Hyperdrive / Legends The hyperdrive ( occasionally called warp drive ) was a vital starship engine system that allowed vessels to enter hyperspace to traverse the vast distances of space faster than lightspeed . The hyperdrive was thus a key technology in the foundation of galactic society , trade and war . The construction and working principle of a hyperdrive were based on Hyperdrive Theory . The term described the engine and all components required for its use , such as the hyperdrive motivator or hyperdrive field guide . In numbers , the hyperdrive allowed travelers to traverse a galaxy spanning over 120 , 000 light year s in only a few hours or days , the exact travel time depending on a number of factors including destination , point of origin , route , and class of hyperdrive . The hyperdrive was generally built from a titanium - chromium compound . This compound was specially designed to allow hyperdrives to withstand the continual stress caused by traveling between the dimensions of realspace and hyperspace . Principles . Entering hyperspace . Hyperspace was a dimension of space - time that could only be entered at faster - than - light speeds . The process of entering hyperspace was known as a " jump . " The hyperdrive used a trans - physical effect to launch a starship beyond lightspeed and into hyperspace , making use of supralight hypermatter particles to make the hyperspace jump without changing the ship ' s complex configuration of mass and energy . To enter hyperspace , the starship ' s pilot would enter commands via paralight system , a combination of mechanical and electro - optical subsystems that translated the commands into a set of corresponding reactions within the hyperdrive power plants . The process of a hyperspace jump began with the collection of gamma radiation by the hyperdrive field guide . The hyperdrive motivator , the primary lightspeed thrust initiator , built up and modified the collected radiation in a fusion generator through several kilometers of charge planes , effect channels , or looped superconducting wire . To enter hyperspace , the hyperdrive ' s horizontal booster s would provide energy to the motivator ' s ionization chamber to begin ignition that would release the radiation through the alluvial dampers . The energy release caused ripples in the time - space matrix , allowing the ship to propel off the ripples into hyperspace . Certain hyperdrives used antimatter as fuel , stored in special anti - matter pod s , though it remains unclear how this integrated with other hyperdrive mechanics . Upon exiting hyperspace an unknown technology was used to decelerate the starship . Both entrances into and exits from hyperspace created wake rotation and Cronau radiation that produced a detectable signature often used to reconnoiter fleet movements or by planetary customs authorities . Safety mechanisms . Inertial dampers were used to protect the ship , crew , and cargo from being crushed by the tremendous acceleration of the jump . Once in hyperspace , a null quantum field generator helped stabilize the vessel and kept it from prematurely emerging from the alternate dimension . Shields also protected the ship from fatal collisions with interstellar gas and particles . To prevent the relativistic passing of time while in hyperspace , starships used stasis fields attuned to hyperdrive levels to keep organic crews or cargoes " in time " with the standard galactic dimension . The alluvial dampers made use of a servo - controlled plate to regulate the flow of ion particles from the hyperdrive , thus controlling the amount of thrust . Other technologies , such as the 4 - axial stabilizer and hyperdrive regulator , kept the ship from being ripped apart by the physics of hyperspace travel . To prevent overheating , hyperdrives made use of overheat failsafes , like a hyperspace shunt or transpacitor . A hyperdrive could only initiate a jump into hyperspace when reasonably free of the gravitational pull of a major celestial body . Sublight engines were used to liberate the starship from a body ' s gravity well before the ship could jump . Hyperdrives included an automatic failsafe that cut out the hyperdrive when a gravity well was detected in the navigational path . While this prevented a collision in the event of an astrogational error , the failsafe was exploited by engineers to create artificial gravity wells , such as those used on Imperial Immobilizer 418 cruisers or Hapan mass mine s , to either pull starships from hyperspace at a specific location or to prevent them from fleeing into hyperspace . This , of course , relied on either knowledge of a starship ' s travel pattern or being situated along a particularly popular hyperspace route . Some systems allowed an override of the failsafe , but it was known to have disastrous effects . On the other hand , hyperdrive inhibitor s prevented starships from getting out of hyperspace near bodies registered as stars by astrogration computers . History . Possibly the first hyperdrive was the hyperspace tractor beam , used by the Celestial s in 1 , 000 , 000 BBY . This early hyperdrive demanded massive amounts of power , supplied by gravity wells , although this type of hyperdrive was outdated by hypergate s , which functioned on similar principles . Though the Columi developed interstellar travel nearly 100 , 000 years before the Battle of Yavin , it is not known if they developed a true hyperdrive ; what is known is that the fragile race soon gave up their interstellar travels to focus on other scientific and mental pursuits . The first interstellar space drive known to make use of hyperspace was developed by the Rakata , who built their Infinite Empire around technology using the dark side of the Force to travel through hyperspace . Humans developed sleeper ship s to first explore the stars , and later hyperspace cannon s that boosted ships into hyperspace , before they in turn developed the hyperdrive . At a similar time , the Devaronians and Gossam devised the tumble hyperdrive to explore the galaxy . Around 25 , 053 BBY , almost two hundred years after the fall of the Infinite Empire , the peoples of the planets Corellia and Duro finally discovered ways of working around the Force - attuned components of the Rakata technology and produced their own version of the hyperdrive ; the Duros also independently created such workarounds . Within twenty years , the technology had stabilized to the point of general use , and the Corellians began to sell hyperdrives to nearby star systems ( though some considered the trade practices of the Corellians during this era to be exploitation ) . The earliest hyperdrives would be considered slow by the standards of the early third decade ABY . Limited in range and often unreliable , hyperdrives gradually advanced to allow increasingly large ships to travel increasingly longer distances with greater safety , ease and speed . The development of the hyperdrive was not limited to the Core Worlds . The Tionese of the Tion Cluster developed their own version of the hyperdrive by fusing bits of Rakatan technology with fixed - position hyperspace beacon s , which allowed travel within a defined area but was dangerous when venturing outside the " lighthouse " network . This kept the Tionese isolated from the rest of the galaxy for millennia , though they occasionally encountered the growing Hutt Empire . Thus the Expansionist Era , an age of colonization , exploration and unification , began ; the seeds of the Galactic Republic were sown between the Core Worlds of Coruscant , Alderaan , Corellia , Duro , and Chandrila . As the Republic expanded , new members were granted access to the hyperdrive technology made available by the earliest starship manufacturers like Alderaan Royal Engineers , Core Galaxy Systems , Corellian Engineering Corporation and Rendili StarDrive . Explorers began to test the realm of hyperspace while prospectors attempted to gain rights to what they anticipated would be profitable routes . Hyperspace exploration was a risky but profitable business . The development of the Perlemian Trade Route and the Corellian Run established the earliest stable system of hyperlane travel . Astrogation maps became valuable commodities as scouts explored new planets , species and regions . As the Republic began to process the incredible inflow of new information , the Republic Spacelane Bureau was formed , and Coruscant became the navigational center of the Republic with the coordinates zero - zero - zero . The Spacelane Bureau fought to end private control of information regarding hyperlanes and established a protected set of beacons for major pathways to liberate them from the control of privately held charts . The technology allowed for a galactic economy to form fueled by standardized currency and the Core language of Basic . At the same time , the arrival of hyperdrive technology to warring worlds , such as Ando , produced disastrous results . The development of navigational computers to handle complex astrogation calculations did away with the need for hyperspace beacon s and jump gates , and ended the reliance on established routes ; as long as a pilot knew where he was going , the NavCom could take him there . Over time , the hyperdrive became increasingly commonplace . Beyond the early foundation of the Republic , the Great Hyperspace War and subsequent expansion , hyperdrives allowed for many terrible wars and periods of tremendous prosperity . From the founding of the Republic forward , hyperdrive technology continued to be one of the driving features of galactic society . Despite rapid advances in hyperdrive technology , the systems were too large to be practical for most small spacefaring vessels . Even by the last century of the Republic , many starfighters made use of hyperdrive rings and hyperdrive sled s to achieve superluminal travel . By the end of the Clone Wars , it was more common for starfighters and freighters to make use of onboard hyperdrives . During the establishment of Palpatine ' s New Order , hyperdrive - enabled ships commonly carried backup hyperdrives with a usual capacity of 10 lightyears . Few spaceworthy vessels relied upon larger , hyperdrive - enabled starships for transport . Classes . The superluminal speed of a hyperdrive was rated on an inverse scale : the faster the hyperdrive , the lower the rating . These ratings , generally called " Classes , " provided a quick , although often inconsistent or inaccurate , idea of a ship ' s hyperdrive speed . The hyperdrive class acted as a multiplier for a given base travel time . Thus , a Class 2 hyperdrive took twice the base time to travel a given route , while the " Millennium Falcon " Class 0 . 5 took only half the base time . By the end of the Clone Wars , most military starships were using Class 3 or Class 2 . During the Galactic Civil War , military capital ships and starfighters were generally equipped with faster Class 1 or Class 2 drives , industrial freighters and haulers with Class 3 or Class 4 , and civilian starships with Class 5 or above . Many vessels mounted backup hyperdrives of much higher — that is , slower — class than their primary hyperdrive . Some starships , such as the " Millennium Falcon " and Dash Rendar ' s " Outrider " , underwent aftermarket modifications to achieve their ratings ( Class 0 . 5 and Class 0 . 75 , respectively ) , although tampering with the generally stable technology of a hyperdrive was considered dangerous . Boba Fett ' s " Slave I " had a class 0 . 7 hyperdrive . Hyperdrives built by those outside the sphere of the Galactic Republic , Galactic Empire and New Republic , such as the Hapan " Froond " - class hyperdrive , were not classed in the standard system , as controlled comparisons were difficult to attain . Some Zonama Sekotan ships were able to achieve a Class 0 . 4 by combining high - class hyperdrives with organic technology , as did the Bes ' uliik starfighter via fusion of Verpine and Mandalorian technology . Malfunctions . Sometimes , the hyperdrive malfunctioned while in operation . Many things could result ; however , most consequences are unknown and usually fatal . Still , some malfunctions did not have such grim conclusions . Faulty relativistic shield ing could expose passengers to the altered space - time continuum , causing a journey which seemed a few hours to actually take centuries in the real world . Bosbit Matarcher was known to have experienced this phenomenon . Some hyperdrives have also rattled out of their casings , destroying the engines , if not the entire ship . Around 5000 BBY Jedi Master Relin Druur sabotaged the hyperdrive aboard the Sith Dreadnaught " Harbinger " . But instead of disabling the hyperdrive , he merely damaged it . Normally the ship ' s safety features would have prevented it from jumping to hyperspace with a damaged hyperdrive . However , due to extensive damage to " Harbinger " bridge , the safety features did not engage , and the ship traveled through space " and " time , arriving in 41 ABY . During the Sky Battle of Quell , Ahsoka Tano , Aayla Secura and the clone troopers with them were trying to dock with the " Resolute " so Anakin Skywalker could receive medical attention . The ship started taking damage , and the hyperdrive was activated , causing them travel through hyperspace close to a star . Luckily , they were able to stop the ship by cutting all power and forcing a system restart . The Thorsen field driver was also a component that could fail . Although its failure did not stop a ship from entering hyperspace , it could cause physical damage to the ship and the crew when reaching lightspeed . A power drop in the hyperdrive — caused by , for example , mynocks chewing the cables — could increase the travel time . Behind the scenes . While the majority of " Star Wars " Legends material uses the classification system described above , by Timothy Zahn uses an opposite system : the lower the rating , the slower the hyperdrive . The TIE Defender has a Class 2 hyperdrive despite the speed chart in " The New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels " indicating otherwise . The guide seems to have accidentally copied the TIE Interceptor stats for the TIE Defender .