In Star Wars, discovering hyperspace shaped the universe in a way that changed it forever by making planetary travel on a galactic scale possible for the first time. Going back as far back as the High Republic era, no in-universe character has fully understood hyperspace despite its ever-increasingly validity as a method of travel. Hyperspace remained a theoretical dimension often poorly understood even into the time of the sequel trilogy and will likely stay misunderstood far into the in-universe future of Star Wars as well.
Over the course of Star Wars’ timeline, there have been many dedicated hyperspace routes. These routes shaped the galactic map into how it appeared by the time of George Lucas’ prequel trilogy. There are many safe routes on the central right side of the galactic map, with less densely packed hyperspace routes the farther out one goes. But if one looks on the left side of the galactic map, there is a distinct lack of charted routes. This is because there are spatial anomalies and many deadly obstacles in this area, which Star Wars calls the Unknown Region or Wild Space.
Still, this has done little to dissuade the Star Wars universe’s more intrepid explorers from exploring the Unknown Region, with Wild Space also acting as a safe haven for villainous organizations like the prequel’s First Order. Even within the relatively safe confines of charted hyperspace routes, many pilots have elected to push the boundaries of what is considered possible in hyperspace – with Han Solo’s famous 12-parsec Kessel run a prime example. Here’s how discovering hyperspace changed the Star Wars universe forever and how it continues to shape it today.
How Hyperspace Was Discovered In Star Wars
In the current canon, hyperspace travel was inspired by ancient engineers observing the natural abilities of Purrgil, a spacefaring whale-like creature. These Purrgil inhaled a specific green gas, Clouzon-36, which would be metabolized into hyper matter fuel, allowing them to achieve lightspeed and jump into the dimension later called hyperspace. These engineers learned from the Purrgil and created the first hyperdrives. This would open up the galaxy to be explored and changed forever.
It wasn’t long before more planets began designing hyperspace technology allowing further travel between different star systems in the Star Wars galaxy. This allowed for technology, ideas, culture, goods, knowledge, and diversity to begin spreading throughout the galaxy. This didn’t come without significant risks, however, as the ability to get into hyperspace doesn’t mean one can navigate through it easily.
The Hazards of Hyperspace Made It Dangerous For Most
However, these first pioneering explorers would find out just how dangerous hyper was without proper navigation. Distant ancestors of Lor San Tekka from Star Wars: The Force Awakens were revealed in Charles Soule’s novel Light of the Jedi to be a clan of hyperspace prospectors. They were “rough-edged people finding routes through the wild spaces of the galaxy, like planetary explorers searching for passes through deadly mountain ranges.” Many like them braved the chaos of regular and hyperspace to find the fastest and shortest routes to travel throughout the galaxy. These safe routes would then be sold to traders, governments, and anyone else with deep enough pockets. Navicomputers were invented to keep track of and calculate all these different safe hyperspace routes, becoming essential to anyone who flew into the hyperspace dimension.
Even with a navicomputer, hyperspace was still a dangerous place to be. Navigational hazards in hyperspace include planets, stars, black holes, and asteroid fields. This is because of their gravity, which can pull a ship out of hyperspace. In this way, dedicated hyperspace routes free from these dangers allowed pilots to navigate safely. Even gravity mine weapons created during the High Republic era were found to warp hyperspace temporarily, only adding to the danger of navigating inside it.
Hyperspace Created A New Kind Of Pilot
The skills it takes for hyperspace travel make it so that not just anyone in Star Wars can be a pilot. It takes a vast amount of skill and luck to even be considered an average pilot capable of competent hyperspace travel. Even then, a pilot had to have a ship that was capable of hyperspace travel to begin with. Up until the days of the prequel trilogy, small starfighters for Jedi relied on hyperspace rings, a technology created in the High Republic by the Nihil. The Nihil’s advanced hyperspace technology allowed them to make precise jumps through hyperspace; something Republic forces couldn’t do. Once the Nihil technology was incorporated into the Republic, things remained stagnant for roughly 200 years until the Clone Wars.
The Clone Wars’ tail end and the Galactic Empire’s rise saw a rapid change in hyperspace piloting. Piloting skills became more complex thanks to hyperspace technology being put into smaller ships like X-Wings. Hyperspace was utilized in hit-and-run guerrilla warfare against imperials that required quick navi-calculations while getting shot at. Then there were bold moves like the Holdo Maneuver, weaponizing hyperspace when a big cruiser repositions to hit another large or larger ship before jumping into hyperspace. After the rise of the Empire, pilots had to adapt to survive and learn on the fly how to improvise and use hyperspace to their advantage – further upping the level of skill required.
Hyperspace “Globalized” The Galaxy
The benefits of hyperspace travel allowed the distribution of wealth, knowledge, and goods to flourish throughout the galaxy. This resulted in the first “galactic market,” as hyperspace routes for trade were established across the different star systems. It allowed planets strong in the Force to be felt by powerful Force wielders while exploring hyperspace. Some strong arguments can be made about the Force and its connection to hyperspace as well, with some of these planets considered vergences in the Force. They contain a location with a strong connection to the Force created by a Jedi and Sith’s actions – but the most powerful exist on worlds rich with the Force and were developed for reasons that eluded even the Jedi.
The Ultimate Impact of Hyperspace On The Star Wars Galaxy
The impact of hyperspace travel acted as the catalyst for everything that shaped the Star Wars universe into what it is today. Various wars and contact between different planets, thanks to the hyperspace dimension, allowed the galaxy to become what audiences first viewed in A New Hope. Without hyperspace, the Star Wars that fans are familiar with wouldn’t be able to exist in its universe. Hyperspace revolutionized life in the galaxy and, in many ways, harmed it due to countless wars fought over and made possible by hyperspace.
