Sun Crusher The Sun Crusher was one of the most powerful superweapons ever devised . It was developed at the secret Maw Installation . Characteristics . The Sun Crusher was a nearly indestructible craft that was no larger than a starfighter , but was capable of unleashing destruction on a magnitude that dwarfed even the Death Star ' s capabilities . Unlike the Death Star , which destroyed individual planets , the Sun Crusher could destroy an entire star system by causing its target star to turn into a supernova . The key to its near invincibility was layered Quantum - crystalline armor , a material so strong that it could perfectly repel even turbolaser shots . Han Solo once was able to ram the Sun Crusher straight through the bridge of the " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer " Hydra " without taking any damage , and during the skirmish in the Maw , it even survived a glancing blow from the Death Star prototype ' s Superlaser , which likely would have destroyed any other ship it touched . The Sun Crusher took some engine damage from the blast , as this was its only weakness , but was able to continue to fight . The Sun Crusher was also equipped with a hyperdrive and was designed to slip unnoticed into a system , fire its weaponry , and then escape before its presence was detected . The Sun Crusher ' s primary weapon was a payload of 11 energy resonance torpedo es . Each torpedo resembled an oval - shaped plasma discharge and was activated when it passed through the Sun Crusher ' s resonance torpedo launcher . The resonance torpedo then traveled to the system ' s sun at near - lightspeed velocity . Upon impact , the torpedo burrowed into the star ' s core , releasing dense packets of energy that rendered the star ' s core unstable , initiating a chain - reaction that forced even low - mass stars to go supernova . The star would be ripped apart in the explosion , sending waves of energy and radiation out across the system that destroyed every planet and all life in its path . The Sun Crusher could obliterate an entire system in mere hours . Once launched into the star , it was impossible to stop the impending supernova . The resonance torpedoes could also be launched at any starship , instantly destroying it . History . The Sun Crusher was built using funds diverted from the Death Star I project by the Maw Installation ; that was secretly built by Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin for the development of experimental weapons technologies . He then assigned the Maw Installation to Admiral Natasi Daala , a female Imperial Navy officer . Unknown even to Emperor Palpatine , the Maw Installation was quickly forgotten after Tarkin ' s death at the Battle of Yavin . However , a team of Imperial scientists , led by researcher Qwi Xux , continued their work despite complete isolation from the rest of the galaxy . In 11 ABY , Han Solo , Chewbacca , and Kyp Durron stumbled upon the Maw Installation . By that time , the Empire had succumbed to civil war with warlords fighting both themselves and the New Republic . After they were captured by Admiral Daala ' s forces , Han Solo , Chewbacca , and Kyp Durron , along with Qwi Xux , escaped the Maw Installation with the Sun Crusher . The Sun Crusher was then placed deep inside the poisonous atmosphere of the gas giant Yavin , where it was thought that the incredible atmospheric pressures would render the craft inaccessible . However , the young Kyp Durron , now a Jedi adept at Luke Skywalker ' s Jedi academy at Yavin IV , yet unable to control his hatred of the Empire and influenced by the ancient Dark Lord Exar Kun , retrieved the Sun Crusher from the depths of Yavin . He then destroyed the Cauldron Nebula along with most of Admiral Daala ' s fleet . After Kyp Durron destroyed the Carida system , Han Solo and Lando Calrissian came looking for him and chased Kyp to the Core Systems , where they found that he had also destroyed a major starship construction yard and a weapons depot with it . Han then found Kyp and distracted him while Lando attempted to shut down the Sun Crusher . However , Kyp used the Force to restart it and threatened to destroy the " Millennium Falcon " with one of the supernova torpedoes . At this moment Exar Kun was destroyed by Kyp ' s fellow students and Kyp realized what he had done and surrendered to Han . To redeem himself , Kyp had to destroy the Sun Crusher . He destroyed it during the Battle of the Maw , where it was sucked into one of the Maw ' s black holes along with the Death Star prototype . Kyp survived by escaping in a message pod , though he suffered serious injuries in the process . Durron used the Force to slow himself almost to the point of suspended animation and crammed himself into the tiny message cylinder . Behind the scenes . It is believed that the spacecraft shown on the cover of " Dark Apprentice " is an alternative , non - canon version of the Sun Crusher . Others think that it is the X - 23 StarWorker space barge in the book .