Superluminal navigation involves relativistic faster-than-light travel, enabling transit between star systems within hours or days. The vessel’s superluminal engine utilises powerful fields which warp space-time, significantly reducing the effective distance the vessel needs to travel between two points.

FTL Drive Mode

Standard impulse navigation techniques are not possible while in FTL drive mode as the vast distances involved mean that the slightest error in navigation would be catastrophically magnified.

Instead, FTL navigation is completely managed by computer. The destination system is entered into the helm and the necessary maneuvers to safely reach the destination are calculated, implemented, checked and corrected automatically during flight.

The estimated distance to the target system is displayed and updated on the helm.

Destination TOE Grid Location

The vessel's position on the impulse navigation (TOE) grid when it reaches the target star system will have been determined by computer based on prevailing conditions within the system, such as the current position and alignment of planets and other asotronomical objects.

Where possible the vessel will exit within the star system's estimated habitable zone.

Intra-Galactic Navigation

If the vessel exits FTL drive mode before reaching the target destination it will most likely be in intra-galactic space, which is anywhere outside the influence of a Navigable Astronomical Object (NAO, which is the focus of star system navigation).

Navigation systems will be able to determine the vessel's position in space, but without a NAO for reference an impulse navigation grid will be generated with an arbitrary reference point.

FTL Navigation

FTL navigation uses a galactic grid system (with the solar system as the reference point) to assist with the calculation of heading and range for travel from one star system to another.

This enables the estimation of travel time between systems.

The FTL navigation system also incorporates data from deep-space telemetry to estimate the location of astronomical objects or phenomena that might impact FTL flight and plots a course to avoid them.