DS - 1 Orbital Battle Station / Legends The DS - 1 Orbital Battle Station , better known as the Death Star or Death Star I , and known to the public as the Imperial Planetary Ore Extractor by the propaganda department , was a massive Imperial battlestation / superweapon with a diameter of 120 kilometers designed to enforce law and order throughout the Empire with the threat of planetary destruction . It started off as the Separatist Ultimate Weapon before becoming the Expeditionary Battle Planetoid Development Initiative or Project Death Star after it ceased to be a Separatist project and became an Imperial one in 19 BBY . The Death Star was destroyed by Luke Skywalker during the Battle of Yavin in 0 BBY . Description . Design . The basic structure of the station was a sphere the size of a small class - IV moon , with a kilometer - wide trench containing docking bays running around its equator . It was the very incarnation of the Tarkin Doctrine . Because of its size and shape , it was sometimes mistaken for a small moon . The first Death Star , like its successor , was divided into two hemispheres , each subdivided into 12 bridge - controlled zones . The northern hemisphere held the main armament of the station , a fearsome superlaser . This weapon had the external appearance of a bowl many kilometers wide . When activated , eight separate beams were each activated by a crystal through the particle accelerator tubes , amplified through rings , and conjoined to form one of eight separate beams that would converge outside the dish , focusing into a point to form a single incredibly powerful superlaser beam . The power settings of the superlaser were adjustable , allowing for the destruction of naval vessels and planets alike . Blasts with the power to destroy naval vessels could be fired roughly once every minute , while planet - destroying blasts could only be fired once per day . This superlaser was powerful enough to destroy even a shielded planet with a single shot . The Death Star was said to comprise eighty - four separate internal levels , stacked south to north . Each level was separated into 257 sub - levels . A nominal number of sub - levels were then to be stacked around the surface of the sphere , encompassing the inner stacked levels . A number of the Death Star ' s docking bays were reserved as executive docking bays for high - ranking personnel , featuring larger facilities and more significant defenses . Facilities included parks , shops , and other amenities for the Human crew , as well as numerous infrastructure necessities such as trash compactors , like Garbage Compactor 3263827 . The entire hull of the planetoid was covered in quadanium steel . The battlestation had two massive sublight engines in the midsection and a formidable hyperdrive system . Driven by 123 individual generators tied to one navigational matrix , the Class 4 hyperdrive was fast enough to allow the Death Star to travel thousands of light year s from Alderaan to Yavin IV in only a few hours . All engineers working near the highly radioactive engines wore radiation suits to minimize harmful exposure . Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin once likened walking inside the Death Star to walking inside the Caves of Corips , but with illuminated tubing and plastisteel replacing the natural surroundings . 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 . Operational command of the space station took place from the overbridge , which included the conference room . A high - speed shuttle system was reserved for officers to traverse the station quickly . The Death Star ' s design included a small but significant flaw : an exposed thermal exhaust port . At one point in the construction process , this exhaust port was identified as unnecessary . When the architect responsible for the area asked the Wookiee overseeing construction of the area to omit the port , he insisted on getting the amendment to the plans in writing . Before the architect had a chance to submit such an amendment , the Wookiee became ill and was confined to a medcenter , and his replacement built the port as specified in the plans . The port was two meters wide , approximately the size of a womp rat ; lay at the end of a large trench in the hull of the battle station ; and was ray shielded against energy weapons such as laser cannons . Armaments and defensive systems . As impressive as the Death Star ' s design was , its armament and defensive measures were also extensive . Its primary weapon was its Concave Dish Composite Beam Superlaser , which Bevel Lemelisk had included in the final design . Although Tarkin had initially intended for the Death Star ' s weapon to " rock a [ targeted ] world to its very core , " the final superlaser design was capable of shattering worlds , leaving behind only asteroid ruins . There were also plans for installing a composite beam superlaser as an alternative due to the challenges of building an operational , single - beam superlaser , which required a mechanical arm to move it into place , although the plans were scrapped when the engineers resolved the technical difficulties of the planet - shattering superlaser . The entirety of the Death Star ' s spherical design , including the majority of its interior volume , was dedicated to the support and maintenance of the superlaser . The diameter of the superlaser cannon well was approximately 35 kilometers . The energy for the superweapon originated from deep within the battle station , and was channeled into an array of eight initiator laser cannons . The eight laser cannons , via tributary beams , then converged into a central nexus point above the cannon well to form a powerful single beam . The superlaser likewise required eight superlaser firing station s : four primary stations plus four backups in case one of the stations failed . The superlaser was dangerous even to itself , so various safeguards were implemented to prevent the battlestation from being consumed by its own power , with several being resolved via Project Hammertong . One of these were the tributary beam shafts , with eight lining the circumference of the superlaser weapon . The tributary beam shafts , originally meant for Hammertong , were constructed at Desolation Station . Focusing coils also lined the tributary shafts to maintain the beams ' integrity . The tributary beams had to be perfectly calibrated and aligned ; otherwise , the central beam would misfocus and dissipate , resulting in a flurry of backscatter that could severely damage or even destroy the superlaser housing . The firing process generated magnetic fields and gravitational flux , necessitating their dissipation to prevent the amplification crystals from becoming misaligned and the battle station from tearing apart . The superlaser could be set to varying power levels , with one power level sufficient to use against enemy ships . At full power , the superlaser required a standard day ( 24 hours ) to recharge , while usage of the superlaser against spaceborne vessels only required a minute of recharging . A downside to the presence of the superlaser was that the Death Star had to forgo all but the most rudimentary shielding capabilities in order to achieve such destructive power . However , its surface - to - air defenses were sufficient to make up for its lack of efficient shielding . It possessed 5 , 000 Taim & Bak XX - 9 heavy turbolaser s , 2 , 500 Borstel Galactic Defense MS - 1 ion cannon s , 2 , 500 Borstel Galactic Defense SB - 920 Laser Cannon s , and 5 , 000 Taim & Bak D6 turbolaser batteries that acted as its surface - to - air defenses . The SB - 920 batteries were largely congregated around the Death Star ' s trenches , were powerful enough to destroy starfighters with a single shot , and utilized an advanced Target Acquisition and Targeting ( TAT ) system similar to that of certain Imperial surface - to - air defense systems . The XX - 9 heavy turbolasers used on the Death Star were variants that had four sections and were overall larger . To ensure the turrets didn ' t cause friendly fire and to deter hijackers from attacking their posts , a safety mechanism automatically locked them up when any part of the Death Star was within their sights , making them disadvantageous against starfighters . Besides defense , the turbolaser batteries acted as directional markers for TIE fighter pilots . Shield - projection towers on the Death Star ' s surface emitted energy fields that covered the Death Star ' s city sprawls , protecting them from space debris as well as providing limited defense against energy weapons , due to most of the Death Star ' s energy reserves being harnessed for the superlaser . At least three shield - projection towers were necessary for a city sprawl , with their power cells , machinery , and shield - operator stations located at the bases of the towers . In addition , they were highly concentrated around the tower containing the Emperor ' s throne room , for obvious reasons . Shield operation fell under the jurisdiction of Battle Station Operations , with various officers , operators , and technicians tasked with manning the shield - projection towers ' stations to ensure that the shields were always in full working order . During battle , the shields of neighboring sprawls could overlap to create a continuous blanket of energy over the surface . The battlestation also had field generators , which included a jamming field that affected every sensor of enemy ships except sight , and could create distortion potent enough to reduce the maneuverability of starfighters to less than point three , at least along the meridian trench housing the thermal exhaust port . The Death Star ' s hull plating was made of military - grade Quadanium steel , most of which had been drawn and processed from asteroidal metal . Because of the challenges of not only creating the material necessary , but also producing enough to install the plating onto the station , several sections of the Death Star were pressurized during the installation of the hull for efficiency purposes , such as storage space for supplies during construction as well as temporary habitats for laborers . The Death Star ' s hull from a distance appeared relatively smooth to the naked eye . The Death Star had 768 modified Phylon Q7 tractor beam projectors , of which 24 were assigned for each zone of the Death Star . The projectors in each zone could concentrate one or all of their tractor beams onto a single target from a significant enough distance to ensnare distant enemy ships in a virtually unbreakable energy bubble , and were powerful enough to capture the vessels long before the vessels ' sensors could identify it as a battle station instead of a small moon . Each required a crew of ten to operate , and was coupled to the main reactor to prevent accidents caused by generator malfunctions . There were seven power coupling terminals in all , identified atop a 35 - kilometer - tall generator tower , and providing energy for more than 700 tractor beams . However , disabling even one of the coupling sites from the main reactor would result in the tractor beam becoming inoperative . Aside from the outer defenses and armaments on the surface of the station , the inner areas of the station also provided a significant amount of security measures as well , including metallic spikes ( which were directly inspired by the stalagmite - filled pits within the various cavern networks on Tatooine ) , BlasTech Class VI automated laser projectors , which were linked by security cameras , and IT - O interrogator droids , which sometimes acted as defensive systems against intruders . It also had access to 11 , 000 combat vehicles , as well as more than 7 , 000 TIE fighters , shuttles , and other craft . Overall , the Death Star ' s firepower was such that Jan Dodonna speculated that it rivaled half the Imperial Navy . Command structure . Owing to the rigid command structure of various Imperial organizations , the Death Star ' s command structure , known as command sectors , was just as rigid . The battle station was under the direct command of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin . Below him was a triumvirate composed of Army Command , Naval Command , and Battle Station Command , represented by High General Cassio Tagge , Admiral Conan Antonio Motti , and General Hurst Romodi , respectively , although when the Galactic Emperor made visits , his authority superseded theirs . Below them were the Operations Chiefs for the Army , Navy and Battle Station Operations , all of whom were held by officers with the rank of colonel . Below each Operations Chief , there were eight majors , each representing specific departments under their branch of operations , alongside four majors tasked with the general , service , technical , security , and military sectors ( the last including Army troopers , the Death Star trooper s [ a subset of the Imperial Navy trooper s ] , gunners , and TIE pilot s ) . Lastly , lieutenants were tasked with supervising the command sectors and were the lowest - ranked officers to do so , relegated to Command sector duty posts . The only exceptions to the command structure were members of the Stormtrooper Corps , and the Emperor ' s emissary Lord Darth Vader , the latter of whom answered to Grand Moff Tarkin alone . Members of the Army and Navy portions of the Death Star could call upon the stormtroopers ' services if necessary , although with the firm understanding that they fell under neither jurisdiction and were to obey the Emperor alone . History . Creation of the " Battle Planetoid " concept . The concept for the Death Star could be found in its precursor , the " Expeditionary Battle Planetoid . " Raith Sienar came up with the concept in 29 BBY , around the time of the Second Battle of Zonama Sekot . Sienar made concept designs of the Battle Planetoid : It had a main sphere and two smaller spheres , the smaller spheres connected to the main sphere by poles . It used massive turbolasers and was powered by an internal plasma implosion core more than a kilometer wide . Unlike its Death Star descendant , it lacked a superlaser , as it was designed for space combat . Raith showed the designs to the commander of the Republic Outland Regions Security Force , Wilhuff Tarkin . Tarkin was interested in the concept . He later betrayed Sienar when he showed the concept to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and claimed that he had invented it . Sienar was unperturbed , however , as he had already lost interest in the design . Separatist beginnings . The initial technical design of the Death Star , known at the time as the " Ultimate Weapon , " was created by the Geonosian Industries and called for a spheroid battle station capable of destroying Galactic Republic forces and planets under their control . In 22 BBY , Poggle the Lesser , leader of the Geonosians , returned the top - secret design to Count Dooku to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Jedi during the Battle of Geonosis . Dooku took the designs back to Coruscant and gave them to Darth Sidious , his dark master . These plans would later be fused with Wilhuff Tarkin and Raith Sienar ' s vision of an Expeditionary Battle Planetoid . During the Clone Wars , Sidious ordered Geonosian builders to begin construction on the station over their own homeworld . Hundreds of thousands of workers were busy building the station throughout the war . Around five months after the Battle of Geonosis , Dooku briefly considered halting production of the Weapon in favor of the Planet Killer , but changed his mind after the demonstration failed , thanks to sabotage by Mace Windu . 17 months after the start of the war , Geonosian technicians on Zaadja were observed working on the Weapon ' s design . In 19 BBY , Supreme Chancellor Palpatine sent the 501st Legion on a mission to Mygeeto where they were to collect an energy sample that would be used in the station ' s superlaser of the soon to be formed Galactic Empire . During the last few weeks of the war , the Separatist Council debated on ways to prolong the war , to allow their secret weapon time to be finished . Imperial construction . Following the deaths of all the members of the Separatist Council , and the end of the Clone Wars in 19 BBY , a majority of the Separatist holdings were turned over to the newly established Galactic Empire , including the unfinished battlestation . Construction was renewed under Imperial supervision and moved to Despayre in order to secure Palpatine ' s newly formed absolute power . Wilhuff Tarkin was appointed to mastermind the secret development project . Tarkin ' s creative work and thought had resulted in the realization of the Death Star as the Empire ' s ultimate weapon . To help build the superweapon and curry the Emperor ' s favor , Tarkin had Darth Vader lead an Imperial invasion of Kashyyyk , where they enslaved Wookiees for labor . These Wookiees were transported to the Death Star ' s construction site . Much of the needed funding came from appropriated funds originally earmarked for the Department of System Exploration and the Department of Public Works . However , the project nearly ended before it began . Although much of the technology of the Death Star was impressive , actually building it proved to be more difficult than anyone imagined . The project dragged out over nineteen years as labor union disputes along with the supply and design problems slowed the construction . Efforts were not helped by repeated — albeit usually unsuccessful — sabotage efforts . In addition , Lemelisk had to undergo Bacta treatment after being Force - choked by Darth Vader , requiring a temporary replacement to oversee the development . Actual effective work on the station took less than two years , and involved resources from every corner of the Empire being funneled to complete the project . Of particular concern was the technology required to create the massive superlaser , the heart of the weapon . To this end , Tarkin brought together some of the most brilliant minds of the galaxy ( including Tol Sivron , Qwi Xux , and Bevel Lemelisk ) to build a proof - of - concept model at Maw Installation . This model would eventually become known as the Death Star prototype . Besides the concave dish model of the battle station ' s superlaser , other superweapon systems proposed during its development included a Resonance Torpedo Launcher system , an Interplanetary Ion Cannon , and a regular Composite Beam Superlaser model . It is uncertain exactly when the term " Death Star " came into use in connection with the project . The earliest known reference to the name Death Star as a codename for the project was in a memorandum c . 5 BBY written by Imperial advisor Ars Dangor , which formally placed Wilhuff Tarkin in overall command of the project . Once the Imperial Ministry of Propaganda began using the name Death Star , the name stuck . Even before the Death Star became fully operational , its detention blocks began to fill with detainees . Political troublemakers , Rebel insurgents ( who were beginning to organize ) , dangerous pirate forces , and even some survivors of the Royal Naboo Security Forces who had boldly tried to stop their Queen ' s assassination , as well as myriad other enemies of the Empire , were made to quietly " disappear " from public view within the enormous prisons of the incomplete battle station . In the year 2 BBY , four individuals who would later become leaders of the Rebel Alliance were transferred to the Death Star : the Senators Bail Organa , Garm Bel Iblis , and Mon Mothma , along with a former Jedi General named Rahm Kota . Palpatine had the four sent to the battle station following their capture on Corellia , planning to have them interrogated and tortured , followed by public execution . This plan was foiled by the former apprentice of Darth Vader , Galen Marek . Galen arrived and attempted to rescue the rebels , and in the end apparently sacrificed himself so the four leaders could escape . Further , albeit limited , information about the Death Star ' s development was intercepted by the Bothan Spynet and made its way to the Rebel Alliance via low - security communiqués , something that Lemelisk had anticipated . At some point afterwards , the Death Star ' s reconstruction was reassigned to Geonosis . During this time , it was also heavily guarded by the Imperials . A " StarSpeeder 1000 " that had escaped from an Imperial raid at the Star Tours space station and was delivering a Rebel agent to the Rebel Fleet ended up being attacked by Darth Vader ' s fighter squadrons as well as the Mandalorian bounty hunter Boba Fett . This eventually culminated in a fight in the inner workings of the Death Star , which suffered minor damage . In addition , the Death Star superlaser ' s completion was delayed after a Rebel attack on the Imperial facility of Desolation Station resulted in the theft of the Tributary beam component as well as the total destruction of Desolation Station . The stormtroopers of the 501st Legion were among those assigned to protect the Death Star ' s interior . They were forced to put down a prison break that had somehow occurred within the station , led by a Jedi Padawan inmate . A number of prisoners were able to obtain a partial technical readout of the battlestation , which was beamed to a Rebel cell on Polis Massa . Shortly after this embarrassing debacle , the 501st were reassigned and moved off the station . Because of the controversial nature of its weaponry , Imperial officers were required by their to refer to the Death Star concept in general or the DS - 1 as the official title of Imperial Planetary Ore Extractor to any non - Imperial news outlets , as well as to report the questioner to the Imperial Security Bureau for a thorough follow - up as a precaution . The missing plans . The history regarding the acquisition of the plans by the Rebel Alliance is a complex and convoluted one . Although three separate sets of schematics were stolen , only combined could they provide a thorough analysis of the space station ' s weaknesses . Learning the truth . In 0 BBY , Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan , perhaps while the Alliance Intelligence investigated the existence of a superweapon , was informed about it by a soldier she rescued on Ralltiir . The existence was justified by Intelligence on AX - 235 . Rianna Saren ' s report on the Destruction of Despayre confirmed the power of the battlestation ' s superlaser . In addition , Rahm Kota issued a reconnaissance mission to the station to gather intel on its primary systems , in particular its superlaser weapon . X2 personally volunteered for the mission , feeling indebted to trying to stop the Empire he unwittingly aided in creating . At this time , the tributary beam had just been shipped to the Death Star , which X2 discovered via a transmission from X1 intended for the commander of the Death Star . X2 , under Kota ' s command , then made an impromptu superlaser test on an " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer that the Rebels had hijacked and scuttled earlier , causing them to realize the unimaginable destructive power behind the weapon . Around the same time , Rebel leader Garm Bel Iblis , with help from professional thief Moranda Savich , acquired a series of heavily encrypted datacards from an Imperial defector on Darkknell . It was only after sending these to the Alliance that the resistance discovered the exact purpose of Governor Tarkin ' s " pet project " : to inspire fear through the destruction of worlds . The combining of schematics . Following the Death Star Uprising , the aforementioned set of partial schematics was beamed to the Rebel base on Polis Massa . While it wasn ' t long before the Fighting 501st executed a swift raid on the compound , Bothan spies managed to transmit this first set off - base , presumably to their other asteroid base , AX - 235 . With one piece of the puzzle secure , the Alliance scrambled to secure more sets of plans , sets which would complete the picture . It was at this time that a rumored Alliance cell on Kalakar Six had acquired the plans , and Palpatine and Vader investigated the matter personally . In the end , the effort was deemed a wild bantha chase , as the planet was devoid of any Rebel sympathizers at all ; in truth , the mission was most likely a ruse orchestrated by the Emperor to test his pupil ' s worth . Meanwhile , real efforts to secure the Death Star plans were underway . Rebel agent Kyle Katarn , a former Imperial Academy graduate , had used his combination of stealth and brute force to wrest a supplemental set of plans from the Empire during the Battle of Danuta . With two smaller examples of the schematics , the Rebels set about acquiring the last , largest set of plans . Through the actions of operative Bria Tharen and Red Hand Squadron , the Alliance engaged the enemy on the planet Toprawa . Operation Skyhook , as it was called , resulted in one of the biggest victories to date for the Rebels : the final set of plans would at last be in their control . On Toprawa , operative Havet Storm transmitted the plans , as well as the plans for the superlaser , to " Tantive IV " , a consular ship in orbit . With these two additional bits in tow , the starship fled the system and intercepted the readouts from Katarn and AX - 235 , with Princess Leia herself spearheading the entire operation . By taking advantage of her diplomatic immunity , Leia hoped to seek out her father ' s friend , Obi - Wan Kenobi , and from there extrapolate a plan to analyze the schematics for a weakness in the superweapon ' s defenses . But fate would take a different turn . The events above and on Tatooine . When Darth Vader and the 501st led a raid aboard " Tantive IV " , no plans were to be found . At the last moment , Leia , realizing the importance of the plans ' survival , placed them inside astromech droid R2 - D2 who , alongside C - 3PO , made their way down to the surface of Tatooine with the goal of delivering the plans for safekeeping to Obi - Wan . After being captured by scavenging Jawas and then sold to moisture farmer Owen Lars , the astro - droid knew he was getting close to finding Kenobi . Accompanied by Owen ' s step - nephew , Luke Skywalker , R2 found who he was looking for . The Destruction of Alderaan . After being captured by Lord Vader , Princess Leia was charged with espionage and treason and taken to the Death Star for interrogation , Vader ' s obsessive quest for the Rebellion ' s hidden base of operations being his primary focus . When she proved to be substantially resistant to Vader ' s methods of torture , Governor Tarkin ordered her to be brought to his command center . Tarkin threatened Leia with the destruction of her homeworld , Alderaan , and Leia deliberately misled him , saying that the Rebel base was on the remote planet of Dantooine . However , Tarkin , wanting a higher - profile target for his demonstration , ordered the Destruction of Alderaan while Leia watched helplessly . Billions were killed ; the overall effect of the operation was to spread the message of fear the Empire needed to keep all planetary systems under control . Battle of Yavin . Luke , Obi - Wan , Han Solo , Chewbacca , C - 3PO , and R2 - D2 , aboard the " Millennium Falcon " , were captured in a tractor beam after coming out of hyperspace near the remains of Alderaan and drawn onto the Death Star . They hid in several secret compartments in the ship while stormtroopers searched it , and then headed up to the control room . Obi - Wan devised a plan to free the ship by turning off a tractor beam projector . After learning that the Princess was on board , Luke , Chewie , and Han headed to her cell block . They managed to free her despite being attacked by stormtroopers . They fled by jumping into a garbage chute , and despite being nearly crushed as the walls compacted , escaped after R2 shut them down . Heading back to the " Falcon " , they spotted a company of stormtroopers . The troopers were distracted by the battle between Obi - Wan and Darth Vader , allowing them to make it to the ship and take off , headed for Yavin IV . There , R2 - D2 uploaded the data tapes , and Alliance tactician Jan Dodonna found a weakness in the station : an unshielded thermal exhaust port that , if fired upon with a proton torpedo , would set off a chain reaction and annihilate the battlestation . The ensuing Battle of Yavin destroyed the Death Star , just as it was positioned to destroy the newly discovered Rebel Base on Yavin ' s fourth moon . The Death Star was destroyed by Luke Skywalker in the trench run , who , with the help of the Force , successfully fired two proton torpedoes into the exhaust shaft that led directly into the Death Star ' s main reactor . Yavin 4 would have been destroyed by the Death Star seconds earlier had it not been for the hesitations of Master Chief Gunnery Officer Tenn Graneet , who delayed the firing because of his regrets for destroying Alderaan even though he was loyal to the Empire . He told his crew to " Stand by , " unknowingly buying the Rebel Alliance the time to successfully destroy the battlestation . Ironically , shortly before Luke Skywalker fired the proton torpedoes into the thermal exhaust port , Palpatine had ordered the creation of a second Death Star . The reactor exploded , destroying the battlestation and killing everyone still on board , including Grand Moff Tarkin . It would prove a decisive moment for the Rebellion , and gave young Skywalker his first spot in galactic history . Even though the Empire remained the most prominent military power in the galaxy , this major Alliance victory gained credibility and support for their movement . In the months following the battle , thousands of star systems joined the Alliance , leading to the escalation of the Galactic Civil War . Although the destruction of the Death Star was primarily an Alliance victory , it also acted as a blessing in disguise for the Empire , in particular the Imperial Navy . Because its development diverted untold amounts of credits and talent from the Navy , other development projects , including those directly related to the creation of a new class of Star Dreadnoughts that would act as a new pinnacle of capital - ship power , experienced a lot of delays . The Death Star ' s destruction gave the project in question a newfound importance to the Empire . In addition , extensive data had been beamed to a communications complex on Galvoni III , which included a lot of transmissions , images , and footage of events up to the last seconds of the Death Star ' s existence , including the rescue of Organa and other related events . The Rebel Alliance – aligned historian Voren Na ' al infiltrated the complex and stole much of this data , narrowly escaping and eventually publishing a report on the superweapon . Wreckage . Soon after the destruction of the giant battle station , salvaging companies and other organizations such as the Ugor s and the Ni ' lyahin Smugglers arrived at Yavin IV and carted off large chunks of debris . It didn ' t take long before the Empire stepped in and stopped all further theft by unauthorized agencies . The Empire set up an Imperial Salvage Station in orbit around Yavin IV to collect the floating remains of the destroyed Death Star . The salvage team aboard the station was led by Major Reskik of the Imperial Security Bureau . The salvage teams consisted of civilian engineers sent by the major defense contractors that had provided the primary system designs for the Death Star project . Additional zero - G work crews were provided by the Empire . Countless pieces of debris rained down on the jungle moon . Many left scorched craters behind and set the jungles on fire . Some pieces remained largely intact . After the Alliance left Yavin 4 , many salvage teams combed the jungles to recover pieces of Death Star technology . Many independent salvagers like Nagem Dr ' Lar sold the debris to the Empire . But other organizations interested in the Empire ' s technology also sent their own teams to the remote moon . The Hutt Expeditionary Force led by Osae Meilea tried to recover debris for the Hutt crimelords . Even the Black Sun crime cartel tried to get their hands on pieces of the destroyed station . A year after the Death Star ' s destruction , some spacers had a piece of wreckage from the battlestation . Tyber Zann , Crime Lord of the Zann Consortium , was interested in some of the Death Star ' s debris since it contained information about the " Aggressor " - class Star Destroyer and the " Eclipse " - class Super Star Destroyer . Commanders and crew . Like any organization within the Galactic Empire , the command structure within the Death Star was very strict . Command sectors were found throughout the Death Star , and were supervised by Imperial officers with a rank of lieutenant or higher . Excluding visitations from the Emperor , the battlestation fell under the direct command of a triumvirate headed by Grand Moff Tarkin , Admiral Conan Antonio Motti of the Imperial Navy , and High General Cassio Tagge of the Imperial Army . The Chiefs of Navy , Army , and Battle Station Operations were held by officers with the rank of Colonel , or , in the case of Trech Molock , High General . Below each Operations Chief were eight majors who served as chiefs of specific departments under heir branch of operations . Four majors were also responsible for the general , service , technical , security , and military sectors , the last of which included Army troopers , gunners , pilots , and specialized versions of the Navy Troopers known as the Death Star Troopers . Members of the Imperial Security Bureau ( ISB ) were also stationed on board . There were also two significant portions of the Death Star ' s complement that did not fall under the normal command structure yet were notable . The first was the Emperor ' s emissary , Darth Vader , who answered to Tarkin and otherwise was not subject to any other authority aboard the battle station . The second were the Stormtrooper Corps . While the Stormtroopers could work alongside the Army and Navy troopers as well as the ISB personnel if their services were required , they did not fall under their jurisdiction and thus were hardly subservient to either branch , as their primary loyalty was to Emperor Palpatine alone . They also worked to ensure that all officers complied with the policies of the Emperor ' s New Order . At any given time , around 1 . 7 million Imperial personnel ( excluding droids ) were aboard the battlestation . Security Sector . The security sector was the sector of the Death Star charged with patrolling and guarding vital or off - limits areas aboard the Death Star . The members of the security sector were the Imperial security officers , otherwise known throughout the Empire as wardens . Their duties included , besides patrols and guarding vital or off - limit areas , the maintenance of detention cell blocks , policing corridors , and protecting visiting officials . The wardens were likewise among the only Imperial officers aboard the battle station to carry personal weapons at all times . The wardens were assigned to several different security divisions , including enforcement , protection , surveillance , and detention , the last three working together to create a complete umbrella of security aboard the battlestation . The surveillance stations remained on alert throughout all duty shifts , relying on a myriad of hidden cameras , sensors , mobile remotes , and droids . However , the wardens themselves were under constant surveillance and observation , due to each standard security sector being required to provide office space and reasonable assistance to the ISB . The ISB and the security forces maintained a tense relationship , largely because the ISB was well known for placing undercover agents among military and technical - support personnel as well as their policing and surveillance techniques being even harsher than regular Imperial security standards . They also maintained their own armory on each sector . Members of the security sectors were also charged with putting down disturbances ( such as an out - of - control argument between crew members ) and restoring order , as the Death Star was comparable to a community by Tarkin , himself a former commander of the Republic Outland Regions Security Force . Service and Technical Sectors . The Service and Technical Sectors were tasked with maintaining the Death Star . Technicians were assigned to these two sectors . The Service Sector was tasked with inspecting , maintaining , repairing , and replacing machinery . The jobs varied from highly skilled technicians trained to build components from scratch , to droids programmed to clean corridors . In addition , members of the Service Sector were required , as their most important duty , to keep up the station ' s protective and emergency gear . They were also required to maintain a variety of gear , from TIE Fighter pilot gear to Viper Probe Droids . RA - 7 protocol droids worked throughout the station , including in the maintenance sections , which earned them the nickname of " Death Star Droids , " despite technically being outnumbered by the MSE - 6 droids . When not assigned to performing repairs or routine maintenance of the machinery aboard the station , the members of the Service Sector were stationed at monitoring posts to check temperature and performance readings or waited for system - failure alarms to sound from diagnostics systems built in to the Death Star ' s machinery . They also were assigned to clean carbon buildup , change components , and overhaul engines at shops . Technical Sector technicians — those not selected for the Service Sector — worked in the science stations , medical bays , research laboratories , programming facilities , and engineering stations , with the possibility of developing a weapon even more destructive than the superlaser . Members of this sector , however , were constantly reminded that while they were important due to their service to the Empire , specifically to the Death Star , they were not more important than the military sector . The staff assigned to the medical stations of this sector possessed varying ranks and abilities , although their droids specialized in various medical techniques , including surgery , anesthesia , and prosthetics . Behind the scenes . The West End Games roleplaying game claimed that the first Death Star had a diameter of 120 kilometers . The fact book " " and detailed scaling of the station in the film suggested that the Death Star actually was 160 kilometers in diameter . However , according to statements by Grant McCune , Chief Model Maker for the movie , the scale used for the Death Star in the film was 1 : 180 , 000 . The Death Star model was 120 centimeters in diameter which indicates that the Death Star was intended to be 216 kilometers in diameter . The fact book " Death Star Owner ' s Workshop Manual " revised the diameter of the Death Star to 120 km . Leland Chee clarified on Twitter that this was an " un - retcon " that was based on evidence presented by the writers . In the early production of the original movie , the hollow dish was designed to be on the equator , but then the prop designers moved it to the " northern " hemisphere . However , the old design can still be seen in the grid plan animations in the movie . This is because the animation was created before the prop designers made the change , therefore leaving a blooper . The explanation that the plans represent an earlier version is invalid , since the original plan in " " shows the " later " form . In the " " DVD commentary , Lucas made an offhand comment that the Death Star seen at the end was the first Death Star . He explained this was due to " union disputes and supply problems . " ( Intriguingly , the lead characters in Kevin Smith ' s film " Clerks " speculate at some length about whether the Imperial workers were unionized or subcontractors . This may or may not be an in - joke by Lucas . ) However , earlier Expanded Universe works , including " Jedi Search " and " Champions of the Force " , implied that what is seen in " Revenge of the Sith " is a prototype to the Death Star in " A New Hope " . This was retconned in " The New Essential Chronology " , which states that the latter was a testbed prototype for the superlaser to be installed on the former , and that the Death Star shown at the end of " Revenge of the Sith " is in fact the first Death Star . A full - length novel , written by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry , was released in October 2007 , and completely explains the events in and around the Death Star , during its construction , deployment , and eventual destruction . In many video game s , particularly the " " trilogy , the player has to avoid many obstacles and make several turns when flying in the Death Star ' s trench run . The schematics / layout of the Death Star show no objects or turns in the trench , and the appearance of the trench in video games is deemed non - canon . For the first game , " , " released in 1998 , the Battle of Yavin is a bonus mission , unlocked by achieving all gold medals in the campaign or via cheat codes . The Battle of Yavin in the sequel , " , " is the game ' s first campaign mission and thus part of the game ' s canon storyline . Additionally , the Death Star serves as a location for multiple Versus Modes in " . " 1993 ' s " " put players in the role of Rookie One , who destroys the Death Star in place of Luke Skywalker . This article follows the sequence of events shown in . The Death Star is mentioned in the 2001 video game " " during the campaign , which was later included in the game ' s 2002 expansion pack , " . " Players can also summon a Death Star to use during campaign missions and multiplayer games with the cheat code " That ' s no moon . " Non - canon history . In the non - canon comic " " , the attack on the battlestation fails , and the Empire manages to drive away the Rebel forces . Five years later , the Death Star is renamed the " Justice Star " to mark the fifth anniversary of the Rebels ' defeat and becomes a mobile seat of government for the newly restored Imperial Senate . The Justice Star traveled from one system to the next , effectively replacing Coruscant as the center of the Empire . In an impressive display of symbolism , the Justice Star was stationed in front of Coruscant ' s sun , to eclipse it and thus be seen as a shining symbol of a new source of light for the galaxy . This symbol was short - lived , however , as Yoda and R2 - D2 commandeered the Justice Star , and used it to attack the Imperial Fleet , also manipulating Wilhuff Tarkin ( by that point an Admiral ) into doing so via a Jedi mind trick . Once the fleet was destroyed , they sent the battle station crashing into Coruscant ' s surface , killing Emperor Palpatine and destroying the massive superweapon .