Jump Drive

The Jump Drive is a technology that opens a transition to jumpspace, which allows for Faster-than-light (FTL) travel, making space travel, exploration, and colonization vastly quicker and more efficient than pre-FTL NAFAL starship engines.

• It is a type of Interstellar Drive.
• It is sometimes known as the J-Drive or Star Drive.
• In engineering terminology, an engine or power plant produces energy, and a drive creates propulsion. In common language, the terms are used interchangeably.
• It is a kind of Ship Equipment.

Library Data Referral Tree

Please refer to the following AAB Library Data for more information:
Starship:

• Speed of Travel
  • Astronomical Unit (AU)
  • FTL
  • Light Speed (c)
  • Light-week (lw)
  • Light-year (ly)
  • NAFAL (STL)
  • Parsec (pc)

• Spacecraft Drives (Interplanetary Drives or Impulse Drives)
  • G-Drive (Gravity Drive)
  • M-Drive (Maneuver Drive or Thruster Plate)
  • N-Drive (NAFAL Drive)
  • Reaction Rocket
    • HEPlaR Drive (High Efficiency Plasma Recombustion)
    • O-Drive (Orion Drive)
    • R-Drive (Rocket Drive)
  • T-Drive (Reactionless Thruster or Dean Drive)
  • Z-Drive (Lifter)

• Starship Drives (Interstellar Drives)
  • N-Drive (NAFAL Drive)
  • J-Drive (Jump Drive)
  • Alternative FTL Drives

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Jump Space Drives:

• Jump Drive Key Resources
  • Lanthanum
  • Zuchai Crystal
• Jump Drive Lore
  • Jump Bridge
  • Jump Damper
  • Jump Dimming
  • Jump Drive History
  • Jump Flash
  • Jump Projector
  • Jump Shadow
  • Jump Space
  • Microjump
  • Misjump
  • Time In Jump

Description (Specifications)

Jump technology enables a ship to transition into Jump Space and emerge some great distance away within a reasonable time [...effectively multiples of 170 times the speed of light over 168 hours (+/- 10%)]. Jump drive, and its many variations, makes interstellar flight practical. Those who do not discover the jump drive are condemned to snail-paced NAFAL movement between the stars.

Ships in jump are isolated, and can not detect or communicate anything; they are totally isolated in a small bubble of jumpspace until they reemerge into our universe again. Even if two ships side by side (far enough apart to avoid field interference) jump at the same instant, they are totally alone. Cases of field overlap (interference) have been known to result in direction error, range error, system damage, or ship destruction, and is advised against.

A standard Imperial jump drive consists of four components:

1. A high-yield fusion power plant
2. An energy sink of zuchai crystals
3. A jump governor
4. A lanthanum-doped hull grid

Jump Drive Specifications

Jump Drive Specifications (Starship Propulsion)
Category	Specifications	Remarks
Name	Jump Drive	Only the six Major Races are believed to have independently developed FTL propulsion. Jump travel is not well understood. Most believe it to be a gravitic effect.
Drive Type	Jump Space Traverse	Jump Space, also known as (J-Space or Tau (τ)-Space), is not well understood. Starships enter this other dimension where Light Speed can be exceeded or is otherwise undefined relative to normal space (N-space). Some theoretical physicists prefer to call it Alternate Space or Other Space.
Velocity	Multiples of Light Speed 170.0c (±20.0c jump variance)	One parsec (3.27 light-years or one Astrographic Hex) per week per drive rating. Effectively measured in multiples of 170 times the speed of light
Duration	Determinate (fixed) 168 hours (+/- 10%)	Starships remain in jump space for roughly a week no matter the distance traversed by the jump. Starships can coordinate jump travel with exact timing. While jumps can be coordinated, ships cannot travel together. All starships in J-space appear alone and isolated.
Hazards	Gravity wells Misjumps Sophont-made obstructions	Misjumps can vary greatly in their effects. Some misjumps seem to involve chronotaxistic (time dilation) effects. Many misjumps involve unintended travel distances out of all proportion within J-6 limitations.
Physical Constraints	Minkowski (Special relativity)	Four-dimensional travel (3 of space, 1 of time) known as Space-time. Not purely Euclidean in nature.
Geometry	Hyperbolic (Lobachevsky)	J-Space does not seem to be constrained by conventional space-time limitations.
Levels	90+ Please see: Jump Drive/meta	It is conjectured that higher Other-Space levels have tighter weaves. This is conjectured to allow exponentially faster travel. J-6 drives can only travel through the first six levels. It is hypothesized that J-9 drives will be feasible in the near future.
FTL Calculations	30 minutes to 24 hours estimated	Jump calculations can differ greatly depending on the skill of the astrogator, the quality of the astrogational computer & related astronics, and a variety of other factors. The Ancients are conjectured to have been restrained by none of these limitations. It is thought that they could make near-instantaneous jumps over distances utterly impossible with TL-15 jump technology.
Entry	Non-determinant (not fixed) (Non-gravitic space)	Entry into Jump Space has a (100 diameter constraint of a gravity well).
Exit	Non-determinant (not fixed) (Non-gravitic space)	Exit from Jump Space has a (100 diameter constraint of a gravity well).
Fuel	Hydrogen (Electrical energy)	Fusion Plus powerplants are used in most starships for electrical power generation. Higher rated jump drives require much larger fuel supplies. A basic rule of thumb is that a starship requires fuel storage equal to its rating as a percentage of mass. Thus, a J-6 equipped starship will require 60% of its mass in fuel while a J-1 only requires 10%. Collectors possible at TL-14+ Antimatter conjectured to be available at TL-19+
Resource Requirements	Lanthanum Zuchai Crystals	Strategic resources vital to the manufacture of Jump Drives. While Lanthanum and Zuchai Crystals are common to most starships, some races have experimented with other strategic materials. The Vargr, for instance, have experimented with Barium jump drives with some success.
Inventor/s	Various	Some have conjectured that the Ancients created the very first Jump Drive known to higher intelligent life (Sophonts) and Charted Space. Each of the Major Races is held to have independently developed their own initial Jump Drive. Other sophont species are referred to as Minor Races and are believed to have derived their first Jump Drive from interstellar trade, reverse-engineered technology, or other non-independent origins.
Characteristics	(No FTL communication possible) (No FTL weaponry possible)	Sophont minds seem to be required for efficient jump travel. Non-sophont-crewed starships seem to function far less reliably. Jump drive-equipped starships cannot be manufactured under 100 tons. This may change in the future. FTL weaponry does not exist with current TL-15 technology. Jump torpedos or drones (unmanned vehicles or weapons), under 100 tons, do not work with current TL-15 technology. FTL communications, often called the Ansible, are not possible with current TL-15 technology.

Jump Drive Travel Time Table

Jump Drive (FTL) Estimated Travel Times
Distance:	Jump-1	Jump-2	Jump-3	Jump-4	Jump-5	Jump-6
54 parsecs (1 sector)	54 weeks 1 year	27 weeks ½ year	18 weeks 4.5 months	14 weeks 3.5 months	11 weeks 2.75 months	9 weeks 2.25 months
108 parsecs (2 sectors)	108 weeks 2 years	54 weeks 1 year	36 weeks 9 months	27 weeks 6.75 months	22 weeks 5.5 months	18 weeks 4.5 months
162 parsecs (3 sectors)	162 weeks 3 years	81 weeks 1.5 years	54 weeks 1 year	41 weeks 10.25 months	33 weeks 8.25 months	27 weeks 6.75 months
216 parsecs (4 sectors)	216 weeks 4 years	108 weeks 2 years	72 weeks 1.5 years	62 weeks 15.5 months	44 weeks 11 months	36 weeks 9 months
270 parsecs (5 sectors)	270 weeks 5 years	135 weeks 2.5 years	90 weeks 22.5 months	68 weeks 17 months	54 weeks 1 year	45 weeks 11.25 months

Jump Drive Travel Time Constants
#	Note	Remarks
1.	Jump Duration:	1 week (168 hours +/- 10% variance)
2.	Jump Velocity:	170.0c (+/- 20.0c variance)
3.	Month (Time):	4 weeks (28 days by Imperial calendar)
4.	Assumptions:	(Top efficiency, near-instantaneous refueling, no crew fatigue, etc.)
5.	Sector (Area):	(size of a sector in 2D parsecs x & y coordinates)
6.	Galaxy (Area):	Milky Way Galaxy (estimated 55 kiloparsecs in diameter) (…over 1,000 years at J-1)

Jump Drive Notes

A number of lesser facts about jump drives are noted here:

Jump Drive Notes
#	Note	Remarks
1.	Alternate Energy Sources:	There are two other sources of energy sufficient to power the jump drive: Collectors, a TL–14 technology, which can power the jump drive but not the rest of a ship's systems; and Antimatter power plants, a TL–19 technology. Antimatter power plants use antimatter as a fuel source, while Collectors are charged by opening their canopies to space for about one week.
2.	Fuel Requirements:	Starships must generate immense amounts of power to jump; usually, this power is supplied by the standard ship's power plant. In this case, additional fuel must be allocated for employment of the jump drive, at the rate of 10% of the ship's tonnage per parsec to travel via jump.
3.	J-7 Drive and Up:	Jump-7 drives are a TL–16 and TL–17 technology; the pre-Maghiz Darrians had some J-7 ships. Jump-8 is theoretically possible at TL–18, and Jump-9 at TL–19.
4.	Strategic Resource: Lanthanum	Most conventional jump drives rely on the rare earth element Lanthanum. Please see Lanthanum for more information.
5.	Misjumps:	Study of misjump reports suggests that much greater distances are possible, but at present no way to achieve them in a controllable way is known. Research is ongoing concerning the matter. The maximum misjump reported is 36 parsecs. The average misjump is approximately 12.25 parsecs, deduced from the study of statistical records.
6.	Travel Duration:	Every ship stays in jump for around one week before entering normal space again.
7.	Travel Range:	The distance traveled during this time depends on the jump rating of the drive. A ship with a Jump-1 Drive will travel one parsec, a ship with a Jump-2 Drive two parsecs and so on. The maximum jump rating at the attainable tech level of the Third Imperium is six parsecs at J-6 and TL-15.

History & Background (Dossier)

The Jump Drive was first discovered by the Ancients more than 300,000 years ago. With it they explored the greater part of Charted Space. At the conclusion of the Final War, the Ancients' jump technology was lost, although intact (damaged) artifacts were found later on, and reverse-engineered to create jump drives of a more primitive nature than their source technology.

• Please see Jump Drive History for more information.

Technological Overview of Projected Propulsion Technology

Expected Drive Development Sequence: NAFAL to FTL

• Relativistic Drive (NAFAL) → Jump Drive → Hop Drive → Skip Drive → Leap Drive → Bound Drive → Vault Drive → Six Drive → Seven Drive → Eight Drive → Nine Drive

Jump Drive Basics

Jump Drive Basics
#	Topic	Remarks
1.	Basic Astrogation	Jump distances are calculated in parsecs (3.27 light-years), which therefore is the scale of a subsector mapping grid. Jump-1, for example, indicates the ability to jump up to one parsec, or one mapping hex. Astrogational maps are based on this fact and are not accurately scaled maps for astronomical purposes. Please see Astrography for a related data.
2.	Civilian Starship Drives	Most civilian starships have a jump rating of 1 or 2, with rare vessels equipped for express work carrying systems capable of 3 or 4; such ships operate for premium fees on long routes where speed is of the essence. Long routes tolerating longer delivery times use the usual jump1, but additional tankage to permit crossing rifts or voids to other lucrative destinations. in the 3rd Imperium it is so uncommon for a civilian ship to mount J-5 or J-6 that it draws the attention of Imperial authority as a curiosity worthy of review, if not close monitoring.
3.	Jump Point Defenses	Jump Point Defenses: It is not a safe practice, as the emergence point tends to have other ships approaching it for intended use; therefore emergence at speed is known to have resulted in fatal mishaps, and is therefore a serious violation of civil navigation codes with stiff penalties. These do not apply to the Navy of course... who tend to place obstacles around possessed jump points with exactly this sort of thing in mind.
4.	Jump Tracking	Extremely talented astrogators can make a reasonably accurate guess as to the destination of a jumping ship if it is observed before jumping. This is based on observation of neutrino emissions and the shape of the inflating hydrogen bubble as well as the heading at the time of jump. What is true is that starships maintain the same general heading, attitude, and velocity at the time of egress from jumpspace as it had upon entry. Such destination extrapolation is more an art than a science and even the most talented and skilled astrogators still make mistakes.
5.	Jump Travel Risks	General Risks: Although jumps are usually entered at low velocities, the speed and direction which a ship held prior to jump is retained when it returns to normal space. This fact is often employed for tactical purposes. Ships exiting jump space are vulnerable to collision with objects around an exit point. It is not a safe practice, as the emergence point tends to have other ships approaching it for intended use; therefore emergence at speed is known to have resulted in fatal mishaps, and is therefore a serious violation of civil navigation codes with stiff penalties.
6.	Manoeuvre Whilst in Jump	A ship may change it's vector and velocity while in Jump Space. Gravity: Jump Space bubbles do not allow interaction with Gravity and thus gravity based systems such as M-Drive are unusable while in Jump Space. Vector Change: Nongravity based manoeuvre drives are effective within Jump Space and thus may allow changes to vector and velocity.

Jump Drive Technology Timeline

These are some of the important dates recorded as to when certain sophont cultures have acquired the jump drive:

• Please note that not all dates may be entirely accurate.

Jump Drive Technology Timeline (Imperial Dates)
Date	Culture	Remarks
c. −350 000 *	Droyne	Droyne achieve TL-10 on their homeworld; although Jump drive is often available at that level, they have not yet discovered it. [Adventure 12 Secret of the Ancients, GDW, 1984, p. 42.]
c. −320 000 *	Ancients	The Ancients inhabit the general region of the Spinward Marches and explore all of Charted Space. [Adventure 1 The Kinunir, GDW, 1979, p. 38.]
−9300 *	Geonee	The Geonee on Shiwonee reach early TL-9. [Humaniti, SJG, 2003, p. 68.]
−9270 *	Geonee	Geonee discover a derelict Ancient starship in a planetoid belt in the Shiwonee system. [Humaniti, SJG, 2003, p. 68.]
−9240 *	Geonee	Geonee starships, based on reverse-engineered Ancient technology, explore the Stenardee cluster, and discover Ancient artifacts, and remains of Geonee and Chirpers. [Humaniti, SJG, 2003, p. 68.]
−9235 *	Vilani	The Vilani on Vland discovers the Jump-1 drive. [Supplement 8 Library Data (A-M), GDW, 1981, p. 27.]
c. −9000 *	Vilani	Vilani explorers contact the Geonee, and discover that they have Jump technology not of Vilani origin. [The Travellers' Digest 11, DGP, 1988, p. 8.]
c. −8600 *	Vilani	Vilani discover that the Geonee Jump drive was reverse-engineered from a derelict Ancient starship. [Alien - Vilani & Vargr, the Coreward Races, DGP, 1990, p. 18.]
c. −7000 *	Droyne	Droyne first observed using Jump technology; new colonies established, including Vanejen. [Adventure 2 Research Station Gamma, GDW, 1980, p. 43.]
c. −6000 *	Vegan	Vegans receive Jump technology from Vilani traders. [Supplement 11 Library Data (N-Z), GDW, 1981, p. 29.]
−5450 *	Luriani	Luriani receive Jump technology from an unknown race. [Gateway to Destiny, QLI, 2004, p. 9.]
−5435 *	Luriani	A Sharurshid fleet discovers that the Luriani have acquired Jump technology. The Vilani launch an investigation to discover who gave Jump technology to the Luriani. [Gateway to Destiny, QLI, 2004, p. 9.]
−5430 *	Vilani	Vilani develop the first known (post-Ancients) Jump-2 drive, but keep the technology secret from non-Vilani trading partners; Vilani core worlds reach TL-11. [The Travellers' Digest 5, DGP, 1986, p. 49.]
−5415 *	Zhodani	The Zhodani develop a Jump-1 drive on Zhdant while working on fusion power sources in their asteroid belt. [Adventure 6 Expedition to Zhodane, GDW, 1981, p. 41.]

NOTES: * These dates were inferred by Donald McKinney and Maksim-Smelchak, the authors of the Integrated Timeline, in that book. The book is also the immediate source of the entries in this table.

References & Contributors (Sources)

This article has metadata.

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• This article is an amalgamation of many different materials published since 1977.
• Loren Wiseman. "Jumpspace." Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society 24 (1985): 34—38.
• Marc Miller. Referee's Manual (Game Designers Workshop, 1987), 52.
• John B. King. "Jump Fuel Allocation." Jumpspace 2 (1987): TBD.
• Rob Caswell, William W. Connors, Joe Fugate, Gary L. Thomas. Starship Operator's Manual (Digest Group Publications, 1988), 10—24.
• Michelle Sturgeon. "Going Places (Barely)." Challenge 55 (1991): TBD.
• Don Perrin. Starships (Imperium Games, 1996), 70.
• Loren Wiseman. GURPS Traveller Core Rules (Steve Jackson Games, 1998), TBD.
• Marc Miller. T5 Core Rules (Far Future Enterprises, 2013), 333—341.
• Marc Miller. Agent of the Imperium (Far Future Enterprises, 2015), TBD.
• Citation Missing - Traveller Integrated Timeline
• Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
• Author & Contributor: WHULorigan
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science