When hyperspace was discovered has yet to be defined, but how it was discovered has been explored. While The High Republic has featured hyperspace prospecting, it’s not exactly the origin of hyperspace discovery.

The Nihil exploited Mari and her abilities, using her Paths to wreak havoc across the Outer Rim including causing the Great Disaster. Her innate navigational skills allowed her to see these Paths when no one else could. Mari San Tekka, a scion of the San Tekka family known for charting many hyperspace routes in this era, was responsible for discovering these Paths. (Remember Han’s warning in Star Wars: A New Hope?)ĭuring the High Republic era, the Nihil used what they called “Paths” to traverse the galaxy, which were seemingly impossible hyperspace routes. Jumping without coordinates is a risk it could lead you to smashing into something at incredible speed, or being dropped out of hyperspace with a busted hyperdrive, and stranded to wander the empty void for ages. The navigational systems required could vary but at its core, a ship needs the coordinates of its destination in order to jump to hyperspace. The most common type of hypermatter is coaxium. Hypermatter is used to fuel a hyperdrive in order for it to reach lightspeed and jump to hyperspace. Other technology needed to traverse hyperspace include hypermatter and some means of navigation. (Although ships often travel at far faster velocities than lightspeed once in hyperspace, something otherwise impossible to do.) In order to reach these speeds, a ship requires a hyperdrive - a propulsion system that would pitch the ship to lightspeed in order to “jump” to hyperspace. To access hyperspace a ship needs to reach (and inevitably surpass) “lightspeed.” Reaching these speeds allows ships to basically break through the barrier from realspace into hyperspace. This allowed them to travel far and fast, making space travel more accessible and traversable. Essentially, the Star Wars galaxy exists in “realspace” (just as the Milky Way does), but at some point, residents of the galaxy discovered a dimension that broke past any speed barriers. The most rudimentary definition of hyperspace is a dimension of space used to travel across (typically) long distances. But what exactly is hyperspace? With Star Wars constantly exploring the mysteries of hyperspace, most recently in Star Wars: The High Republic, it seemed only right to explain the function of it. The endless tunnel of swirling blues is absolutely mesmerizing. Hyperspace is one of the fantastical parts of Star Wars that never fails to captivate both audiences and characters in the story. In this installment, Emily explains how hyperspace functions… Star Wars Inside Intel is a feature where Lucasfilm Story Group member Emily Shkoukani, whose job is to know as much about a galaxy far, far away as possible, explores obscure facts about Star Wars lore and continuity.

Hyperspace definition