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Rogue One filled one of the biggest plot holes from Star Wars Episode 4, by showing that the exhaust port was designed as a weak spot of the Death Star by its architect Galen Erso.
Was the idea that someone intentionally designed a weak spot so that the Death Star could be destroyed an invention of the writers of Rogue One or was it an idea that George Lucas came up with but that was never revealed? (or was it?)
Are there sources that confirm that and show who came up with that idea?
According to the interview with Pablo Hidalgo (of the Star Wars story group) quoted on this Web page, what Galen Erso did was not to include the exhaust port, but rather to make the reactor susceptible to easy destruction. So the weakness wasn't the open port at all, but what was inside the reactor.
"Did Galen Erso engineer the faulty exhaust port?"
"Not specifically or else he would have said so in the message. He built an unstable reactor. And it turns out there is a weakness there, but how do you exploit it?"
....
"He knows there's a way to do it... in the novel we get the notion he signed off on the general design plan for these thermal exhaust ports. But he still doesn't have that specific piece of information to pass on, which is why he says 'go get the plans and you'll find it'."
Even with not taking Rogue One into account, exhaust port is a common thing on our world too, like an exhaust pipe of the car which emits the heat and gasses. The exhaust port vulnerability comes if someone/enemy finds about it (which the rebels did). The rebels didnt even knew about the weakness unless Jyn told them or if taking episode 4 only they didn't knew until seeing the plans themselves.
Originally George just came up with just the weak spot and rebels destroying after finding about the weak spot. Rogue One writers just cunningly cleared a confusion.
