Spore drive The displacement - activated spore hub drive , commonly shortened to spore drive or s - drive , was an organic propulsion system the Federation experimented with during the 2240s and 2250s . The technology used mycelium spore s harvested from " Prototaxites stellaviatori " to jump or leap across the mycelial network . During such jumps , the ships were not in normal space but in the mycelial plane . ( ) Origins and concept . The spore drive was based on the ideas of two colleagues and friends , Paul Stamets and Straal , who had been working on the concept since 2244 . They were eager to get to the " veins and muscles " that held the galaxy together . Their research was based on the insight that at a quantum level , there was no difference between biology or physics , and specifically that spore s were not only the progenitors of panspermia , but also the building blocks of energy across the universe . This allowed Stamets and Straal to approach physics " as " biology . As such , the equations involved were reminiscent of both quantum astrophysics and biochemistry . ( ) As a Starfleet program . Initially confined to a lab , following the outbreak of war with the Klingons , Starfleet co - opted the research for military applications , much to the displeasure of Stamets . The two scientist s were split up and given two different teams on different vessels – the and the – so they could work twice as fast . At least the " Discovery " also contained a large Cultivation bay . Six months after the start of the war both ships were conducting " black alert " maneuvers , in which they made jumps across the mycelial network . These jumps were associated with the ship ' s walls becoming damp . Containment of the spores was important to prevent accidents . Key to the research was to increase the interval , which was expressed in Speirein , higher Speireins being associated with large displacement . Jumping was probabilistic , meaning that the longer the jump , the more possible outcomes there were . The two ships lacked the processing power to make the requisite number of calculations , and so long jumps resulted in navigational instability . Some six months after the start of the war , the " Discovery " had reached Speirein 12 and leaps measured in the hundreds of kilometer s . This was considered a poor result by " Discovery " captain . ( ) However , its more advanced sister ship made a breakthrough and achieved Speirein 240 . The fact that they did not grow their own spores somehow resulted in the acquisition of " Ripper " , an alien creature resembling a Tardigrade that lived in some kind of symbiosis with the spores and was capable of communicating with them , as well as utilizing the mycelial network . These abilities resulting in its function as a sort of " navigator " for the " Glenn " . Emboldened by the breakthrough , Straal reported that he was going to attempt Speirein 900 , even though Stamets was concerned about the feasibility and safety of such a massive displacement . ( ) The " Glenn " managed to travel back and forth into the Beta Quadrant , a ninety light year jump , in 1 . 3 second s . However , soon after , the crew of the " Glenn " hit a Hawking radiation firewall while exiting the mycelial plane , causing the death of its crew . ( ) The " Glenn " was later scuttled , though Ripper was beamed to " Discovery " and secured within that ship ' s own spore drive assembly . ( ) A demonstration of what was possible with the technology at this point in the war included putting someone in a test chamber with spores , and allowing them to see where the spores had been and were going to . The subject quickly cycled through a number of planetary destinations . ( ) After the " Discovery " s first successful jump using the tardigrade , Stamets transmitted the drive schematics to Starfleet . Production of the drive was begun at a classified Starfleet facility in Jefferson , Iowa on Earth . All Federation ships , starbases , and colonies were placed on alert to search for more tardigrades . ( ) It was possible to use the spore drive even whilst a ship was travelling at warp speed . The " Discovery " used this to return to the planet Pahvo , going from warp five to a complete stop in the process . ( ) As a power source . In the mirror universe , was able to use this drive to create a core that powered the Terran Empire ' s flagship , the . However , Stamets ' work misused the Mycelial network and gave it a disease that would destroy the network as well as both the mirror and prime universe . ( ) Technical details . Central to the drive was the spore chamber , in which mycelium spores were injected . One possible density in the chamber was 68 % . Another factor in spore drive was spore germination rate . ( ) A specific spore drive deactivation sequence was needed . Failing to follow the sequence could cause the induction coil to become saturated . ( ) Background information . The spore drive was first identified as such on a monitor near the end of ; Lorca giving its full name in . Prior to the latter episode , referred to it as the " organic - propulsion system " . The technology was conceived during Bryan Fuller ' s time on the show , based on his interest in the work of Paul Stamets , the real - life mycologist Trek ' s Stamets was named after . ( ) While " Discovery " has not yet revealed the fate of the technology , neither spore drive nor the unique set of terminology associated with it appeared in series set later . Both the terms " leap " and " jump " , as well as " spore jump " , were used in relation to the travel method . Some real - world scientists have criticized the storyline and technology . Some of the drive ' s properties ; namely , its high speed , dependence on a preexisting network and the need for an organic pilot , make it similar to the slipstream drive from " " , a TV series based on Gene Roddenberry ' s ideas for " Star Trek " .