Editing Technology in Star Trek (section)

===Fictional history===

The episode "[[Metamorphosis (Star Trek)|Metamorphosis]]", from ''The Original Series'', establishes a backstory for the invention of [[warp drive]] on Earth, in which [[Zefram Cochrane]] discovered the "space warp". Cochrane is repeatedly referred to afterwards, but the exact details of the first warp trials were not shown until the second ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' movie, ''[[Star Trek: First Contact]]''. The movie depicts Cochrane as having first operated a warp drive on Earth in 2063. This successful first trial led directly to first contact with the [[Vulcan (Star Trek)|Vulcans]].

It was also established that many other civilizations had warp drive before humans; ''First Contact'' co-writer [[Ronald D. Moore]] suggested Cochrane's drive was in some way superior to forms which existed beforehand, and was gradually adopted by the galaxy at large.<ref name="ron063">{{cite web |last=Moore |first=Ronald D. |title=Memory Alpha:AOL chats/Ronald D. Moore/ron063.txt |work=Memory Alpha |date=7 October 1997 |url=http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Memory_Alpha:AOL_chats/Ronald_D._Moore/ron063.txt |access-date=March 3, 2022 |archive-date=April 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110418092529/http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Memory_Alpha:AOL_chats/Ronald_D._Moore/ron063.txt |url-status=live }}</ref>

The following table shows the gradual evolution of the warp drive and the warp speeds of humanity and later the United Federation of Planets. For better comparison, the warp factors of the TNG scale, based on the values given in the book ''Star Trek Encyclopedia'', have been converted to cubic warp factors from TOS.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Era<br />(Starship) !! Design speed<br />(equivalent to the aircraft V<sub>NE</sub> [[V speeds|V-speed]])<ref>Typically, this speed can be maintained for up to 12 hours before damage to the drive or the starship structural integrity occurs.</ref>!! Normal cruising speed<br />(equivalent to the aircraft V<sub>BE</sub> or V<sub>BR</sub> [[V speeds|V-speed]])<ref>Usual flight speeds with optimized fuel consumption and mechanical wear.</ref>!! Maximum cruising speed<br />(equivalent to the aircraft V<sub>NO</sub> [[V speeds|V-speed]])<ref>Maximum speed that can be sustained unlimited amount of time without damaging the engine or the structural integrity of the starship. However, the fuel consumption is disproportionately higher than usual and limited the time of using this speed.</ref>!! Speed records<ref>Maximum speed that the drive can achieve under its own power in emergency situations without external forces. This usually requires modifications to the drive and other components and causes damage to engine and structural integrity of the starship.</ref>
|-
| 2063<br />(Starship ''Phoenix'') || Warp 1 || experimental spacecraft with flight time limitation of the engine || spacecraft propulsion with flight time limitation of the engine || 
|-
| 2140<br />(NX-Alpha) || Warp 2 || experimental spacecraft with flight time limitation of the engine || experimental spacecraft with flight time limitation of the engine  || Warp 2.2 (ENT episode ''First Flight'')
|-
| 2143<br />(NX-Beta) || Warp 2.5 || experimental spacecraft with flight time limitation of the engine || experimental spacecraft with flight time limitation of the engine  || 
|-
| 2145<br />(NX-Delta) || Warp 3 || experimental spacecraft with flight time limitation of the engine || experimental spacecraft with flight time limitation of the engine  || 
|-
| 2145<br />(Starship ''Franklin'') || Warp 4 || Warp 3.5 || Warp 4 ||
|-
| 2151<br />(Starship ''Enterprise'' NX-01) || Warp 5.2 || Warp 4.5 || Warp 5 || Warp 6.9 (ENT episode ''E²'')
|-
| 2161<br />(USS ''Essex'' NCC-173) || Warp 7 || Warp 5 || Warp 6
|-
| 2245<br />(USS ''Enterprise'' NCC-1701) || Warp 8<ref name="auto1">Star Trek Starship Spotter, Page 9</ref> || Warp 5 || Warp 6<ref name="auto1"/> || Warp 9.5 (TOS episode ''Is There In Truth No Beauty?'')<br />Warp 10 (TOS episode ''Let That Be Your Last Battlefield'')<br />Warp 11 (TOS episode ''By Any Other Name'' and ''The Changeling'')<br />Warp 14.1 (TOS Episode ''That Which Survives'')
|-
| 2285<br />(USS ''Enterprise'' NCC-1701-A) || Warp 12<ref name="auto2">Star Trek Starship Spotter, Page 17</ref> || Warp 6 || Warp 8<ref name="auto2"/> || 
|-
| 2293<br />(USS ''Enterprise'' NCC-1701-B) || Warp 12 (9.2 TNG<ref name="auto4">Star Trek Fact Files</ref>) || Warp 7 (6 TNG) || Warp 10 (8 TNG) ||
|-
| 2332<br />(USS ''Enterprise'' NCC-1701-C) || Warp 12 (9.3 TNG<ref name="auto4"/>) || Warp 7 (6 TNG) || Warp 11 (8.6 TNG<ref name="auto4"/>) ||
|-
| 2363<br />(USS ''Enterprise'' NCC-1701-D) || Warp 12.5 (9.6 TNG<ref name="auto3">Star Trek Starship Spotter, Page 25, 29</ref>)<br />Warp 14.5 (Upgrade to 9.9 TNG<ref>Star Trek Deep Space Nine Technical Manual, Page</ref>) || Warp 7 (6 TNG<ref name="auto3"/>) || Warp 12 (9.2 TNG<ref>Star Trek Technical Manual, Page</ref>) || Warp 14 (9.8 TNG) (TNG episode ''Encounter at Farpoint'')
|-
| 2371<br />(USS ''Enterprise'' NCC-1710-E<br />USS ''Voyager'' NCC-74656<br />USS ''Defiant'' NX-74205) || Warp 17 (USS ''Enterprise'' 9.95 TNG<ref name="auto4"/>)<br />Warp 18.5 (USS ''Voyager'' 9.975 TNG<ref>Star Trek Starship Spotter, Page 57</ref><br />Warp 19 (USS ''Defiant'' 9.982 TNG<ref>Star Trek Starship Spotter, Page 45</ref>) || Warp 10 (8 TNG) || Warp 12.5 (USS ''Defiant'' 9.5 TNG<ref name="auto4"/>)<br />Warp 13 (USS ''Enterprise'' 9.7 TNG<ref>Star Trek Starship Spotter, Page 53</ref>)<br />Warp 13.5 (USS ''Voyager'' 9.75 TNG<ref name="auto4"/>) || Warp 20 (9.99 TNG) (VOY episode ''Threshold'')
|-
| 2374<br />(USS ''Prometheus'' NX-74913) || Warp 20 (9.99 TNG<ref name="auto">Star Trek Starship Spotter, Page 69</ref>) || Warp 11.5 (9 TNG<ref name="auto"/>) || Warp 14.5 (9.9 TNG<ref name="auto4"/>) ||
|}