Astrometrics

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USS Voyager's astrometrics lab

Astrometrics was a specialized lab used aboard Federation starships and facilities for stellar cartographic purposes.

In the 22nd century, there was a powerful astrometric computer located in San Francisco. When Klaang was kidnapped from Enterprise NX-01 in 2151, Sub-Commander T'Pol suggested returning to Earth to make use of the computer in analyzing a spatial distortion registered by Enterprise's sensors. (ENT: "Broken Bow")

In the final draft script of ENT: "Fusion", an otherwise unidentified room aboard the Vulcan civilian transport was referred to as an "Astrometrics Lab".

Enterprise NX-01 had an astrometrics section. In 2153, while preparing to survey a hypergiant, Captain Archer noted that astrometrics must be "chomping at the bit" to start their studies. While secretly visiting the cogenitor Charles aboard a Vissian starship, working in the astrometrics lab was one cover story that Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker told the Vissians aboard the ship. (ENT: "Cogenitor")

One particular example was the astrometrics lab on the USS Voyager, which was designed by Ensign Harry Kim and Seven of Nine. Astrometrics was used for charting stars, planets, nebulae, and other stellar bodies. It contained a large, wraparound, holographic wall screen which could display a stellar region three-dimensionally. There were a series of control panels to manipulate the screen. The area below the screen and in front of the control panels could be used as a stage during presentations. Astrometrics also included three workstations on the side wall. The lab became Seven's primary workspace, where she mapped and catalogued interstellar bodies which the ship encountered.

For convenience or advanced analysis, astrometrics could also be used for communications purposes or even as a workplace for easy access to sensor information. Astrometrics was used by the crew of Voyager to communicate with Earth, once contact was established through the Pathfinder Project.

Kim and Seven updated Voyager's astrometrics lab at the request of Commander Chakotay in 2374. According to Chakotay, the lab had not been updated since Voyager left spacedock. (VOY: "Revulsion")

In 2375, when Seven suffered a type of multiple personality disorder, she took on the persona of Ferengi DaiMon Torrot and offered Captain Janeway twenty bars of latinum for the large astrometrics screen. (VOY: "Infinite Regress")

In an alternate timeline, Naomi Wildman and Icheb worked in astrometrics. (VOY: "Shattered")

The astrometrics lab first appeared in "Year of Hell". It displayed many images from the Hubble Space Telescope. [1] Many of the displays in Voyager's astrometrics lab were done using CGI by Robert Bonchune, as he had had experience of producing on-screen graphics for the futuristic television series Seaquest DSV. (Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection, p. 16) In Star Trek: First Contact, astrometric readings and scans aboard the USS Enterprise-E were done from the operations station on the bridge.

Captain Picard and Data view an uplink from Starfleet Cartography

The USS Enterprise-E was equipped with an astrometrics lab in which a direct link with Starfleet Cartography could be established. Interference from nearby astronomical phenomena (such as the Bassen Rift) could interfere with the lab's link with Starfleet Cartography. Lieutenant Commander Data utilized the lab to plot the Enterprise's rendezvous with Star Fleet Battle Group Omega in 2379. (Star Trek Nemesis)

While not stated in dialog, the shooting script identified this location as the ship's astrometrics facility. [2]

External link

• Astrometrics at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works