Deep space assignment

The USS Enterprise

A deep space assignment was a term used to describe missions into uncharted areas of space.

In the 2250s, Lieutenant James T. Kirk served his first deep space assignment as tactical officer on the USS Farragut, under Captain Garrovik. (TOS: "Obsession")

In 2265, the USS Enterprise, under Captain Kirk, was assigned a five-year mission of deep space exploration. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before", et al.)

In 2269, Lieutenant Mira Romaine was given her first deep space assignment aboard the Enterprise, when she was placed in charge of supervising the transfer of equipment to Memory Alpha. (TOS: "The Lights of Zetar")

After graduating Starfleet Academy in 2327, Ensigns Jean-Luc Picard, Cortin Zweller and Marta Batanides went to Starbase Earhart prior to recieving their first deep space assignments. (TNG: "Tapestry")

In 2369, Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Lieutenant Commanders Data and La Forge and Counselor Troi attended a psychological conference on the effects of long-term deep space assignments. Among the attendees were Doctors Mizan and Vassbinder. (TNG: "Timescape")

In 2371, the crew of the USS Voyager ended up on the longest deep space assignment in the history of Starfleet, when the ship became lost in the Delta Quadrant as a result of the Caretaker's array. (VOY: "Caretaker", "Endgame", et al.)

In 2374, after connecting to a seemingly abandoned sensor network, Seven of Nine detected the USS Prometheus, a Starfleet vessel on the outer edge of the Alpha Quadrant. When Captain Kathryn Janeway became aware of the ship's location, she observed that it was probably on a deep space mission. In fact, it had been hijacked by Romulans and was heading for Romulan space at high warp. (VOY: "Message in a Bottle")