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Sublight engines are engines found on ships which propel them through normal space without going beyond the speed of light.

Overview by culture[]

Ancient[]

The Ancients equipped their vessels with extremely fast sublight engines. Puddle Jumpers are capable of crossing the Lantean system in under 15 hours, faster than anything Earth has made thus far. One ship—the Tria—had her sublight drives modified to propel the vessel at 0.999 the speed of light, the fastest sublight speed ever encountered; this is the fastest one can possibly go without actually going the speed of light, although they had access to a Zero Point Module giving them a significant power boost. Even City-ships are remarkably maneuverable, considering their great size. (SGA: "Rising", "The Defiant One", "The Siege, Part 1", "The Return, Part 1")

Asgard[]

The Asgard have extremely fast and very maneuverable sublight engines. Older Asgard vessels, and especially the highly advanced O'Neill-class ship, is by far the most maneuverable vessel seen, making sharp turns at high speeds and engaging in dogfight-style tactics, easily avoiding the fire from the Ori warships despite its massive size. (SG1: "Thor's Chariot", "New Order, Part 1", "New Order, Part 2", "Camelot")

Goa'uld[]

Goa'uld sublight drives are equipped aboard all Ha'tak vessels. Despite their large size, the sublight drives of Ha'taks are quite fast and maneuverable. Sublight drives on Death Gliders are also quite fast and maneuverable. These drives are used to decelerate after exiting hyperspace. (Stargate) (SG1: "The Serpent's Lair", "Enemies", "Reckoning, Part 2")

Ori[]

Ori warships and fighters are quite fast. The Ori fighters appear to fly at speeds previously unseen, possibly faster than Death Gliders. (SG1: "Camelot", "Flesh and Blood")

Tau'ri[]

The Tau'ri possess relatively powerful sublight engines, which are installed on Prometheus and Daedalus-class ships. The sublight engines on the Prometheus were capable of accelerating to 110,000 miles per second, over half the speed of light. It is unknown the speed at which Daedalus-class ships can travel, but because of the Tau'ri's current level of technology, it is possibly faster. (SG1: "Prometheus", "Flesh and Blood")

Traveler[]

The Travelers possess highly maneuverable and powerful sublight engines. (SGA: "The Lost Tribe")

Wraith[]

The Wraith have less efficient sublight drives on their larger capital ships, but the drives on Wraith Darts are quite fast. They also give off a distinctive (and disturbing) whining noise. (SGA: "Rising", "The Siege, Part 3", "No Man's Land")

Ursini[]

The Ursini appear to have relatively strong engines for their technological level, although they are less powerful than their counterparts in the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies. Their engines are also located in a different place to other races. The sublights on the Ursini spaceships appear to be somewhat closer to the centre of the ship. (SGU: "The Greater Good", "Resurgence")

Nakai[]

The Nakai appear to have relatively strong engines looking to their lower level of technology compared to the Tau'ri, Ancients and other spacecapable races in the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies (also, Ursini spaceships are possibly faster). The Nakai only use one engine on their motherships. They also have fighters which are equipped with the engines. (SGU: "Space", "Divided", "Sabotage", "Trial and Error")

See also[]

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