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In [[2286]], [[Captain]] [[James T. Kirk|Kirk]] and his command crew were forced to use the maneuver again, this time in a stolen [[Klingon Bird-of-Prey]], when [[Whale Probe|an extremely powerful probe]] threatened to destroy [[Earth]] in an attempt to contact by then-extinct [[humpback whale]]s. In an attempt to appease the probe, Kirk and crew used the slingshot effect to travel back in time to the late [[20th century]] to retrieve two humpback whales. ({{film|4}}) |
In [[2286]], [[Captain]] [[James T. Kirk|Kirk]] and his command crew were forced to use the maneuver again, this time in a stolen [[Klingon Bird-of-Prey]], when [[Whale Probe|an extremely powerful probe]] threatened to destroy [[Earth]] in an attempt to contact by then-extinct [[humpback whale]]s. In an attempt to appease the probe, Kirk and crew used the slingshot effect to travel back in time to the late [[20th century]] to retrieve two humpback whales. ({{film|4}}) |
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==Further references== |
==Further references== |
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* {{TNG|Time Squared}} |
* {{TNG|Time Squared}} |
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| + | ==Background information== |
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| + | According to ''[[Star Trek Maps]]'' (pg.6), the speed increase that dislodges the ship from the space-time continuum in a slingshot effect is caused by a mathematical factor called the Cochrane's factor. It is added as a multiplyer to the basic warp formula based on the amount of curvature of space the ship is traveling through. While the factor within the normal interstellar medium of [[Federation]] space is an average of 1292.7238 and in the intergalactic void only 1, in the close proximity of stars and other massive objects it is so high that these disproportionately high speeds are created. |
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==Apocrypha== |
==Apocrypha== |
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Revision as of 20:04, 26 July 2011
USS Enterprise slingshots around Sol
The slingshot effect, also known as the light-speed breakaway factor, was a method of time travel through the use of an artificially-created time warp. This maneuver was performed by traveling at an extremely high warp factor towards a stellar body with a high gravitational attraction, such as a star. After allowing the gravitational pull to accelerate the vessel to even faster speeds, the vessel would then break away from the stellar body, creating a whiplash effect which could transport the vessel through time. Performing this maneuver required extremely precise calculations to be made, such as availability of fuel components, acceleration, and mass of a vessel through a time continuum.
In 2267, the Starship Enterprise accidentally traveled through time to the late 1960s, when an encounter with a previously-uncharted black star required the crew to utilize all warp power in reverse to break away from the star's powerful gravitational attraction, creating a whiplash effect. In order to return to their own time, the crew of the Enterprise recreated the accident, using the gravitational pull of Earth's sun to perform the slingshot. (TOS: "Tomorrow is Yesterday")
In 2268, the Enterprise would utilize this method again in order to travel back in time three hundred years, in order to conduct historical research on planet Earth. (TOS: "Assignment: Earth")
In 2286, Captain Kirk and his command crew were forced to use the maneuver again, this time in a stolen Klingon Bird-of-Prey, when an extremely powerful probe threatened to destroy Earth in an attempt to contact by then-extinct humpback whales. In an attempt to appease the probe, Kirk and crew used the slingshot effect to travel back in time to the late 20th century to retrieve two humpback whales. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
Further references
- TNG: "Time Squared"
Background information
Ronald D. Moore commented: "I would assume that the precise calculations involved in using the slingshot method are something of a closely-guarded secret." (AOL chat, 1997)
According to Star Trek Maps (pg.6), the speed increase that dislodges the ship from the space-time continuum in a slingshot effect is caused by a mathematical factor called the Cochrane's factor. It is added as a multiplyer to the basic warp formula based on the amount of curvature of space the ship is traveling through. While the factor within the normal interstellar medium of Federation space is an average of 1292.7238 and in the intergalactic void only 1, in the close proximity of stars and other massive objects it is so high that these disproportionately high speeds are created.
Apocrypha
In the novel Engines of Destiny, Scotty acquires another Bird-of-Prey and attempts to use the slingshot effect to travel back in time and prevent Kirk's death on the USS Enterprise-B. The maneuver itself is successful, but as a result, a timeline is created where the Borg have assimilated Earth (without Kirk in the Nexus, Jean-Luc Picard either failed to stop Tolian Soran's attempt to return to the Nexus or died in the process, and thus, without Picard's unique insight into the hive mind, the Borg assimilated Earth when they went back in time in Star Trek: First Contact), and it requires the intervention of the USS Enterprise-D to undo Scotty's mistake and return Kirk to the Nexus.