Titan Fleet Yards

No, this is not about the Dominion joining the Federation. This article concerns the 4 major founding members of the Federation: Earth, Vulcan, Tellar and Andoria.

Flag of the United Federation of Planets, 2161

You could easily write whole books on the four major Federation species, but to keep things under control, I’ve decided to lump them together in one article and be done with them. I will provide links for further reading.

The first time the founding members of the Federation are canonically revealed isn’t until the third season of Enterprise, in “Zero Hour”. Of course, it revealed exactly those species that had already long been accepted as the founders since the Star Fleet Technical Manual published in 1975. The SFTM refers to the “Alpha Centauri Concordium of Planets”, the “Planetary Confederation of 40 Eridani” (Vulcan), the “United Planets of 61 Cygni” (Tellar) and the “Star Empire of Epsilon Indii” (Andor)  joining Earth as the signers of the original Federation charter. Alpha Centauri’s status as a founder is ambiguous in the televized material, although background material for First Contact confirms it was.

Earth

Lt. Uhura of Earth

Earth is the is the capital world of the Federation. The planet is home to the Federation Council, the President and Starfleet Headquarters. The presidential offices are in Paris, France, possibly making it the capital city of the whole Federation. San Francisco, however, is home to the majority of the government and Starfleet.

Earth is home to humans, arguably the most prominent race in Starfleet, and several species of sentient cetaceans. Voyager wants us to believe some dinosaur species developed sentience and flew out into space.

• Earth at Memory Alpha
• Earth at Memory Beta

Vulcan

Lt. Taurik of Vulcan

The logical Vulcans are probably the second-most prominent member of the Federation, with many of them serving in Starfleet and in top government positions. The Vulcans were the first aliens that Earth made contact with in 2063, after Zefram Cochrane’s first superluminal flight.  Originally a very emotional and violent people, 2 millenia ago the Vulcans eventually settled for a life dedicated to logic without emotion. Their brothers, who had denounced the new way of life, left Vulcan in search for a new home, eventually forming the Romulan Star Empire. The Romulans fought a war with Earth in the 22nd century. Shortly after the war, the Federation was formed.

The government of Vulcan is called, variously, the Confederacy of Vulcan (Kobayashi Maru, ENT novel), the Confederacy of Surak (Star Trek: Star Charts) or the Planetary Confederation (SFTM). The location of planet Vulcan is generally accepted to be the 40 Eridani A system, about 16 lightyears from Earth.

• Vulcan at Memory Alpha
  
• Vulcan at Memory Beta

Andoria

Andorian Starfleet admiral

Andor, or Andoria, is the icy moon of a gas giant, home to the Andorians and the pale-skinned, telepathic Aenar. Prior to the formation of the Federation, Enterprise depictcs Andor and Vulcan has having had history of conflict.

• Andoria at Memory Alpha
  
• Andor at Memory Beta
• A Rogue’s Gallery of Andorians

Tellar

Tellarite ambassador Gav

Tellar is the homeworld of the Tellarites. These porcine humanoids are famous for their love of debates and arguing. Besides ENT, we had seen very little of the Tellarites, only appearing in TOS and in the background of several movies. Tellar is probably located in the 61 Cygni system, as per SFTM.

• Tellar at Memory Alpha
  
• Tellar at Memory Beta