Why Build a Death Star?

It’s now wonder why so many people are fascinated by the science in the Star Wars universe, it’s fascinating. And I am no exception. So… Why a Death Star you ask? Well, simply put, it’s the “ultimate power in the galaxy.” You see anybody can build a light saber, given the supernatural guidance required to harvest the right crystal; and all it takes is a little know how and access to some junked up transports and even a kid can build a pod racer. But if you want a real challenge, then set your sights on the Death Star. And with your newly constructed planet destroying super laser, you’d be poised to control the galaxy. While this newly developed weapon should certainly be feared, as Grand Moff Tarkin so eloquently stated to General Tagge, but it should also be admired. So for our inaugural post we will take a few minutes to simply appreciate the Death Star for what it is, a marvel of engineering, beauty and imagination.

If you know anything about Star Wars, you know there were two Death Stars, the first portrayed in Episode IV A New Hope, and the second seen still under construction in Episode VI Return of the Jedi. Today we are going to focus on the former, the Imperial DS-1 Orbital Battle Station. The same one that destroyed Alderaan, only later to be destroyed itself by a farm boy from the desert world of Tatooine. Regardless of its fate, the mere construction of the Death Star was a statement of the empire’s power, fiscal domination and engineering superiority. It was a marvel of technology, and not just by our standards, but by those of the empire as well. The station itself boasted a diameter of 120 km (75 miles) providing 904,320 cubic km (220,893 cubic miles) of space. While much of that volume was dedicated to the internal workings of the station, the usable “living” space measured approximately 45,000 square km (17,500 square miles), that’s more than twenty times the size of Tokyo!

The station’s primary weapon, a planet destroying super laser powered by a giant kyber crystal, is the single most powerful weapon in the galaxy. And while that alone would be enough, we can’t forget about the stations secondary weapon systems. The Death Star is equipped with 5,000 turbo laser batteries, 5,000 heavy turbo lasers, 2,500 laser cannons, and 2,500 ion cannons. It also boasts 768 tractor beam emplacements with hanger bays large enough to house almost any craft in the galaxy. The DS-1 was so large it had to be divided into 24 zones, and housed a crew of 342,953 Imperial Navy and Army personnel, 25,984 storm troopers in addition to its support crew and is capable of housing approximately 2 million individuals. Its storage banks can hold enough supplies to last three years with the station fully staffed. Command centers, living quarters and recreation facilities, the DS-1 had it all including sanitation facilities, which Luke unintentionally toured during his rescue of Princess Lea.

The engineering required to construct such a station is unintelligible. As a former consulting engineer I can tell you that many of the projects I worked on took the collaboration of hundreds of people, from engineers (electrical, mechanical, civil, plant, HVAC, structural, etc.) to construction personnel (general construction, electricians, equipment installation, pipe workers, machine operation, etc), project managers working with corporate ownership committees, inspection personnel, community representatives, and committee after committee. Any project of substantial size takes months to years just to design and plan, and then several more years to construct. The last project I worked on took over five years to become fully operational, and it was only the size of a high school, much smaller than the Death Star. Not to mention there is substantial re-design during the construction process. No matter how diligent you are in the design, there will inevitably be a problem that isn’t visible until the construction process is under way, even with the aid of three dimensional modelling technology. Sometimes the design process takes so long that the needs of the client have changed resulting in the requirement of larger production, or more waste processing, or even more classrooms, because the community that a school is being built in has grown. And on some occasions, the client will simply change their mind about one small detail, resulting in a complete redesign of the project!

All that to say, the engineering of the Death Star is incredibly impressive. Especially when you consider it only took twenty years to construct, and much of that time was during conflict, where skirmishes, battles and attempted sabotage would delay its construction. So please join me today in admiration of the Imperial DS-1 Death Star, the ultimate power in the galaxy.

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References:

Photo by David Suazo Quintana

Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope, George Lucas, Lucasfilm ltd LLC, 20th Century Fox, 1977

Star Wars Episode VI Return of the Jedi, Richard Marquand, Lucasfilm ltd LLC, 20th Century Fox, 1983

Windham, R., Reiff, C. and Trevas, C. Death Star Imperial DS-1 Owners Technical Manual, Del Rey and Haynes, November 5, 2013.

Slavicsek, B., Death Star Technical Companion, Honesdale PA:West End Games 1991

“Death Star” Wookipedia: The Star Wars Wiki. http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star, accessed June 8, 2016