Death Star

The First Death Star

The Death Star is a moon-sized battle station, with a primary weapon (superlaser) capable of destroying a planetary shield and then proceeding to destroy the actual planet itself. It is described as having the power to destroy any habitable planet, and this claim was further substantiated by its use against the core-world planet, Alderaan.

Calculations

The Death Star's main superlaser is shown in to be capable of destroying an entire planet. This feat requires, at the absolute minimum, that the gravitational binding energy of the planet be overcome by the power of the weapon. Further, a sufficiently higher quantity of energy must be added to ensure the pieces go far apart enough that they do not coalesce again. Finally, observation of the destruction of Alderaan shows that the planet explodes violently - at a significant fraction of 'c'.

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Specifications

Death Star I

• Diameter: 160km
• Power Generation: HyperMatter Energy Core
• Speed: Hyperspeed Capable
• Weapons:
• Recharge-Time: 24 hour recharge for full power planet destroying blasts.
• Other Abilities:

Death Star II

The second Death Star in Return of the Jedi

• Diameter: 900km
• Power Generation: HyperMatter Energy Core
• Speed: Hyperspeed Capable
• Weapons:
• Recharge-Time: Lower-Intensity Bursts (anti-capship): Negligible
• Other Abilities: Off-Axis Firing

Historical Account

The plans for the Death Star were first mentioned in Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones. Toward the end, as the Trade Federation leaders were fleeing Geonosis, Count Dooku was given the technical schematics which would later go on to become the Death Star I. These plans were taken by Count Dooku to Darth Sidious, the Sith lord. Toward the conclusion of Star Wars III, construction began on the Death Star I, overseen by the newly crowned Emperor Sidious, Darth Vader, and Moff Tarkin. This project was completed about 20 years later, and successfully tested against the heavily shielded core-world of Alderaan. Shortly after the destruction of Alderaan, the location of the Rebel Alliance's base was found, and the Death Star I's weapon was brought to bear on that planet. Moments before the superlaser would have fired, the Death Star I was then destroyed by the Rebel Alliance in The Battle of Yavin due to their exploitation of a minor design flaw.

Construction Time

Shortly before the end of Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith, we witness Moff Tarkin, Darth Vader, and Emperor Palpatine overseeing the early construction phase of the Death Star. A skeletal 'sphere' structure, of about the right size, is seen floating in space. It is an impressive display of technical prowess that they could complete construction of a moon-sized scaffolding so quickly.

By the time Star Wars IV begins, the Death Star I has been fully constructed and is operational, however it has neither been used nor tested. Since Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker were born toward the end of Star Wars III - around the same time as we see the moon-sized scaffolding - we can establish a lower-limit as to the amount of time needed to construct a fully-armed and operational Death Star, 19 years. Within the course of Star Wars IV, the Death Star I's primary weapon is tested and found to indeed be fully functional. However, due to a design flaw, the Death Star I is destroyed at the end of Star Wars IV. Given that the Tarkin Doctrine was still being followed at the time, it makes sense to assume that construction of the new Death Star II began immediately.

Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi is set four years after Star Wars IV. During that intervening period, the Empire is able to produce the partially-completed Death Star II that is seen in the image above. While only partially completed, it is capable of using its primary superlaser to destroy a planet, and capable of firing lower-power bursts from it's primary superlaser off-axis to destroy capital ships. In a quarter of the time it took to produce the first Death Star, which did not have quite as many capabilities, the Empire was able to produce a partially-completed Death Star II, with even more capabilities.