# What was the nature of the Enterprise's five year mission? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 19, 2018, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224 "2018-10-19T18:46:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2018, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224/61 "2018-10-20T19:03:54Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > In _ **Voyager** _, too. The Galaxy was divided into four quadrants: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, the first four letters of the Greek alphabet. > > The word obviously had some other meaning in _ **TOS** _. In “Mark of Gideon,” Kirk looks at the viewscreen and says “I’m not familiar with this quadrant.” So I’d assume it did indeed denote some smaller territorial division within the Galaxy. > > Recall that in _ **TNG** _’s “Conspiracy,” the map at SFHQ shows Federation space divided into cubes, so that may have something to with it (even though a cube has six sides, if you count the top and bottom). At one point in early TNG Worf refers to something in “a nearby quadrant”. It seems there are smaller quadrants as well as the four quadrants of the galaxy. Deep Space Nine, of course, was about a wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant, again far away in the galaxy. > [@terentii](#): > > And in “Elaan of Troyius,” how can they fire the torpedoes while the ship is pivoting at Warp 2? Do the torps have their own warp drives, or do they stay inside the ship’s FTL bubble until they hit their target? 😕 Torpedoes are regularly used at warp speeds, and obviously have some internal propulsion. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224/62 "2018-10-20T19:49:35Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > I do not believe that the show at any point in any of the filmed episodes actually defines what is going on with the “five year mission”. Vague references to their basic mission are made at various times. But given that they both explore fringes of the galaxy (energy barrier, _snort_) and transport delegates to Babel, take Spock to Vulcan (Epsilon Eridani IIRC from the Star Fleet Technical Manual of the 70s), etc., they obviously aren’t just out there doing exploration. Again from _ **TMoST** _: _Assigned to operate in a far-off sector of the galaxy, the ship’s duties include: scientific investigation and reconnaissance of previously unexplored worlds, providing aid and supplies for Earth colonies, diplomatic courtesy calls on alien planets, and the enforcement of laws regulating commerce between Federation members. Except under orders from a higher authority, the_ Enterprise \*never leaves its assigned area. \*[Well, almost never, anyway. :rolleyes:] _When you consider it, the_ Enterprise \* is doing the same kind of job naval vessels used to do several hundred years ago. In those days, ships of the major powers were assigned to patrol specific areas of the world’s oceans. They represented their governments in those areas and protected the national interests of their respective countries. Out of contact with the admiralty office back home for long periods of time, the captains of these ships had very broad discretionary powers. These included regulating trade, fighting bush wars, putting down slave traders, lending aid to scientific expeditions, conducting exploration on a broad scale, engaging in diplomatic exchanges and affairs and even becoming involved in such minor matters as searching for lost explorers or helping down-and-out travelers return to their homes.\* ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2018, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224/63 "2018-10-20T19:56:14Z")
> [@blindboyard](#): > > Torpedoes are regularly used at warp speeds, and obviously have some internal propulsion. This wasn’t firmly established until _ **ST II: TWoK** _. Prior to this, they were defined as “energy pods of matter and anti-matter contained and held temporarily in a magno-photon force field.” No mention was made of a sabot, much less a propulsion system. While we’re on the topic, how can the phasers work while the ship is traveling faster than the speed of light? Wouldn’t they risk shooting themselves down?\* :dubious: \*I’m being facetious here. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2018, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224/64 "2018-10-20T20:59:30Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > This wasn’t firmly established until _ **ST II: TWoK** _. Prior to this, they were defined as “energy pods of matter and anti-matter contained and held temporarily in a magno-photon force field.” No mention was made of a sabot, much less a propulsion system. > > While we’re on the topic, how can the phasers work while the ship is traveling faster than the speed of light? Wouldn’t they risk shooting themselves down?\* :dubious: > > \*I’m being facetious here. 😉 This is all hard science fiction. Science says that FTL implies paradoxes, and Star Trek has FTL, so it’s scientifically correct that Star Trek contains paradoxes. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2018, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224/65 "2018-10-20T22:01:15Z")
If there’s nothing wrong with you, there must be something wrong with the universe! ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224/66 "2018-10-21T00:03:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > You can’t say that the Ninth Quadrant is way out in the periphery of known space, when a mission in the Ninth Quadrant starts at alpha Centauri. Is Alpha Centauri in the Ninth Quadrant, or is it just the starting point for the mission? (ie “You will patrol the North Sea, leaving from Virginia”) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224/67 "2018-10-21T02:04:35Z")
I always thought that quadrants were divided into sub quadrants. “Big fish eat little fish, Until bigger ones can gram them, and so on, and so on, it continues, ad idfinitum” - Asimov. Or, writers didn’t know what the hell a quadrant was. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224/68 "2018-10-21T03:14:04Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > …among the redshirts those assigned to security (rather than engineering or communications) had an appalling 20% fatality rate. Check out John Scalzi’s _Redshirts_, if you haven’t already, for a clever, and occasionally even touching, meta take on what it would mean to serve as a junior officer on a ship like Kirk’s _Enterprise_. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224/69 "2018-10-21T11:21:52Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > So are there any canonical or non-canonical estimates of how much of the five-year mission TOS covered? It ran for three seasons, but was no doubt partway through the mission when we first see it. My understanding is that the stardates in the original series are largely arbitrary (and a more consistent system was used in later series), but is there any consensus about what time period it covered? (And I would exclude the retconning of the first pilot as _The Menagerie_). The fan understanding I’m aware of is that the original 3 seasons plus the 2 animated seasons cover the entire 5 year mission. Also, while they may start out at the edge of the galaxy, they make it back to Earth by the end of the second season for a time travel mission. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224/70 "2018-10-21T11:23:07Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > This is all hard science fiction. Science says that FTL implies paradoxes, and Star Trek has FTL, so it’s scientifically correct that Star Trek contains paradoxes. Problem is, Star Trek also posits that Warp travel gets around those paradoxes. So they just bring in more with black holes and such. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224/71 "2018-10-21T16:36:34Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Also, while they may start out at the edge of the galaxy, they make it back to Earth by the end of the second season for a time travel mission. I’ve been re-watching TOS in sequence (at least the sequence on Netflix, which isn’t exact but is close), and there doesn’t seem to be any progression in any direction. They’re all over the place, to the extent that can be determined. There’s no real continuity in TOS. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224/72 "2018-10-21T19:42:55Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Again from _ **TMoST** _: > > _Assigned to operate in a far-off sector of the galaxy, the ship’s duties include: scientific investigation and reconnaissance of previously unexplored worlds, providing aid and supplies for Earth colonies, diplomatic courtesy calls on alien planets, and the enforcement of laws regulating commerce between Federation members. Except under orders from a higher authority, the_ Enterprise \*never leaves its assigned area. \*[Well, almost never, anyway. :rolleyes:] > > _When you consider it, the_ Enterprise \* is doing the same kind of job naval vessels used to do several hundred years ago. In those days, ships of the major powers were assigned to patrol specific areas of the world’s oceans. They represented their governments in those areas and protected the national interests of their respective countries. Out of contact with the admiralty office back home for long periods of time, the captains of these ships had very broad discretionary powers. These included regulating trade, fighting bush wars, putting down slave traders, lending aid to scientific expeditions, conducting exploration on a broad scale, engaging in diplomatic exchanges and affairs and even becoming involved in such minor matters as searching for lost explorers or helping down-and-out travelers return to their homes.\* Yeah, but the problem with that is that they tossed that stuff in the oubliette within just a few shows of starting. Which is why I ignored this and talked about what the actual episodes talked about them doing. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224/73 "2018-10-21T20:11:10Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Problem is, Star Trek also posits that Warp travel gets around those paradoxes. You realize I was joking about it being hard sci fi, right? Soft and gooey with some harder lumps in it, maybe. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224/74 "2018-10-21T20:13:36Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Yeah, but the problem with that is that they tossed that stuff in the oubliette within just a few shows of starting. Which is why I ignored this and talked about what the actual episodes talked about them doing. Which episodes aren’t covered by the description in the first paragraph of **terentii’s** quote? I agree that many episodes involve activities not covered by the voiceover at the beginning of the show, which only covers exploration, but the examples you gave fit the description above (with the exception of taking Spock to Vulcan, which was done by Kirk in direct defiance of his orders to attend a planetary president’s inauguration ceremony). They explore but also provide services in aid of the Federation’s objectives, including bringing supplies to colonies, response to emergencies, support for diplomatic missions, etc. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2018, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224/75 "2018-10-22T21:42:06Z")
Showing the flag, and rattling the sabre, as someone stated above, much as RN frigates did in the 19th century. On edit: Oh, delivering breadfruit and quadrotritacayle. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2018, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224/76 "2018-10-22T23:12:39Z")
My second favorite line in _Galaxy Quest_ is when Jason tells the others (who have just been teleported aboard) that they are in the 23rd Quadrant of the Gamma Sector. 😃 I’m fairly sure that was a deliberate slap at the TOS writers continually confusing the two terms. Any guesses what my favorite line is? 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2018, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224/77 "2018-10-22T23:42:07Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > Any guesses what my favorite line is? 🆒 Guy Fleegman: Did you guys ever WATCH the show? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2018, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224/78 "2018-10-22T23:49:02Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Guy Fleegman: Did you guys ever WATCH the show? > > Stranger No, but I’d put that in the Top 10 someplace. You did get the right character, though. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2018, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224/79 "2018-10-23T00:03:21Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > No, but I’d put that in the Top 10 someplace. You did get the right character, though. Guy Fleegman: HEY! Don’t open that! It’s an alien planet! Is there air? You don’t know! There are so many good quotes in the film it is hard to guess, actually. But casing Sam Rockwell in [_Vice_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6266538/) looks like brilliant casting. Nobody plays charmingly clueless like he does. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2018, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224/80 "2018-10-23T02:35:06Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I’ve been re-watching TOS in sequence (at least the sequence on Netflix, which isn’t exact but is close), and there doesn’t seem to be any progression in any direction. They’re all over the place, to the extent that can be determined. There’s no real continuity in TOS. When there is some small hint at continuity, it gets mentioned in the Mission Log podcast for the TOS episode. The Organian Peace Treaty is the most famous example, but there are a few others. Not many, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-nature-of-the-enterprises-five-year-mission/823224.md?page=5)