UESPA Changed to Starfleet When and Why?
- Thread starter Tom
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I think that UESPA was still active during TOS' time, and I remember reading that UESPA was also actively involved onboard the Enterprise itself. Mind you, it could have been Wikipedia I was reading so take it with a grain of salt.
It still existed as a Starfleet operating authority/Earthbound coordination agency as late as 2267(TOS Season 1), so we know it lasts until at least the Kirk era.
On the show in at least two episodes:
(1) In "Charlie X", Captain Kirk makes a log entry immediately after Charlie makes the Antares go boom. In his voiceover, he tersely reports that "You-spah headquarters has been notified of the mysterious destruction of the Antares."
(2) In "Tomorrow is Yesterday", Captain Kirk explains to Captain Christopher that the Enterprise's operational authority is the United Earth Space Probe Agency. Christopher replies "United Earth?" in puzzlement.
So yes, there are "canonical" on-screen references to UESPA in classic Star Trek.
(1) In "Charlie X", Captain Kirk makes a log entry immediately after Charlie makes the Antares go boom. In his voiceover, he tersely reports that "You-spah headquarters has been notified of the mysterious destruction of the Antares."
(2) In "Tomorrow is Yesterday", Captain Kirk explains to Captain Christopher that the Enterprise's operational authority is the United Earth Space Probe Agency. Christopher replies "United Earth?" in puzzlement.
So yes, there are "canonical" on-screen references to UESPA in classic Star Trek.
I have a conjectural theory that UESPA finally folded into Starfleet after TOS but before the movies(around 2270)and ceased to exist as a separate agency with its own bureaucracy and purpose.
Yes I know. I was responding to Nerys Myk's question.
I agree, that's probably the dramatic reason for the change. Your "in universe" explanation sounds as plausible (and similar) to the other "in universe" reasons I've heard over the years.
I suppose you could argue that there were two organisations running concurrently, and one (UESPA) was gradually being phased out.
Doesnt the episode refer to the ANTARES as a probe ship or something? Maybe UESPA had been in charge of probe ships and Starfleet the other ships.
When two companies merge, they often use the same name for a bit before one is rebranded.
Doesnt the episode refer to the ANTARES as a probe ship or something? Maybe UESPA had been in charge of probe ships and Starfleet the other ships.
When two companies merge, they often use the same name for a bit before one is rebranded.
That was an inconsistency of the episode itself - in the opening, the Anteres is refered to as a transport/cargo vessel. Later when Kirk mentions its destruction in his log does he refer to it as a 'probe' vessel.
We know according to Star Trek - Voyager: "One Small Step" that UESPA's founding predated even the founding of the United Earth government, sine UESPA was responsible for the first manned mission to Mars. UESPA continues to exist into the 22nd century, as evidenced by the Earth Starfleet seal seen in the Enterprise two-parter of "Demons" and "Terra Prime". My assumption is that the Earth Starfleet was simply a branch of UESPA, one with a combined mission of exploration and defense.
When describing his mission to Captain Christopher in "Tomorrow is Yesterday," Kirk refers to UESPA as a "combined service". While it was likely the writer's intention that he was refering to a combination of several Navies and Air Forces, it can also be read that he is referring in-universe to the combined forces of UESPA, the Vulcan Space Force, the Andorian Imperial Guard, and others under the banner of the Federation Starfleet. Each of these might still operate with a bit of autonomy even within Starfleet, which would explain why Enterprise was crewed with mostly humans, and the Intrepid had a largely Vulcan crew. That autonomy would be lessened as time went on, similar to the shift from a Federation of Kirk's day which operates more like the United Nations, to the Federation of Picard's time and especially during the time of the Dominion War, which operates more like the United States.
When describing his mission to Captain Christopher in "Tomorrow is Yesterday," Kirk refers to UESPA as a "combined service". While it was likely the writer's intention that he was refering to a combination of several Navies and Air Forces, it can also be read that he is referring in-universe to the combined forces of UESPA, the Vulcan Space Force, the Andorian Imperial Guard, and others under the banner of the Federation Starfleet. Each of these might still operate with a bit of autonomy even within Starfleet, which would explain why Enterprise was crewed with mostly humans, and the Intrepid had a largely Vulcan crew. That autonomy would be lessened as time went on, similar to the shift from a Federation of Kirk's day which operates more like the United Nations, to the Federation of Picard's time and especially during the time of the Dominion War, which operates more like the United States.
I had always considered the "United Earth Space Probe Authority" mentioned in TIY as some kind of diversion from Kirk so he wouldnt alter the timeline by giving too much information out to Capt. Christopher.
I simply ignore the "you-spa" reference in Charlie X.
This keeps things simple in my personal canon.
I simply ignore the "you-spa" reference in Charlie X.
This keeps things simple in my personal canon.
You're welcome to your interpretation, but... Well, yes it keeps things simple, but when is real life ever simple?
Personally, I like the little inconsistencies that crop up in fictional universes. Rather than resulting in a disruption of my suspension of disbelief, it actually makes it feel more real to me, since our planet is loaded with these little inconsistencies.
The odd thing about "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" is Star Fleet is mentioned in the beginning and end of the episode and UESPA crops up in the middle. Which leads me to believe that they did a rewrite but missed a few scenes. ("Tomorrow Is Yesterday" was supposed to follow "Naked Time" as part of two episode storyline)
That storyline has been debated around here before...its verasity is questionable considering The Naked Time's writer never confirmed it. For me...the jury is still out on that one.
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Anywho...what is the earliest reference to "Star Fleet" in production order, airdate order, stardate order...?
I've always wondered if UESPA is an independent research institution within the Federation (perhaps with a traditional but outdated name) and Starfleet vessels and personnel are "loaned out" as needed. Maybe some Enterprise missions are for UESPA and others aren't.
--Justin
--Justin
According to Mike Okuda, D.C. Fontana claims it was, but that's about it (Okuda has said this in the Star Trek Chronology and he's posted the same thing here on this board). I guess Ms. Fontana could be mistaken, though.
According to Okuda's Star Trek Chronology, it was Court Martial.
Actually, we have no idea *who* was responsible for the actual first manned Mars mission. The one we saw in that episode was Ares IV, suggesting it was the fourth, and "ISA" (International Space Agency) was responsible for it.
As for UESPA: I'm prepared to write it off as yet another example of the dozen or so different names the writers tossed around for the Enterprise's operating authority, all of which (except for "Starfleet") sounded so ridiculous, like something out of a lameass pulp novel. I mean, come on..."Space Command"? "Star Service"? "UESPA"?
Indeed.
Looking at the silly name without undue passion, "UESPA" implies the existence of a United Earth, as well as a role of sending out "probes". In the 2000s, we think that probes are unmanned, robotic explorers. However, in the golden age of scifi, "probe" could mean a manned exploration mission as well. And Spock probably uses the word in that latter sense when revealing that JS Christopher headed "the first Earth-Saturn probe mission" in the early 2000s. (Or did Christopher perhaps head the legal probe into the failure of the mission?)
Further semantic fun: when Kirk calls the Antares a "Science Probe Vessel", he need not be thinking that the Antares is a science probe vessel. Rather, he could be saying that the cargo ship Antares was operated by the UESPA and hence was a "SP Vessel", the same way that today's naval auxiliaries are "United States Ships" thanks to being operated by the USN (or having a USNS designation and a civilian crew).
After all, Kirk is giving the formal obituary to the Antares here. He would be using formal terms... And the use of "Science" versus "Space" would be a slip of the tongue, there being 50/50 chance of either being the correct one.
As for my personal feelings on this, I can't accept UESPA as the name of an early Earth space navy. It sounds way too civilian for that - no Navy man would accept the name. But it could be an early Earth space NOAA, a civilian organization playing in the sandbox of the navy, and sharing equipment. Whenever (UE or UFP) Starfleet ran the rare scientific mission amidst the basic military ones, it could fall under the authority of UESPA.
Timo Saloniemi
Looking at the silly name without undue passion, "UESPA" implies the existence of a United Earth, as well as a role of sending out "probes". In the 2000s, we think that probes are unmanned, robotic explorers. However, in the golden age of scifi, "probe" could mean a manned exploration mission as well. And Spock probably uses the word in that latter sense when revealing that JS Christopher headed "the first Earth-Saturn probe mission" in the early 2000s. (Or did Christopher perhaps head the legal probe into the failure of the mission?)
Further semantic fun: when Kirk calls the Antares a "Science Probe Vessel", he need not be thinking that the Antares is a science probe vessel. Rather, he could be saying that the cargo ship Antares was operated by the UESPA and hence was a "SP Vessel", the same way that today's naval auxiliaries are "United States Ships" thanks to being operated by the USN (or having a USNS designation and a civilian crew).
After all, Kirk is giving the formal obituary to the Antares here. He would be using formal terms... And the use of "Science" versus "Space" would be a slip of the tongue, there being 50/50 chance of either being the correct one.
As for my personal feelings on this, I can't accept UESPA as the name of an early Earth space navy. It sounds way too civilian for that - no Navy man would accept the name. But it could be an early Earth space NOAA, a civilian organization playing in the sandbox of the navy, and sharing equipment. Whenever (UE or UFP) Starfleet ran the rare scientific mission amidst the basic military ones, it could fall under the authority of UESPA.
Timo Saloniemi
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