ENGINEERING LESSON 1: Warp Propulsion Warp Propulsion Systems If one were to consider any of the ship's major components as its heart, the warp propulsion system would have to be the logical choice. The WPS is the single most complex and energetic element of any starship. The WPS consists of 3 major assemblies: the matter/antimatter reaction assembly, power transfer conduits, and warp engine nacelles. Matter/Antimatter Reaction Assembly The matter/antimatter reaction assembly (M/ARA) is the heart of the WPS. The M/ARA is variously called the warp reactor, warp engine core, or main engine core. The M/ARA consists of 4 subsystems: reactant injectors, magnetic constriction segments, matter/antimatter reaction chamber, and power transfer conduits. The reactant injectors prepare and feed streams of matter and antimatter into the core.  The matter reactant injector (MRI) lies at the top of the warp core, while the antimatter reactant injector (ARI) lies at the opposite end of the core. The antimatter reactant injector is distinctly different from that of the MRI, owing to the hazardous nature of the antimatter fuel.   Every step in manipulating and injecting antihydrogen must be undertaken with magnetic fields to isolate the fuel from the spacecraft structure. The upper and lower magnetic constriction segments (MCS) constitute the central mass of the core. These components work to structurally support the matter/antimatter reaction chamber, provide a pressure vessel to maintain the proper core operating environment, and align the incoming matter and antimatter streams for combining within the M/A reaction chamber. The matter/antimatter reaction chamber (M/ARC) consists of two matched bell-shaped cavities which contain and redirect the primary reaction. The equatorial band of the chamber contains the housing for the dilithium crystal articulation frame (DCAF). The key element in the efficient use of M/A reactions is the dilithium crystal. This is the ONLY material known to Federation science to be nonreactive with antimatter. Within this chamber, the matter and antimatter are tuned into an energetic plasma stream. This stream is brought to the warp field nacelles by the power transfer conduits. Warp Field Nacelles This is where the actual propulsion work is done. The energy field necessary to propel the starship is created by the warp field coils within the nacelles. The coils generate an intense, multilayered field that surrounds the starship, and it is the manipulation of the shape of this field that produces the propulsive effect through and beyond the speed of light. Warp propulsion is dependent upon 3 factors: (1) The field formation is controllable in a fore-to-aft direction. (2) A pair of nacelles is employed to create two balanced, interacting fields for vehicle maneuvers. (3) The shape of the starship hull facilitates slippage into warp and imparts a geometric correction vector. Catastrophic Emergency Procedures Under certain stress conditions, the WPS may sustain various degrees of damage, usually from external sources, and much of this may be repaired to bring the systems back to flight status. Complete, irrepairable, and rapid failure of one or more WPS components, however, constitutes a catastrophic failure. Fuel and power supplies are valved off. In some cases, damaged hardware is jettisoned, although security considerations will require the retention of the equipment whenever possible. Core ejection will occur when pressure vessel damage is severe enough to breach the safety forcefield. The survival of the crew and the remainder of the starship is deemed in most cases to take priority over continued vessel operations. BACK LESSON 2: Impulse Propulsion Impulse Propulsion Systems The principal sublight propulsion of the ship and certain auxiliary power generating operations are handled by the impulse propulsion systems (IPS). The total IPS consists of two sets of fusion-powered engines: the main impulse engine, and the Saucer Module impulse engines. During normal docked operations the main impulse engine is the active device, providing the necessary thrust for interplanetary and sublight interstellar flight. High impulse operations, specifically velocities above 0.75c, may require added power from the (Saucer) Module engines. IPS Fuel Supply The fuel supplies for the IPS are contained within the primary deuterium tank (PDT) in the Engineering section and a set of 32 auxiliary cryo tanks in the (Saucer) Module.   While the PDT, which also feeds the WPS, is normally loaded with slush deuterium at a temperature of 13.8K, the cryo reactants stored within the (Saucer) Module tanks are in liquid form. The internal volume of each auxiliary tank is 113 cubic meters and each is capable of storing a total of 9.3 metric tonnes of liquid deuterium. Antimatter can be injected in minute amounts into the Impulse engines for short periods of overthrust or increased power generation. Impulse Engine Configuration The main impulse engine (MIE) thrusts along the centerline of the docked spacecraft. Four individual impulse engines are grouped together to form the MIE, and two groups of two engines form the (Saucer) Module impulse engines. Each impulse engine consists of four basic components: impulse reaction chamber (IRC, three per impulse engine), accelerator/generator (A/G), driver coil assembly (DCA), and vectored exhaust director (VED). The IRC is an armored sphere 6 meters in diameter, designed to contain the energy released in a conventional proton-proton fusion reaction. Slush deuterium from the main cryo tank, where the heat energy is removed, bringing the deuterium down to a frozen state as it is formed into pellets. High-energy plasma  created during engine operation is exhausted through a central opening in the sphere to the accelerator/generator. During propulsion operations, the accelerator is active, raising the velocity of the plasma and passing it on to the third stage, the space-time driver coils. The third stage of the engine is the driver coil assembly (DCA).  The DCA is 6.5 meters long and 5.8 meters in diameter and consists of a series of six split toroids. Energy from the accelerated plasma, when driven through the toroids, creates the necessary combined field effect that (1) reduces the apparent mass of the spacecraft at its inner surface, and (2) facilitates the slippage of the continuum past the spacecraft at its outer surface. The final stage is the vectored exhaust director (VED). The VED consists of a series of moveable vanes and channels designed to expel exhaust in a controlled manner. Engineering Operations and Safety All parts of the IPS are rigorously monitored for wear and tear, and are replaced after a certain number of flight hours. The internal IRC components are replaced after 10,000 hours of use. The structural IRC sphere is replaced after 8,500 flight hours. The A/G and DCA are replaced after 6,250 hours. The IPS requires approximately 1.6 times as many man-hours to maintain as the WPS, primarily due to the nature of the energy release in the fusion process.  The most common internal causes for low-level emergency shutdown in Starfleet experience include fuel flow constriction, out-of-phase initiator firings, exhaust vane misalignment, and plasma turbulence within the accelerator stage. Some external causes for shutdown include asteroidal material impacts, survivable combat phaser fire, stellar thermal energy effects, and crossing warp field interaction from other spacecraft. Emergency shutdown usually involves a gradual valving off of the deuterium fuel flow and safing of the fusion initiator power regulators. Just like the WPS, the IPS may be jettisoned out of the ship in the event of major irreparable damage. BACK