DS-1 Orbital Battle Station/Legends

''This article is about the first Death Star. You may be looking for the second Death Star.''



General
The first Death Star was a massive battlestation with a diameter of 160 kilometers. The basic structure of the station was sphere the size of a small moon, with a kilometer wide trench containing docking bays running around its equator. The northern hemisphere held the main armament of the station, a fearsome superlaser. This weapon had the external appearance of a kilometers-wide parabolic bowl. When activated, eight separate beams were fired, focusing into a point to form a single hideously powerful superlaser beam. This superlaser was powerful enough to destroy even a shielded planet with one shot.

The Death Star was said to be comprised of eighty-four separate internal levels, stacked south to north. Each level was separated into 257 sub-levels. A nominal amount of sub levels were then to be stacked around the surface of the sphere, encompassing the inner stacked levels. Facilities included parks, shops, and other amenities for the human crew. The battlestation also included massive sublight engines and hyperdrive systems, allowing it to move at a relatively high speed; the Death Star was able to travel thousands of light years from Alderaan to Yavin in only a few hours. Near the northern pole, a hundred meter tower was constructed and shielded to near impenetrability for the Emperor to use as personal quarters while on board.

History
The Death Star was developed by the Geonosians, just prior to the beginning of the Clone Wars. These plans were turned over to the leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Count Dooku. What happened to the plans then is not entirely known. But some time later, during the Empire's rise to its full imperial strength, the idea of a massive battle station resurfaced. It is possible that Raith Sienar had something to do with this. Grand Moff Tarkin, governor of the Outer Rim Territories, called for a massive battle station to fully assert the Empire's power in the galaxy. The contract of its design (or rediscovery) was appointed to Grand Moff Tarkin's personal friend and Chief Technological officer Tol Sivron, who was the Chief of Operations at the Imperial installation in the Maw.

The development and building of the Death Star were as monumental as the final ship would be itself. Tarkin wisely assumed that releasing the true intent and scope of the final project would be detrimental to its construction. Because of this, very few beings were told the true nature of this project. Most of the materials necessary for the building of the Death Star were acquired through the authority of the Departments of System Exploration and Public Works. These organizations would literally dismantle old dead, and dying planets for their raw materials. The Death Star was built at the prison planet Despayre, the Empire using the prisoners there as slaves. After construction was completed, the newly appointed commander of the vessel, Tarkin, turned the main weapon on Despayre, killing those who had built it.

The Death Star was destroyed at the Battle of Yavin, just as the Death Star was positioned to destroy the newly discovered Rebel Base on Yavin's fourth moon. The Death Star was destroyed by Luke Skywalker, who, with the help of the Force, successfully fired a proton torpedo into an exhaust shaft that led directly into the Death Star's main reactor. The reactor then exploded, destroying the battlestation and killing everyone still on board, including Grand Moff Tarkin.

Behind the scenes
According to the West End Games RPG stats, the crew included 27,048 officers; 774,576 troops, pilots, and crewers; 378,576 support and maintenance crewers; 400,000 support droids; and over 25,000 Stormtroopers. The military hardware on the Death Star was said to include 5,000 turbolaser batteries, 5,000 heavy turbolaser batteries, 2,500 laser cannons, 2,500 ion cannons, and 768 tractor beam generators.

The West End Games RPG claimed that the first Death Star had a diameter of 120 kilometers. This figure apparently came from halving the volume of WEG's Death Star II size. Unfortunately, WEG actually used the Death Star I size for the Death Star II, making both incorrect. The majority of Expanded Universe material since then has simply repeated these figures.

The fact book Star Wars Incredible Cross Sections, detailed scaling of the station in the film, and statements by Grant McCune, Chief Model Maker for the movie show that the first Death Star was actually 160 kilometers in diameter.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (An incomplete Death Star-like weapon was seen at the end, but it is unknown if this is the Death Star from A New Hope)
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Star Wars Infinities: A New Hope
 * Star Wars Empire 14: The Savage Heart
 * Rogue Squadron
 * Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
 * Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
 * Darksaber (flashbacks)
 * Star Wars Battlefront II