Meridian trench/Legends

"You must maneuver straight in  down  this  shaft, level off in the trench, and skim the surface to this point. The target  is only two meters across. It will take a precise hit at exactly ninety degrees to reach the reactor systematization. And only a direct hit will start  the complete reaction."

- Rebel Alliance general Jan Dodonna

The Meridian Trench, located on the first Death Star, was a trench encompassing a portion of that battlestation. It also housed the station's greatest weakness: a thermal exhaust port that would cause the Death Star to under go a critical chain reaction if weaponry was fired into it. The Alliance to Restore the Republic utilized this trench to destroy the Death Star before it blow up their base on Yavin 4.

Layout
"And it was your idea to build this exhaust port?''" "''No, it wasn't my idea. It's on the plans."

- Teela Kaarz to a shift chief

The meridian trench was one of the eighteen narrow canyons that converged on the poles of the Death Star, a moon-shaped deep-space mobile battlestation built by the Galactic Empire. Like all the other trenches, it proved treacherous to even the most skilled starfighter pilots, as it was fitted with many XX-9 heavy turbolaser towers. While the Death Star had been designed to withstand massive assaults by a full enemy starfleet, an attack by small fighters had never been anticipated during conception. Therefore, the meridian trench granted access to the station's major weakness, the thermal exhaust port that was located near the "north pole" of it.

History
"You're all clear, kid, now let's blow this thing and go home!"

- Han Solo to Luke Skywalker

In 0 BBY, the Alliance to Restore the Republic planned on destroying the Death Star over the gas giant Yavin Prime. The plan depended on the ability of a single T-65 X-wing starfighter to navigate the meridian trench while avoiding the Imperial TIE fighters and the turbolaser towers, and fire two proton torpedoes into the vent reactor core. With the aid of the Force and the timely intervention of Han Solo, the young Tatooinian farmboy Luke Skywalker accomplished the mission. His torpedoes travelled into the reactor core, starting a chain reaction that blew up the battlestation.

Behind the scenes
"The concept of a ball in space is simple, but its components&mdash;the trench, the low altitude surfaces, the towers, the horizon pieces, the exhaust port&mdash;collectively required the most design input."

- Joe Johnston

The Death Star's meridian trench first appeared in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, the first installment of the Star Wars original trilogy. For the final dogfight of the movie, Industrial Light & Magic used a puzzle of patterned pieces fitted together on larges tables. In the process, a three feet deep model of the meridian trench and a full-scale thermal exhaust port were also completed.

Originally, the meridian trench was intended to get denser and more detailed toward the station's poles. This shows in the conceptual drawings by Joe Johnston appearing in the early reference book The Star Wars Sketchbook.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope novelization
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope junior novelization
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope PhotoComic
 * Star Wars: The Arcade Game
 * Star Wars 1987 video game
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
 * Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron
 * The Force Unleashed Novelization
 * Death Star