Obi-Wan Kenobi is seen here attempting repairs on a T-14 hyperdrive generator
A propulsion system known as the hyperdrive, alternatively referred to as a warp drive, was used by starships to achieve lightspeed. This allowed them to journey across interstellar distances through the alternate dimension called hyperspace. Consequently, the hyperdrive played a vital role in the development of galactic civilization, impacting commerce, politics, and armed conflicts.
For a hyperdrive to function, a working hyperdrive motivator was essential. After that, the spacecraft would follow a pre-determined route until it re-emerged into normal space, also known as realspace, at its intended location.
The sole purpose of a hyperdrive was to maintain a ship's position within hyperspace. If a hyperdrive was forcefully disabled or destroyed during transit, the vessel would be violently and instantaneously pulled back into realspace.
Most starfighters, being designed for short-range missions, did not have a hyperdrive. This was particularly true for the Galactic Empire's TIE fighters, which needed to be transported to battle zones on larger vessels. However, the Rebel Alliance's X-wing and A-wing starfighters were equipped with hyperdrives, giving them the ability to make long-distance jumps.
When a ship entered hyperspace, it emitted cronau radiation. This radiation could be detected using specialized sensor equipment.
In hyperspace, large objects in normal space created "mass shadows". Therefore, accurate plotting was required for hyperspace jumps to avoid collisions, which were frequently deadly.
Later technological advancements enabled the forced removal of ships from hyperspace. For instance, interdiction fields generated gravitational shadows, mimicking mass, in the path of an approaching ship, thus pulling the ship out of hyperspace. Imperial engineers created the widely deployed Interdictor ships, along with their various sub-models, which were among the most effective interdiction technologies available.
In ancient times, the earliest spacers resorted to using generation ships for interstellar travel across vast distances within the galaxy, due to the absence of hyperdrive technology for journeys between planets. Generation ships, most notably used by a Coruscanti patriarch to pioneer the Koros Trunk Line, were eventually replaced by sleeper ships after the invention of carbonite by scientists on Koros Major. This liquid substance, composed of carbon gas, could be rapidly frozen into a solid block, safely encasing an organic being and placing them in cryo-cycle stasis to maintain their life functions. This process, known as carbon-freezing, ushered in a new age of space exploration and inadvertently facilitated the creation of the Galactic Republic by bringing the galaxy's inhabitants closer together. However, carbon freezing had unpleasant, albeit temporary, side effects, including hibernation sickness that caused disorientation and blindness in the affected individual.
While functional, neither generation ships nor sleeper ships proved efficient for long-term commercial or civilian applications. This prompted scientists to seek alternative methods of interplanetary travel. Researchers studying the space whale species known as purrgil came to believe that their method of long-range travel, the creation of simu-tunnel, involved traversing a dimension of space-time parallel to that accessible by most organic beings. In this dimension, the distance between gravity wells, or astronomical objects in realspace, was shorter because the laws of realspace spacetime did not apply.
By observing purrgil behavior, scientists learned that hyperspace could be entered through molecular displacement, which necessitated exceeding the speed of light. Because hyperspace was coterminous with realspace—meaning that every point in realspace had a corresponding point in hyperspace in the form of mass shadows—it was possible to use this dimension to travel from one location to another in less time without physically covering the distance between them. Legend has it that this technology was originally developed by the mythical Rakatan species from the planet Lehon. The Devaronians on the planet Devaron independently developed hyperdrive technology without outside help, exploring and interacting with the galaxy before the Galactic Republic made contact with their region of space. Consequently, Devaronian galactic explorers were commonly seen throughout the galaxy as early as 30,000 years ago. As early as 27,000 BBY, the Gossam Courivers arrived on the planet Felucia using a tumbledrive propulsion engine. Eventually, Corellian engineers, independently of their Duros counterparts, developed the technology needed to access hyperspace, naming it the hyperdrive, in contrast to standard engines, which were called sublight engines.
Galactic civilization prospered throughout ancient history once hyperdrives enabled faster-than-light travel. The Old Republic dispatched pioneering scout ships to explore the galaxy as more and more civilians from the Core Worlds looked for a better life. The Devaronians were among the first explorers along what became the Corellian Trade Spine hyperspace route. Early hyperdrive routes were pioneered by scouts such as the San Tekka clan using hyperspace sextants or simply by following purrgil on their journeys. This latter practice demonstrated the species' propensity for feeding on the gas Clouzon-36, which formed in regions exposed to intense interstellar energy, such as Kessel or the Redhurne system. Knowledge of this behavior led humans to the discovery of the mineral coaxium, which also formed in these locations and, like Clouzon, fueled faster and better hyperdrive jumps. Unfortunately, faster-than-light travel also opened up new opportunities for warfare, as demonstrated by the Great Hyperspace War between the Republic and the Sith Empire, which is now-mythological and occurred just over 5,000 years ago.
Prospectors and explorers began utilizing the rudimentary hyperspace routes and the advanced hyperdrives of the time to explore the vastness of space, thus initiating the Great Hyperspace Rush. The Republic continued to fund the scouting of new territories through its Pathfinder Teams, while also employing private scouts such as the Graf family. The development of major hyperlanes, including the Perlemian Trade Route and the Hydian Way, further accelerated galactic expansion.
Hyperdrives were made up of two key components: a navigation computer and the hyperdrive generator, which is the reactor assembly. The navicomputer calculated a safe route through hyperspace by comparing the pilot's intended course with known hyperlanes and existing hazards, such as supernovas and asteroid fields, to ensure a safe journey. The reactor, on the other hand, generated sufficient power to execute a jump without overburdening the ship's primary reactor.
Most modern hyperdrive reactors featured a main chamber coated in coaxium, which significantly improved their efficiency. Larger models, like the SSP05 and the T-14, operated by stacking multiple stabilizer plates and channeling hypermatter through ultra-thin effect channels that passed through them. The navicomputer regulated the energy output of hypermatter, which then reached the ship's main engines, charging the ions already present and powering them for the jump to lightspeed. A hyperdrive motivator managed the jump based on sensor data, ensuring a safe trip and return to realspace. Smaller vessels, such as starfighters or bombers, often omitted the hyperdrive reactor and relied solely on the motivator, drawing power from the ship's standard reactor. Examples of standalone motivators included the R300-H hyperdrive motivator on the BTL-A4 Y-wing starfighter and the GBk-585 hyperdrive motivator on the T-65B X-wing starfighter.
During the Clone Wars, a microjump was executed to rescue Jedi Master Eeth Koth from the Confederacy of Independent Systems' forces in orbit above Saleucami. Anakin Skywalker precisely jumped through hyperspace using the exact coordinates of General Grievous' command ship, arriving mere meters from his target undetected. Han Solo utilized the same precise jumping technique to infiltrate the First Order's superweapon, Starkiller Base, since the planet's shields had a fractional refresh rate that prevented anything moving below light speed from passing through. Employing the hyperdrive in this manner could result in the loss of a ship due to the nature of mass shadows without careful planning, but skilled pilots like Solo and Skywalker could leverage these spatial characteristics to their advantage.
In 34 ABY, Resistance Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo performed a hyperspace jump with the cruiser Raddus, directly targeting the First Order flagship Supremacy, causing the enemy ship to be torn apart in the resulting collision.
During the Mission to Sinta Glacier Colony, Poe Dameron used Hyperspace skipping to evade First Order pursuers.
Hyperdrives were classified by "class," with lower classes indicating faster engines. Most civilian ships used hyperdrives with a Class Three rating or higher, while government, diplomatic, and military vessels were equipped with Class Two or Class One hyperdrives. The Carrion Spike, with its Class One hyperdrive, was the fastest ship in the Imperial Navy, while high-end capital ships like the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer had Class 2 hyperdrives. The First Death Star, on the other hand, had a Class 4 hyperdrive. The T-14 hyperdrive generator on J-type 327 Nubian royal starships had a Class 1.8 rating. Certain ships, such as Nakari Kelen's Desert Jewel and Han Solo's Millennium Falcon, had exceptionally fast hyperdrives, with ratings of Class 0.8 and 0.5 respectively.