Mission length

[retroenzo]

A big thing was made of Kirk's five year mission, but were we ever told how long the Enterprise-D's mission was meant to have lasted? I've got a ten-year mission length in my mind but can't remember it being explicitly mentioned.

If it was five years, I'd have loved to have seen an episode involving the onset of the next five year mission.

Or did Starfleet change their way of doing things? Did Starfleet intend at some point to contact the Enterprise-D and say "come in number 1701D, your time is up"?

 

[C.E. Evans]

There's been some behind-the-scenes ideas of the Enterprise-D was intended for missions lasting 10-15 years. I like to think that the Enterprise was finally gearing up for such a mission at the start of Generations after seven years of being broken in or being occupied by domestic duties.

 

[Nebusj]

My recollection was of talk about the Enterprise being on a twenty-year mission past the boundaries of Federation space. I think I picked it up from Starlog articles on the series, although I'm not heroic enough to search the archive.org copies of the magazine to find this.

Nothing got said on-screen of this, not that I remember. Apparently something changed Star Fleet's plans soon after launching; possibly it was the evaporation of Farpoint as a base after all.

 

[NaughtyTrekkie]

well, fact is we don't know what five.year mission is.
I once tought it was an exploring mission outside federation borders, but noth in TOS and TNG return Earth and visit fed planets often, so I was clearly wrong.

 

[C.E. Evans]

well, fact is we don't know what five.year mission is.
I once tought it was an exploring mission outside federation borders, but noth in TOS and TNG return Earth and visit fed planets often, so I was clearly wrong.

Exploration could be an investigation of anything unknown, regardless of how far it is from Earth. But it's possible that the Enterprise went on individual recces into unexplored space, but always periodically returned to Federation space for supplies, repairs, crew rotations, and whatever domestic missions that were required. Over time, though, her periodic forays into unknown space could still add up to dozens of surveyed new worlds and star systems, IMO.

 

[angry apple panda]

The n-year mission model doesn't seem to really carry over to TNG.

I don't know how consistent this theory is, but I feel like it's possible that crew rotations are easier to manage in the 24th century, because there are simply a lot more ships, especially near the edges of federation space, not to mention space stations. The mission could simply be "the functional operating life of the vessel," regardless of who is onboard or in command.

It just seems rather loose by the TNG era. People can just resign their commission and be let off on a passing vessel or station, not that this happens regularly. But people can also regularly put in for transfers. They never seem that far from civilization on a regular basis. TNG references things like stopping at a station for "the next crew rotation," so it seems rather personnel based as opposed to some kind of specific length mission.

 

[Finn]

I always found the "five year mission" TOS had kinda odd. They went to Earth. They went to Vulcan.

 

[Tim Thomason]

I always found the "five year mission" TOS had kinda odd. They went to Earth. They went to Vulcan.

The Enterprise went to Earth twice during the five-year mission. The first, by accident, when the gravity well of a black star threw them from around Starbase 9 to Earth (in 1969) in "Tomorrow is Yesterday". The second time, probably deliberately, when they were assigned to a historical research mission to 1968 Earth in the appropriately named "Assignment: Earth".

They went to Vulcan once, in "Amok Time". And the episode was pretty clear how much of a hassle it was to get there and how much guff Kirk got for doing so.

The Enterprise, for the most part, was outside of the Federation in unexplored space (all the crazy planets and whatnot). Occassionally, they would visit prospective Federation members (The Mark of Gideon) and a rare Federation member (The Cloud Minders), but none of the founding planets (outside of Earth and Vulcan that one time).

 

[Lance]

It was written in the TOS series bible that (23rd century era) Earth was off limits to the writers, on the grounds that Roddenberry believed there should be ample story potential in the endless wonders of strange new worlds without having Enterprise hauling itself back to Earth all the time. He also felt it would help avoid outdating the series in retrospect as our own tech changes.

Ironically, the movies ignored this directive, and made Earth a home base for Enterprise. She was rarely seen on the outskirts of space because the stories invariably centered around Earth, or came and went from Earth, which was atypical of the TV show. It also led to the cliché "deztroy de EARTH!!!!" plot that Star Trek movies went back to again and again, perhaps proving Roddenberry's point about how involving Earth limits (rather than expands) story potential.

I gather the idea in the early days of TNG was to try and return to something of the TOS template.... exploring beyond known space, into the mysteries of the galaxy. Of course, after the first season or two that kind of got quietly dropped as 1701D was more regularly seen doing 'milk run' type jobs.

 

[NaughtyTrekkie]

Exploration could be an investigation of anything unknown, regardless of how far it is from Earth. But it's possible that the Enterprise went on individual recces into unexplored space, but always periodically returned to Federation space for supplies, repairs, crew rotations, and whatever domestic missions that were required. Over time, though, her periodic forays into unknown space could still add up to dozens of surveyed new worlds and star systems, IMO.

yes, but then n-year-mission would problably reffers to something else, maybe the period a ship is programmed to have a refit, or the time crew has to serve on that ship, or maybe just an administrative thing, like every five years thay have to send a report

 

[NaughtyTrekkie]

I gather the idea in the early days of TNG was to try and return to something of the TOS template.... exploring beyond known space, into the mysteries of the galaxy. Of course, after the first season or two that kind of got quietly dropped as 1701D was more regularly seen doing 'milk run' type jobs.

even in the first season: in the first episode ENT-D is sent to the last fed outpost, Beyond which there is just unexplored space (as Picard says). In the last episodes they return to Earth and the last episode is set on neutral zone.

 

[MacLeod]

Of course mission parametres can change, perhaps the Ent-D was orignally meant for a long term mission on the fringes of Federation sapce and out into the unexplored regions (at least by a manned ship). But events closer to home caused a shift in mission profile.

 

[JesterFace]

Who knows how long the Enterprise-D was supposed to be used, maybe after 20 years of exploring it would've been outdated in many ways and transferred to be a cargo ship between Earth and the moon...

 

[NaughtyTrekkie]

Who knows how long the Enterprise-D was supposed to be used, maybe after 20 years of exploring it would've been outdated in many ways and transferred to be a cargo ship between Earth and the moon...

you don't build a ship that big to keep it out there just 20 years.
Ships have a cost, both in resources and time.

Probably galaxy class would be refitted every tot years, to keep it in service as long as possible. Surely Galaxy class will not have in 2410 the same role it had in 2360.

 

[retroenzo]

you don't build a ship that big to keep it out there just 20 years.
Ships have a cost, both in resources and time.

Probably galaxy class would be refitted every tot years, to keep it in service as long as possible. Surely Galaxy class will not have in 2410 the same role it had in 2360.

Especially when you consider how long the Miranda class ships were in service for?

 

[JesterFace]

you don't build a ship that big to keep it out there just 20 years.
Ships have a cost, both in resources and time..

20 or 80 years, that's not the point, I meant that after exploration and all that, maybe Starfleet will have other duties for older ships.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

The TOS opening credits said "it's five year mission", the TNG opening credits said "it's continuing mission".

Basically, "stay out there till you run out of gas".

 

[retroenzo]

The TOS opening credits said "it's five year mission", the TNG opening credits said "it's continuing mission".

Basically, "stay out there till you run out of gas".

The movies also had 'its ongoing mission'.

 

[JesterFace]

TOS had a 5 year mission... during the movies and TNG it turned into "continuing mission", Starfleet must've changed their policy on the matter.

 

[Paradise City]

They just abandoned the practice of giving a fixed time period for particular missions.

 

[NaughtyTrekkie]

Especially when you consider how long the Miranda class ships were in service for?

I didn't like to see miranda class ship in TNG, but at least they were relegated to cargo ship (in the first seasons)

Regarding lifespan relatively building costs, I'd like to knowhow much the mushroom gigantic base are supposed to last....