Realspace

Galaxy1 — A realspace view of a protostar

"Sir, the Electrum has reverted to realspace."

―A technician, to Wilhuff Tarkin^[src]

Realspace,^[1] also called normal space,^[2] or simply space,^[3] was the dimension in which all of the galaxy's residents lived. The vast majority of space was a vacuum, a depressurized area devoid of atmosphere. The vacuum of space was fatal to many living organisms without the use of some sort of EVA suit and was unable to sustain fire.^[4] Because travel using sublight engines within realspace was slow, sentients found a technological way to access the shadow dimension known as hyperspace. A starship equipped with a hyperdrive would "jump" from realspace into hyperspace, and "revert" from hyperspace to realspace.^[1]

Species that could survive in the vacuum of space include exogorths^[5] and Cylo's cyborg Whale-ships.^[6] Neebrays could survive in nebulae, such as the Kaliida Nebula.^[7] As well as being able to survive in space, the purrgil were capable of traveling through hyperspace.^[8]

Many droids were able to operate in space. Astromech droids were exposed to the vacuum of space when conducting repairs outside the hull of a starship^[9] and when inserted into the astromech socket of a starfighter.^[10] KX-series security droids could also survive in the vacuum of space.^[11] Battle droids, used by the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars, occasionally sat on the outside of ships, such as pod-hunting shuttles.^[12]