Planetary shield

Planetary shields were large deflector shields designed to protect entire planets. These shields were used by the Galactic Empire to protect important military installations such as the security complex on Scarif, and by the First Order to protect their base of operations/superweapon, Starkiller Base.

Description
Planetary shields were monolithic deflector shields that enveloped entire planets. Designed to protect important installations from attack, planetary shields were impregnable against starship fire and proton torpedoes; however, they proved no resistance against superlasers, such as that of the Death Star. In the case of Scarif's planetary shield, an orbital Shield Gate was used to create an aperture through which vessels could pass through.

The planetary shield that surrounded Starkiller Base had a fractional refresh rate, preventing any spacecraft traveling slower than the lightspeed from transitioning into the planet's atmosphere.

History
At the end of 0 BBY, the Rebel Alliance launched an attack on the shielded Imperial world of Scarif in an attempt to steal the plans to the Death Star battle station. During the battle, the Hammerhead corvette Lightmaker pushed the disabled Star Destroyer Persecutor into Scarif's Shield Gate and in turn, the planetary shield itself, creating an opening and allowing the Death Star plans to be transmitted to the Rebel Fleet. Seconds later, the Death Star itself arrived, firing a low-power superlaser blast at the Imperial installation below and completely dissipating the planetary shield.

After the Galactic Empire's defeat in 5 ABY, remnants of the fallen regime fled into the Unknown Regions in order to rebuild. The fledgling First Order began construction on Starkiller Base, a planet-turned-superweapon protected by a planetary shield. During their conflict with the First Order, the Resistance launched an assault on the planet and managed to force one of the Order's top officers to lower the deflector shield, allowing the Resistance Starfighter Corps to attack the base's thermal oscillator and ultimately destroy the planet.

Appearances

 * Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
 * Rogue One: A Star Wars Story novel
 * Star Wars Battlefront
 * Star Wars Battlefront II
 * Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens
 * Star Wars: The Force Awakens novel