Echo Station 3 - 8 Echo Station 3 - 8 , or Advance Station 3 - 8 , was an isolated Rebel facility located near Zone Twelve on the ice planet Hoth . It served as an outpost for Echo Base , the Alliance ' s primary headquarters on Hoth . In 3 ABY , a Rebel trooper at Station 3 - 8 spotted an unidentified object moving toward the outpost and reported its presence to Echo Base . The object , which turned out to be an Imperial Viper probe droid searching for the Rebels ' headquarters , destroyed the outpost before it could complete its transmission . Description . Advance Station 3 - 8 was one of the isolated outposts , bearing the comm designation " Echo Station , " that served as a sentry post for the Rebel Alliance ' s headquarters of Echo Base . The station was located near Zone Twelve on the ice planet of Hoth , to the east of Echo Base and the Clabburn Range . Echo Stations were staffed by Rebel troopers and defended with artillery emplacements for use in the event of an Imperial attack . History . Established by the Rebel Alliance during its time on Hoth , Station 3 - 8 served as an outpost on the frozen world , one of many Rebel stations tasked with monitoring meteor activity and searching for any Imperial intruders . In 3 ABY , the Galactic Empire , continuously searching for the Alliance ' s primary headquarters , dispatched probe droids across the galaxy to aid in locating the Rebels ' main base . One such probe droid was sent to the Hoth system ; after landing on Hoth , it eventually discovered evidence of a Rebel base . The Alliance , likewise , became aware of the droid ' s presence but was unable to determine its identity . While personnel at Echo Base speculated on what it could be , a Rebel trooper stationed at Advance Station 3 - 8 radioed Echo Base to inform them that the station had the object on its scope . The droid came into Station 3 - 8 ' s visual range , but before the trooper could announce its identity , the probe droid destroyed the outpost with its blaster cannon . Cut off , the trooper ' s message ended in static . As the probe droid transmitted news of the Alliance ' s presence on the world to the Empire , Echo Base commander General Carlist Rieekan dispatched Rogues Ten and Eleven — pilots Tarrin Datch and Tenk Lenso , respectively — to Station 3 - 8 . Rieekan instructed the pilots to fly a low - altitude holding pattern over the station and to be alert for trouble . Datch and Lenso transported Captain Han Solo and the Wookiee Chewbacca to the probe droid ' s location ; Solo succeeded in destroying the droid , but its data successfully reached the Empire and was utilized to great effect in the subsequent Imperial attack on Hoth . Behind the scenes . The destruction of Station 3 - 8 varies from adaptation to adaptation of . The of the film , the movie storybook , and the provide different quotes detailing the final moments of the unidentified trooper stationed there . Additionally , the novelization has the trooper contacting Echo Base with news of the probe droid , while in the comic adaptation , Echo Base contacts Station 3 - 8 first . The film itself does not include a quote from the trooper or confirm the station ' s destruction ; the outpost is only mentioned when General Rieekan dispatches Rogues Ten and Eleven to Station 3 - 8 — a reference to George Lucas ' s first film , " " . The screenplay , however , does mention " the smoldering ruins of station three - eight " immediately after this line . A map of the Battle of Hoth included in the ( and , later , the " Star Wars Trilogy Sourcebook , Special Edition " ) places Station 3 - 8 among the numerous trenches north of Echo Base , directly in the path of the main Imperial assault . " Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy " contradicts this map almost completely ; the reference book indicates that the Alliance detected the Imperial probe east of Echo Base . According to both the novel and comic adaptations of the movie , Station 3 - 8 was destroyed around this time , thus placing it east of the base and away from the Empire ' s general advance . The outpost ' s location is not the only difference between the maps ; the placements of the shield generator and ion cannon were also changed .