Delta Vega < nowiki > < / nowiki > Delta Vega was an uninhabited planet , a desolate world , slightly smaller than Earth . The planet was rich in crystal s and mineral s . ( ) Location . Delta Vega was located in the Delta Vega sector , a few light day s away from the galactic barrier at impulse speed for a heavy cruiser . ( ; , " okudagram " ) In 2293 , the location of Delta Vega in the Milky Way Galaxy was labeled in the star chart " The Explored Galaxy " , which was on display in Captain James T . Kirk ' s quarters aboard the . ( , " okudagram " ) " In 2366 , in an alternate timeline , during the , the location of Delta Vega was labeled on a tactical situation monitor in the ready room aboard the . " ( , " okudagram " ) In 2367 , the location of Delta Vega was labeled on a tactical situation monitor in Captain Benjamin Maxwell ' s ready room on the . ( , " " ) History . Prior to stardate 1312 , the Galactic Mining Company , working with the Federation , established the Delta - Vega Station on this planet . An automated lithium cracking station was established in a valley . This station was , at most , visited by ore ship s every twenty years . Another valley was , from the station ' s perspective , to the left of some mountain s with pointed peaks , beyond which flatlands were situated . In the same general direction was a small clearing , amid a rock - strewn area . Delta Vega ' s terrain was generally very rocky and the planet ' s weather was known to include wind s , such as a dust y breeze during one day . After the suffered warp drive damage when crossing the galactic barrier in 2265 , Delta Vega was visited by the crippled starship so that helmsman Lee Kelso and engineering crewmen could make repairs to the vessel . By the time of their arrival , the danger posed by the mutation of Gary Mitchell , via the barrier , into a continually strengthening psionic being was undeniable , and Kirk planned to maroon his old friend on the planet . Mitchell objected , escaped , and fled into the hills of Delta Vega , taking Elizabeth Dehner with him . Although Dehner thereafter opined that surviving on the planet would take " almost a miracle , " the landscape was then miraculously seeded with vegetation , a result of Mitchell using some of his powers . For example , the small clearing became a garden ripe with plant s ( plentiful in flower s ) around a little pool of water and a spring , due to Mitchell ' s intervention . Moments later , he also made a Kaferian apple tree appear in the same area . The presence of both Kirk , who had meanwhile been tracking the pair , and Mitchell caused considerable disturbance in the area and a battle between them culminated in a load of rocks burying Mitchell in a grave he had conjured up for Kirk . After Dehner died ( as a result of having fought against Mitchell herself ) , the remains of both Mitchell and Dehner were left behind on Delta Vega and – in an entry of the captain ' s log of the " Enterprise " , made while the ship left the planet – they were noted for having given their lives in the line of duty . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Behind the scenes . In the script of " Where No Man Has Gone Before " ( " Star Trek " s second pilot episode ) , this planet was commonly written with a hyphen between the words " Delta " and " Vega " ( i . e . being notated as " Delta - Vega " ) , which corresponds with the sign at the cracking station indicating " Delta - Vega Station " . The episode ' s first view of the planet ' s surface , showing its lithium cracking station , was described thus ; " " At the building , a suggestion of alien planet strangeness in the coloration of the soil , the weird vegetation in the planting beds next to the [ . . . ] building . Beyond that , the eerie surface of Delta - Vega . " " The script also specified that a " distant stretch of planet Delta - Vega " outside the station ' s main window was to be created on stage . The script characterized the aforementioned rock - strewn area , which Elizabeth Dehner and Gary Mitchell walk through prior to the latter creating the garden site , as " a weird , pitched and jumbled naked rock terrain , stretching off into the distance " and stated that it had " odd - shaped rock formations . " The garden area was referred to as " a pool of water surrounded by thick , thick , fruit - bearing vegetation . " The interiors of the Delta Vega cracking station were built on Desilu Culver Stage 17 , while Stage 16 housed the surface exteriors . Scenes on Delta Vega were filmed between Friday and Wednesday 28 July 1965 , with extra pick - up shots filmed on Thursday . ( " " ) The set that was used to depict the surface of Delta Vega had previously been used for planet Talos IV in " Star Trek " s first pilot , , including the same backdrop and even some of the same rocks . ( " Starfleet Access " for " Where No Man Has Gone Before " , TOS Season 1 Blu - ray special features ; " Where No Man Has Gone Before " text commentary , TOS Season 1 DVD special features ) So that the pond could be set into the ground , the garden area was constructed on a slight platform . ( " Where No Man Has Gone Before " text commentary , TOS Season 1 DVD special features ) As used for Delta Vega , the set was prepared for filming by 28 July 1965 , the last day on which principal photography for " Where No Man Has Gone Before " was shot and a day on which the climactic battle scene between Kirk and Mitchell was filmed . However , there was a problem with the planet set ; each take caused loose sand from the set to scatter across the camera dolly tracks , causing even more delays than there already had been . ( " " , p . 85 ) Director James Goldstone offered , " " The set was made largely of styrofoam . When the actors moved around the styrofoam it chipped and flaked , and it would get all over the dolly tracks . The sound man would say , ' You can ' t use that take , ' because you could hear , ' Crunch , crunch , crunch . " " ( " The Star Trek Interview Book " , pp . 110 - 111 ) The stage was cleaned up by Robert Justman and Herbert F . Solow after each take and , at one point , Desilu president and owner Lucille Ball also helped with the sweeping of the sand . ( " " , p . 85 ) The dossier for the official movie website stated that , before the destruction of Romulus in the late 24th century , Nero and his mining operation discovered lithium deposits on a " Delta Vega " . Since it was unlikely they would have been allowed to mine in the Vulcan system , it was possible that Nero was mining " this " Delta Vega , as it may have been abandoned by the Federation by that time . For the pre - remastered version of " Where No Man Has Gone Before " , Delta Vega was the first use of the brown / red model of planet . This model was used later for M - 113 in ( ) , Tantalus V ( ) , Planet Q ( ) , Benecia ( ) , Gothos ( ) , Lazarus ' planet ( ) , Beta III ( ) , Janus VI ( ) , Organia ( ) , Mudd ( ) , Argus X ( ) , and Ardana ( ) . For the remastered version of " Where No Man Has Gone Before " , a new planet model was created by CGI artist Max Gabl . Reference works . According to " Star Trek Maps " ( p . 25 ) , Delta Vega was the only planet orbit ing a white dwarf star at the northern fringe of the galaxy . It was a with primitive life only and a primordial atmosphere . According to the RPG sourcebook " The Federation " , Delta Vega was the tenth planet in the Trimordidion system . According to " " ( pp . 10 , 24 ) and " " ( " Federation Historical Highlights , 2161 - 2385 " ) , Delta Vega was a in the Alpha Quadrant . The primary , Delta Vega , was an . The star and its system were located " above " the Federation . The classified Delta Vega as a class M planet .