In the early 2270's, Starfleet administered many of its operations from the impressive Orbital Office complex above Earth.

The space station orbiting Earth is part of Starfleet's San Francisco Fleet Yards facility. In 2271, Admiral James Kirk beamed to the orbital office complex to take a travel pod to newly refitted USS Enterprise NCC-1701 still in drydock.

During the 23rd century Starfleet used several orbital platforms for the production of new vessels and modifications of existing ships. The orbital office complex supported the administrative duties while the construction took place in drydock.

Designed with functionality and potential expansion in mind, the main visible features were four cylindrical, copper-colored storage tanks. Beneath these was an obversation area, followed by four asymmetrical support struts that formed corridors to a number of interlinking light-gray circular office and shuttle-docking units. At the very bottom of the station was a docking bay for larger vessels. The well lit and expansive rectangular entrance bay allowed easy entry to and launch from the structure.

The orbital office was only seen once, however the model was reused in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, flipped upside-down as Regula I laboratory. The model was used again in The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine with the cylinder structures removed, most notably as Starbase 375.