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Inspired by What are the various duty stations on the Enterprise NCC-1701's bridge?, do the five stations behind Tactical on TNG's Enterprise have specific purpose, or are they all multi-use? My hunch is that they are multi-use, since LCARS is supposed to be configurable. (also might have a vague memory of hearing that somewhere) On the other hand, Geordi always worked on the far right console, and people did research and sensor analysis on one near the left.

Bridge

If they each serve a specific purpose, what are they? (with sources please!)

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    One of them is definitely for the isopalavial interface which controls the main firomantal drive unit :p
    – Jon Clements
    Feb 6, 2018 at 22:38
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    Some of the consoles are dedicated. As you note, Geordi sometimes worked on the right - this was a dedicated engineering console. The one near the left was a science-specific console. Although they can be switched, they're usually dedicated so people can use them more quickly during a crisis.
    – Tim
    Feb 6, 2018 at 22:38

2 Answers 2

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Predominately the normal configuration (from left to right) is:

  • Science I
  • Science II
  • Environment
  • Mission Ops
  • Engineering

This is from the 360 Enterprise 1701-D view 360cities

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Amusingly, in nearly every image I can find Mission Ops and Science II both are displaying the same center information (with the right hand menu being a slightly different color).

However, certain books and set pieces from exhibitions, seem to swap the position of Mission Ops and Environment.

enter image description here

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  • It's worth noting that in Chain of Command Part 1, Captain Jellico orders the Science I & II stations to be switched to Damage Control and Weapon Status, so they can definitely be changed.
    – aleppke
    Oct 7, 2021 at 20:02
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I wouldn't necessarily consider this canon, especially being an extremely simplified version, but the SNES game Star Trek: Future's Past described the following three consoles, from left to right.

SENSORS - The sensors station provided an overview of nearby planets or space stations. Most importantly, it would indicate whether the planet being orbited had a breathable atmosphere. This coincides with what was often shown in the TV show, although sensors were more commonly a CONN function.

COMPUTERS - This console contained a menu-based library of in-universe lore, categorized into areas of knowledge: "USS Enterprise", "Sciences", "Starfleet", "Cultures", and "Starbases". I spent a lot of time just reading the trivia on various topics here. The TV show would also show people sitting at these middle stations to research something.

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ENGINEERING - The far-right position of the Engineering station matches the one in the other answer. This is where resources or energy could be allocated to various ship subsystems such as life support and shields.

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