Naquadria reactor core

The Naquadria reactor core was a hyperdrive generator installed on the X-303 as Earth's "shortcut" to interstellar travel. Powered by the element Naquadria, a buffer was installed to prevent the reactor from going critical due to naquadria's inherent instability.

However, during the shakedown cruise, a problem with the hyperdrive engines forced the crew to eject the reactor into space, stranding the ship on an alien world until a replacement could be procured.