Hyperspace

The parallel dimension used by ships to facilitate expeditious interstellar travel.

Hyperspace is the space through which a spaceship may travel at faster-than-light speeds, using a hyperdrive.

Ships in hyperspace can interact with normal space, and thus complicated calculations (usually performed by an astromech droid or a navigation computer) are necessary to avoid a disastrous impact.

Moving too close to a source of high gravity can remove a ship from hyperspace. This can occur when faulty calculations move the ship too near a star or large planet. This mechanism is exploited by the Imperial Interdictor cruiser, whose Gravity well projectors can be used to pull ships out of hyperspace for an ambush, or to prevent ships from fleeing the battlefield. It is also exploited by pirates, who have been known to haul large asteroids into such a position as to bring a ship out of hyperspace in order to ambush and board it.

External link

 * Star Wars Technical Commentaries - Hyperspace