Hello all, Ric here with another video looking at a location in Star Trek, in this case,
not a planet for the first time, but instead an Iconic structure in orbit over Earth, The
Earth Space Dock.
Sometimes, in apocrypha, the ESD is also referred to as Starbase 1, however it is technically
not a Starbase because of its location and cannot be Starbase 1 which exists someplace
in orbit of a terraformed planetoid beyond Pluto.
The spacedock was planned as early as the 2250s and although not the first station in
orbit or earth, let alone a Starfleet base, it was designed to be the primary orbital
facility from which Starfleet could dock and manage its fleet.
A centralised command point for the navigation of the fleet within the Sol system.
Because of this, it was originally designed to operate as a military outpost more than
a civilian dock and as such was to have over 40 heavy phaser turrets for its defence.
However the United Earth government put its foot down on this point, feeling uncomfortable
with such a heavily armed station in orbit so these were removed.
However the Spackdock still retains these mounting frames and can be outfitted with
operational cannons in case of emergencies within a week.
It does however retain incredibly powerful deflector shields, more so than any starship
of the line.
Construction began on the station around the 2250s and it was almost complete by 2257 as
seen during the Federation-Klingon War.
It was officially completed by 2276, although due to its scale, parts of it were likely
functional well before its completion.
The mushroom shape was formed primarily by the large internal hangers which is an alternate
to the more common docking ring used by most space stations, Federation or otherwise.
This large internal hanger featured a central spire that could dock eight ships across two
levels, while the hanger can accommodate many more in mooring, but comfortably around another
10 to 12 or so for a total 18 ships at any time.
The hanger offers one benefit over standard docks that are open to space, that is that
you can access the entire surface if a vessel in relative safety for maintenance and overhauls.
This leads many starship overhauls to be conducted in the ESD but no starship constructions done
from scratch here.
Atop the dock is a large array of very sensitive and precise subspace antennae that serve several
functions.
At the time of its construction, this array was the most accurate sensor array in the
Sol System and is monitors the area.
Aside from watching for threats, it also serves the more mundane purposes of watching for
solar activity, radiation levels, tracking in-system debris and of course communicating
extensively with the Federation subspace com.
networks.
Starfleet’s main operations are conducted around this area too, within the walls that
make up the hanger, where there are many administrative offices and the like.
Most of these offer impressive views of the internal main docking spire, and external
views of Earth and the often busy skies around it.
These impressive backdrops are often enjoyed by off-duty personnel in any of the lounge
areas or by those attending meetings in any of the conference or diplomatic suites.
If needs be, the entirety of Starfleet command can be conducted from the ESD, shifting it
from the Headquarters on Earth and the command decks features several admirals’ offices
as well as tactical information centres.
Additionally, the main disc features laboratories and research labs for development of specific
projects and many such of high interest to Starfleet have some facility here.
The most notable was the transwarp project of 2293 and the prototype testing of the USS
Excelsior.
The bottom sees a large matter-antimatter reactor that powers the entire station.
Nearby to it are fabrication stations that can produce needed materials for the dock.
Above this, we have the more industrial areas such as backup power, life support, water
storage and waste reclamation.
The very bottom of the reactor sphere is replete with more antennae which are a separate subspace
array dedicate to Earth-side communications.
Interestingly, the Kelvin Timeline also has an orbital station over Earth, however as
its construction took place well after the timeline split, its construction was vastly
different and it was operational by 2259.
Due to its original design, it had a crew and civilian capacity of 76,625, although
due to several overhauls through the generations, it was expanded to house 312,000.
One of these expansions was around the 2350s, when the Galaxy class was in development.
This saw the main gates of the ESD increased in scale in order to accommodate the width
of the large vessel.
In apocrypha, another major overhaul takes place in 2410 after a large battle in orbit
causes major damage to the facility and while the stations is reassembled to look the same
outwardly, its internal layout and structure were updated.
Alongside the ESD itself, there has been the gradual expansion of its facilities through
supplementary spacedocks near the station to house more vessels for their refits and
repairs.
With the scale of the station and the level of involvement Starfleet has in the traffic
of Earth, it was only a matter of time before the civilian presence on the station increased
to the point of commerce.
The ESD’s internals are on par with that of most cities, and as such, facilities for
recreation and trade were part of its original design, but have also expanded over the years.
The middle ring, complete with its own hangers was dedicated almost entirely to the traffic
produced by trade and over time, the ESD became not only a Starfleet installation, but the
premier dock for trade on Earth.
As such, there are now restaurants, tours, gardens, shops alongside permanent civilian
quarters, everything a city in space would need to flourish.
It’s basically the same thing we see on Deep Space Nine, where the station was originally
to serve a single purpose, but with time, the trade and traffic blossomed into its own
hub, administered by Starfleet.
Even Deck 47, near the top command levels, has its own bar that at times resembles more
of a nightclub.
As a Starfleet facility, it was a great microcosm for scientific naval life across a myriad
of divisions.
This made it an excellent location to train new cadets, and many in Starfleet academy
would transfer to the station for training at some point in their tutelage.
It had training facilities and holodecks here, but more importantly, almost every division
could find some hands-on experience.
Engineering cadets could examine some of the most powerful reactors, the ESD’s themselves,
or take part in the constant starship overhauls going on within the station.
Security divisions had the internal patrols to take care of, or coordinating the defence
of Sol.
Command division personnel could learn to oversee and manage a variety of projects and
the station’s own medical facilities are second only to the Lagrange stations of L4
and L5, which themselves are dedicated hospital stations under Starfleet medical.
As you can see, the list goes on.
So generally, there are several starships within the hanger at any one time, being maintained
or overhauled, but the ESD has its own fleet of auxillary craft across other hangers located
across its bulk.
These number at least 285 worker bees, 100 shuttles of various configurations, and 50
runabouts for inter-system travel.
As mentioned in the opening, the station itself does not have any offensive capabilities,
just some really hardy shielding, but it does have several starships assigned to local protection
at any time.
This is not even including the myriad of idle vessels that will always be present at Earth
for whatever reasons, so most of the time, the ESD’s lack of firepower is not an issue.
The total size of the Spacedock is recorded as a beam of 3812 metres, draft of 5544 metres,
a dry mass of 10,552,000 tons and a volume of 21,924,000 metres cubed.
That makes it almost 3 and half miles tall and apparently it can be seen from Earth.
Something I’d believe ‘cos it real big.
The station’s design would go on to be occasionally reused for other Starfleet installations,
such as Starbase 74 over Tarsas 3, but it was infrequent as there is seldom need for
such an expansive hub when a more reserved Starbase design would suffice.
Spacedock would eventually have to be replaced, or completely overhauled but the only time
we see a different base is 806 years after its last mention, in the 32nd century when
the United Earth seceded from the Federation but by then Starfleet had a warp-capable headquarters
anyway.
Thanks for watching this breakdown on the Spacedock of Earth, it San Francisco HQ is
Starfleet’s heart, then the ESD is its head.
The sight of a federation vessel returning to Earth in my opinion is not complete without
the silhouette of the spacedock welcoming home its wayward wards.
Until the next vid, I’ve been Ric, thanks again and goodbye!