Galaxy Research

Galaxy research is the economy and mobility branch of the Star Trek Fleet Command research tree. It sets your mining rates, refining and part cost efficiency, warp speed and range, cargo size, faction reputation gains, and your officers‘ base stats. If Combat research decides how fights go, Galaxy research decides how fast your account grows and how quickly you get around the map. This page lists every Galaxy research with what it does, the Operations level it unlocks at, its levels, the cost to max, the research time, and its prerequisites.

What Galaxy research does

The branch breaks into a few kinds of upgrade. Mining and refining raise how fast you gather each resource (the miner lines), how far your raw resources stretch (the Pure cost-efficiency lines), and how much you get per refine (the refining lines). Mobility covers warp speed and the warp overclocks per hull, plus warp range. Officer stats are a quiet powerhouse: the training lines and the named officer-stat research (Riker, Spock, Bones, and the below-deck Orlop lines) raise every crew you field. Faction reputation research (Devotion, Apprentice, Tribute, and the Pike, Kang, and Rekar lines) speeds up your standing with each faction. The rest covers cargo and survey servicing, cloaking, and station defense.

Every Galaxy research

All 180 Galaxy research projects, sorted by unlock level (most projects gate on your R&D Department; some use Operations or another building). Cost to max is the full resource total across every level. Research time is the base time before your research-speed bonuses, which cut it heavily in play, so use it as a relative gauge between projects rather than a real clock. Many Galaxy nodes are deep, long-term investments, so the times run high.

How to prioritize Galaxy research

Galaxy research pays back slowly but compounds, so weight it toward what limits your account right now.

If your resources are the bottleneck, the mining lines (the base miners, then the faction and Merik or Carstairs grade miners) raise income directly, and the Pure cost-efficiency lines make everything you build cheaper. The refining lines add a free refine per claim, which adds up fast for daily refiners.

If travel time is the pain, the warp speed and warp overclock lines cut minutes off every jump, and warp range research opens longer hops. These matter most for miners and armada callers who move constantly.

Officer stat research is the quiet long-term winner. The training lines and the Riker, Spock, and Bones lines raise the base attack, defense, and health of every officer you use, so they help combat, armadas, and station defense all at once. They cost a lot and take a long time, so start them early and let them run.

If you are chasing a faction, the Devotion, Apprentice, and Tribute lines for that faction speed your reputation gains and, for Tribute, hand you a daily store bundle. Pick the faction you actually want to lock and push its line. For current crews and ship pairings, use the officer tier list and the ship guide.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Galaxy research in Star Trek Fleet Command? It is the Galaxy branch of the research tree, opened from your station. Each research unlocks at the Operations level shown in the table above.

What Galaxy research should I do first? Start with the base miners and the Pure cost-efficiency lines to grow your resource income, then run the officer stat lines in the background since they help everything and take a long time.

Does Galaxy research help in combat? Yes, indirectly. The officer stat lines raise your crews’ base attack, defense, and health, and the warp and cargo lines keep your fleet moving and mining, which funds everything else.