7.0 Introduction

Aside from early probes, the Delta Quadrant remained almost completely unexplored and home to the Borg Collective until the Caretaker stranded the U.S.S. Voyager some 70,000 light-years away in 2371, beginning a seven-year odyssey of exploration and first contacts that is expected to open one of the galaxy's final frontiers.

Title panel reading Delta Quadrant over a starfield, with the U.S.S. Voyager Flight Path (a chart from Voyager Astrometrics) showing the remarkably direct path of U.S.S. Voyager between 2371 and 2377 as it crossed some 45,000 light-years of the Delta Quadrant, marked with stardates 483158, 510037, 520812, 530614, and 530814.

Continuation of the U.S.S. Voyager flight-path chart toward the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants, showing the Perseus Arm and Sagittarius Arm, the Bajoran Wormhole, the projected flight path, and a distance scale in light-years (x 10,000).

Aside from early attempts like the Friendship One probe, the Delta Quadrant has remained almost completely unexplored, all the more so after it was found to be the home of the Borg Collective. Of course, that was before a mysterious entity known as the Caretaker transported a series of starships some 70,000 light-years to the far side of the Milky Way in early 2371. During its seven-year odyssey of exploration, the U.S.S. Voyager visited more worlds and made more first contacts than any other Federation vessel: the Ocampa, Talaxians, Kazon, Vidiians, Hirogen, Malon, Hierarchy, and Species 8472, to name just a few. Already plans are underway for deep-space missions to follow in Voyager's footsteps, opening up one of the galaxy's final frontiers.