Sub-light Drive Systems (WIP)

Jet Engines (Reaction Engines)
Pump Jet a marine system that creates a jet of water for propulsion. The mechanical arrangement may be a ducted propeller with nozzle, or a centrifugal pump and nozzle.

Turbo Fan a type of aircraft engine consisting of a ducted fan which is powered by a gas turbine.
Turbo Jet the oldest kind of general purpose jet engines.
Pulse Jet very simple form of internal combustion engine based jet engine where combustion occurs in pulses.
Ram Jet a form of jet engine using the engine's forward motion to compress incoming air, without a rotary compressor.

Rocket obtains thrust by the reaction of the rocket to the ejection of fast moving fluid exhaust from a rocket engine.


Ion Drive
An ion drive is a type of propulsion that uses an electric field to accelerate charged particles and eject them at high velocities (in some designs, the particles approach the speed of light). This type of propulsion is used by many pre-warp civilizations to propel probes and lightweight spacecraft once they are in open space. The thrust produced is quite gentle, often requiring from hours to weeks to reach full velocity.


Plasma Propulsion Engines
Impulse Drive a propulsion system used for sublight speeds. In Federation starships, the impulse drive is essentially an augmented fusion rocket, usually consisting of one or more fusion reactors, an accelerator-generator, a driver coil assembly and a vectored thrust nozzle to direct the plasma exhaust. The fusion reaction generates a highly energized plasma. This plasma, ("electro-plasma") can be employed for propulsion, or can be diverted through the EPS to the power transfer grid, via EPS conduits, so as to supply other systems. The accelerated plasma is passed through the driver coils, thereby generating a subspace field which improves the propulsive effect. An impulse drive is capable of propelling a ship to speeds equal to fifty percent the speed of light.

Hyper Impulse Drive an extension of the impulse drive technology. It presumably allowed for traveling at faster speeds or accelerating faster while remaining below the speed of light. A hyper impulse drive is capable of propelling a ship to speeds equal to seventy-five percent the speed of light.


Gravimetric Drive
A generator that uses energy fields to bend super strings, to produce artificial gravity fields that can be used to propel a ship through space. Also known as a Gravitic Propulsion System, or a Gravity Engine.


Repulsor Drive

Minovsky Lift System
Since it is made up of charged particles, the I-field is unable to penetrate metal, water, the Earth's surface, or other electrically conductive materials and can be shaped simply by trapping it in an electromagnetic field. Thus, at low altitudes it is possible to generate an I-field cushion between the underside of a vessel and the ground, yielding a gravity-countering buoyancy. This principle is used in the creation of the Minovsky lift system, which allowed a spaceship or heavy ground vehicle to fly/hover on a planet.

This system could not be miniaturized to fit on a mobile weapon until after 20100. During 2150, high-end models fielded have equipped an improved version of the Minovsky lift system called the Minovsky flight system. Capable of atmospheric flight as well as space flight.