The Watchtower-class of space stations were introduced in the 23rd century, typically taking four years and nine months to construct. They were considered a major base of operations within Starfleet and functioned as support for colonisation efforts amongst other projects. One such station was Starbase 47, also known as Vanguard, which was located in the Taurus Reach. Another such station was Starbase 6, which hosted the ill-fated M-5 computer simulation and war games. Other such examples were Starbase 71 and Starbase 91 (VAN novel: Harbinger, TOS episode: "The Ultimate Computer")
This class was classified as a tier-2 starbase or starport and could be upgraded to advanced starbase tier. (ST video game: Infinite)
Layout[]
The Watchtower-class station had a typical 23rd century Federation design. A saucer-shaped primary hull, with a central command tower, sat atop a secondary hull which housed cargo bays and maintenance sections. Circling the core about half-way down was an external docking wheel, and at the bottom was the energy reactor housing and multi-spectrum array.
Command tower[]
The command tower housed shuttlebays accessible through four pairs of equidistant spacedoors, a medical center, offices and the operations center.
Primary hull[]
The primary hull contained four main docking bays in its spacedock, each large enough to service a Constitution-class starship. Above the spacedock was a terrestrial enclosure encircling a residential tower. Below, were support facilities, crew quarters, the computer core torus and four deuterium fuelling tanks. The external hull mounted four maneuvering thrusters, 128 lifeboat ports, six phaser/photon torpedo emplacements, and had four shuttlebay access points.
Secondary hull[]
The upper secondary hull was mainly made up of cargo and maintenance facilities, and supported the external docking wheel. The lower hull was comprised of the energy reactor and the rotatable mount for the multi-spectrum array. Six phaser/photon torpedo emplacements were equally spaced around the energy reactor housing. (VAN novel: Harbinger)
Promenade[]
This station type had a multi-level promenade, which, in reference to Starbase 25 itself, was described by Brad Boimler as being "like a whole city". It was located along or slightly below the station's docking ring, and contained vast array of shopping and eating establishments. (LD episode: "An Embarrassment Of Dooplers")
Aviary[]
The aviary was located within a geodesic dome. It addition to birds, trees, and a body of water, it also included a number of spheroid-shaped residences for species like the Aurelians. (LD episode: "An Embarrassment Of Dooplers")
Appendices[]
Connections[]
| Watchtower-class starbase space stations | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federation, Starfleet (primary universe) |
Fleet Setup Station • Starbase 6 • Starbase 25 • Starbase 47 Vanguard • Starbase 71 • Starbase 91 • unnamed Watchtower class space stations • Helios-subclass: Jupiter Station (variant) • Robert Hooke Research Station • Space Station Bravo (variant) |  
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| Terran Empire Starfleet (mirror universe) |
Imperial Starbase 47 Vanguard • Helios-subclass: Jupiter Station (variant) |  
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| Space station classes of the Federation and Starfleet | ||
|---|---|---|
| Named classes | E-class • Fleet Starbase • Frontier-class • Helios-class • K-class • Manheim Temporal Research Facility • Nor-class • R1-class (R1 Administrator-class • R1 Artisan-class • R1 Informant-class • R1 Investigator-class • R1 Invictus-class) • Sierra-class • Sigma-class • Strongpoint-class • Unity-class • Watchtower-class • Zenith-class | 
|
| Other types |
Construction support station • Mining Station 27 type • McKinley type • Spacedock type • Starbase G4 type • unnamed | |
| general type |
Federation advanced starbase • Federation advanced shipyard • Federation defense platform • Federation habitat • Federation mining station • Federation orbital processing facility • Federation phaser turret • Federation relay station • Federation research facility • Federation temporal research facility • Federation sensor platform • Federation science station • Federation shipyard • Federation starbase • Federation torpedo turret • Federation trading station • fleet station • Vulcan research institute | |