Alderaan

From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference

Alderaan is a planet located in or near the Ficus sector.

In 2135, HMS New Zealand was on a diplomatic mission to Alderaan. (TNG: "Up The Long Ladder")

At some point in the 2360s, the starship USS Thomas Paine was assigned to a diplomatic mission to Alderaan, according to a Starfleet report titled Starship Mission Status. (TNG: "Brothers", et al.)

The Thomas Paine reference was on a computer display that listed the name of the place as "Aldaraan".

On his way to space station Deep Space 9 in 2369, the Bajoran criminal Ibudan chartered a space flight out of Alderaan Spaceport. (DS9: "A Man Alone")

The "Alderaan Spaceport" reference was on a computer display reviewed by Odo.

[edit] Background

The name of this planet originally appeared on an okudagram that appeared on Picard's desk monitor, and was not verbally referenced on screen. It was also a gag in the "A" section of the locations index for reference book "Star Trek Chronology"; listed as, "Never visited by the crew of the Enterprise." A legible version of the okudagram would appear in the reference book, Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Continuing Mission.

The reference to this planet, as well as the wording of the okudagram, is an in-joke. Alderaan is, of course, the adopted homeworld of Star Wars' Princess Leia, who claimed to be on a diplomatic mission to Alderaan when captured by Darth Vader in the opening scene of Star Wars. For more on that planet, see the official Star Wars site.

[edit] External link

• Alderaan on Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki