Battlestar Galactica (2003)/FTL

FTL

Galactica's FTL drive activating

FTL is an acronym commonly used for the Colonials' Faster-Than-Light propulsion system. FTL propulsion makes it possible for ships to travel large interstellar distances in the blink of an eye. However, not all Colonial ships were equipped with FTL drives, which meant that President Roslin was forced to abandon a large number of unfortunate civilians in non-FTL ships when the Cylons attacked her rendezvous position in the miniseries.

Given proper data, ships can FTL jump with extreme accuracy, allowing ships to drop out of FTL extremely close to each other and even drop into parking orbits over a given point on a planet's surface. Cylon FTL drives are apparently more advanced than Colonial drives, allowing longer and more accurate jumps.

A Raptor going FTL

The smallest Colonial ship seen to possess a FTL drive is the Raptor utility ship. Whether for cost-effectiveness or size reasons, the Viper starfighter is not FTL-equipped. The Cylon Raider starfighter is FTL equipped.

FTL does have its dangers. There is a "red-line" which it is considered dangerous to cross, whether that red line is the distance of the jump, the duration of the jump, or any combination of factors is unknown. Cylon FTL drives' red line is apparently a lot further than their Colonial counterparts. Using the captured Cylon Raider Kara "Starbuck" Thrace is able to jump from the Galactica directly to Caprica without making any apparent hops even though they are separated by a great distance.

Notes

• Preparing the FTL drives for use is commonly known as "spooling up the drive" and takes time.
• In the miniseries, Tigh says that the Galactica hasn't made a FTL jump in 20 years.