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This was not made specifically clear in the movie, or maybe I missed something.

Data remarked later in the film, that flying into the nexus causes ships to be damaged or destroyed when flying near the Nexus energy ribbon, this fact was reinforced by the opening scenes of the movie. However, Dr Soran obviously felt this got him into the Nexus initially and was also backed by the fact that all crew members of both ships destroyed in the Nexus energy wave were phasing in and out of time and space (i.e. they were entering the Nexus). Guinan herself experienced the Nexus, although it is vague if this was experienced from the SS Lakul and the SS Robert Fox ships caught in the energy ribbon from the starting scenes in the movie.

So as the question asks, however, 2 people experienced the nexus by being in a ship caught in the ribbon and data remarks flying into the nexus with the ship will only blow the ship up.

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    Your last paragraph, where you really need clarity, is almost impossible to parse. I'm providing an answer that I think will work, but I'm not sure what you're asking.
    – Tango
    Commented Feb 7, 2012 at 2:52

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Well, just look at how Kirk entered the Nexus:

The part of the ship he was in was destroyed, but he made it through.

It appears that the Nexus sort of "reaches out" to grab nearby lifeforms, destroying inanimate matter in the process. So yes - ships would be damaged or destroyed, but the people make it through, because the Nexus doesn't exist in the same time/space as the damaged ship.

The real question is, why did their clothes make it through with them?

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    so what Data really meant is, its not viable to use a ship because it'll be destroyed, however if you blow up a couple of suns and go to a planet in its path, that's more viable?
    – Jared
    Commented Feb 7, 2012 at 1:54
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    @Jared I'd have to see the movie again, but yes - the spacial disturbances may have destroyed the ship before the passengers were close enough to get sucked into the Nexus. The surface of a planet is much more stable.
    – Izkata
    Commented Feb 7, 2012 at 3:38
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    Maybe their clothes didn't make it through. Maybe they just thought they did.
    – Sam
    Commented Feb 8, 2012 at 14:26
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    "The real question is, why did their clothes make it through with them?" - Precisely. Why wasn't Patrick Stewart sat naked on an armchair by a roaring fire, ready for his grandchildren to run in and sit on his lap?
    – Paul D. Waite
    Commented Apr 23, 2013 at 11:48
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Ships do blow up when they fly into the Nexus, but the Enterprise (NCC 1701-B) was only damaged. It wasn't fully exposed to the Nexus, just part of it was deep enough in the Nexus to get damaged.

A ship can be exposed to just the edge of the Nexus, or it can fly all the way in. It might fly in for only a brief time, for a rescue mission, and still survive, or it might stay in long enough that it breaks up or explodes.

In other words, it's not completely black and white. You can be at the edge and partially damaged, or go deeper and deeper inside. But short or partial exposure is not always totally destructive.

As for Soran, he was obviously quite aware that a ship might not survive the trip into the Nexus and could easily explode before he was fully in, so he wanted something sturdier to take him in so he could be sure of being swallowed by the Nexus.

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  • Sounds like we on the right track, so its assumed that being in a ship doesn't immerse you in the nexus fully? and whence the ship explodes you fail to enter the nexus?
    – Jared
    Commented Feb 7, 2012 at 3:14
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    I was thinking more along the lines that it's not a sure thing. A Starfleet starship, like the Enterprise, would probably stand up long enough for someone to enter the Nexus, but a smaller commercial or private vessel might not be strong enough to survive until one was fully in the Nexus. So, from Soran's point of view, why take the chance? A planet is a sure thing, a ship may go "poof" (or it may not) before he's all the way in the Nexus.
    – Tango
    Commented Feb 7, 2012 at 3:22
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Chances are with ships it is a random effect who gets grabbed when. You are gambling on getting into the Nexus before your ship decompresses/explodes. Also, Soren's race is somewhat telepathic. So as the ships blow up and they start entering the nexus they may be able to sense that some where left behind, making Soren unwilling to risk entrance into the Nexus without a big solid mass of a planet to protect him.

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