Propulsion Propulsion is the means of creating force that leads to movement . A propulsion system had a source of power and some means of using that power to generate propulsive force . Slower - than - light propulsion . Some of the extremely rudimentary forms of propulsion included riding on horse s , pedal - driven vehicles like bicycle s , sailing ships that utilized the wind , steam - powered train s , and other various land , sea , and air vehicles powered by some form of internal combustion engine . ( ; ; ; ) For interplanetary spaceflight a variety of other technologies had been invented . Rocket s were a very basic way of achieving orbit and traveling from one planet to another within a star system . Solar sail s and ion drive s were also used for interplanetary travel . In addition to its use on submarine s and aircraft carrier s , basic nuclear power was also used as a power source on early Human interplanetary craft such as the ships in the late 1990s . The Elasian s still used nuclear propulsion units in the late 2260s . ( " production art " ; ; ; ; ) Type 02 fusion propulsion could only accelerate an interplanetary vessel to a speed of . 02 times the speed of light . ( , " production art " ) On impulse ship s , the engines utilized subspace driver coil s that allowed the ship to reach speeds much closer to the speed of light and made interplanetary travel more practical . ( ; ; ) Microfusion provided power for smaller thruster s , but these engine s were mostly used for short range maneuvering only . ( ) Faster - than - light propulsion . A means of faster - than - light speed propulsion was one of the most crucial components of a starship . Without it , species would take long periods of time to traverse the vast distances between star system s , making interstellar trade , commerce , and exploration impossible . Subspace - based propulsion . Warp drive was one of the most common forms of faster - than - light propulsion . Warp drive was based on the generation of a subspace field that warped the space around the vessel , allowing it to ride on the subspace distortion at the speed of light and many times faster . These speeds were measured in warp factor s . ( ) Warp drive was not the only subspace - based means of travel . Another method included utilizing naturally formed subspace corridor s for interstellar transit . With these natural phenomena only impulse drive was needed to utilize them . ( ; ) It was also possible to artificially generate a subspace vortex with a phase deflector pulse , through which a starship could cross vast distances . ( ) Other technologies were tested in the late 24th century , such as generating subspace displacement in the form of a soliton wave , along which a starship could ride . ( ) The version of the transwarp drive designed by the utilized higher warp frequencies than the standard warp drive could generate to achieve infinite velocity . ( ) Some forms of transporter technology that utilized subspace to transmit the subject in the form of a matter stream could be used as a form of instantaneous faster - than - light transit , such as the subspace transporter and transwarp beaming . ( ; ) In a larger scale , these types of transporters could even transport entire starships hundreds of light years away , such as the Kalandan molecular transporter system . ( ) Tachyon - based propulsion . Tachyon s are subatomic particle that exist naturally at faster - than - light velocities . Ancient Bajoran lightship s used their solar sail s to catch naturally occurring tachyon eddies to travel at superluminal speeds . ( ) Tachyons could also be produced artificially . The Borg transwarp conduit method of propulsion was based on this technology . Tachyon burst s were emitted on a high - energy band into space at a resonant transwarp frequency level . The conduit would then begin to form in front of the ship allowing it to ride along the matter stream at transwarp velocities . ( ) Some methods of time travel , like the chrono deflector , produced large amounts of tachyokinetic energy to generate a tachyon pulse to produce a temporal rift . While the main purpose of these rifts was to move starships through time , a rift like this could also take the ship anywhere in the galaxy . ( ) Graviton - based propulsion . Graviton s are the subatomic particles that transmit the force of gravity . Some lifeforms , such as the dikironium cloud creature , were known to use gravitational fields for faster - than - light propulsion . ( ) A space catapult was also an application of gravity for transit . A massive graviton surge was locked on to a starship through an array of projectors and sent the ship nearly instantaneously to its destination hundreds or even thousands of light years away through null space . ( ) A highly - charged graviton field can also create a severe bias in the subspace continuum . Entering such a graviton field could propel a starship half way across the galaxy . ( ) Graviton beam s could be used as a method of propulsion . A graviton beam in the form of a tractor beam could be used to drag a vessel into faster - than - light speeds by another ship . A slower ship could also hold onto a faster ship with a tractor beam to achieve greater speed . ( ) A graviton beam could also be utilized as a repulsor beam , to repel a starship from the source of the beam . A sufficiently strong repulsor beam could instantaneously push starships through significant interstellar distances , such as those used by the Aldean s . ( ) Spacetime manipulation . The spacetime continuum itself can be distorted in various ways as a means of propulsion . One method was the coaxial induction drive , also known as the coaxial warp drive , that had the capability of folding the fabric of space , allowing a ship to cross vast distances instantaneously . It functioned by drawing in subatomic particles and reconfiguring their internal geometries . ( ) Folded - space transporter s could achieve a similar effect . The Sikarian spatial trajector utilized a neutrino envelope and an antineutrino catalyst to fold space . To move starships , the power system needed to be compatible and the field needed to be amplified by the quartz mantle of the Sikarian homeworld . ( ) In the quantum slipstream drive , a starship projected and focused a quantum field with its navigational deflector . Using the field , the ship penetrated the quantum barrier and entered a slipstream . At slipstream velocities a ship could travel across the galaxy in a matter of months . ( ) Wormhole s were the most common natural phenomena that distorted space to link distant parts together as a shortcut . Natural wormhole - like phenomenon , such as a spatial vortex , an interspatial flexure , and the Möbius Inversion in the Delta Quadrant have been used as forms of transit by starships to cross vast distances . ( ) Although wormhole - like phenomenon occur in nature , they could also be artificially created for travel and communication purposes . While the Federation had some success in experimenting with the creation of both , only the extra - dimensional lifeforms known as the Prophet s were known to possess the ability to form a completely stable wormhole using verteron s . ( ; ) On a smaller scale , spatial distortion fields could be used to transport individuals light years away , such as with the Nyrian translocator technology . On a larger scale , spatial rift s could be used as shortcuts in space by starships . Rifts such as spatial flexure s could be artificially produced by a navigational deflector , though only the were known to understand the process . ( ) In the 31st century , s no longer utilized any forms of traditional propulsion . They were powered by a temporal displacement drive that utilized temporal radiation . This was an advanced propulsion technology that moved the spacecraft through space and time . ( )