After human scientists discovered evidence of an ancient alien civilization on Altair 6, the planet grew to become a popular destination for tourists, merchants, and researchers.

In 2156, the Romulan navy invaded the system, destroyed the Starfleet picket, and landed troops. The Romulans used human slave labor to plunder the alien ruins across Altair and eventually located the Iconian artifact that Praetor D'Deridex needed to activate the Iconians' gateway network.

Altair was re-taken by Starfleet during Operation Dauntless, but no human survivors were found alive on the planet.