Superlaser / Legends A superlaser was a device which merged several separate " super laser beams " into a single exceedingly powerful beam . The largest superlasers ever designed , such as those in the Death Star and Death Star II , were superweapons capable of obliterating an entire planet with one shot at full power . There were also smaller - scale yet still immense superlasers designed for use by and against capital ships ; these could destroy even the largest vessels at a single shot — and while they would not destroy a planet , they could nonetheless quickly devastate one ' s surface . Much more prosaically , compact superlasers were also used in industry ; the Geonosians , for example , employed compact superlasers to melt iron ore in their droid factories . Operation . The superlaser was composed of several exotic matter beams accelerated and amplified by gigantic focusing magnetic lenses and coils , producing a single powerful beam . Unlike turbolasers , it pulled energy from a massive hypermatter core , converting the energy present in hyperspace into highly unstable particles that were tremendously destructive in normal space . The energy delivered into a target was so great that it could cause the target ' s atoms to split into matter / antimatter pairs and annihilate themselves , creating hundreds of miniature singularities while generating a powerful surge capable of rupturing the barrier between normal space and hyperspace . As any powered weapon , it drained the amount of energy required to use , resulting in different energy outputs . The Death Star ' s superlaser , for example , could destroy any capital ship with less than 10 percent power , crack a planet open to the core with two 30 percent shots and blow it to pieces with a full - charged fire . In such cases , the amount of energy involved was so great it would generate minuscule space - time singularities , sending part of the target ' s mass into hyperspace and generating a massive shock wave from high - energy tachyons from hyperspace . Due to its focusing lenses and beam intensity , the energy wasted was extremely low , leading to a very long shooting range , up to 2 , 000 , 000 kilometers ( over six light - seconds ) . Description . The power of the first Death Star ' s superlaser was estimated to have been more than 2 . 4×10 watts , with an optimum range of 2 , 000 , 000 kilometers and a working range of 420 , 000 , 000 kilometers . Powerful enough to destroy a terrestrial planet , it was the most powerful energy weapon ever built at the time . Powered by the Death Star ' s colossal hypermatter reactor , 64 tributary shafts generated eight beams that united to form the primary beam over the central lens of the weapon . These tributary beams were arranged around an invisible , central focusing field , firing in an alternate sequence to build the power necessary to destroy a planet . A crew of one hundred and thirty - two gunners — fourteen per amplification crystal — were required to manage this sobering power . History . The birth of the superlaser . The concept of the superlaser , Emperor Palpatine ' s most frightening weapon , was born in the mind of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin . The use of such massive and terrifying weapons to inspire terror on the citizens of the Empire became the core of his Tarkin Doctrine . The idea was later realized by Bevel Lemelisk , as well as by Geonosian weapons engineers . As early as in 19 BBY , shortly before the foundation of the Galactic Empire , Supreme Chancellor Palpatine sent the 501st Legion to retrieve a Mygeetan energy crystal that was later utilized as a power source of the Death Star superlaser in Project Hammertong , a top secret research program to develop a fully operational superlaser . During development , the Composite Beam Superlaser was developed after initial plans regarding the Concave Dish Composite Beam Superlaser ran into development problems , although the problems in the latter weapon ended up fixed , thus rendering the former weapon unnecessary . The proof - of - concept model of the superlaser was built at the Maw Installation in the Kessel system . This model became known as the Death Star prototype . Finally , the first full - scale superlaser was installed in the first Death Star battlestation , becoming its primary weapon . In 2 BBY , Galen Marek traveled through one of the firing tubes in the superlaser dish during the Battle on Death Star I , causing structural damage in the process . Use and deployment . The full - scale superlaser was built in the Death Star and was used six times — it was first used during a Rebel raid on the Death Star , when Rebel agent X2 used the yet - unfinished superlaser to destroy one of the escorting Star Destroyers , then it was fired once with four percent power to destroy the " Fortressa " , a " Lucrehulk " - class battleship under Rebel control , three shots were fired as a secret test shortly after , to destroy the prison planet Despayre , and another shot with full power to destroy Alderaan and demonstrate the Galactic Empire ' s strength , with the superlaser shot being powerful enough to completely overwhelm the planetary shield of Alderaan . This immense power made the Death Star one of the most powerful weapons in the history of the galaxy . However , before it could fire a seventh time at the Rebel Alliance base on Yavin 4 , it was destroyed at the Battle of Yavin . Shortly after the Battle of Yavin , an experimental Star Destroyer equipped with a superlaser , the " Conqueror " , was commissioned under the command of Admiral Victor Strang , a former Storm Commando , to hunt down Rebel bases . A smaller version of the first Death Star ' s superlaser was also installed on the " Tarkin " battlestation . This weapon was used by Grand Admiral Martio Batch to crack the planet Aeten II and acquire its deeply buried supply of remaining stygium crystals . It too would be destroyed by Rebel forces , who infiltrated the station while it was under construction and sabotaged the superlaser . When the superlaser was fired , it overloaded , destroying the station . In the years leading up to the Battle of Endor , at least two habitation sphere s were being built around Coruscant . They were claimed to be for peaceful purposes only , but had indentation marks identical to the focusing lenses on other superlasers . They were presumably destroyed following the partial collapse of the Empire in 4 ABY . A superlaser was also built in a testing facility on the planet Dubrillion . It was used against a small Rebel fleet , but ultimately destroyed in the Battle of Dubrillion in 3 ABY . While working of the second Death Star , Lemelisk delved into the operational capability of the superlaser systems , fixing several flaws on the primary weapon of the first Death Star . He also devised several innovations , planning to convert the superlaser into an even more powerful weapon . Numerous upgrades were performed on the superlaser design when it was reincorporated into the Death Star II . Whereas the original superlaser took a full 24 hours to recharge , the new one possessed a rate of fire separated by minutes , not days . The new superlaser also had more individual beams — nine in total — with one in the center facilitating greater accuracy . The new targeting system allowed it to fire at smaller targets , such as capital ships , as opposed to only planets . Though these modifications allowed the Imperial forces to inflict significant casualties on the Rebel fleet during the Battle of Endor , this station was also destroyed . In the months following the Battle of Yavin , " Eclipse " , the first ship and prototype for the " Eclipse " - class dreadnoughts , had been undergoing construction for some time . Shortly after the Battle of Endor , the " Eclipse " was stolen by Tyber Zann ' s Zann Consortium . Though incomplete , its superlaser was operational and was used against the fleets of the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance during the Battle for the " Eclipse " . However , the powerful Star Destroyer was abandoned by the Consortium on the orders of Zann himself , since he believed that it would be too big of a target for the Rebels and the Empire to ignore . In the years after Endor , " Eclipse " was still undergoing construction , eventually becoming fully operational for Operation Shadow Hand in 10 ABY . It was armed with a superlaser that could slash through planetary shields , sear the crust and blow apart entire continents . This fact made " Eclipse " and its successor , " Eclipse II " , the most powerful capital ships ever built . However , " Eclipse " was destroyed in the Battle of Pinnacle Base , and " Eclipse II " was destroyed after the Battle of Onderon , along with the Galaxy Gun . A few months after Endor , a third Death Star was eventually discovered to have been developed . The newly formed New Republic later partook in a mission to destroy it , and succeeded . Similar to its predecessors , it was also outfitted with a superlaser , although it never got a chance to use it before its destruction . In 11 ABY , Tol Sivron used the Death Star prototype to destroy Kessel ' s Garrison Moon . Sivron planned to test the effectiveness of the superlaser by obliterating Kessel , but due to a malfunctioning targeting mechanism , the Death Star prototype accidentally hit the wrong target . Shortly afterwards , the Death Star prototype was destroyed when Kyp Durron lured it into one of the Maw ' s black holes during the Battle of the Maw Installation . The last known superlaser was built by Durga the Hutt for the " Darksaber " battle station . However , due to design problems and flawed construction , it never functioned properly . The forces of the New Republic attacked it before it was completed , and it was destroyed in the Hoth asteroid field . Rumors abound , however , that notorious smuggler Booster Terrik acquired " Darksaber " schematics from the Hutts , and installed a fully operational superlaser on his ship , the " Imperial II " - class Star Destroyer " Errant Venture " . Behind the scenes . " " called the Death Star ' s main weapon an ionic cannon .