Speed of light
The speed of light, also referred to as light speed, or the warp threshold is the velocity that light travels in a vacuum. This constant, usually denoted , is exactly 299,792,458 meters per second or 186,282 miles per second. The speed of light was equivalent to the speed of warp factor 1. (, display graphic) Outside of subspace, no known natural phenomena can move faster than the speed of light. (; )

Superluminal, an alternative and rare name for faster than light, was one of the vocabulary words listed on the chart "A Tunnel in the Sky". This chart was seen in the schoolroom aboard Deep Space 9 in 2369. ()

History 
The Phoenix, piloted by Zefram Cochrane, was Earth's first ship to be successfully equipped with a faster-than-light propulsion system. ()

The ability to travel faster than light was considered to be a major technological milestone in a species' development. The  typically subdivided civilizations and cultures on whether they had developed technology to exceed the speed of light. The species that had not yet achieved the level of technology required were placed in the pre-warp civilization category. The Vulcan custom of not making first contact with pre-warp civilizations was later on adopted by the Federation as well. (; ) 

In 2254, the  encountered a faked distress call from  created by the Talosians. The signal was keyed to register on sensors as an unknown object on a collision course which traveled with the speed of light. ()

Technologies

Subspace communications 
s

Propulsion

Appendices

Background information 
According to Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, (pp. 54 & 55) in the context of a warp drive, under the conditions where the total amount of subspace distortion in all the energy layers put together, that form a warp field around a ship, equal one  and this accelerates the ship to the speed of warp factor 1, or the speed of light, approximately twenty gigajoules of energy are required to create the warp field, and only two hundred megajoules to maintain it. Depending on a multitude of spatial conditions, the level of cochranes required for any given warp factor varies.

External links 
 
 

de:Lichtgeschwindigkeit
es:Velocidad de la luz
fr:Vitesse de la lumière
ja:光速度
nl:Lichtsnelheid
Measurements