FTL Technology

Faster-than-light travel refers to a range of technologies and, in some cases, natural phenomena that enable a starship to exceed the speed of light by surpassing the warp threshold, achieving velocities otherwise considered unattainable. These technologies rely on access to subspace, as there are otherwise no known natural methods to move faster than the speed of light.

Warp Drive

Main article Warp Drive

The standard method of faster-than-light travel for nearly all known powers in the Milky Way, warp drive is a method of bending subspace to move objects faster than would be possible under relativistic physics. The power demands required to take a ship to warp are extremely large, and so the majority of spacefaring races use controlled anti-matter/matter reactions to generate sufficient energy, but other methods including forced singularity cores and exotic particle reactors are also used.

Quantum Slipstream Drive

Main article Quantum Slipstream Drive

Quantum Slipstream Drive (QSD) works by having a starship's main deflector generate a quantum field to penetrate the quantum barrier underpinning space-time, allowing for maintained speeds far in excess of modern warp drives. QSD does not require antimatter to function, though the system does require high energy outputs to initiate and operate, for which modern matter/antimatter reactors are especially apt. A major component of Federation QSDs is benamite crystals, used as a focusing component for the quantum field. These rare crystals are the current primary limitation on the use and deployment of Quantum Slipstream Drives in the modern Starfleet, restricting the system to a handful of closely guarded ships at most currently. The technology was first encountered by USS Voyager in the Delta Quadrant, originally developed by a species the Borg designated as Species 116.

Underspace

Main article Underspace

The Underspace is a network of subspace corridors extending through large reaches of the Delta Quadrant, allowing swift travel across vast distances. Its use is largely controlled by the Turei Alliance, who have granted Starfleet limited access.

The first known users of the Underspace were the Vaadwaur prior to the 15th century. With a reach as far as Talaxian territory, they used the Underspace for trade, exploration, raiding, and expansion, but kept no written records of the phenomenon. When the Vaadwaur were defeated by the Turei and their allies, this understanding and knowledge were lost.