Warp Drive

For more information about warp technology, check out this video. Note that this setting's version is not 100% scientifically accurate.

The Alcubierre-Farnsworth Warp drive is a powerful FTL system that has facilitated human expansion into space. It forms a "warp bubble" made out of heavily-distorted spacetime around the vessel, which allows the ship to travel at nearly 300-500c (about 1 Ly/d).
The bubble is created by large rings built around the exterior of the ship. As it begins to bend space time, the bubble will appear to form a black hole (though this is actually due to the immense contraction of space ahead of the vessel) around the ship. When it exits warp, the ship emits a massive flash of light and energy into the surrounding area called a "Warp Flash". These flashes telegraph a ship's presence once it exits warp, telling anyone nearby that it has arrived. Most systems will use this to monitor the ships that are arriving nearby, making it hard to surprise attack a planet.
However, many things still aren't really understood about how it works. For example, the specific speed of travel can vary heavily based on the course used. It is believed this may be because of existing spacetime curvature, but really nobody is certain. The effect though is that two equidistant destinations might require different travel times.

Inventor(s)

The warp drive was invented by NASA, the United States of North America's civilian space research division. Its first prototype was concieved and demonstrated by Roger Farnsworth.

Discovery

Originally conceived in the late 20th century as a solution to Special Relativity, this system has been modified significantly from its original concept. It was once deemed extremely impractical because of the energy and exotic matter required for it to work, but early experiments by Nasa and scientific calculations gradually discovered how to make it more feasible. Scientists such as German Quantum Physicist Alexander Hallurst predicted that at some point power generation would advance enough and our understanding of spatial manipulation would grow to allow a viable warp field, an event known as the Hallurst Singularity. This occurred in 2156, when NASA physicist Roger Farnsworth pioneered a feasible design and successfully tested a prototype in high Earth orbit.