Starbase 515 was a Federation starbase in operation during the 24th century. It had both planetary and orbital facilities, and was one of the regional centers for Starfleet Medical, located in or near the Thread of between the Federation's main territory and the Canopus Core. (TNG: "Samaritan Snare"; Star Trek: Pendragon)
While the USS Enterprise-D was en route to the Epsilon Pulsar Cluster in 2265, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Ensign Wesley Crusher took a shuttlecraft to the starbase, where Picard underwent cardiac replacement surgery, and Crusher took his Starfleet Academy entrance exams. Shortly after their departure, the Enterprise responded to a distress call in the Rhomboid Dronegar sector, a "considerable distance" from Starbase 515. (TNG: "Samaritan Snare")
A few weeks later, Ambassador Lwaxana Troi took a transport from Starbase 515 to meet the Enterprise at Antede III before the ship departed for Pacifica. (conjecture based on TNG: "Manhunt")
During the virogen crisis of 2373, Starbase 515 served as the headquarters for Starfleet Medical's Virogen Task Force. (ST novel: Avenger)
Background[]
- The exact position of Starbase 515 is unclear, though some things can be inferred. In "Samaritan Snare," Starbase is a six-hour journey by shuttlecraft from the point where the Enterprise picks up the Pakled distress call. Assuming "Epsilon IX sector" is where the Epsilon 9 station was located -- which is definitely an assumption -- that places it on the Federation-Klingon border, between there and Sol. Given the general placement of events in surrounding episodes, it's likely that Enterprise is heading towards Epsilon IX from the direction of Canopus, meaning the starbase is between the two. A location proximate to The Thread is logical, given the starbase's proximity to the Neutral Zone per the novel Avenger.
External links[]
- Starbase 515 article at Memory Alpha, the canon Star Trek wiki.
- Starbase 515 article at Memory Beta, the non-canon Star Trek wiki.