Hyperspace & Beyond

Chapter 8: Hyperspace & Beyond

Art by Chris Gossett - Dark Horse Comics



"Traveling through hyperspace ain't like dusting crops, boy!

Without precise calculations we'd fly right through a star or bounce

too close to a supernova, and that'd end your trip real quick, wouldn't it?"




     The great astronomer and astrophysist, Galtrox Suthui has studied the 
phenomena of Hyperspace for many years, building on theories started 
even before the Old Republic.  He has noted that...
        "The hyperdrive is a miracle of advanced technology.  Powered by
        incredibly efficient fusion generators, hyperdrive engines hurl 
        ships into hyperspace, a dimension of space-time that can be 
        entered only at faster than light speeds.  The theories and 
        realities of hyperspace travel are understood by few but 
        highly-trained hyperspace technicians in the astrophysics 
        communities, and even they admit that certain aspects remain a 
        mystery."
Hyperspace is a dimension of space-time that can only be reached by 
traveling at lightspeed.  Certain things are clear, though.  Hyperspace is 
coterminous with realspace:  each point in realspace is associated with a 
unique point in hyperspace, and adjacent points in realspace are adjacent 
in hyperspace.  In other words, if you travel "north" in realspace then 
jump to hyperspace, you'll be heading "north" in hyperspace as well.  
Objects in realspace have a "shadow" in hyperspace.  That is, there 
is a star (or star-like object) in hyperspace at the same location as it 
occupies in realspace, and this is a danger to those travelling in 
hyperspace.
     This is why astrogation and astrogation computers are so 
important, and why they are standard aboard most hyperdrive-equipped 
ships.  Careful calculations must be made to assure that a 
hyperspace-travelling ship doesn't smash into a planet or star while 
hurtling through this dimension; only the desperate - or foolhardy - 
attempt hyperspace jumps without up-to-date astrogation charts and 
astrogation Droids or computers.  Many Droids and astrogation computers 
used on starfighters are capable of containing data for only one 
hyperspace jump at a time; others, such as the Rebel Alliance Y-wing can 
hold up to 10 jumps without being reprogrammed.  Larger starships, such as 
Imperial Star Destroyers and similar models, have large onboard 
astrogation computers capable of virtually unlimited jump calculations 
and actually store jump coordinates for almost every forseeable 
destintion the ship may wish to reach.
     Even with sophisticated astrogation machines, mistakes are not 
uncommon.  There are millions of stars in the galaxy, and billions of 
planets (not to mention asteroids and other debris), and space is not 
static - what was a safe course a few days ago may now be filled with 
debris from an exploded starship or collision between large bodies.  
Floating molecules are everywhere - only a few per cubic centimeter, but 
they still exist.  Larger objects, though rarer, are common too.  There 
are many more "rogue" planets - which float in the intersteller 
void, unwarmed by any sun - than are in star systems. Authorities 
estimate that the locations of more than 90 percent of all large bodies 
in the galaxy are unknown!  There are uncountable asteroids, meteors and 
random chunks of ice and rock between the stars.  With all these variables, 
even the largest, most sophisticated computers, operated by the most 
experienced astrogators can plot a fatal path through hyperspace - even 
along well-traveled routes.
     If a ship travelling at translight speeds hits an object of any 
size, it is instantly vaporized.  Even a close graze with a rogue planet 
or sizeable asteroid would throw a ship vastly off course. Astrogation is 
definitely a tricky business!
     A ship in hyperspace must still go around all objects in our
dimension, called realspace.  Therefore, ships can seldom travel straight 
from one star to another - they must avoid the mass shadows and 
gravitational affects of every star, planet, asteroid and other galactic 
phenomenon in the way.
     The solution to this was the creation of established, known 
hyperspace routes.  As these routes were traveled, the obstacles along 
the route became better known, and ships could risk going faster and 
faster.  In simple terms, using an established, well known route allows 
for very fast travel, even between distant stars, while using a poorly 
traveled route, even if only over a short distance, takes longer and is 
often more dangerous.
        Starships also have mass shadow sensors that allow them to detect 
mass shadows and shut down the ship's hyperdrive to avoid 
collision...sometimes.  This shutoff will almost always result in the 
destruction of the hyperdrive and component parts.  However, other times, 
the ship has been transferred through hyperspace never to be seen 
again - it has gone Beyond Hyperspace!



The following are excerpts from Galtrox Suthui's textbook, Charting 
the Beyond: