A warp core breach begins
- This article deals with the event. For the beverage, see Warp core breach (beverage).
A warp core breach is a catastrophic failure of a starship's warp core. A breach can occur in a variety of ways, but is frequently characterized by a coolant leak from the main reaction chamber, resulting in a runaway reaction within the warp core. Antimatter containment is lost, and the resultant contact between antimatter and the normal matter of the ship destroys the vessel.
The breach is almost always irreversible, as most safety protocols and systems will have failed prior to the event. Warp core ejection is a common method of dealing with a breach, although this is considered a last ditch effort and often fails. The evacuation of the crew to the primary hull and initiating separation is also used in cases where the vessel has that capability, such as on Template:ShipClass vessels. In situations where a saucer separation cannot be initiated, then evacuation of the ship via escape pods or shuttles will occur. In any case, the aim is to get as much distance between the core and the vessel as possible before detonation. In the case of saucer separation (or warp core ejection), the ship is left running on Impluse power and batteries, as the warp core is required for warp drive.
In 2369, the Enterprise-D was destroyed by a warp core breach, generated by a massive energy feedback into the warpcore from a power transfer to a Romulan vessel. The core breach was averted when time reset itself and Captain Picard remotely steered a runabout into the transfer beam. (TNG: "Timescape")
The flashpoint of a core breach
In 2371, the engineering hull of the USS Enterprise-D was destroyed in a warp core breach following rupture of the magnetic interlocks. The shockwave created by the explosion caused the vessel's saucer section to crash-land on Veridian III. (Star Trek Generations)
In early 2372, as a result of a subspace inversion of the Bajoran wormhole, the USS Defiant was under threat of a core breach, with the ejection system disabled. Benjamin Sisko was able to shunt the excess power over to the deflector array with the help of an interphasic compensator, averting the breach. (DS9: "The Visitor")
Antineutrinos tend to have a neutralizing effect on warp core containment fields of Federation starships. A Sikarian spatial trajector field, utilizing antineutrinos, nearly caused a warp core breach on the USS Voyager. (VOY: "Prime Factors")
One of USS Voyager's shuttlecraft was destroyed by a warp core breach in 2374. Its occupants, B'Elanna Torres and Tom Paris, had to don environmental suits and beam into open space to await rescue. (VOY: "Day of Honor")
The reaction of veridium isotopes with warp plasma will cause a warp core breach. This led to the near destruction of the Delta Flyer in 2377, although the warp core was successfully ejected into a class J nebula before the explosion could destroy the vessel. (VOY: "Drive")
If a large number of tachyons leak in to a warp core, a warp core breach is almost certain to occur, as a result of the tachyons creating a resonance frequency causing the core pressure to increase out of control. (VOY: "Day of Honor")
A warp core breach in progress
Warp core breaches have been deliberately performed; Q purposefully caused the core aboard the Enterprise-D to breach in 2369 and Geordi La Forge caused a breach of the USS Enterprise-E's warp core in 2375 to seal a subspace tear caused by an isolytic burst - the core having been ejected from the ship prior to detonation. (TNG: "True Q"; Star Trek: Insurrection) They are more often used as the primary means of fulfilling a starship's auto-destruct sequence.
Farrakk was killed by a warp core breach when Hagath had his ship sabotaged in 2373. (DS9: "Business as Usual")