USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) docked at Earth Station McKinley
Close up of the Enterprise-D at Earth Station McKinley
Earth Station McKinley, or McKinley Station, is a Starfleet facility in Earth orbit, designed for starship construction and repair. The station was able to accomodate vessels at least as large as the Galaxy class (TNG: "Family"). The same basic drydock design was also employed at Starbase 234 (TNG: "Redemption") and Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards. (VOY: "Relativity")
The USS Enterprise-D was transferred to McKinley Station shortly after its launch in 2364, before it departed for Farpoint Station. Captain Jean-Luc Picard took command of the ship while it was docked at the station. In Q's anti-time past, Picard called for a red alert while at McKinley Station. (TNG: "All Good Things...")
In 2367, the Enterprise-D underwent a major refit at McKinley Station in order to repair damage suffered following the Borg incursion. The refit was estimated to last six weeks. (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II") Several systems were upgraded, including the ship's phasers (TNG: "Family") and warp core, which received a new dilithium chamber hatch. An undetected defect in the hatch caused an explosion later that year, initially blamed on joint Romulan/Klingon sabotage. (TNG: "The Drumhead")
In 2377, the USS Voyager received pictures of Earth from this vantage point courtesy of a transmission set up by Lieutenant Reginald Barclay at Starfleet Communications. (VOY: "Author, Author")
- It is not clear why the images from McKinley Station shown in VOY: "Author, Author" looked like they were from geosynchronous orbit when the station is clearly shown to be in near-Earth orbit during TNG: "Family." It is possible the drydock facility shown in the TNG episode may have been part of a larger complex.
In Q's anti-time future, the USS Pasteur was due to dock at Earth Station McKinley upon arrival at Earth. However, the rendezvous was delayed when Captain Beverly Picard decided to investigate Jean-Luc Picard's claims of a temporal anomaly in the Devron system. (TNG: "All Good Things...")
- The dedication plaque of the USS Voyager states the ship was constructed at Earth Station McKinley, but VOY: "Relativity" establishes that the ship was built at Utopia Planitia. Perhaps Voyager was constructed at Earth Station McKinley but was outfitted at Utopia Planitia.
- The Air Force base in TOS: "Assignment: Earth" was also named McKinley Station.