First Contact Day is celebrated throughout the United Federation of Planets to commemorate the first official contact between humans and an extraterrestrial race which took place on April 5th, 2063. On that day, Zefram Cochrane successfully tested his warp drive engine and the resulting warp signature attracted the attention of a nearby Vulcan starship which immediately initiated contact with the slightly inebriated Cochrane.
Of course, we all know there is more to the story than what is contained in "official history." In fact, Cochrane was assisted by the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise-E who had traveled back in time to thwart an attempt by the Borg to change the history of mankind by circumventing the first successful warp flight of Cochrane's ship, the Phoenix.
To commemorate First Contact Day, we have gathered some of our features from throughout the site that relate to Cochrane's historic first warp flight and the villians who tried to stop it. This year we have added new movie and episode clips, as well as an editorial examining the significance of this seminal event in Star Trek lore.
