Obi-Wan Kenobi is seen attempting repairs on a T-14 hyperdrive generator
The hyperdrive, alternatively known as warp drive, represented a type of propulsion system that gave starships the capability of attaining lightspeed. This allowed them to cross the vast gulfs between stars by entering the alternative dimension called hyperspace. Therefore, the hyperdrive played an essential role in the development of galactic society, influencing trade, politics, and warfare.
To function, the hyperdrive needed a working hyperdrive motivator. After that, the vessel would proceed along a pre-set route until it re-emerged into normal space—realspace—at its intended destination.
The sole purpose of a hyperdrive was to maintain a vessel's presence in hyperspace; should the hyperdrive be forcibly shut down or destroyed while in transit, the ship would be violently and instantaneously returned to realspace.
Most starfighters, being designed for short-range missions, did not include a hyperdrive. A prime example is the Galactic Empire's TIE fighters, which needed to be transported to battle zones by larger vessels. Conversely, the X-wing and A-wing starfighters, utilized by the Rebel Alliance, were equipped with hyperdrives, enabling them to undertake long-distance journeys.
When a ship entered hyperspace, it emitted cronau radiation, which could be detected using specialized sensor equipment.
Substantial objects in normal space projected "mass shadows" within hyperspace. Consequently, accurate calculations were essential for hyperspace jumps to prevent collisions, which often resulted in fatalities.
Later advancements allowed for the removal of vessels from hyperspace. For example, interdiction fields generated gravitational shadows, simulating mass, in the path of an approaching vessel, forcibly pulling it out of hyperspace. Imperial engineers developed the widely deployed Interdictor ships and their various models, representing some of the most potent interdiction technologies.
In the distant past, before hyperdrive technology existed, the earliest spacers relied on generation ships for interstellar travel, crossing the great distances between planets throughout the galaxy. Generation ships, famously used by a Coruscanti patriarch to pioneer the Koros Trunk Line, were soon superseded by sleeper ships after carbonite was invented by scientists on Koros Major. This liquid, composed of carbon gas, could be rapidly frozen into a solid block, safely encasing organic beings and placing them in cryo-cycle stasis to maintain their vitality. This process, known as carbon-freezing, initiated a new age of space exploration and inadvertently contributed to the formation of the Galactic Republic by fostering closer connections among the galaxy's inhabitants. However, carbon freezing had harsh–though temporary–side effects, including hibernation sickness, which caused disorientation and blindness.
While functional, generation and sleeper ships lacked efficiency for sustained commercial or civilian use, prompting scientists to seek alternative methods of interplanetary transport. Researchers studying the space whale species known as purrgil eventually hypothesized that their method of long-distance travel, the creation of simu-tunnel, involved traversing a dimension of space-time parallel to that accessible by most organics, where the distance between gravity wells–astronomical objects in realspace–was shorter because the laws of realspace spacetime did not apply.
By observing purrgil behavior, scientists discovered that hyperspace could be accessed through molecular displacement, achievable only by exceeding the speed of light. Given that hyperspace was coterminous with realspace–meaning that every point in realspace had a corresponding point in hyperspace in the form of mass shadows–it became possible to use this dimension to travel between points more quickly without actually covering the physical distance. Legend suggests that the mythical Rakatan species, native to Lehon, actually developed this technology. Separately from any outside help, the Devaronians on the planet Devaron independently invented hyperdrive tech, and had explored and interacted with the galaxy before the Galactic Republic ever made contact with their region of space. As a result, Devaronian galactic explorers were a common sight across the galaxy as far back as 30,000 years ago. As early as 27,000 BBY, the Gossam Courivers reached the planet Felucia using a tumbledrive propulsion engine. Ultimately, Corellian engineers, independently of their Duros counterparts, created the technology necessary to access this dimension, naming it the hyperdrive—in contrast to standard engines, which were called sublight engines.
Once hyperdrives enabled faster-than-light travel, galactic civilization prospered throughout ancient times. The Old Republic dispatched pioneering scout ships to explore the galaxy as increasing numbers of civilians from the Core Worlds sought improved living conditions. The Devaronians were among the early 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 tracking purrgil during their travels. The latter practice highlighted the species' inclination to feed on the gas Clouzon-36, which accumulated in areas exposed to intense interstellar energy, like Kessel or the Redhurne system. Knowledge of this practice led humans to discover the mineral coaxium which also formed in the same places and like Clouzon fuel faster and better hyperdrive jumps. Unfortunately, faster-than-light travel also opened up new avenues for conflict, as demonstrated by the now-mythological Great Hyperspace War between the Republic and Sith Empire just over 5,000 years ago.
Prospectors and explorers began utilizing these rudimentary hyperspace routes and the advanced hyperdrives of the era to explore the vastness of space, initiating the Great Hyperspace Rush. The Republic continued to fund the scouting of new territories with its Pathfinder Teams, while also employing private scouts like the Graf family. The establishment of major hyperlanes, such as the Perlemian Trade Route and Hydian Way, further accelerated galactic expansion.
Hyperdrives were composed of two fundamental components: a navigation computer and the reactor assembly itself–also referred to as the hyperdrive generator. To ensure a safe journey, the navicomputer determined a secure path through hyperspace by comparing the pilot's intended route with known hyperlanes and existing hazards, such as supernovas and asteroid fields, while the reactor managed the generation of sufficient power to execute a jump without overtaxing the ship's primary reactor.
Most contemporary hyperdrive reactors featured a main chamber coated with coaxium, which significantly boosted their efficiency. Larger models, like the SSP05 and the T-14, operated by stacking multiple stabilizer plates and channeling hypermatter through incredibly thin effect channels passing through them. The navicomputer regulated the energy output of hypermatter, which then reached the ship's main engines, energizing the ions already present and powering them for the jump to lightspeed; a hyperdrive motivator managed the jump based on sensor data, ensuring a secure trip and return to realspace. Smaller vessels, such as starfighters or bombers, often omitted the hyperdrive reactor altogether, relying solely on the motivator, with power supplied by the ship's standard reactor. Examples of standalone motivators included the R300-H hyperdrive motivator of the BTL-A4 Y-wing starfighter and the GBk-585 hyperdrive motivator of the T-65B X-wing starfighter.
During the Clone Wars, a microjump was performed to rescue Jedi Master Eeth Koth from the forces of the Confederacy of Independent Systems in orbit around Saleucami. Using the precise coordinates of General Grievous' command ship, Anakin Skywalker executed a precise jump through hyperspace, arriving mere meters from his target without being detected. Han Solo used the same technique of precise jumping to infiltrate the First Order superweapon Starkiller Base, since the planet's shields were using a fractional refresh rate that would keep anything below light speed from passing through. Without careful planning, using the hyperdrive in such a manner could result in the loss of a ship due to the nature of mass shadows, but the most gifted pilots like Solo and Skywalker could use those characteristics of space to their advantage.
In 34 ABY, Resistance Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo executed a hyperspace jump with the cruiser Raddus that was directly aimed at the First Order flagship Supremacy, resulting in the enemy ship being torn apart upon impact.
During the Mission to Sinta Glacier Colony, Poe Dameron employed Hyperspace skipping to evade pursuing First Order forces.
Hyperdrives received a rating referred to as "class": a lower class number indicated a faster engine. Most civilian vessels utilized hyperdrives rated Class Three or higher, while government, diplomatic, and military ships were outfitted with Class Two or Class One hyperdrives. Equipped with a Class One hyperdrive, the Carrion Spike was the fastest vessel in the Imperial Navy, while premier capital ships such as the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer incorporated Class 2 hyperdrives. The First Death Star, on the other hand, possessed only a Class 4 hyperdrive. The T-14 hyperdrive generator found on J-type 327 Nubian royal starships was rated at Class 1.8. Certain ships, such as Nakari Kelen's Desert Jewel or Han Solo's Millennium Falcon, featured exceptionally rapid hyperdrives—rated at Class 0.8 and 0.5, respectively.