Tydirium / Legends The Tydirium was a Sienar Fleet Systems Imperial " Lambda " - class shuttle , which operated as a courier and a transport in the Prefsbelt system . It was later present at Outpost 327 over Zhar , where it was captured by General Crix Madine of the Alliance to Restore the Republic . Madine hoped to use the shuttle and the clearance codes it carried to have a strike team infiltrate the Forest Moon of Endor , around which orbited a new Imperial battlestation , the second Death Star . The strike team would then , if all went as planned , deactivate the deflector shield protecting the still - under - construction Death Star . Despite this effort , the ship itself later fell into Imperial hands , and was held at the Prefsbelt Naval Academy on Prefsbelt IV . With Madine once again coordinating the operation , the shuttle was once again stolen , this time by pilot Wedge Antilles . The " Tydirium " was then used by General Han Solo and his strike team to infiltrate the moon of Endor , as planned . His mission to deactivate the deflector shield was coordinated by General Brenn Tantor , who stayed aboard the " Tydirium " while the rest of the team ventured out onto the moon . Following the Battle of Endor , in which the Death Star II was destroyed , Solo used the " Tydirium " to capture the Imperial Star Destroyer " Accuser " . Description . The " Tydirium " was a standard " Lambda " - class T - 4a shuttle . It boasted deflector shields with a 200 SBD rating , and a hull rating of 66 . 24 meters in length , it required a crew of four to operate , and could hold twenty passengers . If needed , a crew of six could man the craft : a pilot , a copilot , a navigator , a gunner , a communications officer , and an engineer . Like all " Lambda " - class shuttles , the " Tydirium " featured a tri - wing design , with a central , stationary , dorsal wing , and two folding wings on the sides . While flying , the ship ' s side wings would rotate into an inverted Y , and would fold upwards when landing . " Lambda " - class shuttles such as the " Tydirium " were among the most durable and well - defended in the Empire . The ship ' s defensive systems included two double laser cannons and two double blaster cannons , in addition to a rear - mounted double blaster cannon to fend off pursuing craft . The shuttle also boasted some of the most formidable deflector shields in the Imperial fleet . The shields were powered by multiple generators . To pilots who had never flown the ship before , the " Tydirium " was fast , maneuverable , and relatively easy to fly . History . Theft . When it was first manufactured , the Imperial " Lambda " - class T - 4a shuttle " Tydirium " was used for courier and transport duties in the Prefsbelt system . In approximately 4 ABY , the " Tydirium " was stationed at Outpost 327 , located in the Zhar system . The shuttle was carrying a set of clearance codes that would allow users to pass the deflector shield enveloping the under - construction Death Star II battlestation orbiting the forest moon of Endor , and land on the moon itself . This information came into the hands of Bothan spies , who knew that the Alliance to Restore the Republic would appreciate such a luxury , as they sought to somehow destroy the Death Star II itself . The spies passed this information onto the Alliance , and the task of capturing the shuttle was assigned to Admiral Yamarus and his Liberty Task Force . General Crix Madine formulated a plan as to how to retrieve the shuttle . He suggested that he lead a team of crack commandos , and a skilled pilot , to infiltrate Outpost 327 and commandeer the shuttle . As the outpost was inefficiently administrated , Madine suspected that the shuttle ' s clearance codes would not have been updated to the current standard , and would still be usable at Endor . Once stolen , the shuttle was to be brought back to Yamarus ' flagship , the " Liberty " . To ferry the commandos to the outpost covertly , Yamarus selected Ace Azzameen , whose civilian family transports were available for Alliance use . One of the Azzameen ships , the YT - 1300 light freighter " Sabra " , would appear to be a neutral merchant ship to the Imperial customs patrols that guarded Outpost 327 . The mission was undertaken , and the commandos successfully commandeered the " Tydirium " . As the shuttle escaped the facility , however , TIE / sa bombers were scrambled to destroy it . Azzameen called for reinforcements — Rogue Squadron arrived in time to cover the " Tydirium " escape . The shuttle , Rogue Squadron , and the " Sabra " all made it back to the " Liberty " safely . The only element from the mission to Zhar that was used by the Alliance , however , was the clearance codes the shuttle had been carrying . The " Tydirium " fell back into Imperial hands , and some time afterwards , the Alliance mounted another attempt to steal the " Tydirium " , from the Prefsbelt Naval Academy on Prefsbelt IV . Crix Madine was in charge of the mission . The shuttle itself was being kept on the academy ' s northernmost platform . Wedge Antilles was sent to Prefsbelt IV to personally steal the shuttle — stealthily making his way to the academy , he successfully stole the craft . As he departed , Antilles was escorted by a pair of Alliance starfighters . Role in the Battle of Endor . The stolen shuttle was moved to the hangar bay of Admiral Ackbar ' s flagship , the " Home One " in preparation for the infiltration of Endor . As part of the preparations , the ship was given a refit , transforming it , cosmetically , from a personnel transport into a cargo shuttle . Additionally , a team of Madine ' s best security slicers went about disguising the ship ' s registrations and history . General Han Solo was to lead a group of commandos onto the forest moon , and destroy the deflector shield generator which was protecting the orbiting Death Star II . Ideally , this would allow Ackbar and the Alliance Fleet to strike at the battlestation , and destroy it . The general ' s shuttle command crew included the Wookiee Chewbacca , as well as the Humans Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker . Placed in the cargo hold of the ship was a Battlefield Holographic Control Interface , from which General Brenn Tantor would co - ordinate the operation . Before departing , Skywalker noticed that the stolen clearance code they were going to use was interfering with the ship ' s transponder . He and Chewbacca , however , were able to resolve the problem . Solo himself piloted the shuttle , with Chewbacca serving as co - pilot . Departing the " Home One " , Solo made a hyperspace jump , first stopping at an uninhabited layover system , and eventually reaching the Endor system . As the " Tydirium " approached the forest moon , it was hailed by the Imperial Star Dreadnought " Executor " , which was guarding the incomplete Death Star II . The " Executor " traffic officer , Controller Jhoff , demanded that the " Tydirium " identify itself — Solo did so , and requested that the deflector shield be deactivated , which would allow them to land on the forest moon . In turn , the " Executor " requested that Solo transmit the clearance code . Solo complied , but Organa was not entirely sure that the stolen codes would work . The general seemed to remain confident ; however , he too was beginning to doubt the team ' s safety . In addition , Skywalker , an aspiring Jedi , sensed through the Force that the Dark Lord of the Sith , Darth Vader , was on the " Executor " , but Solo dismissed the idea . The " Tydirium " was next contacted by Admiral Firmus Piett , who requested the shuttle ' s cargo and destination . Solo claimed that he was carrying " parts and technical crew for the forest moon . " Meanwhile , on the bridge of the " Executor " , on which Vader was indeed present , the Dark Lord had been taking a personal interest in the " Tydirium " . He quizzed Piett as to the shuttle ' s code clearance , and although it had used an older code , it still checked out . Vader decided he would let the shuttle pass , as he had sensed Skywalker , his son , on board . Solo , however , had grown impatient , and suspected that the Imperials were not going to let them through . Just as he prepared to flee the system , the " Executor " contacted them once more , and granted them clearance . The shield was deactivated , and the " Tydirium " was free to land on the forest moon . Solo landed the shuttle in a clearing several miles from the Imperial shield generator . The team covered the craft with branches , leaves and mulch , lest it be discovered by an Imperial patrol . The team then debarked , but were unable to destroy the shield generator before the arrival of the Alliance Fleet . Nonetheless , the shield generator was eventually destroyed during the ensuing battle , and the Death Star II was successfully destroyed . Tantor continued to operate from the hidden shuttle , when the Alliance landed reinforcements on the forest moon to help rout the remaining Imperial forces . After Endor . Although the battle was over , some remnants of the Imperial fleet at Endor remained . Major Bren Derlin was left in charge of any planet - bound Alliance forces , leaving Solo and Chewbacca free to pursue other objectives . The pair performed some maintenance on the " Tydirium " , before taking the shuttle into orbit , hoping to assist in eliminating the remainder of the Imperial force . On board were Solo ' s strike team , touting stolen stormtrooper armor they had acquired during the previous battle . Of his own volition , Solo decided that he would attempt to steal one of the surviving " Imperial I " - class Star Destroyers , " Accuser " . Using the clearance codes he had used to bypass the " Executor " , Solo and his crew were able to successfully infiltrate the " Accuser " , make their way to the bridge , and order the crew to evacuate . The ship then became a part of the Alliance fleet . The shuttle continued to serve the Alliance and went through several refittings , which included the addition of two turbolasers . In 7 ABY , the smuggler Starter claimed that he personally stole the " Tydirium " from Darth Vader himself , although few , if any , believed him . Behind the scenes . The shuttle " Tydirium " first appeared in Richard Marquand ' s 1983 film , , written by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas . The story as to how the shuttle was stolen by the Rebel Alliance prior to the events of " Return of the Jedi " has been told in several sources , all of which conflict with one another . In the short story " Starter ' s Tale , " published in 1994 ' s " Star Wars Adventure Journal 4 " , the character of Starter claims to have stolen the shuttle by himself , but his tale is dismissed as highly fictional by other characters within the story itself . In the 2000 computer game " " , the player character , Ace Azzameen , must ferry a group of commandos to a space station above Zhar in order for them to capture the shuttle . The commandos then bring the shuttle back to the Alliance safely . The role - playing scenario " Stealing the Shuttle " coincides with the events of " X - wing Alliance " . This was later contradicted in " " , released one year later . In " Rogue Leader " , the player character , Wedge Antilles , must infiltrate an Imperial academy , and steal the shuttle himself . He does so successfully , and brings the ship back to the Alliance . When the maintainer of the Holocron continuity database , Leland Chee , was asked about this discrepancy , he stated that both thefts of the shuttle had occurred , and that the events of " X - wing Alliance " had occurred first . This meant that the Imperial forces would have to have retrieved the shuttle somehow , in order for the events of " Rogue Leader " to occur . However , in the 2007 sourcebook " " , it is stated that Azzameen ' s team stole the clearance codes for the shuttle that were used in " Return of the Jedi " , and that Antilles himself stole the physical shuttle . This conflicts with " X - wing Alliance " , in which the stolen shuttle is clearly identified as the " Tydirium " itself , with " codes " as its cargo . For the purposes of this article , all events from all sources are considered to be canon ical , with Chee ' s statements of the dual shuttle thefts included as well . In " Rogue Leader " , the infiltration of the academy by Antilles can be performed in either a BTL Y - wing starfighter or a T - 47 airspeeder . In the article " Kyle Katarn ' s Tale " , Abel G . Peña established that tydirium was the name of an ore in the " Star Wars " universe . The intention behind this was to suggest that the shuttle was named after the ore , an idea inspired by the computer game " X - wing Alliance " , which had a shuttle bay with " tons of shuttles with names like " Crystilium " and " Bandarium " . " In the non - canon comic " Tag & Bink Are Dead " , the " Tydirium " was Wilhuff Tarkin ' s personal shuttle on the first Death Star . Tag Greenley and Bink Otauna steal it to escape the battlestation and eventually bring it into the Alliance ' s custody .