Should emergency hull separation ever become necessary, Deck 8 of the connecting dorsal is designed to perform several major functions. Couplings of the main power transfer conduit and all other pipelines and transfer shafts disconnect at this deck, and explosive bolts beneath the floor sever the primary hull from the rest of the ship. Magnetic repulsors widen the initial gap between the separating hulls. Once the saucer has safely landed on a planet surface, the forward floor of the Deck 8 dorsal level drops down, becoming an ingress/egress ramp.