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File:BransonDeath.jpg

The explosive decompression that killed Lieutenant Branson

Explosive decompression is a violent, sudden drop in ambient air pressure that occurs within one tenth of a second.

Disabling (or the failure of) the containment field around the shuttlebays or cargo bays or a major hull breach onboard a starship in space (or any environment of substantially lower pressure) will result in an explosive decompression. (TNG: "Contagion", "Disaster")

Opening the shuttlebay or cargo bay hatch without the containment field will also have the same result - on a Galaxy class starship, decompressing the main shuttlebay causes a reaction sufficient to move the ship slightly. In 2368, the USS Enterprise-D decompressed its main shuttlebay in order to avoid a collision with the USS Bozeman. (TNG: "Cause and Effect")

One of Dukat's duties, when he was a Glinn serving aboard the Cardassian starship Kornaire, was to clean out a compartment where three men had been killed by explosive decompression. In 2374, he would tell Benjamin Sisko that "I didn't sleep for a week after that". (DS9: "Waltz")

During the Battle of the Bassen Rift, the Reman warbird Scimitar launched a volley of photon torpedoes at the USS Enterprise-E's bridge, resulting in an explosive decompression which killed Lieutenant Branson. (Star Trek Nemesis)

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