star trek alien symbols

ONE MILDLY OBSESSIVE GOAL: The Most Accurate & Complete Star Trek Symbol Database.

Star Trek has had great influence on modern culture. And no more so than its graphic design.

For three generations designers have been profoundly influenced by the symbols, insignias and logos seen in Star Trek. In turn, those generations have, through design, woven aspects of the Star Trek graphic design aesthetic into every aspect of daily life. So much so, that it should be thought of as a unique genre of graphic design.

Every designer that has contributed to this pervasive cultural influence has used Star Trek’s hopeful and optimistic future for humanity as a guideline. In turn, they applied the same philosophical tenants when creating each new symbol to build a fully evolved and internally consistent visual design spectrum that leverages established design representations of peace, oppression, freedom, foreignness, aggression, etc. and envisions how graphic design will advance along with humanity. But none more than…

Matt Jeffries’ foundational design premise that regardless the technological advance, simple striking visual elements used consistently guides the viewer in forming positive and negative associations.

Franz Joseph’s projections of a future visual language rooted in the United Nations and diplomacy rather than relying on the more obvious military influences.

Mike Okuda ’s wonderful imaginary unbroken thread of design from genuine space exploration through to a future of exploration that Star Trek embodies.

Doug Drexler , William Ware Theiss, Pierre Drolet, Geoffrey Mandel and so many more (please scroll down for more on that).

Star Trek Emblems: Pre-Federation Era

Artwork by Kris Trigwell

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• Why Aliens Are So Important to <i>Star Trek</i>

Why Aliens Are So Important to Star Trek

Excerpted from TIME’s Star Trek: Inside the Most Influential Science-Fiction Series Ever . Available at retailers and at Amazon.com .

Since the time of the Greek philosopher Anaximander, humans have gazed up at the heavens and wondered: Is anyone else out there? For some, the idea that we might be the most advanced beings in all of creation offers a sense of supremacy. Others find it a lonely thought.

Reality has yet to offer a conclusive answer one way or the other, leaving our imaginations to run wild. If aliens do exist, what might they look like? How would they behave? And crucially: Would they be friend or foe? Thinkers no less great than the physicist Stephen Hawking have warned of the latter possibility. “If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans,” Hawking remarked in a 2010 documentary on the subject.

Thankfully for the curious among us, science-fiction writers have stepped up to fill our imaginations with myriad possibilities.

Their creations have extended far beyond the archetypical “little green men.” H.G. Wells’s 1898 War of the Worlds, widely hailed as an exemplar of the genre, gave us terrifying Martian invaders and their tripodal death machines. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) offered Klaatu, who visited Earth to urge humanity to end our warlike ways. And of course there was E.T., the disarmingly cute alien simply in need of a ride home.

But nothing in science fiction has contributed to the depth of the extraterrestrial encyclopedia like Star Trek. From the Bajorans (a proud people struggling to recover from another species’s hostile occupation of their world) to the Tamarians (a seemingly incomprehensible race that turns out to communicate through mythology and metaphor), Star Trek’s writers have dreamed up nearly 300 different alien species and counting, according to the fan website Memory Alpha. And that’s just the humanoids.

How can one franchise spawn so many aliens—and so many memorable ones, at that? Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention. Science fiction typically uses spaceships, death rays and time travel as devices to offer ominous warnings about the ways humanity can go awry. Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry flipped that script, introducing to a 1960s audience a future in which an interated cast of humans (and, just to drive the point home, one actual alien) work together to better understand their universe.

That utopian vision was essential to Trek’s DNA, but it was also a tremendous challenge for one group of people: Star Trek writers, who faced the daunting task of writing stories in which the main characters all got along just fine.

“Gene was very big on not wanting to create conflict among the characters on the show,” says Rick Berman, who led the Star Trek franchise after Roddenberry died in 1991 until 2005 and produced several series and feature films. “He felt that humans, especially Starfleet humans, had evolved to a point where he didn’t want to see conflict between them.”

Yet conflict is at the core of all great storytelling. So if the Enterprise crew couldn’t squabble with one another, Star Trek writers had to find friction elsewhere. Aliens came to the rescue. “Often we were telling stories of how humans had progressed, or not, in the far reaches of space,” says longtime Star Trek writer D.C. Fontana. “But sometimes the theme of the tale was better told by demonstrating how aliens approached or solved problems, or how they failed.”

Things got off to a rocky start. Putting aside Spock—a full-fledged member of the Enterprise crew—the first extraterrestrial to appear on Star Trek was a C-list monster that could have been pulled from any bad ’50s sci-fi flick. A shape-shifter with a serious salt craving, the nameless creature killed off Enterprise crew members by sucking the sodium out of them. The so-called “salt vampire” wasn’t a big hit. Thankfully, matters improved from there.

Humans are complex creatures, capable of being logical, tactical, aggressive, greedy and lustful all in a single one-hour episode. But Star Trek aliens are typically guided by one prime mover. Often it is some trait shared by many people. A desire for conquest, perhaps, or the pursuit of wealth or the urge to protect one’s offspring. That made them a thinly veiled stand-in for whatever driving force they represented, giving the writers a way to craft stories that were less about aliens and more about us. Simply put, Star Trek aliens are a mirror in which we see the best and worst of ourselves—and one in which we see that we’re not as different from one another as we might think.

“The concept of having aliens on a week- to-week basis, sometimes new, sometimes ones that the audience was familiar with, gave the writers the ability to represent all the different qualities of humanity,” says Berman. “Whether it’s avarice or whether it’s a hive-like mentality or whether it’s emotions or whether it’s a desire to be more human, these were all qualities that the aliens allowed us to play with. We could not have done the show without that.”

Case in point: In the third-season Next Generation episode “The Survivors,” Capt. Jean-Luc Picard and his crew find a couple who appear to be the only survivors of an attack on a Federation colony. But when they are offered safe harbor aboard the Enterprise, they refuse, insisting they be left where they were found. It’s an odd request, given their situation. A series of other strange happenings, such as a warship appearing to drive the Enterprise away from the planet, convinces Picard that something is amiss with the pair, who are named Kevin and Rishon Uxbridge. Picard is eventually able to trick Kevin into revealing the truth: he’s not a human but a member of an all-powerful species called the Douwd. Kevin admits that he created a fictional version of Rishon after she was killed in an attack by a murderous race called the Husnock. What’s more, Kevin, who considers himself a pacifist, reveals that in his rage over losing his wife, he killed the Husnock. And not just the Husnock who attacked his world but all of them, everywhere in the universe.

Kevin’s reaction is perfectly “human.” Who hasn’t wished ill will on those who do us wrong? The difference, of course, is that Kevin has the power to satisfy his rage to a horrific extent. Picard, typically motivated by justice, admits that the Federation has “no law to fit” Kevin’s crime, instead letting him live in exile on the planet. The captain concludes, “We leave behind a being of extraordinary power and conscience. I am not certain if he should be praised or condemned. Only that he should be left alone.”

With the possible exception of Spock and the rest of the Vulcans, Star Trek’s best-known aliens are the Klingons. A ruthless warrior race obsessed with battle and honor, the Klingons originally served as a two-dimensional foil for Kirk and company. Many have viewed them as a bellicose stand-in for the great space-race enemy of the original series’ era, the Soviet Union. But so popu- lar have the Klingons become over the decades that theirs is the most widely spoken fictional language in the world, according to Guinness World Records. (Take that, Lord of the Rings fans.) There’s even an ongoing copyright battle over who owns the Klingon language, which has generated some of the more entertaining legal briefs of our time.

At least some of the credit for that popularity is due to actor Michael Dorn, who played the Klingon bridge officer Worf in The Next Generation. That series took the original, more-cartoonish Klingons and gave them depth and relatability. Klingons, as it turns out, are a lot like us. The Klingons are warmongers, like some humans. The Klingons are obsessed with rituals, like some humans. The Klingons are driven by a fierce dedication to their family, like some humans. One of Star Trek’s best Klingon stories came in “Sins of the Father,” a third-season Next Generation episode in which Worf’s late father is accused of treason. As much as it pains him to do so, Worf decides to shoulder the blame in accordance with Klingon custom, despite his father’s innocence, a move that will help preserve the Klingon Empire’s political status quo and keep the empire from spiraling into chaos that could ultimately harm millions. It’s a deeply human story, a meditation on family pride as much as it is a revealing look into the intricacies of Klingon politics.

If the Klingons were Star Trek’s original villains, the Borg were the show’s best. A technologically advanced race of cyborgs, the Borg are bound together into a hive mind called “the Collective.” Just looking at the Borg, a terrifying hodgepodge of man and machine, is enough to send shivers down your spine. But the real terror lies in their motivation: intergalactic racial purity. When the Borg encounter a new species, they either add it to the Collective through forced “assimilation” or simply kill it off.

It’s unclear which is the worse fate. In part, Star Trek is a celebration of humanity’s individuality. The Borg are everything Trek’s humans are not: obedient, robotic, conformist. So great is the fear of assimilation that in the Star Trek film First Contact, an Enterprise crew member who’s going through the horrific process begs Capt. Picard to kill him out of mercy. Picard—who had once been assimilated himself but was saved in a daring rescue by his crew—obliges. “The concept of being assimilated was terrifying, because it seemed like you had no control over it and no ability to combat it,” says Jonathan Frakes, who played Star Trek’s Cdr. William T. Riker and directed First Contact as well as Star Trek: Insurrection.

The Borg, who first appeared in a 1989 episode of The Next Generation, are typically considered a commentary on fascism and racial cleansing. But in a sense, they are aliens posing questions we didn’t even realize we would soon be facing. Can we real-world humans be addicted to constant connectivity through our smartphones, as the Borg are to the Collective? (Cut a Borg off from the hive mind, and the alien’s nonplussed reaction is not unlike that of a teenager stripped of an iPhone.) Does social media give us a platform on which to connect with others to enhance our common understanding, or does it create a hive mind that rejects unpopular opinions, as does the Collective? Should we enhance our physical and mental capabilities with technological implants, as the Borg do? Watch the Borg stories with these pressing questions in mind, and they only become more fascinating.

Given the prominence of races like the Klingons and the Borg, it might seem as if Star Trek’s aliens are almost always villains. That’s far from the case. The greedy Ferengi, introduced early in The Next Generation, were intended as such at first. But fans considered them too silly to be a serious threat. Instead, the Ferengi soon turned into walking, breathing commentaries on the advantages and flaws of unbridled capitalism. If Donald Trump were a Star Trek alien, he would be a Ferengi. They’re driven entirely by making money; they always want the better part of the deal. (They also happen to be some of the most sexist creatures in Trek: they outright ban women from business, though their society undergoes reforms as their story line progresses.) These characteristics put them in stark contrast with Star Trek’s humans, who work not for money but “to better ourselves and the rest of humanity,” as Capt. Picard once put it.

Star Trek’s quintessential Ferengi was Quark, a seedy intergalactic businessman and bartender who was brought to life by actor Armin Shimerman in Deep Space Nine, the franchise’s third television series. Quark often quoted from “the Rules of Acquisition,” a sort of Ferengi guidebook that could double as Gordon Gekko’s personal manifesto. Example rules include “Never place friendship above profit,” “Never allow family to stand in the way of opportunity” and “War is good for business.” But Deep Space Nine’s writers went beyond using Quark as a mere punching bag for Wall Street. In the season-three episode “The House of Quark,” for instance, we see him use his business-like cunning to escape certain death in a duel with a Klingon. The lesson? Sometimes greed is good.

Star Trek writers were skilled at constantly adding depth to the aliens who reappeared through the series. Just as the Klingons’ belligerence was leavened with stories about their love of honor, the warlike Romulans turned out to be literally related to the Vulcans—a glimpse at Trek’s most logical race with the worked only in pairs, providing a lesson about the power of cooperation. And Star Trek: Voyager’s “Year of Hell” offered the history-alerting Annorax, who aimed to use his time weapon to restore his people’s empire to its former glory but killed his own wife in the process, revealing the cost of stubborn pride.

On one level, Star Trek is a science-fiction show about a group of intellectually enlightened humans exploring the far reaches of the galaxy, all to better their understanding of their world. But the show is really about us, back here in the present day, and the common ties that bind us. What better way to show us we’re all alike than through the lens of outsiders? “Aliens are really important in science fiction because they give a little distance character-wise and story-wise so that you can actually have stories about beauty and youth and racism, and on and on and on,” says John de Lancie, who played Star Trek’s godlike character Q. “It puts it on the character of an alien to be able to say things that sometimes you can’t say straight out. I think the aliens in Star Trek and the aliens in most science fiction have a lot of value in that respect.”

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Published Nov 21, 2023

A Field Guide to Alien Greetings

Here's a guide to what to say, and what to expect, when making First Contact.

StarTrek.com

Cosmic diplomacy is a complicated game. First Contact with any new alien species requires a delicate approach — first impressions are important, and when something goes wrong, it can be awkward at best. At worst, a poor First Contact leads to an intergalactic incident! But there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy for proper behavior in the company of another species.

Any good Starfleet officer will need to know when to muster up the patience for the Chandrans’ three-day ritual to say “hello,” or when to avoid Hirogen space — they’re more the type to shoot first, and make contact later, if at all.

With that in mind, here’s a field guide on how to greet alien species, and what to expect when they greet you.

Star Trek: First Contact

Vulcans are known for holding logic as a core value, placing it in greater esteem than emotion. That doesn’t mean they’re not gracious, however.

In Star Trek: First Contact , the Vulcans that arrive in Bozeman, Montana greet their human hosts by holding up the Vulcan salute — holding one’s hand up with the middle and ring fingers separated. This gesture is often accompanied by the phrase, “ Live long and prosper ,” which, like the Hawaiian “ Aloha ,” doubles as a farewell.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Honor is king in the Klingon Empire — social niceties are not.

Where a Romulan or Cardassian might employ cordiality as pretext for deception, a Klingon will always let you know where you stand, if not always gently. “Good morning” or “How do you do?” generally don’t apply on Qo’nos. A traditional Klingon greeting is “ nuq’neH ,” which translates to “What do you want?” though the mechanics of it are a little delicate — only ask when being approached, not when approaching.

"Parth Ferengi's Heart Place"

The profit-seeking Ferengi have a hand gesture, not unlike the Vulcans, that they use when greeting other Ferengi. They hold their wrists together, and when in the presence of nobility like the Grand Nagus, also bow in submission. But should one invite you into their home, expect them to say, “ My house is my house ,” to which you would reply, “ As are its contents .”

"Little Green Men"

It’s also helpful to have a universal translator on hand, however, so as not to make the mistake of the 20th Century humans in Deep Space Nine ’s “ Little Green Men ” who confused head-smacking as a method of communication.

"The Collaborator"

In general, greeting a Bajoran is pretty straightforward.

A simple “hello” or “good day” will suffice. But because of their spiritual nature, there are situations that call for more formality. For instance, during the Gratitude Festival, as seen in Deep Space Nine ’s “ Fascination ,” the traditional way to greet a Bajoran is “ peldor joi .” Which would accompany the burning of Bateret leaves and renewal scrolls.

"Let He Who Is Without Sin..."

Inhabitants of the “pleasure planet” Risa , a popular vacation destination for members of the Federation, have an Epicurean philosophy that they’re more than happy to share with guests. That hedonistic lifestyle is precisely what makes it so appealing after a lengthy mission in the Alpha Quadrant, and upon arrival on Risa, the Risians will typically greet visitors by saying “ All that is ours is yours. ”

They’re quite generous, and they expect you to enjoy yourself. And for some extra attention, display a horga’hn statue to signal that you’re open to jamaharon .

"Unification, Part I"

As their adversarial relationship with the Federation of Planets has shown, Romulans tend to have, at best, a skeptical view on outsiders.

That being said, there are formal greetings in Romulan society, as heard in The Next Generation episode “ Unification ,” such as “ Jolan tru ,” which can be translated as “ May your day be filled with peace .” Saying so wouldn’t necessarily smooth out any potential hostilities in the Neutral Zone, by any means, but it certainly couldn’t hurt.

The Children of Tama

"Darmok"

Picard discovered, in “ Darmok ” on The Next Generation , that the Children of Tama, aka Tamarians, would prove complicated, as their interpersonal communication relies on a series of metaphors based on their own mythology and history.

For instance, “ Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra ” signifies cooperation. So be prepared for their fairly complicated hello — " Rai and Jiri at Lungha. Rai of Lowani. Lowani under two moons. Jiri of Ubaya. Ubaya of crossroads, at Lungha. Lungha, her sky gray .”

This is essentially their way of introducing themselves to a new culture. Return the favor by saying, “ Temba, his arms wide ,” (offering a gift) or “ Temba, at rest ,” which is a sign of peace.

"The Tholian Web"

The Enterprise ’s first encounter with the Tholians in “ The Tholian Web ” put them viewscreen-to-viewscreen with a foreign entity that resembled a psychedelic cube with eyes. They’re a crystalline species with six legs that look a bit like a praying mantis with a hard, mineral outer shell.

Upon encountering them, expect to hear a high-pitched series of clicks and chirps, which can be a bit piercing to the ears, but is still modulated through universal translator. Just be honest and forthright in your response; as Loskene says to the Enterprise , “ We do not tolerate deceit .”

"Terra Firma, Part 1"

Terrans are humans, technically, but being from the Mirror Universe, there are some notable differences.

For one, they’re more sensitive to light than humans from our universe. Another, they live in a cutthroat, dog-eat-dog society where hostilities run deep. As such, they have a different set of formalities than the Federation, namely that their greeting to one another is the Roman salute — one arm extended out forward, palm down — accompanied by a hearty cry of, “ Long live the empire! ”

For the sake of not provoking those hostilities when in the Mirror Universe, it’s probably best to return the greeting.

One-on-one encounters with the Borg don’t really happen. Each member of the Borg Collective is interconnected, part of a hive mind working in unison, and communicating with one is communicating with all of them. However, they have a single-minded mission to assimilate people and technology that will allow them to advance and remain dominant as a society.

There are variations of their standard greeting, though it generally goes something like this, “ We are Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile. ” Once they’ve greeted you, however, they intend to assimilate you — they’re upfront about that — so there’s no need for a response! Contact isn’t advised.

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This article was originally published on October 21, 2020.

Jeff Terich (he/him) is a freelance writer from San Diego who writes about pop culture, art, and music. He can be found on Twitter at @1000TimesJeff.

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What's the meaning of the Borg (Star Trek)  »

Borg (star trek), this page is about the meaning, origin and characteristic of the symbol, emblem, seal, sign, logo or flag: borg (star trek) ..

A Borg insignia, designed by Rick Sternbach

The Borg are a fictional alien race that appear as recurring antagonists in the Star Trek franchise. The Borg are a collection of species that have been turned into cybernetic organisms functioning as drones in a hive mind called "the Collective" or "the Hive". The Borg use a process called assimilation to force other species into the Collective by violent injection of microscopic machines called nanoprobes. The Borg's ultimate goal is "achieving perfection". Aside from being the main threat in First Contact, the Borg play major roles in The Next Generation and Voyager television series, primarily as an invasion threat to the United Federation of Planets, and serve as the way home to the Alpha Quadrant for isolated Federation starship Voyager.

Graphical characteristics: Asymmetric , Open shape , Monochrome , Contains curved lines , Has no crossing lines .

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Monday, October 2, 2017

Starfleet insignia explained.

Starfleet Starship Duty Insignia, Command Division from Star Trek: The Original Series .

"The Starfleet Symbol." "The Arrowhead." "The Delta."

Star Trek uses symbols to convey a lot of things, but none captures the eye or imagination quite like the delta. In the years since The Original Series first aired, fans have tried to determine the meaning behind the various insignia shapes we see in the show. To most it seems that the iconic delta shape is some sort of ship assignment patch meant to represent the U.S.S. Enterprise .

Some arrive at this conclusion because they see various Starfleet personnel wearing a number of different insignia. However, like any puzzle without a key, it's impossible to precisely interpret the meaning of these other insignia.

The hidden key to the puzzle was finally uncovered a few years ago.

The discovery was a memorandum written by producer Robert H. (Bob) Justman to costume designer William Ware (Bill) Theiss. The subject? STARSHIP EMBLEMS.

A copy of that memorandum has been digitized from the Gene Roddenberry Star Trek Television Series Collection (held in the Library Special Collections division of the Young Research Library at UCLA in Irvine, California) and is shown below:

This memo, written during the production of the episode " The Omega Glory " and referencing Captain Ron Tracey, nullifies the long-held assumption that Starfleet assigned different insignia shapes to starships during TOS . Theiss' inclusion of an alternate insignia for the Exeter's captain, and chief medical officer unfortunately downplays how genuinely ubiquitous the delta insignia is within the Star Trek universe. As a result, fans of the series are left with conflicting visual information regarding the meaning of the insignia worn throughout the original series.

Nearly 50 years after Bob Justman wrote his memo, we now have the opportunity to clarify the use of each and every Starfleet uniform insignia used in TOS . With a wee bit of Scottish ingenuity, and a pinch of Vulcan logic, the complete picture of what Gene Roddenberry envisioned for the delta insignia should snap into focus.

There are six Starfleet duty insignia used in TOS :

• Starship Duty Insignia (Fleet personnel emblem)
• Spacecraft Duty Insignia (Auxiliary Fleet/ Merchant Marine personnel emblem)
• Outpost Duty Insignia (Outpost and Colony personnel emblem)
• Cadet Duty Insignia (Starfleet Academy student emblem)
• Starbase Duty Insignia (Headquarters,  Space stations, Drydocks, and Ground installation personnel emblem)
• Fleet Command Insignia (Senior field commander personnel emblem)

In the Star Trek universe, the delta emblem is a direct descendant of the vector component of the old NASA (and later UESPA) logos in use during Earth's space programs of the 20th and 21st Centuries. Those symbols were worn by some of the first space explorers and adorned uniforms and ships during humanity's first steps into the final frontier.

United Earth Space Probe Agency integrated with Starfleet as the leading United Earth space exploration service.

The delta insignia was first drawn in 1964 by costume designer William Ware Theiss with input from series creator Gene Roddenberry. The delta -- or "Arrowhead" as Bill Theiss called it -- has evolved into a revered symbol and one that's synonymous with Star Trek today.

The delta also conveys information about the wearer's duties aboard ship using a series of division symbols. When paired with a distinctive, elongated "star" the insignia represents someone assigned to the Command division aboard ship. When it displays the "planet" symbol, it represents the Sciences division, a stylized "e" stands for Engineering (later Operations), and a red "Swiss Cross" is worn by starship personnel assigned to the Nursing Corps.

Captain James T. Kirk wearing the Starship Duty Insignia, Command Division.

Let's continue our study of Star Trek 's insignia with personnel assigned to other starships that are wearing the delta insignia.

Before we knew about this memo, we assumed that each ship had its own unique insignia, but there are problems that theory doesn't account for. For instance, does it bother you, or at least seem odd to see the surly guys in Starbase 11's Officer's Club (in the episode " Court Martial ") giving "their captain" a hard time over the presumed death of their mutual friend Ben Finney? Or, to see deceased crew members aboard the U.S.S. Defiant (in the episode " The Tholian Web ") wearing the delta insignia?

If different starships had different symbols, why weren't they wearing them? Simple. The memo makes it clear that those Starfleet officers are not assigned to the Enterprise ; they are simply wearing Starfleet's standard-issue Starship Duty Insignia.

Above: Non- Enterprise Starfleet personnel in Starbase 11's Officer's Club in Court Martial, and Below: Deceased U.S.S. Defiant crew member wearing the Starship Duty Insignia in "The Tholian Web."

By now you might be saying "What about U.S.S. Exeter's Captain Ron Tracey and his chief surgeon, Doctor Carter?" As these two insignia patches are the error being addressed in the memo, they need no further explanation. They alone are the anomaly (an anomaly Theiss never repeated), which led to the misconception that every ship has its own assignment insignia.

Above: Captain Ron Tracey of the U.S.S. Exeter , and Below: his CMO, Dr. Carter.

As you can see here, Theiss thoughtfully, if erroneously, provided both officers with unique assignment insignia patches, and in keeping with his fastidious reputation insured both patches included their appropriate division symbols.

Early in TOS , we get our first look at non-delta insignia. In the episode " Charlie X ," Antares ' Captain Rampart and his first officer are wearing the Spacecraft Duty Insignia, which indicates that they are assigned to an auxiliary spacecraft serving in Starfleet's Merchant Marine Corps -- just as Justman points out in his memo. 

Antares ' Captain Rampart, and his XO wearing the Merchant Marine Spacecraft Duty Insignia.

Not long after that, we get a look at another new insignia. The Outpost Duty Insignia is worn by Starfleet personnel assigned to outposts on the very edge of Federation space, the frontier. This emblem is characterized by a gold spikelet against a black background. Warning: Do not put yourself in a situation where this insignia goes on your uniform. Personnel wearing this badge never seem to live happily ever after.

Outpost Crew from " Balance of Terror " & " Arena " pictured wearing the Outpost Duty Insignia.

A few episodes later, the Enterprise takes shore leave and Kirk reminisces about his days at the Academy. Worn by students attending Starfleet Academy, the Cadet Duty Insignia is characterized by a pewter colored, smaller version of the Starbase Duty Insignia.

Second Class Midshipman Finnegan wearing the Cadet Duty Insignia.

First seen in "The Menagerie," the Starbase Duty Insignia is worn by personnel assigned to Federation Starbases, which include Starfleet Headquarters, space stations, drydocks and other ground installations. The emblem, which is devoid of any departmental symbol, is a stylized representation of an "Evening Starflower" (a flowering plant native to the western hemisphere of Earth).

Above: Admiral James Komack of Starfleet Command - Sector 9, and Below: Admiral Fitzpatrick.

Miss Piper, assistant to Commodore Mendez, and Lt. Areel Shaw Starbase 11 JAG Officer wearing the Starbase Duty Insignia.

So how does Commodore Wesley in " The Ultimate Computer ," or Commodore Decker in " The Doomsday Machine " fit into the spectrum of Starfleet insignia?

Well, let's talk about Commodores for a moment. A Commodore is a flag officer rank, one position above Captain. A starship captain usually commands a single vessel, but a Commodore ordinarily commands more than one ship. Usually Commodores command a group of ships (either close to their flagship or distant), or in the case of TOS , they normally command a starbase.

In charge of evaluating the operational performance of the M5 computer while it's in total control of a starship, Commodore Wesley sits in temporary command of the U.S.S. Lexington to lead a battle fleet in war games against the Enterprise. Throughout the episode Commodore Wesley continues to wear his Starbase Duty Insignia, while the Lexington crew would have been wearing the delta.

Commodore Bob Wesley in the transporter room briefing Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock about the M5 computer.

Finally, we come to one of my favorite characters ever, Commodore Matt Decker in "The Doomsday Machine." We saved him for last because we could only properly discuss his insignia and what it means after we talked about Starfleet's other symbols first.

The steely glare of William Windom as Commodore Matt Decker.

Unlike Commodore Bob Wesley, who was only in temporary command of the Lexington, Matt Decker is a Flag Officer with permanent field command of a starship. In fact, he's the only Flag Officer we see in Star Trek with a field command. As a consequence of Commodore Decker's rank and status as Commander of the U.S.S. Constellation (his Flagship), he wears the Fleet Command Insignia denoting his status as a Flag Officer in the field. If we had seen Commodore Decker's crew (may they Rest In Peace), we would have seen the delta shape insignia in use on their uniforms. Commodore Decker's own first officer would have held the rank of Captain and worn the Starship Duty Insignia.

It should be noted that "The Doomsday Machine," which was filmed early in season two, is not referenced in Bob Justman's memo. Some speculate that Decker's absence from the memo is further indication of the inconsistent use of emblems in Star Trek , but that presupposes that the production staff missed that detail. However, the very existence of the Justman memo, and a whole forest of others just like, it demonstrates that the opposite is true. The production team of Star Trek worked diligently to ensure that every aspect of the future they were busy creating held up under scrutiny. Gene Roddenberry was notoriously rewriting scripts himself to ensure no less than exactly what he wanted ended up on screen, and that fastidious nature permeated the entire production staff. That Decker's unique emblem is not mentioned in the production memo indicates that his particular insignia isn't an error at all, but represents something else.

Check out Commodore Decker's insignia. Remember that when Theiss created the insignia for Captain Ron Tracey, he went out of his way to ensure it was emblazoned with a Command Star department symbol. Commodore Decker has no such departmental symbol in his insignia patch, which places it in the same design lineage as the Starbase Duty Insignia, which is also devoid of any departmental symbol.

At this point in Star Trek we've seen a number of flag officers, but they have all worn the Starflower shape, which indicates assignment to a starbase, while Matt Decker alone in TOS series serves as a flag officer in permanent command of a starship. He is wearing an insignia that conveys his unique status, the Fleet Command Insignia, and if you look closely you'll see that Matt Decker's emblem is visually related to the Starbase Duty Insignia. Decker's insignia is a stylized representation of an individual petal from the same "Evening Starflower" emblem that comprises the Starbase symbol. This insignia isn't mentioned in the production memo because it's not an error at all.

Hopefully by now you can see how consistent the Star Trek costume department really was in their use of insignia, and that Bill Thiess never repeated the error he made during "The Omega Glory" after it was pointed out by the memo.

Returning to the delta, Roddenberry, and Justman intended it to be a very special symbol that communicates something important. The insignia worn on Starfleet uniforms is the equivalent of the badges worn by U.S. Service members -- to show how they serve, not where they serve. Both men served with distinction in World War II. Roddenberry was an Army Air Corps pilot and Justman was a radio operator in the Navy. In the air and at sea, they understood the value of visual communication. In uniform once themselves they carried those values on their chests, on their collars, and on their sleeves. Twenty years after they wore their own various insignia, they  helped to create something new, a symbol to inspire others. In the 1960s, the Starfleet delta had far more in common with the golden pin awarded to a NASA astronaut than a simple mission patch, and it was intended to equal that proud emblem in both use and sentiment.

The NASA Astronaut Pin. There are two versions of this pin, a silver pin awarded to those who complete their training, and a gold pin awarded only to astronauts who have flown in space.

The delta proclaims that the person wearing it has achieved the goal of every cadet entering the academy, and the dream of many a devoted fan: to serve aboard a Starship and set sail in an endless sea of stars.

Starfleet Insignia Badge, Command Division from Star Trek Discovery.

"They used to say if man could fly, he'd have wings. But he did fly. He discovered he had to." - Captain James T. Kirk

I am grateful to have an experienced and learned group of expert Star Trek fans who helped with the research on this article: Steve Fronczek, Creative Services Manager, ANOVOS; Lieutenant Commander Michael J. Quigley, United States Navy; and Dayton Ward, Star Trek author.

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A species or race was any class of lifeform that had common attributes and were designated by a common name .

• 1 Observations
• 2.1.1 By location
• 2.1.2 By evolution
• 2.1.3 By association
• 2.2 Noncorporeal
• 2.3 Artificial
• 2.4 Trans-dimensional
• 4 External links

Observations [ ]

According to Data , " in the game of military brinksmanship , individual physical prowess is less important than the perception of a species as a whole. " However, according to Worf , if " no one is willing to test that perception in combat [..] then the reputation means nothing. " ( TNG : " Peak Performance ")

Data also " observed that in most species, there is a primal instinct to perpetuate themselves. " ( TNG : " The Offspring ")

Classifications [ ]

Corporeal [ ].

Corporeal lifeforms have a physical body , usually composed of carbon- - or silicon-based cellular structures . Most corporeal species metabolize energy by consuming food or by photosynthesis , and have a finite life cycle consisting of distinct periods of growth, maturity, and senescence. Intelligent corporeal species frequently enhance their capabilities with technology .

By location [ ]

• Alpha and Beta Quadrant species
• Gamma Quadrant species
• Delta Quadrant species
• Extra-galactic species
• Spaceborne species

By evolution [ ]

• Anthropomorphic species
• Humanoid species
• Non-humanoid species
• Omnicordial lifeform

By association [ ]

• Borg species
• Dominion species
• Starfleet species

Noncorporeal [ ]

Non-corporeal species were composed of various forms of coherent gas or energy . Most noncorporeal species absorb and utilize energy directly from their environment. Generally, noncorporeal species do not utilize technology, compensating with intrinsic physiological capabilities. Some noncorporeal species have evolved beyond the need for sustenance, and wield substantial control over space and time .

Artificial [ ]

Artificial lifeforms were usually created by another species, and can be sentient by design or have attained sentience spontaneously. There are two general types of artificial life: The first is a machine constructed from mechanical components. The second is a software program, which is reliant on a suitable computer in which to exist. These programs may manifest themselves physically in the form of holograms , which sometimes developed self-awareness .

Trans-dimensional [ ]

Trans-dimensional beings were lifeforms originating from a reality outside the normal space-time continuum. They can take a variety of forms which may or may not be comparable to those in this universe, depending on the nature of their native realm. Some trans-dimensional species are unable to survive in this universe without assistance.

See also [ ]

• Civilization
• Joined species
• Master race
• Race (species subclassification)
• Shapeshifting species
• Species reassignment protocol
• Telepathic species

External links [ ]

• Species at Wikipedia
• Race at Wikipedia
• 3 Marlys Burdette