A cross between NASA, ESA, Russian Space Agency, the US Coastguard, the British Antarctic Survey, HMS Protector and Endurance and the Hydrographic elements of the Royal Navy: Echo, Enterprise, Magpie and Scott; Starfleet is the exploratory, diplomatic, colonial and defensive arm of the Federation. Star Trek, and therefore Starfleet, is NOT "Hornblower in space"; that analogy is purely to inspire Summer blockbuster movies. Star Trek is about James Cook and the Endeavour, Adventure and Resolution, about Charles Darwin on the Beagle, Robert Falcon Scott on the Discovery, Ernest Shackleton on the Nimrod, the astronauts and cosmonauts who have gone up in rockets, shuttles and space stations. The primary mission of Starfleet is to seek out new life, new civilisations and planets to colonise. With the ever-expanding population of the United Federation of Planets comes a need for planets to live on plus resources to power and feed the people. Exploration serves the purpose of gaining new knowledge, new friends and also surveying for the following colony ships.

Based in San Francisco on Earth, Starfleet has a fleet of over 8000 starships spread over nine fleets, which in turn are sub-divided into task groups and those which operate on a solo basis attached to those fleets. All of the information from these starship and starbases are relayed live back to Starfleet Headquarters, real-time where possible, and added to the Memory Alpha library of knowledge for the Federation. Think of it like pin-head sized objects scattered around a football stadium, palace, shopping mall or other large building site; you may have 8000 ships but they are scattered across the immense void of space. In addition, over one hundred starbases extend the supply and communication lines across the Federation, enabling starships to conduct their deep space missions. A fleet of Starfleet Auxiliary vessels supplement these starbases, allowing starships to journey far beyond the borders of the Federation. These starships are on a primary mission to seek out new life; mostly this life is single-celled biological organisms but occasionally it is complex carbon or silicon-based life. Starfleet has a scientific element that are ready to address the cultural and linguistic challenges of a first contact scenario aboard most starships. Probes usually paved the way for manned starship expeditions but occasionally an alien starship will cross our way unexpectedly. There are biological and chemistry experts onboard along with medical scientists to fathom the workings of the life that is discovered. A deep space explorer will be ready for all eventualities, whereas smaller frigates and science vessels will have a simpler arrangement of specialities.

Starfleet has many component divisions including: Starfleet Operations, Starfleet Medical, Starfleet Corps. of Engineering, Starfleet Security, Starfleet Intelligence and many others. Each element has an admiral in command, as well as their own office - all co-ordinated from Starfleet Headquarters. Starfleet answers to the Federation President and the Federation Council. Leading Starfleet is the Starfleet Commander-in-Chief. The Commander Starfleet - or CinC - liaises with the Federation President and the council. There are nine Fleet Admirals, all in command of their respective fleets. The starbases and space stations scattered across the Federation are commanded by Commodores and Rear Admirals, extending the authority of Starfleet Headquarters to the final frontier. The importance of these lines of communication cannot be overstated; Starfleet is the spearhead of exploration and discovery: decisions are made every day on whether to make contact with other life and their nations or whether, more commonly, to observe them from afar and leave them to develop on their own. Starfleet and the Federation have learned to act responsibly, not to contaminate other cultures with ideas, waste products or technology. To interfere in the affairs of others is to potentially drag Starfleet and the Federation into internal affairs and conflicts which we know nothing about and certainly cannot take sides. The PRIME DIRECTIVE exists for GOOD reason. The scientific elements of Starfleet are honed to precision for this purpose; to be able to study life and other civilisations without making them aware of our presence until the time for making first contact is appropriate - IF IT EVER IS. If the political or cultural values of another nation of life is in conflict with the values of the Federation then, like the Klingons 2154 - 2256, they are consciously left alone and observed from afar until a diplomatic approach can be made, or the insurmountable values of the other nation change favourably.

As an organisation of peaceful exploration and diplomacy, Starfleet rewards academic achievement, diplomatic success and new discoveries. Unlike a military organisation, Starfleet sees the use of force as a failure in diplomacy, the last resort, a most distastful one at that. many members of the Federation have experienced warfare in all of its dreadful forms. None wish to experience it again. For centuries, humans engaged in war to resolve their differences, acquire resources and strike out against those they did not understand or like. Meanwhile the people starved and suffered from terrible diseases as resources were wasted on fighting. It was only after Earth was almost sterilised in the Third World War of the 21st Century that the human race finally realised the futility of war. The unsuccessful diplomatic overtures of Michael Burnham in May 2256 led to a year of conflict with the Klingon Empire in which a fifth of the Federation was occupied and a third of Starfleet was destroyed. After the war was resolved, the Federation and Starfleet had to re-examine the events leading up to the conflict and the timeframe of the war itself; to learn from the mistakes. A failure of diplomatic engagement earlier and underestimation of the Klingon threat was one factor. A failure to follow-up on the Klingon-related missions of NX-01 Enterprise is another. A diplomatic initiative was the first priority. The intelligence-gathering and defensive elements of Starfleet were to be re-examined and enhanced to prevent a repeat. The conflict simmered as a Cold War from 2257 - 2293.

With diplomatic relations with the Klingons fully established after the Khitomer Accords were signed on Stardate 9529, Starfleet began to remodel itself ready for the new century. This was a time to realise the ideals of exploration, scientific discoveries and diplomacy; Starfleet was to reassert the peaceful exploration of space and relegate defence to a last-resort aspect. The Cold War with the Klingons was resolved with diplomacy and words, not with combat. Older starships were retired and new designs were prototyped. Similarly the starbase and space station network across the Federation and the frontier were reviewed to be renewed, improved and their communications facilities enhanced; this was a time to close the net and bring the situational awareness of the Federation to new heights; conficts were to be anticipated and diffused before they developed. New information, from sources such as the El Aurians from the Lakul and from encounters with the Taubat and Metar made Starfleet Headquarters aware of new dangers on a level unseen in the history of the Federation so far. We had to be ready for these perils. Tension with the Romulans soon stalled the process, but with the recent Tomed Incident having 'cleared the air', the major shipyards such as those at San Francisco, Copernicus, Utopia Planitia, Vulcan, Andoria and Starbase 134 are now working in earnest as the review of Starfleet continues. From stembolts to starships - all of Starfleet is changing, to face the new challenges of the new Century.