Hyperdrive

Hyperdrives are devices which can propel spaceships to hyperspace, by opening a subspace window and travelling within a hyperspace field. Hyperdrives vary from culture to culture.

Ancient
The Ancients were the first race known to develop hyperspace technology, being able to make intergalactic trips millions of years before human life was ever seeded in the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies. They possessed two types of hyperdrives. Their intergalactic hyperdrives were capable of making trips between galaxies, but they appear to have been confined to city-ships and Intergalactic transports. Even without a Zero Point Module they can cross the millions of light years between galaxies in the amount of time it would take most hyperdrives to travel interstellar distances; with the power of a single ZPM backing them these hyperdrives can at least match the most advanced Asgard hyperdrives in speed. The other vessels of the Ancient fleet, such as the Aurora-class, possessed the much less powerful interstellar hyperdrives. These hyperdrives allowed a vessel to traverse across a galaxy at a slower pace than intergalactic hyperdrives, but were still very fast, and also far superior to every other hyperdrive except those of the Asgard. The interstellar hyperdrives equipped on the Aurora-class could be modified to make an intergalactic trip if necessary, possibly meaning the interstellar hyperdrives of other Ancient vessels could be modified in a similar manner; however they were usually ill-equipped to make such a trip, and it is unknown how fast they would be, probably far slower than the Asgard. Some success has been had with installing an interstellar hyperdrive on puddle jumpers, even though their range is small when compared to other vessels equipped with even Goa'uld hyperdrives (albeit much faster), and their effectiveness is limited: draining the jumper's internal battery after one jump unless another power source is interfaced.

Asgard
Asgard hyperdrives are quite possibly the fastest hyperdrives ever created, being able to traverse the distance between galaxies within hours. While in hyperspace the weapons systems and defensive shields of the vessel are offline, due to the fact that the full power of the generators is required. As a result, a ship using an Asgard hyperdrive can be destroyed if a nearby vessel in hyperspace self-destructs; however this occurance is highly unlikely, as no other hyperdrive has been seen keeping equal pace with them. Asgard ships have the ability to tow other vessels in their hyperspace field, but this causes the total travel time of the journey to be lengthened exponentially. The Asgard later granted the Tau'ri their hyperdrive technology, in thanks for their contributions in the battle against the Replicators.

Goa'uld
The hyperdrives on a standard Ha'tak are capable of reaching speeds of up to 32,000 times the speed of light, but due to the far-flung nature of the Goa'uld Empire a Goa'uld homeworld had to be within less than a years reach of a planet designated for conquest.

Lost Tribe
The Lost Tribe was known to possess the intergalactic hyperdrives that their Ida galaxy counterparts are famous for, however they were destroyed 10,000 years ago by the Wraith after the Ancients departed for Earth. Due to lack of resources they were unable to replace them, so instead they must rely on mere interstellar hyperdrives. The interstellar hyperdrives of the Lost Tribe have been shown opening hyperspace windows in-atmosphere directly above water, which has never been seen before. While it is unknown how fast they are, they are likely comparable to the hyperdrives of the Ancient Aurora-class.

Ori


Ori hyperdrives, designed with ascended knowledge, are capable of making intergalactic journeys if necessary and are so fast that they have proven capable of nearly keeping pace with the Asgard hyperdrive of the newly upgraded and ZPM-powered Odyssey. Despite their incredible speed, the distance between the Ori home galaxy and the Milky Way was so great that a Supergate was required for the Ori crusaders to reach the Milky Way in a period of time acceptable to the Ori.

Tau'ri
The Tau'ri initially used naquadria to power their first viable hyperdrive in the form of a buffered reactor core. Unfortunately, the naquadria proved to be too unstable for Earth's level of technology, and the reactor required controlled amounts of energy to prevent an overload, which seriously limited the effectiveness of the hyperdrive. Earth later managed to acquire an the hyperdrive of an Al'kesh from Baal, which was incorporated. This greatly increased the hyperdrive's effectiveness, but vessels were still forced to make short stops to prevent an overload. The Asgard later granted the Tau'ri their hyperdrive technology in thanks for their assistance in battling the Replicators, which allowed Tau'ri vessels to make intergalactic trips without respite due to their vastly superior nature. However, due to power requirements, a trip between the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies took up to three weeks (which is still far beyond what every other encountered space-faring race apart from the Ancients and the Ori is capable of). If a ZPM happens to be powering the vessel during its journey between the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies the trip can be shortened to a mere four days.

Traveler
The Travelers have installed hyperdrives on their generational ships; however they are, as Dr. Zelenka described, somewhat crude. They are composed of mismatched components that seem to require continuous maintenance since, despite their relatively advanced technological state, most Traveler technology is old and likely out-dated.

Wraith
Wraith hyperdrives are believed to have been stolen from the Ancients, as Ancient hyperdrives are known to be compatible with those of the Wraith. Wraith hyperdrives are not as effective as that of other known races since it takes them several weeks to cross distances in even a small galaxy like the Pegasus galaxy. However, due to the techno-organic nature of Wraith vessels, they must routinely exit hyperspace to prevent a built-up of radiation damage acquired via hyperspace travel, which severely limits their effectiveness. The Lantean scientist Janus developed a weapon called the Attero Device, which was capable of destroying Wraith ships upon entering hyperspace. The device emitted a specific frequency that created turbulence in the layer of subspace utilized by Wraith hyperdrives, ripping their ships apart when they entered a hyperspace window.