Star Trek 101: What is the United Federation of Planets?

United Federation of Planets emblem

The United Federation of Planets, usually referred to simply as the Federation, is the interplanetary constitutional republic depicted in Star Trek story lines, beginning with the first season of the original series. Eventually the Federation grows to more than 150 member planets and thousands of colonies spread across the Milky Way. Starfleet is the military, diplomatic and exploratory agency of the United Federation of Planets, headquartered, along with the Federation Council, in San Francisco.

The formation of the Federation was part of the plot line of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise, in which the Earth leader advocated for a Coalition of Planets, sidelined by xenophobia on Earth. The exploratory voyages of Enterprise NX-01 under the command of Captain Jonathan Archer had led to tentative alliances between Vulcan, Andorian, and Tellarite worlds formerly hostile to one another, and later a speech by Captain Archer gave the scheme new life and the United Federation of Planets was formed in 2161.

The Federation has a constitution or charter that features the Prime Directive, the well-known principle in Star Trek that prohibits interference in the development of civilizations that have not yet achieved warp technology, as well as guarantees of basic rights. Member planets typically have unified world governments; in the Star Trek timeline a world government is established on Earth in 2150. Liberty, self-determination, justice, equality, peace and cooperation are typically identified as Federation values.

Fans sometimes self-identify as either Federation- or Klingon-aligned, though peace with the Klingon Empire is eventually achieved following the Khitomer Accords of 2293. Other Federation enemies have included the Romulans, the Cardassians and the Borg.

The emblem of the Federation is a star field surrounded by a stylized botanical wreath, which may be olive or laurel, on a sky-blue field. The star field on the emblem bears a passing resemblance to a reversed shot of the Pleiades star cluster. The Federation anthem, composed by David Bell, was played at a baseball game in an episode of Deep Space 9.

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