The 14 Dumbest Things In Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan
11. The Enterprise Travels At Plot Speed
En route to Regula One Spock reports their ETA at “Twelve hours and forty-three minutes, present speed,” this just prior to their adjournment to Kirk’s quarters to review the Genesis tape with Bones (we presume they don’t wait for him for hours). After a meeting that lasts mere minutes, Saavik calls to report that Reliant is closing fast. Even assuming Kirk and Spock leisurely ambled back to the bridge, this means by the time the Reliant attack is repelled minutes later the Enterprise was still at least 11–12 hours from her destination at Warp 5.
But once they reach Regula One and find the bodies, McCoy reports that rigor hadn’t set in yet. Rigor mortis usually sets in between two to six hours after death, so this means it’s been maybe eight hours max since Khan murdered the scientists prior to leaving to intercept Kirk (according to Terrell).
TERRELL: He tortured those people. But none of those people would tell him anything. He went wild. He slit their throats. He wanted to tear the place apart, but he was late. He had to get back to Reliant in time to blow you to bits
So, just before watching the Genesis tape Spock reports they are over 12 and a half hours away, but then the crippled Enterprise gets to the station in less than half that time.
What? How is that possible? Earlier, there was this exchange:
SPOCK (comm voice): Engine room reports auxiliary power restored. We can proceed at impulse power.
KIRK: Best speed to Regula I. Kirk out.
Instead of warp 5, they have to cover the remaining distance on impulse power, which is at least dozens, if not hundreds of times slower. The putt-putt nature of the Enterprise’s speed is demonstrated as she flees the wrecked Reliant…
SAAVIK: Three minutes, thirty seconds.
KIRK: Distance from Reliant.
CHEKOV: Four thousand kilometers.
4,000 km is closer than London is to Walt Disney World. It’s barely over the diameter of the Moon.
For the Enterprise to only creep a measly 4,000 km in 3:30, starting from a relative dead-stop as portrayed, means the ship’s constant acceleration would be less than 200 meters per second, or 18Gs. Sounds fast to an Earthling, but, as Douglas Adams wrote, “That’s peanuts to space. Listen…” At such low acceleration the Enterprise wouldn’t quite be able to get from the Earth to the Moon (average distance of 382,500 km) in a half hour. Even assuming the nebula slows the ship down by 100 times, they were never going to get far on impulse power.
In short: the film’s handling of spaceship velocities is of (1960s) Lost in Space-quality. They really ought to have consulted one of the many space scientists for whom Star Trek was an inspiration. You know they’d have done it for free.
Do. The. Math.