The fictional technology in Star Trek has borrowed many ideas from the scientific world. Episodes often contain technologies named after or inspired by real-world scientific concepts, such as tachyon beams, baryon sweeps, quantum slipstream drives, and photon torpedoes. Some of the technologies created for the Star Trek universe were done so out of financial necessity. For instance, the transporter was created because the limited budget of Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) in the 1960s did not allow expensive shots of spaceships landing on planets.
Enterprise or USS Enterprise, often referred to as the Starship Enterprise, is the name of several fictional spacecraft, some of which are the main craft and setting for various television series and films in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. The most notable were Captain James T. Kirk's USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) from the original 1960s television series, and Captain Jean-Luc Picard's USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
In the Star Trek fictional universe, shields refer to a 23rd and 24th century technology that provides starships, space stations, and entire planets with limited protection against damage. They are sometimes referred to as deflectors, deflector shields, or screens. Types of shields include navigational deflectors.
The Star Trek fictional universe contains a variety of weapons, ranging from missiles to melee. The Star Trek franchise consists mainly of several multi-season television shows and thirteen movies, as well as various video games and merchandise. Many aspects of the Star Trek universe impact modern popular culture, especially its fictitious terminology and the concept of weaponry on spacecraft. The franchise has had a widespread influence on its audiences from the late 20th to early 21st century. Notably, Star Trek's science fiction concepts have been studied by real scientists; NASA described it in relation to the real world as "entertaining combination of real science, imaginary science gathered from lots of earlier stories, and stuff the writers make up week-by-week to give each new episode novelty." For example, NASA noted that the Star Trek "phasers" were a fictional extrapolation of real-life lasers, and compared them to real-life microwave based weapons that have a stunning effect.
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, the United Federation of Planets (UFP) is the interstellar government with which, as part of its space force Starfleet, most of the characters and starships of the franchise are affiliated. Commonly referred to as "the Federation", it was introduced in the original Star Trek television series. The survival, success, and growth of the Federation and its principles of freedom have become some of the Star Trek franchise's central themes.
Zefram Cochrane is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe. Created by writer Gene L. Coon, the character first appeared in the 1967 Star Trek episode "Metamorphosis", in which he was played by Glenn Corbett. James Cromwell later played Cochrane in the 1996 feature film Star Trek: First Contact, the 2001 Star Trek: Enterprise pilot, "Broken Bow", and the 2022 Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3 premiere episode, "Grounded". Footage of Cromwell from Star Trek: First Contact was used in the Enterprise episode "In a Mirror, Darkly Part I".
Andorians are a fictional race of humanoid extraterrestrials in the American science fiction franchise Star Trek. They were created by writer D. C. Fontana. Within the Star Trek narrative, they are native to the blue icy Class M moon, Andoria. Distinctive traits of Andorians include their blue/green skin, a pair of cranial antennae, and white hair.
The Gorn are a fictional extraterrestrial humanoid reptilian species in the American science fiction franchise Star Trek. They first appeared in a 1967 episode of the original series, "Arena", in which Captain Kirk fights an unnamed Gorn on a rocky planet. The fight scene has become one of the best-remembered scenes of the original series, in part due to the slow and lumbering movement of the Gorn, which some viewers have considered unintentionally comical.
Montgomery "Scotty" Scott is a fictional character in the science fiction franchise Star Trek. First portrayed by James Doohan in the original Star Trek series, Scotty also appears in the animated Star Trek series, 10 Star Trek films, the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Relics", and in numerous books, comics, and video games.
The Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual is a fiction reference book by Franz Joseph Schnaubelt, about the workings of Starfleet, a military, exploratory, and diplomatic organization featured in the television series Star Trek.
Star Trek: Birth of the Federation is a 4X turn-based strategy video game developed by MicroProse and published by Hasbro Interactive. The game was initially released in 1999 for Windows personal computers.
Michael Okuda is an American graphic designer best known for his work on Star Trek including designing futuristic computer user interfaces known as "okudagrams".
Richard Michael Sternbach is an illustrator who is best known for his space illustrations and his work on the Star Trek television series.
Star Trek: The Role Playing Game is a role-playing game set in the fictional Star Trek universe published by FASA Corporation from 1982 to 1989.
Star Trek Role-playing Game is a line role-playing games set in the fictional Star Trek universe and published by Last Unicorn Games (LUG). Three games were released: Star Trek: The Next Generation Role-playing Game in 1998, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Role Playing Game and Star Trek Role Playing Game both in 1999.
Star Trek fan productions are productions made by fans using elements of the Star Trek franchise. Paramount Pictures, CBS, and their licensees are the only organizations legally allowed to create commercial products with the Star Trek name and trademark. The fan film community has received some coverage from the mainstream media.
Star Trek: Countdown is a four-issue comic book prequel to the 2009 film Star Trek by IDW Publishing. It follows the characters of Spock and the Romulan Nero during the year 2387, detailing the events that cause them to travel to the 23rd century. The story serves as both a lead up to the film, and as a continuation of the Star Trek: The Next Generation franchise.
Star Trek Maps is a reference work demonstrating the stellar cartography and navigation system featured on the Star Trek television series, written from an in-universe perspective. It was published by Bantam Books in August 1980, and licensed by Paramount Pictures.
