Prior to the invention of the hyperdrive, so-called "hyperspace cannons" were used by the first Core Worlds colonists to launch their starships into hyperspace. Once launched into hyperspace this way, a starship could then induce a drag element to slow back down and return to real space. Over the course of many centuries, a network of hyperspace cannons was developed, linking the newly-colonized Core Worlds with the Duros civilization.