Transwarp beaming Transwarp beaming was a transwarp theory originally postulated by Starfleet officer Montgomery Scott , whereby it was possible to beam an object or person from one star system to another , or even to a starship traveling at high warp . History . In the alternate reality created by Nero ' s temporal incursion , had a debate with an instructor of his , who maintained that transwarp beaming was impossible . In an attempt to prove his instructor wrong , Scott tested his theory on Admiral Archer ' s prized beagle , although the experiment was a failure and the dog was lost . In 2258 , in the same alternate reality , while stationed on , Scott encountered Spock ( who had traveled back in time from the year 2387 ) and . There , Spock provided Scott with the equation for successfully achieving transwarp beaming , which , by the time Spock had traveled back in time , the Montgomery Scott of his timeline had already perfected . Upon viewing the equation , Scott noted that it had never occurred to him to think of " space as the thing that was moving . " With this formula , Scott was able to beam himself and Kirk from Delta Vega to the , which was traveling at high warp towards the Laurentian system . However , Scott was transported into a water pipe leading into a turbine , and would have been killed had Kirk not opened the release valve . Later , Scott was able to use this technique again , to beam Kirk and from the " Enterprise " , which was in orbit of Titan , to the " Narada " , which was orbiting Earth . ( ) Starfleet confiscated Scott ' s formula for transwarp beaming . In 2259 , John Harrison , a Section 31 agent gone rogue , used the formula and a portable transwarp beaming device to flee from his attack on Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco by beaming all the way to Qo ' noS , the capital of the Klingon Empire . Scott expressed great displeasure when he learned the formula had been abused by Harrison . ( ) Limitations . Transwarp beaming , like regular transporter use , was impossible while a high - energy pulse device , such as the plasma drill of the " Narada " , was active near the materialization location . ( ) Appendices . Background information . In the script of " Star Trek " , both spellings : trans - warp and transwarp were used for this type of beaming . Screenwriter of " Star Trek Into Darkness " , Roberto Orci suggested on Twitter that had a countermeasure against transwarp beaming , hence Harrison fled to Qo ' noS instead of commandeering the " Vengeance " directly . Apocrypha . According to the novelization of " Star Trek " , in the alternate reality , Scotty had been toying with the notion of transwarp beaming for years . Spock revealed that the only thing missing from the theory was the correct field equation for the continuous recrystallization of dilithium while transport was in progress . This allowed the steady usage of power during transport . It was the discovery made by Scott in the future of the prime reality . After seeing Spock ' s complete theory , Scotty realized he could not resolve the central string as it had never occurred to him to look at the event from the perspective of the one who was beamed . Spock however stated it in fact did occur to Scott when he added the adjunct equations related to dilithium . The fact that a transport pad was not present at the receiving end made beaming on target possible only with a 4 meter margin of error , as the destination coordinates were completely theoretical . In the novelization , Admiral Archer ' s beagle , after having traversed in subspace for over 6 months , was intercepted by the " Enterprise " while it was warping out of Earth orbit for the first mission under the command of Captain Kirk . In the comic book " The Truth About Tribbles , Part 1 " , set in 2259 , Scotty successfully experiments with extreme long - range transwarp beaming . He sends back to Earth from the Iota Geminorum system by bouncing the beam off a couple relays along the way . In " The Truth About Tribbles , Part 2 " , Scotty explains the intention was to allow Starfleet to beam living things between Earth and the Fleet stationed in the outer quadrant s . It was also to test if it was possible to retrieve Admiral Archer ' s beagle back from space . At the end of the story Scotty accidentally presses a button on the transporter console and the beagle materializes onto the transporter pad . According to the novelization of " Star Trek Into Darkness " , beaming to Qo ' noS for Khan was a more complicated plot . The small portable transwarp beaming device on the jumpship only had enough power to beam Khan to an automated cargo station on Earth ' s orbit . From there he accessed a heavy - load transporter to beam onto an unmanned vessel in orbit of Luna . Khan had equipped the ship with another unauthorized transwarp device wired into the empty ship ’ s engine . Utilizing the entire energy output of the engine for a single massive burst , he could have beamed anywhere in our galactic region . Transporting to Qo ' noS completely burned out the device , so no one was able to follow him using it . In the 2014 novel " The Missing " , transwarp beaming is known by the crew of Deep Space 9 .