Superlaser The superlaser was the primary weapon of the Death Star battle stations , a powerful laser weapon . It was powered by eight kyber crystal s . Laser beams generated from these crystals were focused and combined into a single blast of incredible power , capable of destroying an entire planet at full output . History . First Death Star . The first superlaser , installed on the original Death Star , was designed over an extended period beginning before the Clone Wars , finally coming online due to the work of Orson Krennic and Galen Erso . It was capable of destroying a planet , but could be fired at lower power by expending the charge of only a single one of its vast power reactor s to devastate an area encompassing roughly 1 / 8th of a planet ' s surface . The recharge time on the reactors was nearly an entire day , limiting how often the weapon could be used . The targeting system was accurate only on the order of several kilometer s , which was considered acceptable , since even on low power this would guarantee the destruction of the target due to the size of the blast and at full power would be completely negligible on the scale of an entire planet . The first use of the weapon was on Jedha City , a city on the moon Jedha , as a demonstration by Krennic to Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin that the system was operational ; Krennic had wanted to use the weapon at full power but was ordered to use it at the lower setting as Tarkin did not yet wish to reveal the full power of the system to the galaxy . The superlaser was again used on the high - security data bank on the planet Scarif , again on a regional scale , in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the Death Star plans being stolen by Rogue One . The superlaser was used for the final time , at full power , to destroy the planet Alderaan . Although the plan was to use it at full power on the moon Yavin 4 , in order to destroy the rebellion , the station was destroyed before it could be fired again . Following the destruction of the Death Star , a group of rebels including a Nebulon - B , the " Millennium Falcon " , and various rebel starfighter s attempted to seize the superlaser from the wreckage of the Death Star . However they were intercepted by Darth Vader in his TIE Advanced x1 , who destroyed the rebel frigate , and starfighter escort . The " Millennium Falcon " was forced to flee after taking heavy damage , further preventing the rebellion from retrieving the superlaser . Second Death Star . A second generation superlaser was installed aboard the Second Death Star . This unit featured across - the - board improvements from the first generation unit . The targeting system was greatly improved , giving the system the ability to hit individual capital ship s , and the power regulation was revamped , giving it the capability to fire with enough force to destroy any capital ship in a single hit , while recharging for another similar - strength shot in only 3 minutes . The full - power recycle was also improved , shaving the time between shots from almost a day to only 5 hours . A trap was set for the rebellion by spreading false intelligence that the superlaser was not operational , only to use the in - fact perfectly functional weapon against several rebel capital ships at the Battle of Endor . Because the Second Death Star was destroyed before completion during that battle , its superlaser was never fired at full power . First Order . In 34 ABY , the First Order used a miniaturized death star superlaser to crack open a Resistance hideout on the planet Crait . At only 200 meter s , this siege gun could be placed inside larger warship or be tugged underneath an planetary shield via AT - HHs .