Pathfinder (Star Trek)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other meanings see the Pathfinder disambiguation page.

For the Star Trek: Voyager episode, see Pathfinder (Voyager episode).

Pathfinder is a term occasionally used to describe the first ship in a given class of starship, and is used to describe the USS Galaxy in the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual. The term has also been adopted by fans, and is used occasionally in place of of the term 'prototype'. Note that the reference appears to be more of a descriptor rather than a designation, and is not canon within Star Trek.

Pathfinder is also a name attributed to the Defiant Pathfinder, the name of a ship designed by Star Trek illustrator Jim Martin, conceived of as concept art for what would become the NX-74205 USS Defiant, as seen in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. the Defiant pathfinder did not look at all like the finished product, using the traditional twin-nacelled design used by Starfleet, and was abandoned as some point by the artists in favour of the Defiant's more familiar design. It is unclear as to whether Pathfinder is intended to be part of the ship's name, or if it is meant as a descriptor as in the above entry. However, the use of Defiant Pathfinder appears to be used to differentiate the concept ship from the more familiar NX-74205 USS Defiant.

This concept art would later be used as an entry in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual, to denote a courier vessel, adapted by Rick Sternbach for use as part of Deep Space Nine's background.

Rick Sternbach would later use this design as inspiration for the USS Equinox Nova class starship, appearing in the episode Equinox from Star Trek: Voyager.

Pathfinder was also the codename of a project to locate USS Voyager after the ship was lost in the Delta Quadrant. Lieutenant Reginald Barclay, formerly of the USS Enterprise, was a member of the team and successfully initiated contact with Voyager’s crew in 2376. This arc unfolded in the 6th season Star Trek: Voyager episode of the same name, Pathfinder