United Earth Space Probe Agency The United Earth Space Probe Agency , commonly abbreviated UESPA , was a space exploration agency with its origins dating back to the era of Earth ' s Post - Atomic Horror . This agency was administered by UESPA headquarters . ( ; ) History . In 2067 , UESPA launched the " Friendship 1 " probe to the Delta Quadrant as part of a series of unmanned exploration probes . ( ) By the 2130s , UESPA had been integrated with Starfleet as the leading United Earth space exploration service . Together , UESPA and Starfleet accomplished many missions . ( ) In the 2150 s , various UESPA personnel were involved in the construction of starship s . ( , dedication plaque ; , dedication plaque ) In 2155 , an opening conference that discussed a possible " Coalition of Planets " was overseen by both UESPA and Starfleet . ( ) In the 2260s , UESPA was still a major operating agency working with Starfleet vessels . By 2267 , UESPA was the operating authority of a five - year mission which the undertook , as Captain James T . Kirk once informed John Christopher . ( ) In 2266 , Kirk reported to UESPA headquarters after learning of the destruction of the " Antares " . ( ) In 2293 , UESPA personnel were still involved in construction of Starfleet starships , most noticeably on the . ( , dedication plaque ) UESPA personnel . " Enterprise " ( NX - 01 ) . The following personnel were noted for their work with the United Earth Space Probe Agency on in 2151 . ( , dedication plaque ) " Columbia " ( NX - 02 ) . The following personnel were noted for their work with the United Earth Space Probe Agency on in 2154 . ( , dedication plaque ) USS " Enterprise " ( NCC - 1701 - B ) . The following personnel were noted for their work with UESPA on the on stardate 9715 . 5 . ( ) Appendices . Background information . UESPA ( pronounced " you - spah " ) was first mentioned in abbreviated form in and the acronym was spelled out in . It was one of several names given in early episodes for the agency under which the " Enterprise " and its crew operated before writers finally settled on " Starfleet " ( also formatted as " Star Fleet " ) . Evidence of EUSPA later appeared in , when the probe " Friendship 1 " had the letters " UESPA - 1 " on its hull . It also bore an emblem looking like a mixture between the United Nations ' logo and Starfleet ' s logo . UESPA also appeared on the bridge dedication plaque of the in . Its name was seen on a Starfleet Command logo in . In the script of " From the First Day to the Last , Part II " ( a developmental precursor to ) , UESPA was mentioned at a hearing to determine whether to allow Christopher Pike to return to Talos IV to die there . At the hearing , Captain Kirk stated , " " UESPA regulations dictate that any data directly or indirectly connected with alien behavior , customs or physical aspects be placed in the captain ' s log at his earliest opportunity after an encounter with those aliens . . . this to add to the body of knowledge in our space probe records . " " Commander Jermane , an officer who was objecting to Pike ' s request , considered this an " almost verbatim " recital from UESPA regulations . In the final draft script of " The Menagerie " , Starbase 11 ( then called " Star Base 811 " ) was described as being identified , in signage intended to appear on - screen , as a " United Space Agency " facility , even though the name " Starfleet " had been devised by then . UESPA was additionally mentioned in unseen portions of the Picard family album , created for " Star Trek Generations " , in an article called " It ' s Federation Day ! " . Major General Georges Picard , an aide to Thomas Vanderbilt , implies here that he fought the Romulan scourge , which itself implies that UESPA was , in some way , involved in the Earth - Romulan War . In " Tomorrow is Yesterday " , Captain Kirk refers to UESPA as a " combined service , " but he is vague enough that it is more likely that he was actually referring to his Starfleet crew . It is possible that starship crews of his time were a combined service of both the naval ranked Starfleet and the military ranked UESPA officers . This would explain the use of military ranks in . This may also explain West ' s rank of colonel in . The same possibility would also seem to be implied by the appearance of the joint Starfleet Command / UESPA seal in " Demons " . Retroactive continuity : It can be reasonably assumed that UESPA officer G . Roddenberry ' s ship , the , operated under UESPA authority .