For the expansion into space of the Federation founding members before the incorporation of the Federation itself, I had to refer to local starcharts for various Type G, F, and K stars that are suspected or at least capable of having a planet in it’s habitable zone.
Once they were worked out, I had to take into account the various already-established Earth colonies from the various series (TOS, TNG, DS9) such as Vega Colony (TOS:The Cage/The Menagerie), Ophiucus III (TOS:Mudd’s Women), Aldebaran Colony (TOS:Where No Man Has Gone Before), etc.
Another thing was when the various powers got into space, and their respective philosophies. To preserve the rather haphazard arrangement of Earth colonies, here’s what I came up with.
Humans are endlessly inquisitive and acquisitive, so they just keep exploring and colonising. They colonise as many as possible within their current reach and capabilities. They started colonising with warp ships in 2070.
Vulcans are logically selective. If they don’t feel they need more space or resources, they don’t search out and colonise new planets. If they feel the need though, they can do so quickly and efficiently. They started colonising with sublight ships in 400 BCE, but only found one planet and stopped. After encountering the Humans and their ‘grabby’ policies, the Vulcans began colonising with warp ships in 2075.
Centaurans are pacifistic and content. They are happy with colonising their own star system, Alpha Centauri A but don’t feel the need to acquire more territory. They are so closely affiliated with the humans that they allowed the Earthlings to colonise Alpha Centauri B II. The Centaurans do nothing more than explore.
Tellarites are practical above everything else. Tellarites realise it’s a dangerous galaxy out there and rather than colonising five different planets and gradually upgrading one at a time, they marshal their resources and colonise one system at a time, making sure that it can take care of itself before starting another one. They started colonising with warp ships in 2000.
Andorians are pragmatically acquisitive. They are a mix of Human and Vulcan qualities, and colonise a group of stars that are close together so that mutual defense is easier. They started colonising with sublight ships from 1900 to 1922. Their space program faltered for 150 years after that until they developed warp ships, and began colonising again in 2122.
Below is a fairly long Mini-Timeline of the colonisation of the core sectors, if you so desire to peruse it. If not, well... that's why I included the profiles above. *grin*
900 BCE: The Vulcans develop space travel and begin the exploration of their system.
700 BCE: The Vulcans land on their closest planetary neighbour, their sister planet T'Khut.
500 BCE: The Vulcans begin mining operations and resource gathering from their system.
400-300 BCE: The Vulcans begin an aggressive colonisation program of local space, using sub-light colony ships targeted at local stars within 20-year journey times (10 light-years).
This is based on Spock's statement in the TOS Episode 'Balance of Terror' that Vulcan had it's own aggressive expansion phase, before Surak's logic gained hold.
276 BCE: Epsilon Eridani I colonised by the Vulcans using a sub-light sleeper ship.
300 BCE: The Vulcans have only found one Class-M planet suitable for colonising, Epsilon Eridani I, but have set up outposts and mining stations in many systems harbouring only M-Type stars and brown dwarves. With the exception of Epsilon Eridani, the space immediately surrounding Vulcan is a stellar desert, almost devoid of star systems that could contain life or resources.
18/01/22 BCE: Vulcan First Contact. Duthuliv and Etoshan Pirates (predecessors to the Orions) simulate a peaceful First Contact and enslave the Vulcan leaders. The Vulcans unite and defeat the initial invasion, but the pirates persist for the next 50 years.
0028: Duthuliv and Etoshan Pirates finally give up the invasion of Vulcan.
0029: Time of Awakening on Vulcan. First of S'Task's generational ships leave Vulcan.
0100: After finally loosing contact with those back on Vulcan, S'Task's generational ships begin running into trouble. Two vessels, Gorget and Lance, become seperated and instead of heading for Alpha Phoenicis, end up aiming for 83 Leonis. After arriving they discovered a civilisation who's population evidenced strange electrostatic manifestations. Thinking it prudent not to base themselves on the planet until they found out what this could mean for their conquest plans, they left planet Cheron and proceeded to the Barradas star system.
0115: Arriving at Barradas, the Travellers found a primitive, heavy-browed Vulcanoid race called the 'Debrune', at a civilisation level of 18th-century Terra. The 12,000 Travellers, with their advanced science and technology, almost instantly became their overlords. Having found a race to rule and a new world to exploit, the Travellers settled there, often taking partners among the native population.
0150: The Travellers, using their Ships and the Debrune as a working class, set out to colonise the local area of space. They head along a line of promising G-Type stars, firstly heading for the Draken starsystem.
0250: The Debrune have colonised four starsystems (Draken, Calder, Yadalla, and Dessica) and brought forth prosperous colonies, starting off at the level of technology brought about by the Traveller's Ships.
0300-0400: The Debrune and their colonies become involved in a war between the Travellers and the Vulcans, started by a member of the Q-Continuum called Quinn. The war lasts for around a century.
0400: The Vulcans finally drive off the Travellers, after the war all but bankrupts the Debrune Colonies and they can no longer sustain their war. The Debrune and Travellers set off on the Ships, escaping further into the Beta Quadrant, heading for the 128 Trianguli system as S'Task had finally headed towards. The Debrune colonies are abandoned and fall into ruin.
1800: Andorians develop space flight with the launch of their first artificial satellite.
1867: Tellarite explorer/scientist Ranx designs his own rocket ship and becomes the first Tellarite astronaut. Pushing the design limitations of his ship, he entered the atmosphere of 61 Cygni II, but perished in the attempt. It inspired generations of Tellarites to seek the stars.
1876: The Vulcans begin observing Earth in high-impulse sub-light vessels. A single, 6-crew scout ship making a 16-year journey from Vulcan at 0.99c included a member of the High Council should the decision be made to contact the Terrans. It takes a month of constant acceleration to get from full impulse (0.25c) to their maximum speed.
1890: Andorians develop the I.M. Pulse Drive.
1892: The first Vulcan observation mission to Earth arrives, and makes their base on the far side of the Moon. They will be here for almost 60 years before returning home.
The Andorians begin the colonisation of 4 distant star systems by launching impulse-powered sleeper ships at promising stars the Galactic North-East.
The Tellarites have started colonies on planets, moons, and asteroids across their whole system. They spend the next 50 years developing them to their full potential, and hardening them against any kind of disaster.
1900: Delta Pavonis III is colonised by the Andorians using a sub-light sleeper ship.
1900-1940: The Voice Wars on Tellar. Each nation-state tries to force other nation-state populations to adopt "their" scientifically derived languages. The mathematician Cherok started rebelling and soon gained followers as he refused to take part in it all. Soon all governments collapsed as no-one would attend their duties, and the Ukora Segment—founded by Cherok to promote free speech and debate—became an accidental World Government as it formed the nucleus of a new society.
1913: J. Herschel 5173 A-I is colonised by the Andorians using a sub-light sleeper ship.
1920: Beta Hydri IV is colonised by the Andorians using a sub-light sleeper ship.
1922: 82 Eridani A-II is colonised by the Andorians using a sub-light sleeper ship.
1942: Andorians begin warp drive research.
Tellarites begin construction of a Space Elevator.
1948: Vulcans develop FTL drive.
Centaurans develop spaceflight.
1950: The Vulcan observation team on Earth is relieved by a warp-powered scout vessel, who leave a new team behind in the sublight scout.
1964: First astronauts from Alpha Centauri A-IV land on Alpha Centauri A-V.
1972: Tellarites complete their Space Elevator.
1978: Tellarites develop FTL drive. Travelling to different star systems they quickly grasped the dangers of interstellar travel and adopted a policy of observation like the Vulcans. The Tellarites are aware of the dangers of interstellar space and they develop a colonisation system that marshals the resources of their home planet to settle on one planet and spend several decades building the new colony’s protection and defensive capabilities before beginning a new colony project.
1992: The genetically enhanced supermen of Earth design an interplanetary craft, which is designated the DY-100 class.
2000: The second Vulcan observation team on the Moon is relieved, and the old sublight scout is taken back to Vulcan, having had advanced warp technology added. The third team remains in their vessel in high polar orbit of Luna, monitoring all of Earth's communications.
Ranx’s Planet (BD+56*2966 I) is colonised by the Tellarites using a warp-driven colony ship.
Centaurans develop the I.M. Pulse Drive, and begin to colonise the 14 planets of Alpha Centauri A.
2008: The Vulcan observation team, faced with this increase in Earth's space programs, decides to return home. They leave an automated monitoring device in a stabilised high polar orbit.
2015: Moonbase One established on Luna (Sol-IIIa) by NASA.
2018: Oxford University, England, invents the I.M. Pulse Drive. This revolution in sublight propulsion renders sleeper ships obsolete for interplanetary travel. The DY-100’s in service are refitted to DY-500 specs with the I.M. Pulse Drive incorporated.
2020: New Berlin colony established on Luna (Sol-IIIa) by a private German consortium secretly backed by Micah Brack.
2026: 70 Ophiuchi A-II is colonised by the Tellarites using a warp-driven colony ship.
2030: Centaurans begin FTL drive research.
2032: The ISA spacecraft Ares IV powered by the I.M. Pulse Drive under Lt. John Kelly vanishes in a subspace ellipse while in orbit around the planet Mars.
2033: Another private consortium secretly funded by Micah Brack establishes the first Human settlement on Mars (Sol-IV) at Utopia Planitia. They are environmental engineers living in sealed domes while atmosphere processors convert the atmosphere into breathable air in preparation for the first Human colony there.
2035: NASA launches the interplanetary spacecraft Saturn Probe powered by the I.M. Pulse Drive. Colonel Shaun Geoffrey Christopher leads the mission to make a landing on Titan, one of Saturn's moons, and return to Earth.
2037: NASA launches the spacecraft Charybdis powered by the I.M. Pulse Drive on July 23, commanded by Colonel Steven Richley. This vessel is the third attempt to explore outside the solar system, and the first manned one. NASA controllers in Houston lose contact with the ship when it passes the Kuiper Belt and an immediate rescue operation is launched from Mars. This operation is unsuccessful, and Charybdis is declared missing.
2038: Despite the loss of the Charybdis, the decision is made to proceed with the launch of the UNSS Icarus NASA under the auspices of the United Nations. This vessel is powered by the I.M. Pulse Drive, and her mission is to reach the Alpha Centauri star system—a voyage that will take a decade of constant acceleration then deceleration.
2042: Another private consortium secretly funded by Micah Brack establishes the first Human colony on Titan, a moon of Saturn, at Christopher's Landing.
2044: The space vehicle Charybdis, launched from Earth in 2037, arrives at the eighth planet in the Theta 116 system. An unknown alien intelligence has discovered a book called Hotel Royale in the possession of mission commander Richey and creates an environment based on the book in an effort to sustain Richey's life.
2045: A Vulcan scout craft returns to Earth to monitor the Terrans' progress, but on attaining Earth orbit develops thruster problems. It crash-lands on Earth, in the 'fields' of an agronomical kelp-growing station in the Pacific Ocean. Taken to a remote, deserted military base in Antarctica, the two survivors are all but put on trial by various military, medical and philosophical 'experts'. This accidental First Contact is erased from the history books as the Terrans come out looking like "screaming xenophobic lunatics". The Vulcans are helped to escape on a DY-100 sleeper ship from an abandoned military facility in the Persian desert. Of the three ships, one is already gone and the other two are cannibalised to commission one working model.
2048: The UESPA Earth vessel UNSS Icarus reaches Alpha Centauri after a decade-long sublight voyage and discover 14 planets circling Alpha Centauri A and 2 planets circling Alpha Centauri B.
They encounter the Centaurans on their homeworld of Alpha Centauri A-IV and an entirely peaceful first contact is made with this humanoid civilisation. Friendly diplomatic relations are established.
2049: Many months later, after the Centaurans resupply and refit the Icarus, the intrepid explorers begin the long flight home to Earth.
2050: Chi Draconis A-IV is colonised by the Tellarites using a warp-driven colony ship.
Andorian clans’ united project to build a warp-capable starship ends in disaster as the New Andoria's warp engines detonate at the system's edge, forming a large unstable wormhole. All contact with their 4 colonies is lost, and this effectively ends the Andorian space program for almost 150 years.
2053: World War III on Earth. 600 million people are killed and many major cities are destroyed. Earth begins to endure the Post Atomic Horror, a period of anarchy for many countries across the globe, and which will last for over three decades. Zephram Cochrane begins his theoretical work on an FTL drive.
2058: Multi-trillionaire recluse Micah Brack begins funding Zephram Cochrane's research into a faster-than-light drive by setting up a zero-g laboratory in the converted ice frieghter John Cabal. It is out past Neptune's orbit to reduce the effect of Sol's gravitational field—and to keep it out of the military surveillance networks of the surviving technological Earth nations.
2061: Scientists on Earth develop nuclear fusion power and this, along with the Solar Alliance's energy supply, ends Earth's problems with fossil fuels. Later that year, using a fusion reactor to power it, Zephram Cochrane and his team successfully demonstrate his "space-warp superimpeller" on a test sled. It reached a velocity of 8c.
2063: Humans develop interstellar travel with the successful flight of Zephram Cochrane's test ship Phoenix. Launched from a old missile silo in Montana as converted Titan ICBM, it attracts the attention of a passing Vulcan scout ship. Earth's historic First Contact occurs on the 5th of April 2063. Two months later, Zephram Cochrane travels to the Alpha Centauri system and back to Earth in 243 days on his ship, the SS Bonaventure. By his own space-warp speed scale, he has travelled at Warp 2.37, or 13.25c. Cochrane spends 3 days on the uninhabited M-class planet Alpha Centauri B-II.
2064: The UNSS Icarus returns to Earth six years late to find a devastated planet. Their I.M. Pulse Drive suffered a breakdown and couldn't keep accelerating the Icarus to her planned top speed, and they arrive to find that an alien race called the "Vulcans" have shown up here after the invention of a Human FTL drive. Their heroes' welcome fails to materialise, and their great accomplishment and sacrifice is lost in the records, only to be rediscovered decades later. Zephram Cochrane returns to the Sol system, to Titan. He leaves again for Alpha Centauri shortly after. Micah Brack broadcasts the plans for Cochrane's superimpeller across the solar system, so that anyone with enough money and the facilities can convert an interplanetary craft into an interstellar one.
2065: The spaceship SS Valiant, one of several newly converted warp ships, is sent out on a mission of exploration to look for more help in rebuilding efforts. Several light-years from Sol she is drawn into a wormhole that deposits her near the edge of the galaxy at the upper surface of the Milky Way disk. On attempting to explore past the edge of the galaxy, the Valiant encounters an energy barrier which eventually leads to her destruction.
Earth Vessel UNSS Amity encounters a disabled Vulcan scout craft adrift in the Sol system and rescues it.
2065-2075: The first wave of Earth colonisation. 33 extra-solar colonies are established in 10 different star systems in this time, most of them in star systems that offered resources rather than ideal living conditions like Stapledon Center at Wolf 359 (7.797 ly) and Bradbury's Landing at Lalande 21285. Micah Brack funds Zephram Cochrane's colony on Kent (Alpha Centauri B-II) as well as three other planetary colonies: Neo Caledonia (Sirius A-II), Amber (Tau Ceti IV), Terra 4 (Procyon A-IV).
2065: Kent (Alpha Centauri B-II) is colonised by the Humans using a warp-driven colony ship. Zephram Cochrane arrives at Alpha Centauri B-II with a colony vessel. He secures permission from the Centaurus World Government to colonise B-II. Even before he asks, however, he freely gives the Centaurans his designs for his warp drive. This eventually secures the permission for his own colony on B-II, which he names “Kent”.
2070: Neo Caledonia (Sirius A-IX) is colonised by the Humans using a warp-driven colony ship.
The rise of the Optimum Party under Colonel Green begins, taking hold of scores of nations across the globe by offering order and a return to a time before the war in countries ravaged by famines, diseases, and unhappy populaces.
After reverse engineering and completely understanding the warp drive, the Centaurans build their first faster-than-light spacecraft, the Shayna Kavic, and began to explore and survey the surrounding star systems.
2072: Groombridge-1618 I is colonised by the Tellarites using a warp-driven colony ship.
The Andorian colony on 82 Eridani A-II disappears without a trace. No remains will be found, and the colony’s fate will remain a mystery.
2073: Bradbury’s Landing (Terra 4, Procyon A-III) is colonised by the Humans using a warp-driven colony ship.
Amber (Tau Ceti IV) is colonised by the Humans using a warp-driven colony ship. The leader of the colony-to-be secured permission from the World Government of Kaferia (Tau Ceti III) to settle there, promising great trade relations with the other fledgling Earth colonies in the area.
2075: The Vulcans, feeling the pressure of a sudden wave of Human colonisation, embark on a new colonisation program themselves. Designing and building new warp-powered colony ships, they plan to settle on habitable planets that the first wave of human settlements did not reach.
2078: The Optimum Party controls over 3/4 of the world, but their brutal methods are turning the populaces against them.
2079: A final, last gasp war by the Old Nations, who finally topple the Optimum movement. The death toll for this one stands at a further 37 million.
2080: The extra-solar colonies of Earth begin supplying aid to their mother planet, and help speed Earth's recovery.
2082: P’Jor (Bonner Durchmusterung +6*398 A-II) is colonised by the Vulcans using a warp-driven colony ship.
2083: P’Jem (82 Eridani A-II) is colonised by the Vulcans using a warp-driven colony ship.
2084: P’Jut (Bonner Durchmusterung -5*1123 A-II) is colonised by the Vulcans using a warp-driven colony ship.
2083: Donner 91 A-I is colonised by the Vulcans using a warp-driven colony ship.
2087: Terra Nova (Eta Cassiopeiae A-III) is colonised by the Humans using a warp-driven colony ship.
2088: Delta Eridani IV is colonised by the Vulcans using a warp-driven colony ship.
2090: Kappa Ceti III is colonised by the Vulcans using a warp-driven colony ship.
Mu Cassiopeiae A-II is colonised by the Tellarites using a warp-driven colony ship.
Gliese 570 A-I is colonised by the Humans using a warp-driven colony ship.
2097: 107 Piscis II is colonised by the Vulcans using a warp-driven colony ship.
2098: P’Jar (Bonner Durchmusterung -5*1884 I) is colonised by the Vulcans using a warp-driven colony ship.
2099: EP Eridani II is colonised by the Vulcans using a warp-driven colony ship.
2100: P’Jol (Bonner Durchmusterung +4*123 I) is colonised by the Vulcans using a warp-driven colony ship.
The ship designers of Zephram Cochrane’s Warp Dynamics company build a new class of freighter for Earth’s new interstellar merchant marine, calling it the J-class.
Andorian research on warp drive resumes.
2103: The colonisation of Mars proceeds, now that the atmosphere has been altered for human habitation without pressure domes. Within 2 years, the mining settlement at Utopia Planitia has been expanded from the pressure domes and spaceport to a city with nearly 600,000 inhabitants.
2104: P Eridani A-I is colonised by the Vulcans using a warp-driven colony ship.
2105: Centauran exploration vessel Shayna Kavic enters Tellarite home system. Originally distrustful, the Tellarites open friendly relations after the Centaurans express awe at the Tellarite Space Elevator.
2110: Earth finally recovers from the wars and Post Atomic Horror with the help of her colonies, and is now free of poverty, disease, and war.
2113: European Hegemony and the restored USA join together as the United Earth Republic. The United Earth Space Probe Agency is formed, tasked with exploring and charting local space and searching for more resources.
2115: Andorians develop a functional warp drive. A century of studying the wormhole at the edge of their system has allowed them to gather enough data to stabilize their warp engines.
2116: The Andorians discover that their colonies in J. Herschel 5173, Delta Pavonis, and Beta Hydri colonies are still flourishing, and contact is gratefully re-established. However, their colony on 82 Eridani has been completely eradicated—no trace remains. Not only that, but another race’s colony now exists, that of the Vulcans who have named the planet P’Jem. The hot-blooded Andorians don’t take kindly to the cool attitude of the Vulcans, and their lack of knowledge about what happened to the Andorian colony does not sit well either. This starts off the Andorian’s distrust of the Vulcans.
2117: Now fearing a possibly hostile race, the Andorians enter into a crash colonisation program and spread out to all systems within their reach—without putting themselves at risk.
2122: TW Piscis Austrini I is colonised by the Andorians using a warp-driven colony ship.
2123: The colony ship SS Mariposa is launched from Sol for the colonisation of the Ficus Sector, marking the beginning of a second wave of colonisation and expansion for Earth. She settles colonists on Bringloid V and later Mariposa, where she crashes with only 5 survivors.
2125: Melbourne Observatory-4 A-I is colonised by the Andorians using a warp-driven colony ship.
2126: Melbourne Observatory-4 B-I is colonised by the Andorians using a warp-driven colony ship.
Xi Bootis B-I is colonised by the Humans using a warp-driven colony ship.
2127: Mu Herculis A-IV is colonised by the Tellarites using a warp-driven colony ship.
2128: 36 Ophiuchi A-III is colonised by the Humans using a warp-driven colony ship.
2129: 36 Ophiuchi B-I is colonised by the Humans using a warp-driven colony ship.
2130: Bonner Durchmusterung +2*3312 I is colonised by the Andorians using a warp-driven colony ship.
2132: Zeta Tucanae II is colonised by the Andorians using a warp-driven colony ship.
2135: Brisbane Observatory (Sandage & Vernon)-13 A-II is colonised by the Andorians using a warp-driven colony ship.
2139: Cordoba Durchmusterung -23*17699 I is colonised by the Andorians using a warp-driven colony ship.
2143: A prototype Earth vessel reaches Warp 2.5 (15.625c).
61 Virginis III is colonised by the Andorians using a warp-driven colony ship.
2144: A second prototype Earth vessel breaks Warp 3 (27c).
The UESPA Earth vessel USS Challenger enters the Epsilon Indii star system and discovers the Andorian civilization. Warning shots are exchanged between Andorian spacecraft before they hail one another. The name of the Terran ship makes an excellent first impression on the Andorians dueling culture and the two species have a productive first contact.
2147: Gamma Pavonis III is colonised by the Andorians using a warp-driven colony ship.
2150: Vega Colony (Vega IX) is colonised by the Humans using a warp-driven colony ship.
2152: Cordoba Durchmusterung -27*14659 II is colonised by the Andorians using a warp-driven colony ship.
2154: The UESPA Earth vessel USS Carrizal enters the 128 Trianguli star system and discovers the Rihannsu civilisation living on two co-orbiting planets in an Earth-Moon configuration. They are named Romulus and Remus, but no contact is made with the inhabitants who, through an old early warning satellite system, are aware of the Carrizal’s intrusion. A crash course of spacecraft building creates an armada of attack craft over the next year.
2155: The UESPA Earth vessel USS Balboa enters the 128 Trianguli system to make contact, and is destroyed instantly by the paranoid and fearful Rihannsu. The Rihannsu start venturing out from their star system and attacking Earth shipping.
2156: The Earth-Romulan War begins.
2158: Alpha Eridani II has been colonised for several years by this point. (By the Star Charts book, Alpha Eridani or Achernar is in the RSE).
2160: The Earth-Romulan War ends after the Battle of Cheron (Zeta Trianguli Australis), a crushing defeat for the Romulans. Establishment of the Romulan Neutral Zone, between existing Earth territory and a safe buffer zone of exploration from the 128 Trianguli system.
2161: Founding of the United Federation of Planets by Earth (Sol III), Vulcan (40 Eridani A-II), Centaurus (Alpha Centauri A-IV), Andor (Epsilon Indii III), and Tellar (61 Cygni III) as a 14 parsec (45.64 light-year) diameter sphere centered on Sol. All independent Terran, Vulcan, Centauri, Andorian, and Tellarite colonies are invited to join as well, as are several other space-faring races within the new Federation’s boundaries. Inception of the Star Fleet as the military and exploratory navy of the Federation.