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"Okay, so at its base level, a hyperdrive allows you to travel great distances by entering and exiting subspace."
Rodney McKay[src]

Hyperdrives are devices which allow ships to break the light-speed barrier, enabling interstellar and in some cases intergalactic travel. They function by taking the vessel into hyperspace, where normal physical laws that would prevent faster-than-light travel do not apply.

Overview[]

A hyperdrive allows a vessel to open a subspace window and move into hyperspace. In this manner, a ship can cross vast distances without experiencing relativity. Hyperdrives vary in their effectiveness from race to race, with some being much faster than others; most hyperdrives are designed to travel within a single galaxy, while more advanced models can travel between galaxies in the same amount of time.

The effectiveness of a hyperdrive depends on two factors: design and power input. Given enough power, a hyperdrive can be made to go far faster than it would normally be capable, such as in the case of the Zero Point Module-powered Odyssey, which can reach speeds more than four times faster than its sister ships. Interestingly, even though the Odyssey is fitted with Asgard hyperdrives it is much slower (approx. 5% the top speed) than Asgard warships using the same technology.

It is not known what ship design factors affect top speed, however increasing overall ship mass does reduce top speed and flight endurance if the ship is more massive than the drive is designed to handle. (SG1: "Grace")

Hyperdrives by culture[]

Ancient[]

Main article: Ancient hyperdrive
Battle of the Super-hive 9

A City-ship's Stardrive propels it through hyperspace.

The Ancients were the first race known to develop hyperdrive technology, being able to make intergalactic trips millions of years before human life was ever seeded in the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies, and 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 their exodus ship. Even without a Zero Point Module, these hyperdrive can cross the massive void between galaxies in the amount of time it would take most hyperdrives to travel moderate interstellar distances; with a full complement of ZPMs, a City-ship is capable of traveling several million light years in only a few hours though requiring and using up considerably more power. These hyperdrives have comparable components to an Asgard hyperdrive so the Tau'ri can repair a city-ship's hyperdrive by customizing components they would use in their Asgard hyperdrives. (SG1: "The Ark of Truth", SGA: "Rising", "Enemy at the Gate", "Legacy: Homecoming")

All other Ancient ships encountered by the Tau'ri appear to be equipped with a much less powerful interstellar variant. These hyperdrives traversed subspace at a much slower pace than their intergalactic cousins, but were still far superior to every other hyperdrive except those of the Asgard and Ori. The Aurora-class boasted hyperdrives that could be modified to make an intergalactic trip if necessary, though they were usually ill-equipped to make such a journey and it is unknown how fast they would be (although the Orion despite running on minimal power was easily able to keep pace with the Daedalus despite the heavy damage and low power levels suggesting a speed comparable to that of Asgard ships). It is known however without modifications it would have taken the Aurora months to reach Lantea from its current destination. It is likewise unknown if the rest of the Ancient fleet could be modified this way, but it seems probable. (SGA: "Aurora", "The Return, Part 1")

Early Ancient ships, such as Destiny and the seed ships, use an FTL drive instead of a hyperdrive. This type of engine is capable of intergalactic travel, but its speed relative to intergalactic hyperdrives is unknown. It is still faster than the interstellar hyperdrives of the Wraith and Goa'uld, which are normally incapable of practical intergalactic travel. (SGU: "Air, Part 1")

Asgard[]

Main article: Asgard hyperdrive

Asgard hyperdrives are among the fastest hyperdrives ever created, being able to traverse the distance between close galaxies within hours. If equipped with an Ancient power source, Tau'ri ships equipped with Asgard hyperdrives are capable of traveling between Earth and Pegasus in four days. It is unknown how much faster an Asgard ship can travel than a BC-304 that is using a ZPM. While in hyperspace, the weapons systems and defensive shields of a vessel using an Asgard hyperdrive 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 occurrence is highly unlikely, as few races, if any, would be able to keep 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 greatly. The Asgard later granted the Tau'ri a limited portion of their hyperdrive technology, in thanks for their contributions in the battle against the Replicators. Yet later, when the Asgard decided to destroy themselves and all their technology, they gifted all their technology and knowledge including presumably their latest hyperdrive to the Tau'ri.

Control Ship[]

Main article: Control Ship hyperdrive
This section requires expansion


Goa'uld[]

Main article: Goa'uld hyperdrive
Hatak in transit in Hyperspace

A Ha'tak in hyperspace.

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 year's reach of a planet designated for conquest.

The hyperdrive on Apophis' mothership, designed by Sokar, was considerably faster than a standard Ha'tak's hyperdrive. This is impressive since, unlike Anubis' hyperdrive technology, this was made with purely Goa'uld knowledge.

When Anubis upgraded the Ha'taks of his fleet, the ships became faster by an unknown degree. Many of these ships have since been absorbed by the Lucian Alliance. (SG1: "Within the Serpent's Grasp", "Exodus", "Enemies", "Revelations", "Company of Thieves")

Nakai[]

Main article: Nakai hyperdrive
This section requires expansion


Ori[]

Main article: Ori hyperdrive
Ori warship 1

An Ori fleet in hyperspace.

Ori hyperdrives—having been 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 Zero Point Module-powered Odyssey though they seem to be slightly slower. 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. (SG1: "Camelot", "Flesh and Blood", "Dominion", "Unending", "The Ark of Truth")

Tau'ri[]

Main article: Tau'ri hyperdrive
Asgard Hyperdrive

The Daedalus in hyperspace.

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. Later when the Asgard fixed the faults in the hyperdrive, it acted within par, until the buffer overloaded, stranding the ship on Tagrea. Earth later managed to acquire the hyperdrive of an Al'kesh from Ba'al, which was incorporated. This greatly increased the hyperdrive's effectiveness, but vessels were still forced to make short stops for it to cool down, as this drive was designed for a ship 1/10 of its size. (SG1: "Prometheus", "Memento", "Prometheus Unbound")

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. (The Prometheus' Asgard hyperdrive is capable of speeds around 150 light-years per hour (MSgt. Walter Harriman states that a 50 light-year trip would take 20 minutes), or about a kilo-parsec per day, giving it a speed approximately 2,628,000 times greater than that of light or 833.33 times that of the Goa'uld standard Ha'tak.) (SG1: "Prometheus Unbound") This speed is ~41.67 times slower than later BC-304 class ships when they are in transit between Earth and Atlantis; however as the 50 light year distance was relatively short this may simply be a speed which the drive was not able to sustain indefinitely.

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 is capable of, apart from the Ancients, Asgard and Ori); with a Zero Point Module the trip can be shortened to a mere four days. (SGA: "The Siege, Part 1")

Experimental Jumper

The Experimental Jumper creates a hyperspace window.

In the brief period of having near ascension powers gained with a Lantean ascension machine, Dr. Rodney McKay developed an interstellar hyperdrive for a Puddle Jumper; a single case of Tau'ri designing a hyperdrive for an alien spacecraft instead of vice versa. However, its practical implementation was not considered fully reliable, with Dr. McKay and Dr. Radek Zelenka hoping it would work at least twice and the latter conservatively estimating its maximum range at 2,000 light years. The Experimental Jumper successfully reached Asuras from a different star system, covering an unknown distance; however, the single jump depleted the Jumper's internal power supply and a return trip would have required an external power source, though it was never made as the Jumper was recovered by the Apollo instead. (SGA: "Tao of Rodney", "Adrift", "Lifeline")

Earth is still continuing its own research into hyperdrive technology, and is currently developing a new generation of hyperdrives for its fleet. (SGU: "Sabotage")

Traveler[]

Main article: Traveler hyperdrive
Katana Labrea's ship

A Traveler ship in hyperspace.

The Travelers have installed hyperdrives on their generational ships; however, they are—as Dr. Radek 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. Despite this, they are relatively fast, able to keep up with the rest of the combined Wraith and Tau'ri fleet before the Battle of Asuras. (SGA: "Travelers")

Vanir[]

Main article: Asgard hyperdrive

The Vanir originally possessed the intergalactic hyperdrives that their Ida galaxy counterparts are famous for, however they were destroyed 10,000 years ago by the Wraith after the majority of Ancients departed for Earth. Due to lack of resources, they are unable to replace them, so they must rely on mere interstellar variants. Vanir hyperdrives are the first witnessed to accurately and safely open a hyperspace window in-atmosphere at their destination. It is unknown exactly how fast they are, though they are likely comparable to the unmodified hyperdrives of Ancient Aurora-class vessels. (SGA: "First Contact", "The Lost Tribe")

The hyperdrive of a mothballed Vanir scout ship was able to make the trip between the Pegasus galaxy and Earth in around 50 hours. It was also able to make a completely seamless transition into hyperspace that was undetectable to its passengers. However, this ship was one from before the Vanir lost their intergalactic ships to the Wraith and is presumably an Asgard hyperdrive from 10,000 years ago. It also functioned perfectly despite a lack of maintenance for millennia. (SGA: "The Third Path")

Wraith[]

Main article: Wraith hyperdrive
Hive ship 1

Wraith Hives in hyperspace.

Wraith hyperdrives are not as effective as that of many other known races, since it takes them several weeks to cross distances in even a small galaxy like the Pegasus galaxy. This is additionally compounded by the organic nature of Wraith vessels, which must routinely exit hyperspace to prevent a build-up of radiation damage in their hulls acquired via hyperspace travel, allowing enemy forces to attack Wraith ships while they are in transit. (SGA: "The Siege, Part 3")

Due to these issues, the Wraith are normally incapable of intergalactic travel (like the Goa'uld), posing an obstacle to their intended target of Earth. The Atlantis expedition was worried that the Wraith could get access to advanced hyperdrive technology from Atlantis, the Daedalus, or surviving Lantean warships such as the Aurora. These fears came true when a faction of Wraith led by Nightwind stole the Aurora mission reports from Atlantis, allowing them to upgrade hyperdrives on two hive ships that subsequently left the Pegasus galaxy for Earth. Notably, these ships still required periodic stops for regeneration, allowing the Atlantis expedition to successfully prevent them from reaching their destination; the upgrades were not spread to other Wraith ships. (SGA: "The Siege, Part 2", "Aurora", "The Intruder", "Allies", "No Man's Land", "Misbegotten")

Hyperdrive (Wraith)

Wraith hyperdrive.

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. However, it was abandoned due to adverse affects it had on Stargates. (SGA: "First Contact")

Like with the Tau'ri ships, usage of a Zero Point Module can enhance the performance of a Wraith hyperdrive. A Super-hive equipped with an unknown number of Zero Point Modules was able to reach the Milky Way galaxy much faster than normal, aided by the faster regeneration of its hull. (SGA: "Enemy at the Gate")

Comparison of Faster-than-Light drives[]

Note: While the information presented in this section is based on on-screen measurements, this information has yet to be confirmed by an official source, and is thus conjectural.

Direct measurements or statements of operating speeds[]

  • Asgard O'Neill-class with Prometheus being towed: 200 light years per second (6 seconds to travel 1,200 light years - directly measured from footage). It is known that Asgard ships are faster when not towing other vessels, but an exact figure is not known. (SG1: "Unnatural Selection")
  • Goa'uld Ha'tak: 0.001 light years per second (32,000 times the speed of light - stated). This is also consistent with the statement that it would take 125 Years to travel approximately four million light years. (SG1: "Exodus")
  • Goa'uld Ha'tak (modified by Replicators): Stated to be capable of travel at over 800 times the speed of a normal Ha'tak, which would give this configuration a maximum speed of at least 0.8 light years per second. However, measurement of the footage indicates a travel time of five minutes and 20 seconds across four million light years, and assuming it took one minute for SG-1 to walk from the pel'tak to the engine room off-screen this vessel travelled at an average speed of 10526 light years per second. As this vessel is stated to have been continuously accelerating (presumably throughout the trip), its final top speed may actually have been 21052 light years per second, and the vessel would have accelerated at 55.4 light years per second per second. This is not only 100 times faster than Asgard ships, but 42 times faster than the Replicator's own cruisers. (SG1: "Enemies")
  • Tau'ri BC-303: This class has been stated to be able to traverse 50 light years in 20 minutes, equating to a speed of 150 light-years per hour or 0.0416 light years per second. (SG1: "Prometheus Unbound")
  • Tau'ri BC-304 (with ZPM power): It is often stated this configuration is capable of travelling between the Milky Way and Pegasus in four days. This equates to 8.681 light years per second.
  • Tau'ri BC-304: It is known that this class can traverse the distance between the Milky Way and Pegasus in 18 days. This equates to 1.929 light-years per second.
  • Wraith Hive ship: These ships are known to be capable of traversing 50 light years in nine hours, but the vessel must drop out of hyperspace for at least 15 hours to regenerate after such a jump. For long journeys, this gives a speed of 50 light years per day or 0.000578 light years per second. If the need to regenerate is disregarded (such as during short flights), this equates to 0.00154 light years per second.

Extrapolated operating speeds[]

  • Asgard Bilskirnir-class: It is possible this class has traversed the four million light years between Ida and the Milky Way within a matter of hours. This is based on the assumption that Thor departed for Cimmeria from the Ida Galaxy only after receiving the request for help through the Hall of Thor's Might; and that the delay between the request being sent to Thor and him arriving was less than one day (as they both occurred while the sun was out). Assuming Cimmeria has a day that is relatively similar in length to Earth (not unreasonable given other events on that planet), it is highly unlikely that this time interval exceeds 12 hours. Additionally, the delay was at least the time required to walk from the Hall of Thor's Might back to the Goa'uld landing site, presumably a few hours. Assuming a middle ground of 8 hours, these vessels are capable of 139 Light Years per Second. (SG1: "Thor's Chariot")
  • Lantean City-ship wormhole drive: Observed to traverse at most 100,000 Light Years (diameter of the Milky Way) in seconds but there is no particular stated limitation on the distance if power is not a concern. Likely this is comparable to other wormhole travel and therefore outrageously fast compared to other ship-based FTL travel. It is worth noting this is not a mature technology and it is not known whether it could be refined into a practical means of starship travel.
  • Lantean City-ship stardrive: At least a few hours to travel 3 Million Light Years (distance between the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies). Assuming that this figure is approximately 4 hours the Stardrive is capable of approximately 200 light years per second. The 4 hour time interval is based on the events in the final episode of Stargate Atlantis (SGA: "Enemy at the Gate"). Note that these figures are based on Atlantis's drive performance, which could be degraded due to accumulated damage, lack of operator understanding (as the ship was being operated by the Tau'ri rather than the Lanteans) or simple age.
  • Replicator cruiser: Replicator Carter stated that Fifth's cruiser would reach the Milky Way two hours after he detected her location. Assuming he only left for the Milky Way after detecting Carter, and that he departed from the Ida galaxy (his last known location prior to this), this vessel travelled four million light years in two hours for a maximum speed of 555 light years per second. (SG1: "Gemini")
  • Ori warship: It is known that this class can keep up with a Tau'ri BC-304 with ZPM power; thus it's top speed is at least 8.681 light years per second. While they may possibly be considerably faster, there is not enough information available to know for sure. While these ships were designed with knowledge given by Ascended beings, they were ultimately constructed by a civilization with next to no technological infrastructure which may explain this figure compared to Asgard and Ancient designs. This figure is also compatible with the fact that super gates were used in order to have an acceptable arrival time in the Milky Way (though it is possible there is simply too vast a distance for reasonable travel even with much faster drives).
  • Wraith Super hive: This ship is known to have traversed the distance between the Milkyway and Pegasus in no more than 2 days, likely considerably less (SGA: "Enemy at the Gate"). This is the overall trip time including a mid trip stop for regeneration and a fight, if these are disregarded (as they may not have been necessary once full ZPM integration was achieved) the total in hyperspace time seems likely to not exceed 24 hours. If we assume a minimal, but not impossible, 8 hour total hyperspace time then this class was capable of 100 light years per second. Unlike other ship classes it is possible that the ship must perform regular drop outs to repair hull damage, thus limiting it's top speed.

As Rodney McKay pointed out in Aurora, hyperdrives can roughly be classified into two distinct types, interstellar and intergalactic. Based on the measurements stated above and assuming the lower estimate of the average intergalactic distance of approximately 105 light years, it can be very loosely said that a minimum speed of about 0.05 light years per second is required for a system to be considered an intergalactic hyperdrive (around 23 days to traverse hundreds of thousands of light years).

Speed rankings[]

Given the above, and using the best assumptions extrapolated, this list presents a ranking based on speed. This disregards power efficiency or mass of ship moved.

This list is incomplete.

1. Lantean City-ship wormhole drive: Thousands of light years per second
2. Replicator cruiser: 555 light years per second
3. Asgard O'Neill-class: 200 light years per second (known to be faster if not towing another vessel)
4. Lantean City-ship stardrive: 200 light years per second
5. Asgard Bilskirnir-class: 139 light years per second
6. Wraith Super hive: 100 light years per second (may be lower)
7. Ori warship: ~8.6805 light years per second (may be higher)
8. Tau'ri BC-304-class (with ZPM power): ~8.6805 light years per second
9. Tau'ri BC-304-class: ~1.9290 light years per second
10. Goa'uld Ha'tak (modified by Replicators): 0.8 light years per second (may be higher)
11. Tau'ri BC-303-class: ~0.4167 light years per second
12. Wraith Hive ship: 0.00154 light years per second (0.000578 light years per second if drop outs for regeneration are considered)
13. Goa'uld Ha'tak: 0.001 light Years per second

These figures suggest that FTL systems vary widely in top speed, and even advanced designs such as Asgard and Ancient drives are severely limited if fitted to ships with inadequate power or mismatched design. On the other hand, advanced power sources and technical knowledge can be used to dramatically improve hyperspace speed of even relatively primitive craft such as Goa'uld or Wraith ships.

External links[]

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Hyperdrives
Ancient hyperdrive · Asgard hyperdrive · Control Ship hyperdrive · Goa'uld hyperdrive · Nakai hyperdrive · Ori hyperdrive · Tau'ri hyperdrive · Traveler hyperdrive · Wraith hyperdrive
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