From Joshua Tyler
| Published
When traveling through space you need a ship. Right now the only ships we can actually build are slow, clunky rockets that breathe fire. Science fiction makes space travel much faster.
While some stories are better when things progress slowly, Science fiction It’s often most fun when things move at warp speed. But which science fiction spaceship is the fastest?
It depends on what you’re asking. For example, a battleship in normal space is probably faster than a capital ship, but a capital ship that can enter hyperspace is an easy winner. So for the purposes of this list, we measure our ships solely by how quickly they can get from point A to point B.
These are the fastest Spaceships in science fiction.
8. Lexx (Lexx)
The LEXX is a biomechanical spacecraft that can fly faster than light. LEXX moves through the universe using a biologically powered propulsion system. This organic propulsion allows the ship to travel across galaxies and even between universes at speeds that can never be precisely quantified, but have been shown to be far superior to most conventional starships in its universe.
Although it lacks complex navigation systems typical of mechanical spacecraft, its biological makeup is balanced by a natural affinity for movement through space. Its ability to cross intergalactic and interdimensional boundaries implies a highly advanced and possibly Foreigner Understanding of spatial physics encoded in its organic systems.
Despite its unprecedented speed, LEXX often requires the guidance of its crew to determine targets, as it lacks the cognitive ability to make strategic decisions. The mix of organic propulsion and intuitive navigation makes LEXX one of the most extraordinary ships in science fiction, even if it is ugly.
7. Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda)
The Andromeda ascendant is a Glorious Heritage-class heavy cruiser designed to be part of the High Guard fleet in the Systems Commonwealth. After the fall of the Commonwealth, Andromeda is the only one of her kind left.
The Andromeda’s propulsion is based on Slipstream Drive, a technology that enables faster-than-light travel over a network of naturally occurring paths called slipstream routes. Unlike traditional FTL systems, slipstream navigation requires an intuitive pilot who can determine courses on these unstable routes. Due to the chaotic nature of slipstream physics, precise calculations are not possible.
Andromeda’s AI must work with human pilots to navigate this complex system effectively and quickly.
6. Planet Express ship (Futurama)
The Planet Express ship is a state-of-the-art delivery spacecraft designed by the brilliant but eccentric Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth.
The ship is powered by a dark matter Engine that provides near-unlimited fuel efficiency and works by moving the universe around the ship rather than the ship moving through the universe. This unique propulsion system allows the Planet Express ship to reach virtually infinite speed relative to itself, allowing for instantaneous or near-instantaneous interstellar travel.
The ship’s engine is powered by dark matter, a substance derived from the excrement of the Nibblonian species, making it as strange as it is efficient.
5. Event horizon (event horizon)
The Event horizonfrom the 1997 science fiction horror film of the same name is an experimental spaceship designed to test a revolutionary propulsion system called Gravity Drive. This drive enables faster-than-light travel by creating an artificial black hole and folding space-time so that two points connect instantly.
The Gravity Drive’s core uses exotic matter and advanced energy manipulation to create a singularity that reduces the distance between locations in space. In this way, the event horizon does not move in the traditional sense; Instead, it “jumps” from one point to another, completely bypassing the space in between. The Gravity Drive is housed in a special and highly eerie chamber at the stern of the ship, surrounded by containment fields and reinforced structures to handle the extreme energy and gravitational forces it generates.
That all sounds well and good, except there is one terrible side effect. To get between two points, the Event Horizon must first traverse what is essentially hell. As you can imagine, this doesn’t go well.
Nevertheless, the Event Horizon can get you to your destination very quickly. When you get there, you’ll probably just be crazy or dead.
4. Discovery (Star Trek: Discovery)
The USS Discovery (NCC-1031) In Star Trek: discovery is one of two Crossfield-class starships built by Starfleet. Both were equipped with an experimental propulsion system called the Spore Drive, but only Discovery got it to work.
This experimental engine utilizes the mycelial network, a subspace domain consisting of a vast network of spores that spans the entire galaxy. Yes, it basically flies with space mushrooms.
The Spore Drive’s biologically enhanced system integrates a supercomputer-like organic Interfaces with a living navigator, specifically the tardigrade-like creature Ripper or later Commander Paul Stamets, who uses injected spores to connect to the network. By accessing this mycelial network, Discovery can instantly “jump” to any location in the universe, bypassing traditional warp speed limitations and enabling unprecedented tactical and exploration capabilities.
The Spore Drive’s mechanics are based on advanced technobabble, where the ship essentially repositions itself in space-time through microscopic channels rather than traversing the space in between. While normal Star Trek warp drives rely on the manipulation of space-time via the matter-antimatter reaction and dilithium crystals, the spore drive operates entirely outside of this paradigm, allowing instantaneous travel without time dilation effects.
3. Guild ship (Dune)
Guild ships come in dune are colossal starships used by the Space Guild for instantaneous interstellar travel, a cornerstone of the Empire’s economy and governance.
These ships utilize space folding technology made possible by the use of the psychoactive spice melange. This ability grants Guild Navigators the predictive ability to determine safe paths through folded space. The process, known as Holtzman Drive-powered Space Folding, reduces the large distances between two points, effectively eliminating travel time.
Guild ships are piloted by mutant human navigators who develop superhuman cognitive abilities and physical deformities after prolonged exposure to spices. These abilities allow them to perceive the complex, changing trajectories of folded space and avoid deadly collisions with celestial objects.
These huge cylindrical ships can carry entire fleets or large amounts of cargo, making them essential for trade, warfare and governance.
2. TARDIS (Doctor Who)
TARDIS stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space. The Doctor’s Voyage made its maiden voyage long before the events we see on screen in Doctor Who. The incredibly ancient vehicle is a Type 40 time capsule built by the Time Lords on the planet Gallifrey.
The TARDIS is both alive and incredibly intelligent. It exists in several dimensions at the same time, which is why it is larger inside. This multidimensional nature allows him to circumvent the normal limitations of time and space.
When the Doctor sets the coordinates for a new location in time or space, the TARDIS dematerializes its current location, travels through the “time vortex” and then rematerializes at the destination. The process is almost instantaneous. The time vortex can be imagined as a highway that instantly connects different points in the space-time continuum, regardless of their distance or temporal separation in the “normal” universe.
1. Heart of Gold (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy)
The place is big. You just won’t believe how huge, massive and mind-blowingly large it is. I mean, you might think it’s a long walk to the pharmacy, but it’s just a stone’s throw from space.
So if you’re traveling in space, you need something fast. There is nothing faster than that Heart of gold. It’s unlikely to be number one on our list.
That’s because The Heart of Gold is powered by an Infinite Improbability Drive, a wonderful new way to travel vast distances in less than a second, without the hassle of floundering in hyperspace.
The drive takes advantage of the natural chaos of the universe by traveling through every conceivable point in every conceivable universe almost simultaneously. While your typical sci-fi engines might have trouble defying the laws of physics, the Infinite Improbability Drive throws them out the window and drinks tea with the resulting chaos. It’s unlikely, and that’s the point.
The Heart of Gold’s origins are as extraordinary and chaotic as the ship itself. The ship was designed and built on the planet Damogran, where it was launched to great fanfare in a ceremony attended by the President of the Galaxy, Zaphod Beeblebrox was left stacked. Unfortunately, in a completely unlikely move, Zaphod has stolen the Heart of Gold and transported it to regions unknown.
Zaphod stole it because he knows what you know now. If you’re a Hoopy Frood who knows where your towel is, then there’s no faster way to travel the universe than aboard the Heart of Gold.
