SubSpace Engines

right|300px
SubSpace Engines were the means of propulsion for a ship that was traveling in real-time space and worked in conjunction with ShockPoint Drives to allow reliable movement in both vacuum and warp fields. They operate on an unknown principle that combines semi-traditional Booster Engines with an unknown energy repulsion system, evidenced by numerous mentioning of fuels and several spectrum of light emitting from the engines. Whatever the case the systems are volatile and explode, often violently after the vessel takes damage as was the case of the USG Kellion and the USM Valor[2]. SubSpace Engines seem to get larger proportionately to the size of the ship, the Kellion used only a few port side boosters, The Valor had a large engine room and several large thrusters, and the USG Ishimura required an immense engine room and utilized several gargantuan engine boosters. At least on the Valor, the propulsion systems gave off deadly radiation or were somehow shielded. Both Jacob Temple and Isaac Clarke attempted to fix the Ishimura's engine systems, though only Isaac succeeded.
SubSpace Engines could generate massive amounts of thrust and lift, The Executive Shuttle was able to take off from Aegis VII and obtain escape velocity from the planet in seconds; The Ishimura's Nav Rockets, when they functioned, were able to keep high orbit while holding continent sized chunks during planet cracks. On large ships, these engines needed near constant attention and complete failure of the systems (like when Kyne purposely deactivated the Ishimura's engines) could be fatal. As Isaac's ship can be seen drifting dead through space in a trailer, it can be assumed that his engines had failed and was stranded until found.