Warp Drive a Reality?

Ring shaped engine around a football-shaped vessel. Harold White/NASA

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you the latest scientific news in humanity's never-ending search for a means of faster-than-light travel. It seems we may be closer than we previously thought. The science has long been theoretically possible but demanded prohibitive amounts of energy. Like all the energy contained in the mass of Jupiter, for instance. Last week, scientists announced that they believe it may not require quite as much energy.

Warp Core

There are still some sticking points. First, it's still going to require more energy than we know how to efficiently produce. Some speculate that dark matter may be harnessed but we still don't really know what dark matter is. Secondly, in order to bend space as a means to travel from point A to point B, some kind of bubble needs to be maintained around the vehicle to keep from bending the vehicle itself. We really have no idea how to do that yet.

Federation dilithium mining facility

In Star Trek lore, the fuel issue was explained with a fictional mineral called dilithium. Dilithium crystals were extremely rare, only found on a few planets, but served as a valuable resource in regulating the matter/antimatter reaction that fueled the warp core of a typical Federation and non-Federation vessel. Warp fields serve as the bubble and the wave on which the vessel surfs.

Zephram Cochrane from Star Trek: First Contact

Zephram Cochrane was the first human to invent the warp drive and travel faster than light. This, according to Star Trek history took place on April 5th, 2063 (about 51 years from now). Hours after his first journey on his experimental vessel, the Phoenix, Cochrane and others living in Bozeman, Montana at the time had first contact with a crew of Vulcans who detected his warp signature.

The technology continues to play an important role in interplanetary relations long after humans begin exploring and the Federation is founded. The Prime Directive prohibits any direct contact or covert interference with pre-warp civilizations. It is also a basic requirement to be a member of the Federation. So, even if a civilization has already made contact with other planets, they would need to first develop to a stage of technological advancement that allows for interplanetary travel, trade and defense before contributing to and therefore reaping the benefits of the Federation.

2063 may be optimistic, according to scientists' projections, so we won't likely see warp technology invented in our lifetime. But one thing about the Star Trek story may prove prescient. It only takes a single moment of discovery to reshape human events and irrevocably change the course of history.