Hyper Drive

Hyper Drive is a type of FTL technology employed by some races. It operates by moving a ship entirely out of normal space, and has some principles in common with Python Reactor technology. The technology is considered to be extremely unsafe, relying on too many engineered safeguards and having multiple single points of failure. While it is cheaper to construct large hyper drives than large Python reactors, most space-fairing cultures will not take the risk.

Advantages

Due to the nature of the technology, hyper drive engines can be comprised of several small components, and do not require pressure vessels. This makes them easier to build, and can be constructed on planet surfaces and easily transported into orbit. The technology also does not rely on the ship's N-Space drive, and is in fact fully independent. While officially bound by the Fernel Limit, examples of FTL drives operating within a planet's atmosphere have been seen.

Hyper drives also move ships entirely out of normal space, negating the need for a navigational deflector or the requirement to move into the outer solar system before jumping.

Hyper drive technology is also much more compact, with the drive encompassing a smaller over-all mass coefficient of the spacecraft. This allows both for smaller FTL-capable ships, and offers more space on larger vessels for other equipment.

Disadvantages

The computer calculations involved are enormous, in many cases negating the potential size advantage of the engines by requiring more space to be devoted to computing power. Most races that have mastered hyper drives rely on Crystal technology, which adds another single point of failure.

Hyper drives can be extremely energy-intensive. While variants with lower power requirements are possible, the typical development trail begins with extremely high-consumption systems. This often renders many developing cultures incapable of completely FTL flight as they reach a technological dead-end: unable to generate enough power, unable to produce lower powered versions without working prototypes.

If used incorrectly, the engines can overload and explode catastrophically.

If damaged, the engines can explode catastrophically when engaged.

If used incorrectly, the use of multi-spatial technology involved and the transportation of crafts outside of normal space can have unpredictable consequences.