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Deep Space 9

SpecsImagesInternals
Size Comp
Universe : Prime Timeline
Class Name : Deep Space 9 [1]
Type : Orbital refinery and starship support base
Unit Run :
Empok Nor [2] - Active
Terok Nor [3] - Active
1 has been retired from service.
Commissioned : Built during the Cardassian occupation of Bajor. Taken into Starfleet service 2369.
Dimensions : Diameter : 1,451.82 m [4]
Height (core) : 368.8 m [4]
Height (overall) : 969.26 m [5]
Decks : 260 over
Mass : 45,000,000 metric tons
Crew : 500
Armament : 6 x Type XI phaser banks
63 x Type X phaser arrays, total output 1,250,000 TeraWatts
66 x Pulse fire photon torpedo tube
Defence Systems : High Capacity shield system, total capacity 8,640,000 TeraJoules
Standard Kelindide Single hull.
Low level Structural Integrity Field
Docking Facilities : 6 Pylon docking ports [6] 12 Docking ring ports [6] 6 landing pads [7]
Deep Space 9 : Acceleration : 0.01 m/s/s
Delta Vee : 64,800 m/s
Endurance : 1,800 hours
Limited motion available on thrusters only [1]
Strength Indices :
(Galaxy class = 1,000)
Beam Firepower : 25,000
Torpedo Firepower : 16,500
Weapon Range and Accuracy : 1,200
Shield Strength : 3,200
Hull Armour : 7.5
Speed : -
Combat Manoeuvrability : 10
Overall Strength Index : 12,116
Diplomatic Capability : Approximately equivalent to Starfleet grade 4/5
Expected Hull Life : 150
Refit Cycle : Minor : 5 year
Standard : 5 years
Major : 30 years

Notes

One of the most unique installations under Federation administration, Deep Space Nine started life as a Cardassian space station in orbit of the planet Bajor. Built in place by Bajoran slave labour during the Cardassian occupation of that planet, Terok Nor - as it was then known - served as a major administrative centre for the Cardassian forces as well as housing a large ore processing facility manned by Bajoran workers. [3] The station has no Warp or Impulse drive and is not suited to towing; it was therefore considered essentially a fixed orbital base with a very limited ability to manoeuvre in space. When the Cardassian occupation ended, they therefore had to abandon Terok Nor and its sister station Empok Nor in place. [1]

At this time the Bajoran provisional government had neither the equipment nor the experience to run a space station like Terok Nor. In addition the intentions of the Cardassian government regarding their sovereignty were unclear to them, so the Federation was asked to take over command of the station and operate it for the Bajoran people. Starfleet appointed Commander Benjamin Sisko to run the station and he assumed command in 2369. Initially the station - now renamed Deep Space Nine by the Federation - was intended to operate as little more than an orbital port facility. The outgoing Cardassian forces had rendered the ore processing systems non-functional, while many other major systems had been badly damaged. [1]

Fate had other plans for DS9 however; within days of Commander Sisko taking over the station a wormhole was discovered nearby. An artificial anomaly created by a race of sentient beings, this wormhole is unique in being completely stable. Chief Miles O'Brien was able to modify the station's shield system to allow it to be moved at modest sub light speed, and DS9 was moved to the mouth of the wormhole where a Bajoran officer claimed the anomaly for the Bajoran government - over the objections of the Cardassians. [1]

Subsequently, Deep Space Nine became a major stopping off point for traffic travelling to the Gamma Quadrant via the wormhole. [8] The revenue generated by the station has been a great boon for the Bajoran economy, making both the station and the planet a major centre of trade and diplomacy in the region.

In 2370 the Dominion declared that the Gamma Quadrant end of the wormhole now belonged to them. In the brief battle that followed the Galaxy class USS Odyssey was destroyed. [9] A subsequent Federation threat to destroy the wormhole if a Dominion fleet attempted to come through established a fragile stalemate. [10] As the front line against this new threat, Deep Space Nine moved much higher on Starfleet's priority list. The USS Defiant was assigned to the station and Starfleet began to assign regular starship patrols to the area. [11]

A comprehensive programme of upgrades to the station's own armament systems was also undertaken. [12] The original Cardassian design mounted six phaser banks and six photon torpedo tubes on small towers on the Habitat Ring. [13] Starfleet engineers installed a Rotary Weapon System on each tower - these carried phaser and photon torpedo weapons. [12] An additional Fixed Weapon Emplacement on each tower also carried both phaser and photon torpedo weapons. [12] In addition to this a set of Retractable Weapon Emplacements was installed on both the habitat ring and the Docking Pylons, also carrying phasers and photon launchers. [12]

The station got the chance to use its new weapons system in anger almost the moment it was finished when Captain Sisko rescued the Cardassian leadership from the Klingon invasion. A Klingon taskforce under Chancellor Gowron attacked Deep Space Nine in order to capture the Cardassians. In the ensuing battle many Klingon warships where destroyed or severely damaged, although the heavy disruptor cannon of the Negh'Var where able to penetrate the stations shields sufficiently to land boarding parties. The arrival of Starfleet reinforcements forced the Klingons to stand down and withdraw back to Cardassian space, beginning several months of conflict with the Federation. [12]

When the Dominion took over Cardassia and forced the Klingon fleet to retreat, Gowron reinstated the Khitomer Accords and a combined Federation-Klingon-Romulan fleet made a stand at Deep Space Nine against the expected Dominion assault. In the event, the situation proved to be a Dominion ruse designed to destroy the fleet along with the station and the rest of the system by detonating a trilithium device within the Bajoran sun. The attempt was unsuccessful, and an uneasy stand off against the Dominion ensued. [14]

This situation lasted for less than a year; at the end of 2373 a massive Dominion fleet attacked DS9 in response to the Federation's mining of the wormhole exit. Although the station was overwhelmed and captured, the Federation crew under Captain Sisko were able to destroy over fifty Dominion vessels during the attack, and activate the minefield to block the wormhole. In addition, whilst the Dominion was occupied at DS9 a Federation-Klingon task force launched a major attack against a large Dominion shipyard in Cardassian space - destroying the yard [15], the ships in dock, the supporting facilities and supplies, and the small force assigned to defend the facilities.

Deep Space Nine remained in Dominion hands for some three months before a combined Federation-Klingon fleet was able to recapture it [16] in the battle which has become known as "the valley of Death". The station remained under the command of Captain Sisko for the rest of the war, functioning as the home base of a Federation fleet. [13]

Shortly after the war was concluded, Captain Sisko was able to stop the Pagh-wraiths from breaking out of their prison in the fire caves on Bajor. Sisko then joined the prophets in the wormhole, where he remains to this day. Colonel Kira took command of Deep Space Nine in his absence. [17]

Colour key

Canon source Backstage source Novel source DITL speculation

References

# Series Season Source Comment
1 DS9 1 Emissary
2 DS9 5 Empok Nor
3 DS9 3 Civil Defense
4 Star Trek Deep Space Nine Technical Manual Scalled against the overall height using the diagram
5 Star Trek Deep Space Nine Technical Manual Stated on page 16.
6 Visible on the shooting model
7 Star Trek Deep Space Nine Technical Manual Page 140
8 DS9 1 Captive Pursuit
9 DS9 2 The Jem'Hadar
10 DS9 3 The Search, Part 2
11 DS9 3 The Search, Part 1
12 DS9 4 The Way of the Warrior
13 Various Deep Space Nine episodes
14 DS9 5 By Inferno's Light
15 DS9 5 Call to Arms
16 DS9 6 Sacrifice of Angels
17 DS9 7 What You Leave Behind, Part 2
Series : DS9 Season 1
Episode : Emissary
Series : DS9 Season 5
Episode : Empok Nor
Series : DS9 Season 3
Episode : Civil Defense
Book : Star Trek Deep Space Nine Technical Manual
Comment : Scalled against the overall height using the diagram
Book : Star Trek Deep Space Nine Technical Manual
Comment : Stated on page 16.
Source : Visible on the shooting model
Book : Star Trek Deep Space Nine Technical Manual
Comment : Page 140
Series : DS9 Season 1
Episode : Captive Pursuit
Series : DS9 Season 2
Episode : The Jem'Hadar
Series : DS9 Season 3
Episode : The Search, Part 2
Series : DS9 Season 3
Episode : The Search, Part 1
Series : DS9 Season 4
Episode : The Way of the Warrior
Series : DS9 Season
Episode : Various Deep Space Nine episodes
Series : DS9 Season 5
Episode : By Inferno's Light
Series : DS9 Season 5
Episode : Call to Arms
Series : DS9 Season 6
Episode : Sacrifice of Angels
Series : DS9 Season 7
Episode : What You Leave Behind, Part 2

Comments

Pretty much the entire DS9 entry is taken directly from canon. My only real assumptions are in regards to the number any type of weapons on the station; throughout this website I assume that the 'Type X+' planetary defence weapons talked about in the tech manual actually turned out to be the type 12. I've guessed that this is the major phaser weapon of all large Federation starbases, as well as the Sovereign class. I've pegged the various phaser weapons on DS9 as all being type twelve; the numbers are based on careful viewing of "Way of the Warrior", and may or may not be correct. Hopefully the upcoming Deep Space 9 Technical Manual will provide corrections for these assumptions.
© Graham & Ian Kennedy Page views : 105,973 Last updated : 2 Sep 2021