiral Hayes...I believe he said "We've redirected two deep space vessels toward your position. If all goes well, they could rendezvous with you in the next five to six years."

That sounds feasible if those ships refuel with a tanker somewhere midway there.

So while the majority of Starfleet probably didn't "depend on the kindness of strangers", Command must have anticipated that these four ships would.

Only in an emergency situation, perhaps, but I doubt they were intentionally sent out to normally operate that way.

"To boldly go where no one has gone before...and pray there are gas stations and grocery stores out there?" Not exactly the best way to run a mission, IMO. Even oceangoing vessels returned home or to an allied port when their provisions were running low.

While we didn't see the USS Olympia or the two ships sent to intercept USS Voyager, we did see the Enterprise NX-01 and she did operate without any allied ports.

NX-01 Enterprise's mission length was never really specified, but I would expect it to be able to operate for two or three years at a time before refueling and restocking. Truthfully, though, the ship wasn't really that terribly far from home when you think about it. It was the first Earth starship to go as far as it did because of its Warp 5 engine, but that same engine also allowed the ship to return to Earth in a fairly short period of time, not once but twice.

 

[Robert DeSoto]

I never saw that as being feasible. I don't any ship can last out there on its own for more than two or three years at a time without running out of fuel and supplies, not even a Galaxy-class. I think the Olympia had to either rendezvous with a Starfleet tanker and a supply ship at least twice during its mission. Either that, or stock up/fuel up at a starbase or outpost that was out along that way. That would still allow the Olympia to be away from home for eight years.
Actually, I would expect them to have older uniforms. I think that ships and starbases that far out from Earth would be the last to get new uniforms.

Another thing about the Olympia, though, was that the ship was really destroyed prior to the war with the Dominion so they shouldn't have known about that. In that episode, the DS9 crew was talking with someone who had actually died three years earlier, even before Star Trek: First Contact.

Good point. But even so, if the USS Olympia was close enough to maintain communications, Captain Cusak would've been been like Wtf? Cardassia joined the Dominion? how come I never heard about this?

Cardassia joined the Dominion two years after the Olympia was destroyed, so it didn't even happen at the time the ship was lost.

That far out, the tanker or supply ship would have replied with news that was perhaps already a few weeks old.

Admiral Hayes...I believe he said "We've redirected two deep space vessels toward your position. If all goes well, they could rendezvous with you in the next five to six years."

That sounds feasible if those ships refuel with a tanker somewhere midway there.

Only in an emergency situation, perhaps, but I doubt they were intentionally sent out to normally operate that way.

"To boldly go where no one has gone before...and pray there are gas stations and grocery stores out there?" Not exactly the best way to run a mission, IMO. Even oceangoing vessels returned home or to an allied port when their provisions were running low.

While we didn't see the USS Olympia or the two ships sent to intercept USS Voyager, we did see the Enterprise NX-01 and she did operate without any allied ports.

NX-01 Enterprise's mission length was never really specified, but I would expect it to be able to operate for two or three years at a time before refueling and restocking. Truthfully, though, the ship wasn't really that terribly far from home when you think about it. It was the first Earth starship to go as far as it did because of its Warp 5 engine, but that same engine also allowed the ship to return to Earth in a fairly short period of time, not once but twice.

The point was the that the USS Olympia was out of communication range with Starfleet or else Cusak wouldn't need Sisko to update her on the latest news. If she wasn't out of contact, they would've realized that the Sisko's war news is inconsistent with Cusak's latest news from three years prior, which from her perspective is still up to date. And even if a tanker did show up and give Cusak news that was a few weeks out of date, the war had already gone on for a year, so they still would've realized something is not right.

If they do send a tanker to intercept the two deep space vessels sent to intercept USS Voyager, then the tanker itself would have to have pretty long range, wouldnt it? Even if they only met them halfway on their journey. That's 2.5 to 3 years away from Federation space. Then another 2.5 years back. That's still a five year journey at least away from a Federation base. That makes the tanker itself a very deep space vessel.

The Enterprise NX-01 was recalled to Earth twice, but not because it needed to refuel. And it did, as you expected, operate for two years without needing to be resupplied. If not for the Xindi attack on Earth, it would've stayed out there longer. While not as far from Earth as USS Voyager, Enterprise did, like Voyager have to operate without support from Starfleet bases. Simply because Earth didn't build any yet.

In any case, two to three years is still considered a long time to be away from port by 23rd and 24th Century standards. Most exploration missions on TOS, TNG and DS9 lasted one episode.

 

[Timo]

...the two deep space vessels sent to intercept USS Voyager...

Just to nitpick, these vessels probably weren't launched with the purpose of intercepting the Voyager. Since they were "deep space vessels" to begin with, and since we have no evidence that such a designation would be based on a specific ship design existing, it sounds likely that these were just random ships operating in deep space already and being vectored towards our VOY heroes because they happened to be the closest two.

And it did, as you expected, operate for two years without needing to be resupplied.

We don't really know that. Supplies might have been brought aboard regularly or irregularly, by Vulcan or other friendly ships or from Vulcan or other friendly bases. None of the arguments of "Starfleet wouldn't base a deep space mission on the mercy of strangers" would apply, because this was not a preplanned Starfleet mission as such - it was Archer's and mankind's rebellion against Vulcan supervision, an opportunity grasped when Vulcans were powerless to resist. As long as Archer refused to return from his "Broken Bow" Klingon run and stayed away from Earth, his species would have the chance to make an interstellar impact; as soon as he returned, Vulcan political influence aimed at curtailing human action and expansion would increase again. And as long as Archer was out there, Vulcans would do well to closely monitor him (as in "Breaking the Ice") and assist him in staying out of trouble, including helping with resupply.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[The_Baroness]

The deep space vessels sent to meet Voyager, and rendevous in 5-6 years thing always confused me.

At this point, Voyager was still a good 30 years journey from home. In 5-6 that would be about 25 years still...yet these deep space ships can get there from the Alpha Quadrant in a fifth of the time? Wasn't voyager already meant to be one of the fastest ships in the fleet??

also - one would assume those ships are still on course to rendevous with Voyager, after it returned home. If they're going so fast that they can meet Voy in the Delta Quadrant in 5 years, they'll pretty quickly be out of communications range, and will be moving away from the source of the signal.....

so how will they know that Voyagers home, and not to keep ploughing deeper into the DQ?

What, 10 years later they stumble across an asteroid, and Neelix tells them "Sorry, you just missed them..."

 

[Timo]

The intercept time alone would already suggest that the ships were almost in the Delta Quadrant already when Starfleet learned of the survival and whereabouts of the Voyager. They might have been en route for two decades already - hardly an impossible feat in the technological sense, and not even one that would call for a multigeneration crew yet (although the return trip might go better if the offspring of the crew were handling those tasks calling for bodily strength or agility).

Perhaps young Jim Kirk was chosen to command the Enterprise for the "Where No Man" expedition beyond the galactic barrier he had better odds of still being alive and sane when the ship returned than, say, the more senior Commodore Wesley?

As for the communications issue, I gather the ships could sow a "breadcrumb" line of relay buoys, for near-instantaneous communications with home base. Technologically quite feasible, I'd think: if subspace comms travel across, say, five lightyears unboosted (although the TNG Tech Manual says the communicators of the E-D might do as much as 22 ly), and if each such stretch features three buoys for sufficient redundancy, then a 10,000 ly trip would only require 6,000 buoys. If each is the size of a photon torpedo, they'd only take up something like 500 cubic meters at most. A single shuttlebay's worth... And perhaps such ships travel in pairs, each only carrying 3,000 buoys? Or perhaps three buoys per 10 ly is enough?

Extending the trip to a quadrant-spanning 30,000 ly would probably be quite feasible as well, without calling for superfast ships. A thousand lightyears per year is slower than most of the dashes or cruises we have witnessed, and that's what the Voyager was supposed to sustain for seven decades straight.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[C.E. Evans]

Good point. But even so, if the USS Olympia was close enough to maintain communications, Captain Cusak would've been been like Wtf? Cardassia joined the Dominion? how come I never heard about this?

Cardassia joined the Dominion two years after the Olympia was destroyed, so it didn't even happen at the time the ship was lost.

That far out, the tanker or supply ship would have replied with news that was perhaps already a few weeks old.

Admiral Hayes...I believe he said "We've redirected two deep space vessels toward your position. If all goes well, they could rendezvous with you in the next five to six years."

That sounds feasible if those ships refuel with a tanker somewhere midway there.

While we didn't see the USS Olympia or the two ships sent to intercept USS Voyager, we did see the Enterprise NX-01 and she did operate without any allied ports.

NX-01 Enterprise's mission length was never really specified, but I would expect it to be able to operate for two or three years at a time before refueling and restocking. Truthfully, though, the ship wasn't really that terribly far from home when you think about it. It was the first Earth starship to go as far as it did because of its Warp 5 engine, but that same engine also allowed the ship to return to Earth in a fairly short period of time, not once but twice.

The point was the that the USS Olympia was out of communication range with Starfleet or else Cusak wouldn't need Sisko to update her on the latest news.

It's no different a situation that it was with the Enterprise-D in "Conspiracy." Subspace radio can only travel so fast, so it's to be expected that ships and outposts farther out from Earth would not be capable of realtime communications and would be out of touch with the latest news. News travels more slowly out there, and the farther out they are, the more out of touch they are.

But in the case of the USS Olympia, not only had the ship been out of touch, but it had been destroyed three years earlier. It wasn't until the end of the episode that it was discovered that Sisko was informing Cusak of things that hadn't happened for her yet (and would never happen for her, really).

And even if a tanker did show up and give Cusak news that was a few weeks out of date, the war had already gone on for a year, so they still would've realized something is not right.

Actually Cusak was dead two years before the war began. Any tanker that would have met with the Olympia would have only known about something bad happening in the Gamma Quadrant. But the war had yet to happen by 2371.

But if the Olympia's last tanker/supply ship rendezvous was in 2369, then it would barely have known about the discovery of the Bajoran wormwhole and never would have heard of the Dominion at all.

If they do send a tanker to intercept the two deep space vessels sent to intercept USS Voyager, then the tanker itself would have to have pretty long range, wouldnt it?

Not necessarily, if the tanker came from a starbase or member world at the farthest edge of Federation space.

But then even a few hundred light-years out from Federation space could be considered long-range, IMO.

The Enterprise NX-01 was recalled to Earth twice, but not because it needed to refuel. And it did, as you expected, operate for two years without needing to be resupplied. If not for the Xindi attack on Earth, it would've stayed out there longer.

But I don't think for much longer, though. Enterprise spent two initial years in space, but I think it would have needed to return home for replenishment by its third year before heading out again.

While not as far from Earth as USS Voyager, Enterprise did, like Voyager have to operate without support from Starfleet bases. Simply because Earth didn't build any yet.

But there were presumably Earth colonies and space stations in existence, which would have served the same purpose. Heck, Earth itself was likely Enterprise's command base.

In any case, two to three years is still considered a long time to be away from port by 23rd and 24th Century standards.

And actually, that's my entire point. I think most ships can operate without support for two or three years (which as you said, is a long time by itself), but will then need to "tank up" at a starbase or with a tanker if they want to stay out there even longer, IMO.

 

[Timo]

But in the case of the USS Olympia, not only had the ship been out of touch, but it had been destroyed three years earlier. It wasn't until the end of the episode that it was discovered that Sisko was informing Cusak of things that hadn't happened for her yet (and would never happen for her, really).

Which sort of proves that the Olympia would have been capable of at least three years of independent operations.

After all, that's what Sisko believed, for the duration of the episode: that these news he was relaying to Cusak were catching her by surprise because she hadn't spoken to anybody in the UFP for the past three years. Sisko thus believed the Olympia was on an independent, totally-out-of-contact mission - and furthermore seemed to think that such a thing was perfectly routine for random Starfleet vessels, because otherwise he would have checked on the Olympia specifically from Starfleet records, and the whole thing would have blown right there and then, with the two mission schedules (Starfleet records, Cusak's story) not matching up.

But then even a few hundred light-years out from Federation space could be considered long-range, IMO.

Both Kirk and Picard did such things every now and then. Then again, even if they established themselves to be X hundred lightyears away from Earth, and out of immediate touch with their superiors, we don't know the shape of the UFP or the placement of the various starbases. Our heroes before Janeway might always have operated very close to a "base camp" established by earlier expeditions...

Enterprise spent two initial years in space, but I think it would have needed to return home for replenishment by its third year before heading out again.

It's a bit funny, then, that this was not mentioned when she was recalled. None of our heroes said "Ah, we'd have gone back anyway" or "How ironic that we'd have been in a position to help if our scheduled return hadn't been scheduled for three months too late", even though these would have made plot sense.

Really, it's telling that the ship stayed out there for two years straight, even though she had been launched ahead of schedule, only partially fitted with mission gear, and was carrying just 80 crew in a hull that might have accommodated hundreds and seemed designed for such numbers. Archer expected to be gone for a week and a day. He might have overstocked for safety, giving him an endurance of four weeks... But he demonstrated an endurance of more than a hundred weeks instead! Was that because his four-week supplies for 200 crew could be stretched to support 80 people for thirty times as long? Or because the amount of supplies was never a factor in his ship's endurance?

Perhaps starships are like nuclear subs, and NX-01 was essentially tanked for a ten-year mission during construction; her endurance-limiting thing would then be the frequency at which she could pick up fresh fruit from alien planets. Perhaps they consume fuel in a more traditional manner, though, in which case refueling would be the important factor and fresh fruit might be synthetically created as long as there was fuel for the synthesis. ENT doesn't really establish this one way or another.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Silvercrest]

Perhaps starships are like nuclear subs, and NX-01 was essentially tanked for a ten-year mission during construction; her endurance-limiting thing would then be the frequency at which she could pick up fresh fruit from alien planets. Perhaps they consume fuel in a more traditional manner, though, in which case refueling would be the important factor and fresh fruit might be synthetically created as long as there was fuel for the synthesis. ENT doesn't really establish this one way or another.

It would have helped if ENT had established what NX-01's mission was in the first place! Explore the perimeter of Earth space? Explore all systems between here and Vulcan? Investigate a specified series of star systems that we pulled from the Vulcan database when Soval had his back turned? Wander aimlessly and see what trouble you can get into?

Onscreen evidence suggests that only one of these options is correct. Guess which one.

 

[Luther Sloan]

If they sent starships into deep space for 1 million year missions (generational ships). Then that is what happened. We may not understand it or even think it is possible. They might even have conflicting facts that just doesn't add up. But that is the magic behind the curtain. They found a way to deal with re-supplying energy for their ships in some shape or form. And that is good enough of an explanation for me.

As for the exact number of how many Deep Space vessels that were sent out on missions by Starfleet? I don't have a clue.

Sorry.




Side Note:

Just kidding. The only ones that I can think of... off the top of my head are the two vessels that were sent to rendezvous with Voyager, the Olympia, the Prometheus, and Harry Kim's ship in End Game.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Enterprise spent two initial years in space, but I think it would have needed to return home for replenishment by its third year before heading out again.

It's a bit funny, then, that this was not mentioned when she was recalled. None of our heroes said "Ah, we'd have gone back anyway" or "How ironic that we'd have been in a position to help if our scheduled return hadn't been scheduled for three months too late", even though these would have made plot sense.

But not actually necessary to the story. It made for greater dramatic tension if it was a case of "drop everything and get back to Earth as quickly as possible."

Perhaps starships are like nuclear subs, and NX-01 was essentially tanked for a ten-year mission during construction

I don't think even a tanker is tanked for a ten-year mission.

 

[Robert DeSoto]

It's no different a situation that it was with the Enterprise-D in "Conspiracy." Subspace radio can only travel so fast, so it's to be expected that ships and outposts farther out from Earth would not be capable of realtime communications and would be out of touch with the latest news. News travels more slowly out there, and the farther out they are, the more out of touch they are.

The Enterprise has never been out of contact for anywhere near an entire year.

But in the case of the USS Olympia, not only had the ship been out of touch, but it had been destroyed three years earlier. It wasn't until the end of the episode that it was discovered that Sisko was informing Cusak of things that hadn't happened for her yet (and would never happen for her, really).

Which sort of proves that the Olympia would have been capable of at least three years of independent operations.

After all, that's what Sisko believed, for the duration of the episode: that these news he was relaying to Cusak were catching her by surprise because she hadn't spoken to anybody in the UFP for the past three years. Sisko thus believed the Olympia was on an independent, totally-out-of-contact mission - and furthermore seemed to think that such a thing was perfectly routine for random Starfleet vessels, because otherwise he would have checked on the Olympia specifically from Starfleet records, and the whole thing would have blown right there and then, with the two mission schedules (Starfleet records, Cusak's story) not matching up.

Good point.

Not necessarily, if the tanker came from a starbase or member world at the farthest edge of Federation space.

The edge of Federation space is still Federation space. I don't really see the difference.

But I don't think for much longer, though. Enterprise spent two initial years in space, but I think it would have needed to return home for replenishment by its third year before heading out again.

While not as far from Earth as USS Voyager, Enterprise did, like Voyager have to operate without support from Starfleet bases. Simply because Earth didn't build any yet.

But there were presumably Earth colonies and space stations in existence, which would have served the same purpose. Heck, Earth itself was likely Enterprise's command base.

In any case, two to three years is still considered a long time to be away from port by 23rd and 24th Century standards.

And actually, that's my entire point. I think most ships can operate without support for two or three years (which as you said, is a long time by itself), but will then need to "tank up" at a starbase or with a tanker if they want to stay out there even longer, IMO.

I'm not sure where you came up with the idea that a starship can go 2-3 years without refueling. Why not four years? Six?

In any case, the question wasn't how long a starship can go without refueling, but how many were sent away from port for an extended period of time.

And by extended period of time, I mean longer than the typical TOS, TNG and DS9 exploration mission (which on average lasts an episode or two). So for a ship that spends a full year away from Federation space (which even you think is plausible) that is already way longer than what we've typically seen with Kirk, Picard or Sisko's missions.