Light Speed Engines

The hyperdrive was a propulsion system that allowed a starship to reach lightspeed and traverse the void between stars in the alternate dimension of hyperspace. As a consequence, the hyperdrive was a key instrument in shaping galactic society, trade, politics and war.[1]

The hyperdrive functioned by sending hypermatter particles to hurl a ship into hyperspace while preserving the vessel's mass/energy profile, and required a functional hyperdrive motivator to do so. The vessel then traveled along a programmed course until it dropped back into normal space—realspace—at its destination.

A hyperdrive only functioned to keep a vessel in hyperspace, and should a hyperdrive be forcibly deactivated or destroyed during transit, the ship was violently pulled back into realspace.[2]

Being short-range craft, most starfighters lacked a hyperdrive. This was notably the case with the Galactic Empire's TIE fighters, which had to be ferried to combat zones aboard larger ships. However, the X-wing and A-Wing starfighters used by the Rebel Alliance were fitted with hyperdrives, allowing them to make long-range jumps.[3]

Upon entering hyperspace, a ship emitted cronau radiation, which was possible to detect with specialized sensor suites.[4]

Large objects in normal space cast "mass shadows" in hyperspace, thus hyperspace jumps required accurate plotting to avoid collisions, which were often fatal.

Later technologies could pull vessels out of hyperspace: for instance, interdiction fields created gravitational shadows, simulating mass, in the path of an oncoming vessel, yanking the vessel out of hyperspace.[5] Imperial technologists developed the widely used Interdictor vessels and their various sub-models, one of the most effective interdiction technologies.[4]

Contents
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 * 1) History
 * 2) Advanced operation
 * 3) Classes
 * 4) Appearances
 * 5) Sources
 * 6) Notes and references
 * 7) External links

History Edit
Sightings of purrgil, a spacefaring species capable of traveling at lightspeed, were said to have inspired the early development of the hyperdrive.[6] Before its invention, the earliest spacers utilized sleeper ships, using cryogenic freezing processes to preserve their original hosts in carbonite.[7] Once hyperdrives made faster-than-light travel possible, galactic civilization flourished throughout ancient history. The Old Republic sent pioneering scout ships to explore the galaxy[8] as increasing numbers of civilians from the Core Worlds sought a better life.[9]

Later, more advanced hyperdrives allowed even faster travel across a galaxy over 100,000 light years across,[10] while major hyperlanes such as the Perlemian Trade Route and Hydian Way further accelerated galactic expansion.[4]

Advanced operation Edit
During the Clone Wars, a microjump was used to rescue Jedi Master Eeth Koth from the forces of the Confederacy of Independent Systems in orbit of Saleucami. Using the exact coordinates of General Grievous' command ship, Anakin Skywalker precisely jumped through hyperspace, arriving meters away from his target, undetected.[11] The same precise jumping technique was used by Han Solo 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.[12] 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.[11] <sup id="cite_ref-Star_Wars:_Episode_VII_The_Force_Awakens_11-1" class="reference">[12] Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo used a directed hyperspace jump to ram and cripple the dreadnought Supremacy. In 34 ABY,<sup id="cite_ref-TLJ-Date_12-0" class="reference">[13] Resistance Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo executed a hyperspace jump with the cruiser Raddus that was directly aimed at the First Order flagship Supremacy, causing the enemy ship to be sliced apart in the resulting collision.<sup id="cite_ref-Episode_VIII_13-0" class="reference">[14]

Classes Edit
Hyperdrives were rated by "class"; the lower the class, the faster the engine. With its Class One hyperdrive, the Carrion Spike was the fastest ship in the Imperial Navy,<sup id="cite_ref-Tarkin_3-3" class="reference">[4] while top-of-the-line battlecruisers such as the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer featured Class 2 hyperdrives. The First Death Star, meanwhile, had a mere Class 4 hyperdrive.<sup id="cite_ref-StarshipEncyclopedia_14-0" class="reference">[15] The T-14 hyperdrive generator equipped on J-type 327 Nubian starships was rated Class 1.8.<sup id="cite_ref-UltimateSW_15-0" class="reference">[16] Some exceptional ships, like Nakari Kelen's Desert Jewel or Han Solo's Millennium Falcon, had exceptionally fast hyperdrives—Class 0.8<sup id="cite_ref-HTTJ_16-0" class="reference">[17] and 0.5 respectively.<sup id="cite_ref-AbEverything_17-0" class="reference">[18]

The ion drive was a type of engine used to propel most starships at sublight velocities. Ion engines were fueled by power cells, liquid chemical reactants, onboard generators, or virtually any other device capable of providing sufficient power. The engine utilized internal fusion reactions to produce a stream of highly charged particles that were forced through the engine's exhaust port at nearly the speed of light. Ion engines were sometimes called ion rockets.

Ion engines emitted mildly radioactive byproducts, requiring onboard technicians to wear protective gear. Because of this radioactivity, and the disabling effects that ions had on electronics and electrical systems, it was common protocol for most ships to utilize repulsorlifts for propulsion during atmospheric flight and reserve use of the more powerful ion drives for orbital navigation.

The most noted craft using ion drives were TIE Fighters, which received their name from the number of ion engines they used: Twin Ion Engine.

Ion engines (also called ion drives and ion thrusters) were a common type of sublight drive. The drives generated charged particles that were then hurled from the rear of the ship, producing thrust in the process.<sup id="cite_ref-Cross_0-0" class="reference">[1] The many starfighter models in the TIE line were all equipped with twin ion engines.<sup id="cite_ref-Ultimate_Star_Wars_1-0" class="reference">[2] The byproduct of such engines, the ion exhaust, made the passage of a ship detectable to sensors.<sup id="cite_ref-Bomber_Command_2-0" class="reference">[3]

At the time of the conflict between the First Order and the Resistance, Sienar-Jaemus Army Systems manufactured a number of ion drive models, including the SJAS-210 and the SJAS-200a.<sup id="cite_ref-Cross_0-1" class="reference">[1]