Death Star

Death Star
Original Death Star
First appearance	Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker (1976 novelization) Star Wars (1977 theatrical film)
Created by	George Lucas
Designed by	Colin Cantwell
Information
Affiliation	Galactic Empire
Launched	n/a, constructed in space.
Combat vehicles	TIE Fighters
General characteristics
Class	Orbital Battle Station
Armaments	Superlaser
Defenses	Turbolasers, Laser cannons, Tractor beams, and Ion cannons
Maximum speed	Faster than light speed
Propulsion	Imperial Hyperdrive
Power	Able to destroy a planet with one shot of the superlaser.
Width	160 km (99 mi) (Death Star I); 200 km (120 mi) (Death Star II)

The Death Star is a fictional space station and superweapon featured in the Star Wars space-opera franchise. Constructed by the autocratic Galactic Empire, the Death Star is capable of obliterating entire planets, and serves to enforce the Empire's reign of terror. Appearing in the original 1977 film Star Wars, the Death Star serves as the central plot point and setting for the movie, and is destroyed in an assault by the Rebel Alliance during the climax of the film, with the 2016 prequel film Rogue One and the 2022 television series Andor exploring its construction. A larger second Death Star is being built in the events of the 1983 film Return of the Jedi, featuring substantially improved capabilities compared to its predecessor, before it is destroyed by the Rebel Alliance while under construction.

Since its first appearance, the Death Star has become a cultural icon and a widely recognized element of the Star Wars franchise. It inspired numerous similar superweapons in fiction as well as in other Star Wars works. The 2015 film The Force Awakens introduces Starkiller Base, a planet (Ilum) converted by the First Order into a Death Star-like superweapon. While more powerful and technologically advanced than both Death Stars, it is also destroyed by the Resistance. The 2019 film The Rise of Skywalker introduces the Final Order, a massive fleet of Xyston-class Star Destroyers built by the Sith Eternal, individual warships each carrying "planet-killing" weapons; the film also features the remains of the second Death Star, on the ocean moon of Kef Bir.