for making first contact with them. The Prime Directive and Starfleet's first-contact policies are at the center of several episodes in each Star Trek series and the film Star Trek: First Contact. Starfleet Headquarters is shown to be located on Earth, northeast of the Golden Gate Bridge in the present-day Fort Baker area. Starfleet Academy is located in the same general area. Additionally, various episodes show Starfleet operating a series of starbases throughout Federation territory, as ground facilities, or as space stations in planetary orbit or in deep space. One example is Deep Space 9, a station near a wormhole commanded by Benjamin Sisko after its transfer from the Cardassian Empire. Mission Starfleet has been shown to handle scientific, defense, and diplomatic missions, although its primary mandate seems to be peaceful exploration in the search for sentient life, as seen in the mission statements of different incarnations of the USS Enterprise. The flagship of Starfleet is often considered to be the starship USS Enterprise. Components Starfleet has many components, including: Starfleet Academy As early as the original Star Trek, characters refer to attending Starfleet Academy. Later series establish it as an officer training facility with a four-year educational program. The main campus is located near Starfleet Headquarters in what is now Fort Baker, California. Starfleet Command Starfleet Command is the headquarters/command center of Starfleet. The term "Starfleet Command" is first used in TOS episode "Court Martial". Its headquarters are depicted as being in Fort Baker, across the Golden Gate from San Francisco, in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Overlooking the Command from the other side of the Golden Gate is the permanent site of the Council of the United Federation of Planets in what is now the Presidio of San Francisco. Throughout the Star Trek franchise, the main characters' isolation from Starfleet Command compels them to make and act upon decisions without Starfleet Command's orders or information, particularly in Voyager when the main protagonists have no means of contacting Earth for several years. Starfleet Shipyards StarTrek.com notes that many of Starfleet's ships are built on Mare Island near San Francisco. It states: Located on San Francisco's Mare Island, with additional starship assembly facilities located in Earth orbit, Starfleet's San Francisco Navy Yards is the site where the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 was built in 2245. Captain Robert April, the Enterprises first commanding officer, was