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So I managed to find a pic of Starbase Yorktown as the Enterprise approaches. (Don't ask how).

By my admittedly rough calculations, the diameter of the base is approximately 30 times the length of the Enterprise.

Assuming a (ahem) 700 m long Enterprise, then, Yorktown is approximately 20 kilometres (12.5 miles) in diameter.

That's not even close to being the biggest object in Trek, but I do believe it's the biggest manufactured object we've ever seen the Federation produce. It could very comfortably fit the 13.5 km tall Starbase 74 inside, for instance. And you could rattle the 5.8 km tall Spacedock around inside it like dice in a cup. A big cup.

Damned impressive, there. And damned impressive structure, too. I do like the mental image of Spacedock just floating by in the clouds.

Where is the Yorktown in relation to earth or the core worlds? Would they build it in place or toe it there. Or build segments and then assemble.

From the behind the scenes interviews I've seen about it, it is out on the frontier of explored space. Its main purpose is diplomatic; those considering membership of the Federation are invited to send people to live and work there so that they can meet and interact with a wide cross-section of Federation species. It's a way for them to learn what the Federation is all about and become more cosmopolitan, build relationships, etc.

I love that idea. It's very "Trek". And so many story possibilities there - I'd be very surprised if the novel-verse doesn't revisit Starbase Yorktown often.

(Of course it's also just the Trek version of Babylon 5, but let's gloss over that.)

But why build something like that on the edge of known space? If it was any form of hub (diplomatic or commercial or industrial) it should be either near as many known nations or as many trade routes or as many raw materials producing sites as possible and its vicinity should be bustling with ships approaching and leaving.

But I liked its defensive systems very much - especially the clusters of photon torpedoes it fired, when the swarm attacked it.

Also regarding the construction time for something like that (the Enterprise was over 3 years in construction on Earth) the station would probably not at the edge anymore, when it was finished - even if the nearby nebula (how near was it?) would slow down exploration in one direction.

Avatar2312 wrote:But why build something like that on the edge of known space? If it was any form of hub (diplomatic or commercial or industrial) it should be either near as many known nations or as many trade routes or as many raw materials producing sites as possible and its vicinity should be bustling with ships approaching and leaving.

It was specifically for new members. Better to build in their back yard than yours, I guess.

Avatar2312 wrote:But I liked its defensive systems very much - especially the clusters of photon torpedoes it fired, when the swarm attacked it.

I like them too. It just makes me wonder just how many phasers and photon torpedo bays that thing has in the first place. ^_^

I also liked how "Trek" the Yorktown concept was. It also made me feel like I was getting something for my movie dollars as those special effects were clever and beyond what I'd expect from a fan production.

A more accurate figure from a higher resolution image :

Graham Kennedy wrote:A more accurate figure from a higher resolution image :

Ooh, that's lovely.

While it is huge, i do wonder how it stacks up to 74 in relation of mass. 74 while does have a hollow top, it is still more dense than Yorktown obviously.

McAvoy wrote:While it is huge, i do wonder how it stacks up to 74 in relation of mass. 74 while does have a hollow top, it is still more dense than Yorktown obviously.

I agree. Though Yorktown seems to take first place nevertheless on the largest Federation structure in terms of meters, or in this case kilometers. I often wonder if in the prime universe (those movies pre-2009 Star Trek XP), if Starfleet would be smart enough to build something like that in THEIR own backyard, instead of seeing it here in this 2016 Star Trek Beyond. However, with that there is also the chance that there also is a prime universe Captain Balthzar Edison/Krall, and it most likely would have just ended up the same way, with him attacking Yorktown and the Enterprise pursuing it. Remember, this took place in the AR 2263, and the timeline was split halfway in between 2161 and then, with the alteration coming around in 2233 with the attack on the USS Kelvin, a good 30 years earlier, so chances are the attack would probably proceed nevertheless, and that's a lot of blood on the Federation's hands in a way.