Propulsion Systems:
Manoeuvring thrusters- Low-velocity propulsion system used by spacecraft. The thrusters are reaction-control jets in docking manoeuvres and similar situations for precision positional and attitude control.
Impulse drive: Propulsion system used aboard spacecraft for travel at sub-warp speeds, employing traditional Newtonian action-reaction thrust physics. Full impulse speed is about one-quarter light speed, sufficient for interplanetary travel. Aboard Federation starships, fusion reactors power the engines using deuterium fuel to create helium plasma. Overload of an impulse engine on the damaged U.S.S Constellation, a Constitution-class starship, was once rated at 97.835 megatons.
Warp Drive : The main propulsion system for most starships. It is capable of faster-than-light travel. The core of the warp drive uses dilithium crystals to control the annihilation of matter and antimatter. This controlled explosion is what generates the tremendous power required to warp space and travel faster than light. Warp drive was invented in 2061 by noted scientist Zefram Cochrane of Alpha Centauri.
For More information read Warp Drive
Antimatter Converter Assembly: Part of the warp drive system of Federation starships, including the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 and other Constitution class vessels.
Matter/Antimatter Reaction Chamber: The actual intermix chamber at the heart of a warp propulsion system, as designed in Federation vessels, where matter and antimatter are safely allowed to react in the most efficient manner. The residual energy, regulated by a dilithium matrix and a series of warp field coils, then creates a sub-space field about the vessel for faster-than-light travel. The use of antimatter requires than a series of safety interlocks and magnetic fields protect the entire warp core.
Bussard Collectors: Component of the warp drive nacelles of Federation starships, name for a 20th century Terran physicist who first theorised their operation. Located at the front of the nacelle, the collectors generate large electromagnetic fields that attract the hydrogen gas found in interstellar space, which is then used, for fuel by the vessel's fusion reactors. In 2365, the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D discharged hydrogen back through the collectors into space. The discharge created a colourful but harmless display that frightened the Pakleds into releasing Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge from captivity aboard the Pakled ship Mondor.
