Battlestation A battlestation , or battle station , was a term used for any space station armed for combat . Characteristics . A battle station was often defined as a combat spacecraft that used its primary power generation facilities for combat purposes rather than propulsion . The station could be either orbital or self - propelled like a starship . Large capital ships were usually regarded as a type of battle station . An alternative term for the largest battlestations was battle planetoid . Battle stations were designed for various purposes , including defensive and offensive combat . Defensive battle stations bulked up on shield generators , sensor systems , defensive fighters and evacuation transports . Offensive battlestations were fitted with offensive weapons - batteries , starfighter and bomber squadrons as well as anti - ship defenses such as point - defense cannons . The battle station hangars were often large enough to handle smaller capital ships in addition to the fighters and transports . Combat stations were known to keep a larger - than - average amount of combat troops onboard , and were often utilitarian in design . Different types of battle stations were often separated by their mobility . Mobile battlestations , such as large capital ships , could traverse interstellar space and attack distant targets . Immobile stations were usually situated in orbit of a world and used for planetary defense or logistical support . Terrestrial stations were built on or around asteroids and planetary objects and usually required less volatile reactor cores than space - faring battle stations . The largest battle stations were often designed with city - like structures on their surfaces . These structures mimicked terrestrial cities in order to make life more comfortable for the crew . Restaurants , shops and apartment buildings could be utilized even on the most militaristic of stations . The station commanders and high - ranking officers often had their own stylish dwellings and there was usually space for visiting diplomats . Travel onboard the enclosed battle station cities was often done with turbolifts , landspeeders or in the rare cases of massive cities , through shuttle taxis that flew from one hangar to another . Known classes and usage . The earliest known battlestation was the Krath command station at the Empress Teta system , which had been used by the Krath in a skirmish between themselves and both the Jedi and Old Republic . Around the time of the Naboo Crisis , Sienar Fleet Systems toyed with the concept of a battlestation shaped like a planetoid , called the Expeditionary Battle Planetoid , although it was deemed impractical . Nonetheless , Wilhuff Tarkin expressed an interest for it and ultimately submitted the plans to then - newly elected Supreme Chancellor Palpatine . The " FireStar " - class orbital defense station was also utilized by the Galactic Republic up to and after it was reorganized into the Galactic Empire . During the Clone Wars , at least one known battlestation was known to have been in use , the Grade III battle station , which had been under the operation of the Confederacy of Independent Systems . The Galactic Civil War resulted in a substantial increase in battlestation usage . The Rebel Alliance had access to at least one type of battlestation , which could be modified into four succeeding stages . The Galactic Empire , likewise , also had access to various battle stations of varying roles , some such as the " Cardan " - class space stations , which included at least five different variants , as well as the Bavos - I and Bavos - II heavy - duty military space platform s , and the Golan space defense platform , which included the Golan I SpaceGun ( also known as the armored defense platform ) , the Golan II Space Defense SpaceGun , and the Golan III Space Defense NovaGun . Some also were formed specifically to defend certain planets , such as the Derilyn Space Defense Platform Probably the most infamous battlestations , however , were the Empire ' s Death Stars , which were the result of Sienar ' s earlier Expeditionary Battle Planetoid . They included the DS - 1 Orbital Battle Station , also known as Death Star I , the Death Star II , the Death Star prototype used as a testbed for developing the first Death Star ' s superlaser , and the " Tarkin " ( although the latter was more of a test bed for superlaser outputs from the then - in development " Eclipse " - class next generation Star Dreadnought , it was considered an extension of the Death Star concept ) . Although technically not a true Death Star due to it being a modified Worldcraft / Habitation sphere , the Death Star III was nonetheless used as a siege platform by then - renegade Imperial warlord Ennix Devian as part of a feint against the then - newly formed Alliance of Free Planets after the Battle of Endor . With the Dark Empire helmed by a resurrected Emperor Palpatine , they had various battlestations at their disposal , like the Galaxy Gun , which was capable of firing hyperspace - capable warheads with enough charge to detonate an entire planet , and to some extent the " Eclipse " - class , which , although technically belonging more to the Star Dreadnought line of ships than true battlestations , were large enough to qualify as such . Aside from the major players of the Galactic Civil War , various third party factions had access to battlestations during that time . One was the criminal syndicate Zann Consortium , which utilized Consortium space station s in battle with various groups . Another was the Shadow Academy , which , although primarily an educational center / base of operations for the Imperial splinter faction known as the Second Imperium , had onboard weapons systems and was used to attack the Jedi Academy at Yavin 4 .