Chick_McGeester
Lieutenant
I think of it as a StarBase. Just not a strictly Federation StarBase. And not a particularly nice design...
Was Deep Space Nine a Starbase?
- Thread starter Albertese
- Start date
We don't have access to the Starfleet Starbase Candidacy Manual, so we can only trust the characters until they are proven wrong within the show. Since DS9 was referred to as a starbase, I don't see a reason for further discussion. DS9 was hardly smaller or less strategically important than Starbase 375 (TMP Office Complex reuse), and the same design was used for Starbase 173 and Starbase 257. What about Masao's Remastered type of starbase, which was also a space station?
There is no evidence of contradiction. DS9 was taken over by Bajorans and then they invited Starfleet as part of the transition process that was expected to end with Bajor becoming a member of the Federation. Clearly it was a shared jurisdiction: a Starfleet starbase for Starfleet management purposes, but also a Bajoran station to Bajoran officers. Sisko wasn't a Bajoran officer, Kira wasn't a Starfleet officer, and the crew was Bajoran/Starfleet.
Saquist
Commodore
There is a contradiction if they don't say that it's a joint venture...which they never do. It's always one or the other and it's poor explanation by the writers. We can assume certain details that make it easier to resolve but there was never an accurate description and that leaves it in contradiction.
The indecisiveness could well be an in-universe thing, though. The Bajorans didn't actually want the station, but giving it to the Federation outright would have been politically inconvenient; it's no wonder they'd engage in a balancing act where they didn't claim ownership of the station except when an outsider tried to gain an advantage by saying that the Feds owned it.
That the Bajorans other than Kira always call the thing "space station" is telling enough: no real Bajoran ever stoops down to respecting the place with a name, be it DS9 or Terok Nor or whatever.
Timo Saloniemi
That the Bajorans other than Kira always call the thing "space station" is telling enough: no real Bajoran ever stoops down to respecting the place with a name, be it DS9 or Terok Nor or whatever.
Timo Saloniemi
Then you have some Starbases on the surface of a planet so the term Starbase doesn't automatically mean space station.
Here is what Memory Alpha says about Starbases:
A starbase is a facility where starships are maintained and resupplied, and crews can relax. A starbase can be a research station, a military base, a place for interstellar trade or a seat of administration. Some starbases are also involved in the construction of starships. Starbases offer various services to vehicles, from medical facilities to full-fledged spacedocks capable of refitting a starship.
Starbases can be partially or completely located on a planet surface, or be limited to strictly spaceborne installations. Some are a combination of a ground-based facility with orbital components.
The term starbase is often specifically used to refer to Federation Starfleet bases. Federation starbases are usually commanded by a flag officer, and fulfill a major supporting role in Starfleet. They coordinate starship operations and provide supplies and maintenance to Federation starships. Some starbases, like Deep Space 9, are jointly operated by local governments. Major Federation starbases are numbered sequentially, totaling more than 700 in the 2360s. Besides the numbered starbases, Starfleet also operates so-called "Deep Space" outposts, usually located outside Federation territory or in the interstellar void.
Here is the link: http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Star_base
A starbase is a facility where starships are maintained and resupplied, and crews can relax. A starbase can be a research station, a military base, a place for interstellar trade or a seat of administration. Some starbases are also involved in the construction of starships. Starbases offer various services to vehicles, from medical facilities to full-fledged spacedocks capable of refitting a starship.
Starbases can be partially or completely located on a planet surface, or be limited to strictly spaceborne installations. Some are a combination of a ground-based facility with orbital components.
The term starbase is often specifically used to refer to Federation Starfleet bases. Federation starbases are usually commanded by a flag officer, and fulfill a major supporting role in Starfleet. They coordinate starship operations and provide supplies and maintenance to Federation starships. Some starbases, like Deep Space 9, are jointly operated by local governments. Major Federation starbases are numbered sequentially, totaling more than 700 in the 2360s. Besides the numbered starbases, Starfleet also operates so-called "Deep Space" outposts, usually located outside Federation territory or in the interstellar void.
Here is the link: http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Star_base
How is it not self-evident as a joint venture when it's stated numerous times throughout the series that the station is under Starfleet administration but owned by Bajor? I should think a Starfleet CO, a Bajoran Militia liaison officer as second-in-command, and mixed engineering & security details should be enough to show that it's a joint venture.
I don't think it's necessarily telling of anything other than not wanting to use the Cardassian name for the station (certainly understandable!) and not bothering to rename it prior to Starfleet administrators arriving. After all, the Cardassian withdrawal and the arrival of Starfleet both occurred within the same year. Why bother giving the station a specific Bajoran designation if there's a possibility that the Starfleet administrators would want to include it in their nomenclature?
But it obviously works for the characters in-universe to refer to it as one or the other, so we must conclude that it doesn't matter what it is called or that it depends on the situation or level of formality. Starfleet needs to classify it as something for logistical purposes, as does the Bajoran Militia. Starfleet decided to group it with its other Deep Space stations, hence the official name Deep Space 9 which is presumably primary, but describing it as a Bajoran station at the same time wouldn't be inaccurate. No need to rupture the canon over this.
As I said, no one has leaked the Starfleet Starbase Candidacy Manual. A starbase is whatever is referred to as a starbase on the show.
Who said that it automatically means 'space station'?
That is just a set of general observations, as opposed to Starfleet's official criteria which would allow us as 21st century viewers to say to Sisko, "You're wrong, your station is not a starbase! Read the manual!"
Yes, but this makes it easier for people to reply only to those messages which concern them, instead of having to wade through one huge reply of mine.
That is just a set of general observations, as opposed to Starfleet's official criteria which would allow us as 21st century viewers to say to Sisko, "You're wrong, your station is not a starbase! Read the manual!"
I guess the only way to settle on what is a starbase is to have Mike Okuda, Mike Sussman, Manny Coto, or Doug Drexler come on here but that might not be enough for you.
I think the explanation someone offered in the related Tech thread is the best: Officially, Starbase Deep Space Nine is an administrative term reffering only to Starfleet personell, equipment and operations onboard the station. The station itself is still Bajoran. But since it seems the Bajorans don't really have a designation of their own for it, aside from the generic 'space station', and since it's under Starfleet administration, the Federation designation is often used in everyday speech for the station as a whole.
That is just a set of general observations, as opposed to Starfleet's official criteria which would allow us as 21st century viewers to say to Sisko, "You're wrong, your station is not a starbase! Read the manual!"
I guess the only way to settle on what is a starbase is to have Mike Okuda, Mike Sussman, Manny Coto, or Doug Drexler come on here but that might not be enough for you.
The question in this thread is whether DS9 is a starbase, and Sisko has already answered that for us. Why isn't his word enough for you? I'd imagine him to be better informed about Starfleet classifications than 21st century viewers, who can only grope for understanding via the limited information available to us.
Similar threads
