Star Mapping Episodes

[Timo]

Well, McCoy said it best. Just consider it said again.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[publiusr]

“Star....another star...oh there’s one, too.”

 

[johnnybear]

But each star may have a planetary system which means possibly more habitable planets for people to live on! Or other extraordinary forces may be found that could aid the peoples of the Federation!
JB

 

[Commishsleer]

That part makes some sense, but it still smacks of poor planning when a big part of a starship's job is to respond to local emergencies and thus Starfleet should deploy its ships as wide and evenly as possible, rather than doubling 'em up.

The part where Kirk doesn't know what Decker is doing, or Picard can't tell what Varley is up to, and apparently SF HQ doesn't have any idea where any of these folks are... Is a bit harder to explain. If Kirk is expected to carry out a patrol, how can he undertake a quest at his personal whim? If and when Varley can go on a quest in one of the biggest ships around, is this in fact best possible value for the money Starfleet put in that ship?

No matter what the mission or the degree of contact with HQ, taking photographs of starfields should always be doable. And perhaps worthwhile, too; Trek has so man
y dense nebulae, barriers and other anomalies that peeking around and behind them is likely to reveal whole new starscapes and wonders...

Timo Saloniemi

In TOS Starships are out of contact for months at a time. When the Enterprise hears a distress signal Kirk doesn't double-check with HQ if he's going out to help. Starfleet is lucky if Kirk tells them after the fact.
Maybe with Tracey's ship, Starfleet told the Enterprise to check out the last area his ship was seen in. Though you might wonder why they didn't send out a distress signal to Starfleet telling them what happened to give Kirk a heads-up.
You know and perhaps with Decker the Enterprise was sent in as a back up and again given no details as there was communication interference.

If Starfleet has 12 main ships and they were covering 1/12th of space then they would be an easy target for their enemies. Its a better tactic if they can cross patrol areas to keep their enemies on their toes.

 

[Ssosmcin]

I always hated when their mission of the week was “patrol.” Like cops on a beat. And sure, I can see them having to see if adversarial races were up to any shenanigans, but it seemed like such a waste of one of the most advanced vessels to be checking out the neighborhood. It reminded me of classic Battlestar Galactica, which had reason for routine patrols and the second season of Buck Rogers, which used it to explain where Hawk was that week: “Where’s that amazing new character who joined our show this year?” “Oh he’s out on patrol.”

 

[Kraig]

Episodes spent mostly in space under no mission to any particular planet, just flying around encountering stuff in space other than The Corbomite Maneuver: (Note some of the episodes occur on planets, but there was no mission to the planet, what was discovered in space sent the Enterprise or crew members to the planet):

Mudd's Women, Miri, The Squire of Gothos, Space Seed, Metamorphosis, Who Mourns for Adonis, The Doomsday Machine, The Changeling, Bread and Circuses, The Immunity Syndrome, By Any Other Name, Return to Tomorrow, And the Children Shall Lead, Spock's Brain, For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky, Day of the Dove. Plato's Stepchildren, Wink of an Eye, Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, The Way to Eden, Turnabout Intruder.

Most of these are the Enterprise answering a distress call or picking up and investigating a signal.

Could also include: That Which Survives and The Omega Glory.

 

[Timo]

It seems Starfleet and the Federation reap the greatest benefits form missions Kirk stumbles upon, such as "DDM" or "Operation: Annihilate!" or "Alternative Factor". Possibly lesser vessels engage in preplanned missions, but it's prudent to keep the big babies just roaming and looking for trouble. Without as much as telling the skippers where their sister ships are and what they are doing, no less.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Methuselah Flint]

Episodes spent mostly in space under no mission to any particular planet, just flying around encountering stuff in space other than The Corbomite Maneuver: (Note some of the episodes occur on planets, but there was no mission to the planet, what was discovered in space sent the Enterprise or crew members to the planet):

Mudd's Women, Miri, The Squire of Gothos, Space Seed, Metamorphosis, Who Mourns for Adonis, The Doomsday Machine, The Changeling, Bread and Circuses, The Immunity Syndrome, By Any Other Name, Return to Tomorrow, And the Children Shall Lead, Spock's Brain, For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky, Day of the Dove. Plato's Stepchildren, Wink of an Eye, Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, The Way to Eden, Turnabout Intruder.

Most of these are the Enterprise answering a distress call or picking up and investigating a signal.

Could also include: That Which Survives and The Omega Glory.

Excellent list! Though I'd argue initially in the Immunity Syndrome, the crew's 'mission' was going in for r and r. I. E they were purposefully heading in for shore leave. The mission was then assigned, as opposed to the Enterprise simply patrolling in space prior to the order.

 

[Kraig]

Excellent list! Though I'd argue initially in the Immunity Syndrome, the crew's 'mission' was going in for r and r. I. E they were purposefully heading in for shore leave. The mission was then assigned, as opposed to the Enterprise simply patrolling in space prior to the order.

For the US Navy, all port calls were arranged in advance of a cruise. The CO submitted his requests through the chain of command to the civilian counterparts in the Navy and they were sent to the State Department. The State Department would contact foreign State Departments for their buy off. The foreign State Departments would give the dates when they would allow a visit or if they didn't want one. Then the list would be returned with the acceptable port calls and the window of time we could visit. Those that fit in to our operational schedule were the ones we visited. When that schedule filled out it went back up and down the chain of command and to the other governments for final approval. We wound up in port calls for the locals off season to give their locals an influx of cash.

I wonder what system the UFP would use for their port visits to "show the flag."