Star Citizen Quantum Travel Not Working? Routes, NAV Mode and Fuel
From a missing route to the wrong flight mode: the checks that can get your journey moving.
Your destination is selected, the ship is pointing into space, and nothing happens. Before abandoning the trip, work out which part has stopped: route selection, flight mode or calibration. Those are different problems, even when the result is the same stubborn cockpit.
This guide covers ordinary quantum travel between destinations within a system. Jump-point travel between star systems is a separate procedure.
Get a route and engage the drive
- Leave the atmosphere. For an interplanetary trip, keep climbing until the altitude marker disappears.
- Open the map with F2. Search for your destination, select it and choose Route to this Location. The route panel shows the required quantum fuel and the number of jumps.
- Set NAV, then QT. On the default keyboard and mouse bindings, B selects Navigation mode. Click the mouse wheel to cycle operating modes until QT is selected.
- Face the destination and wait for calibration. Once it completes, left-click to engage.
These are default bindings. If you use a customised profile, a stick or a gamepad, check the assigned actions in your controls rather than pressing the keyboard sequence blindly. Watch the displayed mode as you change it; a button press alone is not confirmation that the ship is ready.
Find the point where the trip stops
No route or calibration
Confirm that you requested a route, then check NAV, QT and alignment. Repeatedly pressing engage will not complete a missing step. Read the destination name carefully before you leave the map; it is easy to rush when friends are waiting.
A planet is in the way
Solid planetary markers face you; dashed markers are on the far side. Route around the obstruction.
Not enough quantum fuel
Compare the route requirement with the fuel aboard. Refuel or shorten the trip if necessary. There is no prize for discovering the shortfall halfway through an evening.
The map itself can cause a hitch
Alpha 4.10.2 has a documented framerate drop when opening or closing the starmap, with no published workaround. Plan while you have room to spare; avoid opening it during a close approach or fight when a pause could put you into an obstacle.
If the ship displays an interdiction warning, that is a different situation from a route that was never set. Our quantum snare and dampener guide explains the distinction. If the basics above are correct and the drive still refuses to engage, this checklist has reached its limit: do not assume every failure can be cured with another key press.