Does anyone have any idea of how small you can make a functioning hyperdrive engine? Is there a minimum size of some kind?

Now, to be clear, I'm not limiting the answers to this question solely to a vehicular hyperdrive. If one could build a hyperdrive the size of a Cuban cigar and have it work, that's a valid answer to my question.

It's not JUST the Hyperdrive, there's also extra stuff to consider. A hyperdrive is useless without a sublight engine and a navicomputer. The latter requires a lot of space and memory since most small fighters are either carried by capital ships or use an astromech as a compact navicomputer in itself. Personally I think a Hyperdrive engine is considerably large, probably about the size of a person. In the Phantom Menace we see that one for a large starship is a very large box that is to a persons chest height.

Many cross sections also show the Falcon as having a large hyperdrive engine, so I doubt a small 'cigar box' size hyperdrive is feasible. However that doesn't mean it can't be experimental technology.

Edit: Without context as to why you need to know, its hard to provide you with an accurate answer.

Are you looking for a Canon answer, an EU answer, an FFG SWRPG answer, or something else?

ISTR in the EU that there are some relatively small droid probes that are hyper-space capable, and of course there are the hyperdrive sleds & rings that you can use with non-hyperdrive capable star fighters.

But it would take some searching through Wookiepedia to get a more complete answer with regards to the EU.

The hyperdrive on an X-Wing is relatively small. Maybe not cigar-boxed, but certainly something that two-people could carry, possibly one if they were strong. Of course that's the core of the hyperdrive, there are probably other components that need to be hooked up. But I'd think a small hyperdrive could fit in a modern-day shopping cart.

The a-wings is tiny. But youre clearly up to something. Probably something really stupid. Like GM will hate me forever stupid.

Hyperdrive-as-selfdestruct? Cigar-sized device that, when activated, rips a 5-cm bubble around itself (solidly filled or otherwise) out of space and scatters it through hyperspace?

Well, my players have this idea to steal something off a small-ish Imperial cruiser, but believe it or not the best way for them to get it is when it's in hyperspace and not expecting anything or anyone, the idea is to stow aboard (for some) and for others to impersonate Imperials. When they grab the stuff, they want a device they can stick to an escape pod, just something that works enough to dump you into realspace, then the PC's are gonna work on a pickup plan.

Yeah, it's a cowboy plan, but the system encourages cowboy hijinks after all so *shrug* I just figured I'd get some background and communal ideas.

Well, my players have this idea to steal something off a small-ish Imperial cruiser, but believe it or not the best way for them to get it is when it's in hyperspace and not expecting anything or anyone, the idea is to stow aboard (for some) and for others to impersonate Imperials. When they grab the stuff, they want a device they can stick to an escape pod, just something that works enough to dump you into realspace, then the PC's are gonna work on a pickup plan.

Yeah, it's a cowboy plan, but the system encourages cowboy hijinks after all so *shrug* I just figured I'd get some background and communal ideas.

As stated in another thread about escape pods... new Canon has you dropped out into realspace if you separate from a ship while in hyperspace. It is risky and isn't guaranteed to succeed... but... it worked for a Jedi...

Well, my players have this idea to steal something off a small-ish Imperial cruiser, but believe it or not the best way for them to get it is when it's in hyperspace and not expecting anything or anyone, the idea is to stow aboard (for some) and for others to impersonate Imperials. When they grab the stuff, they want a device they can stick to an escape pod, just something that works enough to dump you into realspace, then the PC's are gonna work on a pickup plan.

They could steal a hyperspace-capable shuttle.

Apparently, many escape pods had limited hyperdrive capability anyway — see http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Escape_pod

In-game, the more advanced “Life Boat” comes equipped with a Class 12 hyperdrive — see http://swrpg.viluppo.net/transportation/starships/1372/

Thinking about this some more, the PCs might not realize that the ship has hyperspace-capable escape pods.

So, maybe one idea they might have would be to try stealing a hyperdrive from one of the other craft, or maybe there is a spare starfighter-size hyperdrive that could be commandeered, and the players might have to work out how to try to jury-rig that to work with an escape pod.

Only when they get on the ship, they discover that the escape pods already come equipped with small hyperdrives, and all that work was for nothing.

There's a couple of 1-shot or 5 use hyperdrives around in Star Wars that would not be very big.

Smallest one I can think of off top of my head is the Sienar ND9's they use in some of the more up-model TIE's

edit-

Lot of the capable pods would be tiny, however, they're mostly there to get you out of deep space to somewhere remotely civilised so you can get rescued. More importantly, objects in hyperspace remain in that dimension until pulled out via a hyperspace motivator... or you hit something with a gravity well.

This is not a good place to be! A pretty important factor if you have to bail out while in hyperspace.

Doesn't Star Wars universe have hyperspace capable message pods?

I can't remember the source, but I'm sure I read a novel or sourcebook where important information was jetisoned from a ship in trouble in a hyperspace capable message pod.

If so, I imagine they have small hyperdrives that might only be capable of a single jump.

The probe droids in empire had hyper capable containers that weren't much bigger than the droid.

Doesn't Star Wars universe have hyperspace capable message pods?

I can't remember the source, but I'm sure I read a novel or sourcebook where important information was jetisoned from a ship in trouble in a hyperspace capable message pod.

If so, I imagine they have small hyperdrives that might only be capable of a single jump.

This was a plot point in Beyond the Rim.

Doesn't Star Wars universe have hyperspace capable message pods?

Yeah the Elegance Message Drones, they had a 0.25x HD good for 1 run before it ran out of fuel and could be used five times.

Think they where in the Droids Essential guide and maybe one of the EU novels

SOUNDS like a cool device-- make it real and make a cool story out of it for your PCs Your the GM...you can dooeeet

Every time I see the title of this topic on the list page, I think it's talking about a children's story called "The Littlest Hyperdrive" I've already come up with a sequel: "The Little Starfighter That Could".

I think I need more sleep...

As said above the Hyperspace Message Pod (True at Bakkura) and the Probe Droid Hypersleld (ESB) are you two smallest hyperdrive capable items, in both cases saved by being 1-way trips and not needing life support equipment. If you look at the cross sections of the X-wing, A-wing and Tie-Advanced, the actual hyperdrive unit is quite small.

I didn't even realize they made some escape pods with hyperdrives. You'd think a universe I've loved for 30+ years I'd know a bit better.

But the idea that such pods exist makes my life a LOT easier as a GM actually, I can simply tell the PC's that "If you wanna get off the ship in hyperspace you either need to steal a shuttle or grab one of these doohickeys". Works for me.

I didn't even realize they made some escape pods with hyperdrives. You'd think a universe I've loved for 30+ years I'd know a bit better.

But the idea that such pods exist makes my life a LOT easier as a GM actually, I can simply tell the PC's that "If you wanna get off the ship in hyperspace you either need to steal a shuttle or grab one of these doohickeys". Works for me.

Probably more lifeboat then escape pod... which for an RPG adventure is probably better anyway.