The Enterprise-D using maneuvering thrusters.
Maneuvering thrusters (often referred to as simply thrusters) were used by starships and other spacecraft to make precise movements in lieu of primary impulse or warp engine use. The thrusters were low-power reaction control jets that could be used for fine positional and attitudinal control, including station-keeping. They were most typically used in docking or similar maneuvers. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)
All reaction-based technologies operate on the Newtonian principal of the "Law of Inertia": that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This is similar in some ways to impulse engine technologies and thrusters were sometimes called "impulse thrusters". (DS9: "Rocks and Shoals").
On a Constitution class refit the maneuvering thrusters were placed along the outer edges of the hull. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture) In Starfleet during the 24th Century maneuvering thrusters were part of the Reaction Control System (or RCS) and were also placed in similar positions. (VOY: "The Cloud"; Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual). These were typically placed in groups of four or "quads" on starships. (TNG: "Final Mission"; ENT: "Future Tense"; Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual)
Examples of Thruster References and Usage
- Movies
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture;
- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan;
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country;
- Star Trek: Generations;
- Star Trek: Nemesis;
- et. al.
- "Encounter at Farpoint";
- "Booby Trap";
- "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II";
- "The Pegasus";
- et. al.
- "The Siege";
- "For the Uniform";
- "Rocks and Shoals";
- "Penumbra";
- et. al.
- "The Cloud";
- "Elogium";
- "Thirty Days";
- "Think Tank";
- et. al.
- "Broken Bow, Part II";
- "Strange New World";
- "Future Tense";
- "Impulse";
- et. al.
- The term "maneuvering thrusters" was initially used in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It was never heard in TOS. The information from the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual is not canon, but is considered to come from a Memory Alpha permitted resource.