Rigel was the primary of the Rigel system. This star was located in the Alpha Quadrant. An array of subspace relay stations linked it to Andor. (TNG: "Conspiracy", okudagram)
It was the source of the name for the Rigel Cup. (TNG: "The First Duty")
History
In 2364, the Federation starships USS Aleo and USS White Sands were ordered to recertify the Andor/Rigel link of subspace relay stations. (TNG: "Conspiracy", okudagram)
Stellar Cartography
In 2293, the location of Rigel in the Milky Way Galaxy was labeled in a star chart that was in Captain James T. Kirk's quarters aboard the USS Enterprise-A. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, okudagram)
In 2365, the location of Rigel was labeled in a Subspace Comm Net Ops star chart, which was seen in the courtroom on Starbase 173. This star's system was linked to Beta Niobe, Lactra VII, and an unnamed location. (TNG: "The Measure Of A Man")
In 2366, in an alternate timeline, during the Federation-Klingon War, Rigel's position was labeled on a tactical situation monitor on the bridge and in the ready room of the USS Enterprise-D. (TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise", okudagram)
In 2367, the location of Rigel was labeled on a tactical situation monitor in Captain Benjamin Maxwell's ready room on the USS Phoenix. (TNG: "The Wounded", okudagram)
| Rigel system |
|---|
| Rigel |
| Rigel II • Rigel III • Rigel IV • Rigel V • Rigel VI • Rigel VII • Rigel X • Rigel XII • An asteroid belt |
| See also: • Beta Rigel • Rigel Beta |
Appendices
Background information
According to the script pronunciation guide for TNG: "All Good Things...", Rigel was pronounced as "RYE-jell". [1]
A cut line in the script of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home had a Starfleet Command Table Operator report, "Rigel monitoring graphics general data synth with graphic reps on main screen 3," during the Whale Probe crisis of 2286. [2]
According to Star Trek: Star Charts (p. 36) and Stellar Cartography: The Starfleet Reference Library ("Federation Historical Highlights, 2161-2385"), the Star Trek universe had two Rigels. The first – Rigel (Beta Orionis) – was the "true" Rigel. This was a bright blue binary star, 773 light years from Sol. The second – Beta Rigel – was a system known for its high percentage of inhabited planets. Four of its planets were M-class.
The "true" Rigel was located in the constellation Orion, which is visible on-screen in TNG: "Family" and on a constellation star chart in TOS: "The Corbomite Maneuver". The other Rigel was apparently not a star named by Humans, since Vulcans and Klingons used this name in their native languages and the location of Rigel was not known to Humans before it was learned from the Vulcan star charts in "Broken Bow".
According to the Star Trek Encyclopedia, 4th ed., vol. 2, p. 222, the Rigel referenced in Star Trek is the star Beta Orionis. This star is described by the authors as a "bright supergiant star, visible from Earth as one of the 'legs' in the constellation Orion (the hunter)."
In August 2024, an annotated computer paste-up of the Subspace Comm Net Ops star chart was put up for auction in the Entertainment Memorabiliia Live Auction: Los Angeles Summer 2024 by Propstore Auction. [3]
Apocrypha
According to The Worlds of the Federation (p. 36), Rigel and Orion were names for the same star.
According to Star Trek Maps (Chart D), the Rigel system was in Beta Orionis.