Death Star plans / Legends The Death Star plans were the blueprints of the first Death Star , an Imperial superweapon that was the brainchild of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin . The plans . The idea for the Death Star began when the Confederacy of Independent Systems designed the Ultimate Weapon , using plans and concepts provided by Wilhuff Tarkin . Poggle the Lesser possessed the original ( or a copy of the ) plans , which he handed to Count Dooku during the First Battle of Geonosis . Darth Tyranus attempted to flee the planet and go to Coruscant , but he was intercepted by Obi - Wan Kenobi , Anakin Skywalker , and Yoda who sought to capture him . Tyranus defeated the two Knights ; however , Yoda , in order to save the other two , let Tyranus escape with the plans . The future of the galaxy was strongly affected by this decision . Tyranus managed to arrive at the Works of Coruscant and he delivered the schematics personally to Darth Sidious . Once the Clone Wars were over , Palpatine shaped this idea for his own purposes . Blueprints were used as a basis for construction of the station , and , after the Death Star ' s completion , the plans became a prime target for the Rebellion , whose members hoped to find and exploit a weakness in the superweapon . In large part because of this , the Empire split up the plans and sent it to various places of the galaxy to prevent enemy hands from acquiring it . History . The Rebel Alliance acquires the plans . First encounter . The top - secret Imperial weapons project headed by Wilhuff Tarkin was hinted at by several high officials , including Tarkin himself , but its true nature remained unknown for some time . The first vital piece of information about the Death Star was obtained during the mission to Darkknell , which took place sometime before the signing of the Corellian Treaty in 2 BBY , during which Darth Vader captured the Rebel Leaders Bail Prestor Organa , Mon Mothma and Garm Bel Iblis and sent them to the unfinished Death Star I for execution . There Emperor Palpatine revealed them the name and the purpose of the battle station before executing them , but the Rebel leaders were saved by Galen Marek , who sacrificed himself to allow them escape . As the construction of the Death Star drew closer to completion , Mon Mothma and Bail Organa knew that Rebels needed to obtain a complete technical readout of the Death Star . If their engineers could pinpoint a weakness in the battlestation , then the Rebels might be able to destroy it . The Alliance set into motion the biggest anti - Imperial offensive it had ever attempted : a complex , coordinated operation to compile a complete set of plans for the Death Star and transmit it to the " Tantive IV " . Various missions were undertaken by the Rebel Alliance with this purpose , but while some of them succeeded , others simply confirmed the Death Star ' s existence , name and purpose , which were in fact already known to the Leader of the Alliance . Events on Vergesso and Raltiir . For the raid on Vergesso facilities Captain Raymus Antilles secured the assistance of Han Solo ' s smuggling skills . Solo , originally extremely reluctant to involve himself in Rebel affairs , was forced to comply after Antilles made assisting him the condition for rescuing him from Imperial custody over the surface of Corellia . Solo undertook a mission to infiltrate the Imperial shipping facilities in the Vergesso Asteroids , planting a tracking device and EMP emitter in a cargo container bound for an Imperial research station in Corulag . The EMP successfully disabled the station ' s defenses long enough for Rebel search teams to raid the station . The data they acquired " confirmed " the existence of the Death Star I and gave the Rebels an idea of the scale of its destructive capabilities , but failed to provide any technical information with which a weakness could be identified . Even Gial Ackbar , Tarkin ' s personal slave rescued during the raid , knew little about the plot . Using funds stolen from the raid on Ylesia and other sources , the Rebellion planted and aided spies on the world of Ralltiir . One of their number , Basso , also " confirmed " the existence of a massive Imperial construction , code - named Death Star . This was later identified as a massive superlaser - wielding battlestation by the Empire ' s Lord Tion . Shortly before his death , Tion revealed that a convoy containing the Death Star plans was en route to Toprawa from Tarkin ' s headquarters on Eriadu . Death Star uprising . A section of the plans were stolen from the Empire during a Rebel jail break inside the nearly completed Death Star . Stormtroopers of the 501st Legion , who had been guarding the plans onboard the Death Star , crushed the uprising and were thought to have recovered the plans . However , some prisoners had managed to transmit one copy to rebel forces on Polis Massa . Discoveries at Orron III and AX - 235 . A BFF - 1 bulk freighter called " Phoenix " stole several communications satellite s from the Imperial base on Orron III . The freighter was later recovered by the alliance and the satellites were spread by the CR90 corvette " Jeffrey " in the Cron Drift to intercept Imperial transmissions in the hopes of learning more . Technical information from the Death Star came to the attention of outpost AX - 235 in the Cron Drift . Due to the importance of what had been discovered , Biggs Darklighter was sent to personally courier the schematics out of AX - 235 , taking them to the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser " Independence " . From there , shuttle " Maria " transferred them to " Tantive IV " . Keyan Farlander ' s success . Keyan Farlander and members of Red Squadron protected the " Tantive IV " while the technical data from the " Independence " transferred from the shuttle " Maria " . Four other corvettes were used as decoys in order to protect the " Tantive " identity , but the Star Destroyer " Immortal " arrived , and launched an attack on the " Tantive " . Thanks to Keyan Farlander , the " Tantive " managed to escape to Toprawa . Mission to Danuta . Rebels on Danuta had learned that Lemelisk had visited the local research facility , and obtained video of a set of Death Star plans being held there . The problem was that while Danuta plans included additional engineering schematics and a complete map to the offensive and defensive weapons emplacements , the plans for the superlaser control systems and battle station ' s hull design and life support infrastructure were not included in these plans , but were held within the Imperial Research Facility on Toprawa itself . Additionally , the Alliance already held the intercepted technical data from AX - 235 with the plans from the actual Death Star . All of this information was needed to ensure success . The Rebels on Toprawa had a shot at the convoy , while Mon Mothma recruited an Imperial defector named Kyle Katarn and the mercenary Rianna Saren to infiltrate an Imperial outpost on Danuta . Kyle was to steal a memory matrix there that contained the plans for the Death Star while Rianna was charged with retrieving more Intel from Zarien Kheev . With the aid of Jan Ors and Meck Odom , Katarn escaped the facility and transmitted this set of the plans to Rebel spies in the Toprawa system , where it was eventually passed to Princess Leia on the Tantive IV . As for Rianna , she and Z - 58 - 0 also completed their objective and transmitted the plans to Princess Leia in the Toprawa system . Battle of Toprawa . The Toprawan Rebels were ordered to cripple the Imperial convoy heading for Toprawa , and steal the plans , which included a list of its potential flaws . Combined with the superlaser control system plans and other technical schematics , the Rebellion would then have a complete technical readout of the battlestation . Bria Tharen and Red Hand Squadron volunteered to accompany an Alliance infiltration team to Toprawa aboard the " Retribution " , to aid in the transmission of the plans , an operation dubbed " Skyhook " , though they were unaware of the exact nature of the weapon . The Toprawan Rebels attacked and crippled the Imperial convoy and captured the plans - an event often considered the first major victory for the Alliance . In response , the Empire blockaded the planet . Bail Organa was to have taken the " Tantive IV " to intercept the transmission of the stolen Death Star plans , but his daughter , Leia Organa , volunteered to go in his stead . Raid on the Imperial Research Station . The Rebels on Toprawa were without the proper equipment to transmit the plans to the " Tantive " . They decided to attack the IRS , and use its comm station . A young man named Havet Storm was recruited to steal the superlaser control plans . The combined Rebel forces hit the main reception building . They managed to take the communications center station , where Havet Storm arrived with the superlaser plans . Here they were ambushed by head of security Commander Diamond and her stormtroopers . While Red Hand Squadron held off Imperial forces outside the Center , Havet transmitted the plans in a quick burst , using frequency 1215 . The transmission was barely in time — Imperial fire chopped the comm / sensor tower in half just seconds after the " Tantive " sent out a " transmission complete " acknowledgment . Detour to Kalakar Six . Darth Vader , who had sworn to recapture the plans after the Death Star uprising , briefly followed up on a tip that led him to Kalakar Six . It proved to be a ruse generated by the Prophets of the Dark Side , who had predicted that the Death Star would soon be destroyed . Instead , Vader chose to pursue Leia Organa to the Toprawa system , while the 501st Legion traced the Rebels from the Death Star uprising to Polis Massa . The Battle of Polis Massa . The 501st Legion was sent to retrieve the plans that had been transmitted to Polis Massa . Once there , the 501st was caught up in a firefight with the Rebellion . By the time the 501st got to the plans , a copy had already been beamed from Polis Massa to the " Tantive IV " . The Signal branch of Imperial Intelligence ' s Analysis Bureau discovered that the plans had been sent to the " Tantive IV " by analyzing the un - shielded ELEL ( Extremely Low Energy Level ) transmission from droid U - 3PO aboard the ship . This allowed Vader to track the " Tantive IV " to Tatooine . Moff Kalast and the Bothan Spynet . Sometime prior to the Death Star plans arriving on Polis Massa , rogue Imperial Moff Kalast aided the Rebellion with information linked to the battlestation . The Bothan Spynet had acquired secret top priority Imperial codes from the Death Star and transferred them to Kalast who , in turn , delivered them to the Rebellion . After learning of the combined treachery of both the Spynet and Kalast , Emperor Palpatine personally traveled to Bothawui to punish the Bothans . The Emperor , along with two of his Royal Guards , slaughtered a large number of Bothans . One Bothan , begging for his life , informed the Emperor that the plans were to be beamed to the " Tantive IV " in the Tatoo system . The Emperor regrouped with Vader , who had learned the same , and ordered his servant to Tatooine . R2 - D2 ' s mission . Having received the various sets of blueprints , the Rebels on " Tantive IV " were able to recreate a full tactical readout of the Death Star . They attempted to deliver this readout to the Star Cruiser " Liberty " , but a sudden appearance of the Star Destroyer " Devastator " caused the transfer to stop ; " Tantive IV " moved to Tatooine to reach Obi - Wan Kenobi so that he could bring it to Bail Organa on Alderaan . Before they could succeed , though , Darth Vader led by the 501st Legion . Princess Leia , knowing the Rebels had no hope of defeating Vader ' s forces , placed the plans within the astromech droid R2 - D2 , programmed him to deliver them with a message to Obi - Wan Kenobi on Tatooine , and then , after being captured by Vader , denied that " Tantive IV " had ever received such plans . R2 - D2 boarded an escape pod with C - 3PO and journeyed through the sands of Tatooine to fulfill his mission . The plans were nearly in danger of being lost forever when Jawas ambushed and enslaved R2 , but a string of events led R2 to the ownership of Owen Lars . R2 convinced Lars ' s nephew Luke Skywalker to remove the droid ' s restraining bolt , suggesting that doing so was the only way R2 could access the rest of Princess Leia ' s message ( which Luke had accidentally discovered ) , but it was not long after Luke had done so that R2 had taken the opportunity to escape , seeking out General Kenobi . Luke and C - 3PO chased R2 down , after which they stumbled across a group of Sand People . Again the plans were nearly doomed , but the Sand People scattered at the arrival of one they knew and feared : Obi - Wan Kenobi . R2 - D2 had completed his task . The trail to Yavin . Leia ' s message conveyed to Obi - Wan the urgency of bringing R2 to Bail Organa . Joined by Luke and C - 3PO , they hired the mercenary Han Solo and Chewbacca to smuggle them to Alderaan on the " Millennium Falcon " , and they escaped from Mos Eisley spaceport in a fierce firefight . The plans , however , would never make it to Alderaan . In a demonstration of the Death Star ' s capabilities , Grand Moff Tarkin had ordered the planet destroyed , and the crew of the " Falcon " exited hyperspace only to find their destination missing , while a lone TIE / LN starfighter fled the scene . Han determined to destroy the fighter so that their location could not be reported , but following the fighter led the " Falcon " to the Death Star itself . R2 was as close to the Imperials as he could be , and at one point he and C - 3PO were even forced to interact with a squad of stormtroopers . Still , none of the soldiers realized that the little droid the Empire had been searching for was on the very station it posed so dangerous a threat to . When the crew of the " Falcon " escaped with Princess Leia and headed to Yavin 4 , R2 and the precious plans he carried were with them . Having arrived on Yavin 4 , the Death Star plans were studied by General Jan Dodonna and other Rebel officers in the hope of finding an exploitable weakness . In addition , because of the Death Star ' s unexpected arrival shortly thereafter thanks to a tracking droid smuggled on the " Falcon " , the personnel also rushed through trying to strategise on how to destroy the Death Star via the plans . They found it in the form of a small thermal exhaust port which , if hit directly by a proton torpedo , would trigger a chain reaction destroying the battle station . This is precisely what Luke Skywalker did in the proceeding Battle of Yavin . The Hutt threat . Following the fall of the Empire , the Death Star Plans were kept by the New Republic in a secure computer system on Coruscant . However , in 12 ABY , a team of Taurill commandos broke in during a diplomatic reception for Durga the Hutt and stole a copy of the plans . They delivered them to Durga , who had Bevel Lemelisk use the captured designs to create a new version of the Death Star , the " Darksaber " . However , this threat was thwarted when the station was destroyed in the Hoth asteroid field . Behind the scenes . In the early production of , the hollow dish was designed to be on the equator , but then it was moved to the " northern " hemisphere . However , the old design can still be seen in the grid plan animations in the movie . This is because the animation was created before the prop designers decided to make the change . The original plans displayed in , set twenty years earlier , show the final form . The grid plan animations shown during the Rebel briefing for the attack on the Death Star late in " A New Hope " were an actual computer graphics simulation from the Jet Propulsion Labs ( JPL ) made by Larry Cuba and Gary Imhoff as part of a project for school at CalArts , and had been included during filming for " Star Wars " : Episode IV " A New Hope " ( then known as just " Star Wars " ) . Originally , the writers and staff planned to thank JPL for assisting in the graphics , but it was changed to the specific programmers ' names after one of the programmers , Mike Plesset , pointed out that JPL didn ' t even know their computers had been used . The exact order of events and the way the multiple plans were combined by the Rebels are not clearly understood . One major reason for this is that , like fighting in the Battle of Hoth , stealing or protecting the Death Star plans has become a playable feature in " Star Wars " video game s such as " " , " " , " " , " " , and " " . For example , in " Lethal Alliance " , Rianna Saren escapes Despayre soon before its destruction , transmitting her part of the plans to Princess Leia at the end of the game , yet as revealed in the novel " Death Star " , Despayre was destroyed during the events of " A New Hope " , after Leia was captured . These games don ' t always maintain continuity , and a future retcon may combine all sources into one cohesive storyline . Such an attempt was made with the " " graphic novel , which reconciled the Toprawa and Danuta plans , while " The Lost Jedi Adventure Game Book " and " Rebel Dawn " incorporated the Toprawa story from the get - go . The " Star Wars " original Databank article on the Death Star acknowledged the contributions of Kyle Katarn , Keyan Farlander , " Rebel spies in the Toprawa system , " and other unnamed heroes . The Death Star Uprising and 501st Legion were both mentioned , but the article made no reference to the plans even being involved in this jailbreak . " Star Wars : Empire at War " attempted to resolve the issue by saying that the Death Star plans were scattered to help keep them out of enemy hands ; that Katarn , Farlander , and all the others simply stole parts that , when pieced together , formed the Death Star plans .