Scarif vault The Scarif vault was a six - story - high data vault located within the Citadel Tower of the Imperial security complex on the tropical Outer Rim planet of Scarif . The vault held scientific treatises , bureaucratic memoranda , and schematics , including the plans to the Galactic Empire ' s planet - destroying battle station , the Death Star . In 0 BBY , the Rebel Alliance squad " Rogue One " infiltrated the data vault and stole the station ' s technical readouts in order to locate its fatal weakness . Description . Located on the tropical Outer Rim planet of Scarif , the Scarif vault was a data vault situated within the Citadel Tower of the Imperial security complex , a research and development installation used as part of the Galactic Empire ' s Death Star project . A cavernous , refrigerated shaft , the data vault was six stories high and consisted of three towers of stacked data banks , each with nodes aglow with dim red lights that indicated the storage status of ten thousand data - tape s . The tapes , held within individual storage slots , contained copious amounts of data , such as scientific treatises , bureaucratic memoranda and schematics detailed to a microscopic level . Secured behind a large door , the vault was cut off from the local computer network and could only be accessed by a right hand - print scanner . Inside the vault , the data tapes themselves were situated behind a glass barrier and accessed using a manually - controlled retrieving mechanism . After the tape was highlighted green using a computer outside the vault , two handles were used to move the retrieving mechanism up and down the towers to the desired tape . History . Galen ' s message . In 0 BBY , the Alliance to Restore the Republic , a rebel organization opposed to the Galactic Empire , received word that rebel extremist Saw Gerrera had acquired a message from Imperial scientist Galen Erso pertaining to a new Imperial superweapon he had helped design . In response , Alliance High Command sent Captain Cassian Andor , reprogrammed Imperial KX - series security droid K - 2SO and Galen ' s estranged daughter , Jyn Erso , to the Force - sacred moon of Jedha to retrieve the message and find out how to destroy the weapon . After meeting with Gerrera , Jyn was shown the holographic message in which Galen revealed that the plans to the Death Star , an immense battle station capable of destroying entire planets , were held within the data vault in the Citadel Tower on Scarif . Infiltrating Scarif . A few hours later , Jyn , Andor , and K - 2 went on an unauthorized mission to Scarif as part of the newly formed Rebel Alliance unit " Rogue One " in order to to steal the plans . After infiltrating the complex , the trio found a lone KX - series Security Droid which K - 2S0 proceeded to access the data banks of . After retrieving a map showing the location of the data vault , a distraction triggered by the Rebel Marine s outside allowed the three to proceeded to the vault unopposed . Once they arrived , K - 2S0 knocked out the technician outside and assumed control over the vault ' s control computer . Upon entering the vault , Jyn skimmed through the files in search of the plans and stopped at " stardust , " the nickname her father gave her , and realized that they must be the plans . As K - 2S0 tried to fight off stormtrooper reinforcements , he used the computer to highlight the data - tape ' s position . Andor used the retrieving mechanism to get it , however , before he could fully extract it the door control was shot and the device ' s power went out . K - 2S0 implored them to climb to the tape and proceeded to lock the vault before being killed by stormtroopers . After the pair removed their disguises , Jyn shot the glass between them and the data towers and jumped across onto the closest one , with Andor following after her . Once she retrieved the data - tape , they climbed up to escape , but before they could , a door opened in the wall revealing Director Orson Krennic and a pair of death trooper s . Andor covered Jyn ' s escape , killing two death troopers before a bolt from Krennic caused him to fall and hit a platform unconscious . Jyn , knowing she couldn ' t save him , continued climbing . Reaching a malfunctioning hatch , Jyn timed her escape , climbing through the exit just in time . After Jyn successfully transmitted the plans to the Rebel Fleet , Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin ordered the Death Star to fire on the communications array atop the Citadel using a single reactor ignition , pulverizing the transmission tower and hitting a point several kilometer s away from the complex . The resulting explosion destroyed the data vault along with the rest of the complex , and in the process , the surviving members of Rogue One . Behind the scenes . The Scarif vault was a location created for the premier " Star Wars " anthology film , " " , released on December 16 , 2016 . The vault made its first appearance in the teaser trailer for " Rogue One : A Star Wars Story " on April 7 , 2016 .