140
votes
Accepted
How did no other engineer see the design flaw of the Death Star?
They did, but Galen misdirected them
There's a supplemental document included in the Rogue One novelization, comprised of several messages sent between Galen and one of the engineering managers, ...
- 162k
92
votes
Accepted
What do the Death Stars do, other than destroying planets?
The primary purpose of the Death Star is to create order through fear, as stated by Tarkin in A New Hope.
TARKIN:
The regional governors now have direct
...
- 66.5k
82
votes
Accepted
How was construction of the Death Star(s) kept secret?
The canon explanation is given in the novel Tarkin.
The Empire used a combination of secluded and inhospitable bases which each supported only part of the project. This made sure no single person (...
Null♦
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74
votes
Accepted
Why didn't the Empire target Yavin Prime?
This was addressed in an "Ask the Jedi Council" feature on the StarWars.com website.
According to LucasFilm's (former) Head of Fan Relations/Director of Content Management Steve Sansweet, ...
- 667k
70
votes
Why did the Empire need the Death Star?
The Death Star is the ultimate expression of the Tarkin Doctrine.
Grand Moff Tarkin gained his favour with the Emperor in large part due to his belief that the threat of destruction was an effective ...
- 1,850
69
votes
Accepted
How did the Rebels find the design flaw to the first Death Star?
The Rebels had a slight advantage: they already knew what they were looking for; Galen's message, relayed by Jyn, explained both what to do, and what the result would be:
"What kind of trap?&...
- 162k
67
votes
Accepted
How does the Death Star gravity work?
From the old West End Games D6 Roleplaying Game (Second Edition) supplement Death Star Technical Companion, Chapter Two: Technical Specifications, p. 16, right column:
Gravity within the battle ...
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65
votes
Accepted
Why is the superlaser dish in the southern hemisphere of the Death Star rather than the northern one?
In space, orientation is relative
Unless the Death Star is very close to a planet or other massive body, any significant gravity it produces is artificial. As such, whether the laser dish is in the ...
- 114k
64
votes
Accepted
In episode IV, did the inhabitants of Alderaan realize what was about to happen?
According to the (canon) short story Eclipse, the inhabitants were largely in the dark about the nature of their impending demise. The "planet killer" was a closely guarded secret. A few individuals ...
- 667k
63
votes
Why is the superlaser dish in the southern hemisphere of the Death Star rather than the northern one?
It's always in the northern hemisphere. You're upside down.
The Emperor's throne room on the second Death Star was on the top of a 100-story tower located on the north pole of the superweapon.
The ...
- 5,996
57
votes
Accepted
Why didn't the original Death Star's shields protect against small fighters?
This is directly addressed in the movie during the rebel briefing on Yavin IV (emphasis added):
GOLD LEADER: Pardon me for asking, sir, but what good are snub fighters going to be against that?
...
55
votes
Was "Death Star" an officially designated name?
According to the new (Disney Canon) junior novel, Star Wars: The Princess, the Scoundrel and the Farm Boy, the Station was codenamed the Death Star;
But the system had been swarming with Imperials. ...
- 667k
52
votes
Accepted
Why did the Death Star not target this location at the end of “Rogue One?”
I think it was because they didn't want to wait to get into ideal position.
The Death star was rising from the horizon and positioning itself to attack. Turning huge battle station like that even ...
- 1,599
51
votes
How did no other engineer see the design flaw of the Death Star?
Have you ever worked on or seen a FMECA? Even for a simple system, they are a truly stupendous amount of work. A few years ago, I reviewed one performed by someone else on a relatively complex system (...
- 1,319
43
votes
Accepted
Why is there a difference in the speed of explosions caused by the Death Star?
It wasn’t at full power
The Death Star was not being used at full power. It only blew up a portion of the moon’s surface, not the entire moon.
“Target Jedha City,” he snapped. “Prepare single reactor ...
- 114k
41
votes
Accepted
How did the Death Star 2 stay in orbit above Endor when it did not have functional ion engines nor a functional hyperdrive system?
Repulsorlift generators
This is addressed by the canon reference book Star Wars: Complete Locations (2016). While the second Death Star was being constructed, it was at first held up by a repulsorlift ...
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40
votes
Was the thermal exhaust port on the Death Star really a design flaw?
Disney Canon: Absolutely not
The exhaust port flaw was included by Galen Erso, one of the designers of the Death Star, as a means of deliberately sabotaging the Empire:
“My colleagues,” Galen said, “...
- 114k
40
votes
What do the Death Stars do, other than destroying planets?
After blowing up Alderaan, the Death Star's role is Power Projection (aka Force Projection) for the Empire. See Wikipedia's article on Power projection.
The Death Star was supposed to be impervious ...
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40
votes
Was it implied by the dialogue in A New Hope that the Death Star had never been used before?
A New Hope does specifically state that Alderaan was the first planet destroyed by the Death Star, as mentioned by Valorum.
Tarkin: Not after we demonstrate the power
of ...
- 66.5k
40
votes
Accepted
Why are stormtroopers stationed outside the Death Star near the turbolaser batteries adjacent to Bay 327?
They're Spacetroopers
They were retconned identified as such at Celebration Anaheim 2015, and got a collectible toy release from Hot Toys; quoting from their description:
The Spacetroopers are ...
- 162k
38
votes
Why didn't the original Death Star's shields protect against small fighters?
It's too big.
According to Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel, the Death Star was simply too large to have a single effective shield based inside the station. It had to make do with shielding for individual ...
- 667k
37
votes
Accepted
Was the Death Star cost effective?
An answer can certainly be calculated, but it requires the use of numbers from both canon and Legends, as not all statistics found in Legends material have an equivalent figure accounted for in Disney ...
- 34k
36
votes
Accepted
How does the size of the Death Star compare to the Yorktown Station in Star Trek Beyond?
This is a graphical depiction of how the two objects would look side-by-side, based on the best canonical evidence we have about their sizes.
According the the concept artist for Star Trek Beyond, ...
- 667k
36
votes
In episode IV, did the inhabitants of Alderaan realize what was about to happen?
In addition to Valorums answer, there is a small hint in the movie itself imho.
Obi Wan Kenobi felt the destruction of Alderaan and says:
I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of ...
- 764
35
votes
Accepted
Did the Empire Re-use the Death Star plans?
It's highly unlikely to be the same design.
From the Return of the Jedi novelisation (page 3, prologue):
The Death Star was the Empire's armoured battle station, nearly twice as big as its ...
- 6,552
32
votes
Accepted
Was "Death Star" an officially designated name?
Palpatine himself refers to it as a "battle station":
The Emperor: [In the throne room, Luke is watching the Imperial fleet attack the Rebels from the huge throne room window] As you can ...
- 9,632
32
votes
What do the Death Stars do, other than destroying planets?
Tarkin put it best when he said
Fear will keep the local systems in line. Fear of this battle station.
Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
The Death Stars' superlaser is not intended to destroy ...
Null♦
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32
votes
Accepted
Who piloted the First Death Star?
Death Star Troopers
The Star Wars Databank has the following to say on them (emphasis mine).
Death Star Troopers were the elite of the Imperial Navy who were stationed aboard the first and second ...
- 142k
31
votes
Why did Tarkin undertake this course of action at the end of Rogue One?
The film's official novelisation is pretty clear on this. Tarkin, a man known for his decisiveness and with a penchant for Gordian Knot cutting made a snap judgment that the situation had deteriorated ...
- 667k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible