Why didn't Starfleet give DS9 spacedocks?

[Gotham Central]

I've always wondered why Starfleet never decided to build space/drydocks or shipyards at DS9.

Even before the the emergence of the Dominion as a threat to the alpha quadrant, having high quality spacedocks at the station would have proven useful. Such services would have benefitted both Bajor and the Federation in their early attempts to explore the Gamma Quadrant. Once the War started having a viable space dock at the station would have been useful since the station was essentially serving as a staging post for allied forces. Obviously having a full fleet yard that close to the front lines might have been a security risk. However a viable repair yard with adequate engineering personnel from the allied services would have improved the effectiveness of the fighting forces.

So why didn't they do so?

 

[C.E. Evans]

Because DS9 wasn't a shipyard?

 

[Skywalker]

If they were going to do that, they might as well have just built an entirely new starbase. But they didn't because Deep Space Nine was Bajoran property, not Federation property, and they were only there at Bajor's request. And since Starfleet's original mission there was to help Bajor get back into shape so that it could eventually join the Federation, I don't think the Bajoran people would have taken too well to the Federation moving in and building a starbase on their own turf.

 

[Farrens]

Also we have no idea where the closest shipyards were. (I don't think) It could be that the nearest was "around the corner" in galactic terms.

In fact the only shipyard I remember being mentioned in trek was on Mars, am i wrong about this? And we know Earth was close enough to Bajor to allow for real time commlinks. (however far that was)

 

[Timo]

At least Starbase 375 was in what we might consider "immediate vicinity". And a couple of other starbases were mentioned in connection with operations near Bajor; probably Starfleet had plenty of assets for repairing ships a few days away, and wanted none where the Cardassians or the Dominion could strike at them in a matter of hours.

We did learn that Earth was only about a week of warp travel away from Bajor, anyway. We sometimes even witnessed DS9 logistics handled by mere runabouts - e.g. in "Defiant", Bashir wants one to pick up stuff from Vulcan and deliver it within a week. DS9 itself thus probably wasn't in need of logistical independence, let alone necessary as a net provider of supplies and services to a forward-deployed battlefleet. For all we know, the highly independent starships were better off without a port of call..

Timo Saloniemi

 

[MacLeod]

Perhaps another reason was something as simple as Bajor wasn't part of the Federation. The Federation was there at the invitation of the Bajoran Government, why expend the resources on building a new spacestation (like Spacedock) if you could be asked to leave at any moment.

 

[JoeD80]

I don't think it would be smart to have a shipyard on your front line of defense from the gamma quadrant. You want supply facilities in the back where they can be protected.

 

[david lowbridge]

Also we have no idea where the closest shipyards were. (I don't think) It could be that the nearest was "around the corner" in galactic terms.

In fact the only shipyard I remember being mentioned in trek was on Mars, am i wrong about this? And we know Earth was close enough to Bajor to allow for real time commlinks. (however far that was)

there have been numerous federation shipyards mentioned (either on screen or visable on dedication plates).

This is a list of them:
40 Eridani A Starfleet Construction Yards
Antares Ship Yards
Baikonur Cosmodrome
Beta Antares Ship Yards
Copernicus Ship Yards
Earth Station McKinley
Luna Shipyards
Marin County Starfleet Yards
Oakland Fleet Yards
Proxima Maintenance Yards
Riverside Shipyard
San Francisco Fleet Yards
Tranquility Base
University of Copernicus
Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards
Jupiter Station

so there is a possibility that DS9 was very close to another station. It was also mentioned that DS9 did do repairs to ships in the fleet in "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges". O'Brian did the repair schedule and was ordered to move the warbirds up the list at the expense of the Klingon flagship. So I would say that DS9 could deal with the majority of the repair work needed.

 

[Gagarin]

More like... why didn't the Federation put a couple of starships on picket duty at DS9 before and after they gave Sisko the Defiant.

Like 2 Mirandas with fighters and a New Orleans or something.
Yeah, yeah, I know... production costs and it's supposed to be the little outpost all by itself, but...

 

[Methos]

i think the primary reason, ignoring the good comments about having shipyards on the front line, is that Deep Space 9 isn't fully compatible with Federation technology...

that's the reason they didn't basically gut the station and install Federation computers, consoles, weapons and so on... remember, the entire station is Cardassian, all the computers and such...

M

 

[Farrens]

Never thought to check the plates! Surprising number seem to be near or on Earth based on the names. Good catch.

 

[Jono]

Before the Dominion arrived for the most part the Federation was still on dicey grounds as to whether the Bajorans would let them even stay on DS9. So you're unlikely to see them invest in new stations that they might have to secede to the Bajorans, or worse the Cardassians if their fears that they would just return if the Federation left came true.

 

[Timo]

why didn't the Federation put a couple of starships on picket duty at DS9 before and after they gave Sisko the Defiant.

During the war, we always saw ships there - but whether they were doing "picket duty" or just passing by, we couldn't tell.

It might be that a space station needs starship support like a fish needs a bicycle. The Defiant, supposedly a formidable combat vessel, always ended up being protected by the station rather than vice versa. And the fights the station would be having could be assumed to be fundamentally stationary, as it was all about defending a minuscule point target - the wormhole mouth. Starships might have been in the way more than anything else.

Even the arrival of a rather symbolic group of six starships in "Way of the Warrior" could be argued to have been devoid of tactical value. The political signal it sent, of Starfleet committing its own forces to a fight that heretofore had only involved the Bajoran space station, would have been the decisive element in a fight between at least fifty Klingon ships and said station.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Gagarin]

But there were always 'Hey, stop that ship... oh, we can't, the tractor beam is out of range' or 'Oh, we can't, the Runabout is too slow...'.

And the Defiant is useless if its still docked. Don't know if DS9 ever showed that.

 

[Timo]

But there were always 'Hey, stop that ship... oh, we can't, the tractor beam is out of range' or 'Oh, we can't, the Runabout is too slow...'.

The concept of Sisko having substandard equipment was a delightful one early on in the show. They didn't always remember to exploit this, though. In the Circle trilogy, when our heroes wanted to intercept a Xepolite freighter, they faced the possibility of her escaping because she was capable of warp 9.8. It would have added insult to injury if the Xepolites could only do warp six!

Later on in the show, there weren't many instances of the villains escaping that way, though.

And the Defiant is useless if its still docked. Don't know if DS9 ever showed that.

The Defiant was shown huddling docked to the station during the fight with the Klingons in "Way of the Warrior"...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[intrinsical]

Its simple, you don't build shipyards at the front lines. You build shipyards as far away from the front lines as possible so the enemy can't easily destroy your ship building capabilities.

 

[RTOlson]

In the novels set after the series ended, a character (Captain Kira, IIRC) learns that former First Minister Shakaar had planned on petitioning the Federation to build shipyards in the Bajor-B'hava'el star system.

That said, I think the previous posters bring up a lot of good points about not wanting to have an active shipyard in a potential combat zone. With the Dominion War over and Bajor's eventual entry into the Federation, it may be worth reconsidering.

From a storytelling perspective, what would be the point to having a shipyard? Most of the stories that may come from such a development could likely be told from the currently developed assets.

 

[Commander Riker]

I agree that you put shipyards away from the front lines.
Don't you think that it was strange for Starfleet to to leave DS9 so vulnerable, especially before the defiant. The star base was of great strategic important after discovering the wormhole. A fleet should have been positioned there.

 

[mronhifi123]

We did learn that Earth was only about a week of warp travel away from Bajor, anyway. We sometimes even witnessed DS9 logistics handled by mere runabouts - e.g. in "Defiant", Bashir wants one to pick up stuff from Vulcan and deliver it within a week.