# Operating Cost of the Deathstar **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 13, 2004, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/operating-cost-of-the-deathstar/239862 "2004-04-13T21:55:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/operating-cost-of-the-deathstar/239862/41 "2004-04-15T00:46:00Z")
> [@](#): > > So, based on this single counter-example, it is unlikely that the construction cost of the death star can be extrapolated from a modern naval warship. Especially when you consider that the Death Star’s core used large amounts of exotic, ultra-dense matter as reactant. The thing was the _size_ of a small moon, but it probably massed as much as several large planets. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/operating-cost-of-the-deathstar/239862/42 "2004-04-15T01:15:55Z")
This thread reminds me of a SW fanfiction I started to write once but never finished. Here"s the plot: At the edge of the galaxy is a remote scientific station devoted to extra-galactic astronomy. The facility houses a team of astrophysicists and engineers tending a giant parabolic reflector used as a telescope. One day the researchers are startled to see a Super Star Destroyer task force drop out of hyperspace. The admiral commanding the fleet informs the researchers that their parabolic reflector is being requisitioned in the name of the Empire, and the chief engineer in charge of tending it has been summarily pressed into Imperial service. The researchers have little choice but to obey, and the chief engineer, the daughter of the senior astronomer, says her farewells. The fleet takes the parabola in tow. She ends up at Endor where the Death Star II is being built, and the parabolic reflector is to be used as the bowl of the main weapon. Working with other conscripted engineers, they whisper about how billions of innocent Alderaans were casually murdered and how can they stop it from happening again. The young engineer gets involved in a plot to warn the Rebel Alliance that a second Death Star is being built, going so far as to sacrifice herself to order to get the word out. But in the end we discover that it’s all part of the Emperor’s plan to leak word to the Rebel Alliance to trick them into attacking the (they think) not yet operational Death Star II. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Asbestos_Mango)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/operating-cost-of-the-deathstar/239862/43 "2004-04-15T01:28:06Z")
Does anybody seriously believe that the Evil Galactic Empire would actually need to _purchase_ the probably rare and therefore expensive materials required to build the Death Star? More likely they would simply have a Star Destroyer drop by a planet, blast a fair-to-midsized city to its component elements, then nicely ask the planetary government to please hand over the rare metals. Tremendous cost savings over actually having to shell out Imperial credits for the stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/operating-cost-of-the-deathstar/239862/44 "2004-04-15T04:15:18Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > According to my calculations… > > 4,780,000 Quatloos per micron > > Don’t forget to factor in the exchange rate. You fool, you’ve mixed in the construction costs of a Battlestar! ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/operating-cost-of-the-deathstar/239862/45 "2004-04-15T04:32:44Z")
A Bothan is one of hte many species of aliens in SW. Bothan spies were the ones who found out about the second DS, remember? “Many Bothans died to bring us this information.” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/operating-cost-of-the-deathstar/239862/46 "2004-04-15T06:34:02Z")
> [@](#): > > The problem arises when you try to move. Unless the velocity of the Death Star changed exceedingly slowly relative to the BH’s velocity, the BH would drift away from the center of the Death Star; and unless the Death Star were enormously massive, that drift would not correct itself quickly. Actually, gravity wouldn’t be any good at all at keeping the black hole centered, since an object in the center of a spherically-symmetric shell is in neutral equilibrium (the equilibrium is unstable if the shell is not spherically symmetric, so that’s no improvement). However, a black hole can be given an electric (or magnetic, but let’s not go there) charge, so it’d be possible to keep it centered electromagnetically. Incidentally, a black hole can also be used as a power source by extracting the gravitational potential energy from objects dropped into it (this is what powers quasars). This isn’t quite as efficient as the Hawking process (you can get a maximum of half the conversion energy from your fuel), but you can use a hole of any size, and you don’t have the delicate balancing act of feeding it at exactly the right rate, like you do with Hawking radiation. Either of these methods is vastly superior to anything we have now, and could be a suitable power supply for a large space station. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/operating-cost-of-the-deathstar/239862/47 "2004-04-15T07:38:28Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Bothan spies were the ones who found out about the second DS, remember? > > “Many Bothans died to bring us this information.” Yeah, I had forgotten about that. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/operating-cost-of-the-deathstar/239862/48 "2004-04-15T11:56:09Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > You fool, you’ve mixed in the construction costs of a Battlestar! Weren’t they both built by Dykstra? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/operating-cost-of-the-deathstar/239862/49 "2004-04-15T12:28:40Z")
> [@Phase42](#): > > Not to mention the fact that “lightsaber” just sounds sooooo much cooler than “lightepee”. However, this is also incorrect, as epees, like rapiers and foils, are stabbing weapons, while lightsabres are obviously used for slashing. Considering the fact that Jedi and Sith alternate between a one-handed and two-handed grip, the correct term would probably be “lightbastardsword” (or “lighthandandahalfsword” to purists). ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/operating-cost-of-the-deathstar/239862/50 "2004-04-15T12:50:49Z")
Gotta love “light bastard-sword”, although one can understand why Lucas was loathe to use that term. In estimating costs for the Death Star, one must remember that it is being constructed by a Government. Thus, if you are a conservative, your estimates are all too low by a factor of many hundred. If you are a liberal, the question is meaningless, there’s no cost to the construction because it’s done by government. (If it would be funnier to reverse the terms “conservative” and “liberal” in that last statement, feel free to do so.) ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/operating-cost-of-the-deathstar/239862/51 "2004-04-15T13:05:16Z")
> [@](#): > > More likely they would simply have a Star Destroyer drop by a planet, blast a fair-to-midsized city to its component elements, then nicely ask the planetary government to please hand over the rare metals. Nah, you’d need waaaaaaay more than one city to do this. And then you’d have to go pick it all up and sort it, and all the whining proles out there… just not worth it. They probably toasted a few asteroid fields instead. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/operating-cost-of-the-deathstar/239862/52 "2004-04-15T14:45:40Z")
The weird thing about the sabers is that Lucas himself often slips and says “laser-sword” which is more accurate, I suppose, but disconcerting for some reason. Anyway, back to the death star, I don’t think it would be heavier than several planets as **SPOOFE** said. Like Chronos said, it’s hollow. I’m gonna say lighter than the small moon. Perhaps the aircraft carrier is the wrong model. Anyone want to extrapolate the numbers from the ISS? That’s more like it: in space, built by government contract. (And BTW, we don’t yet have conclusive proof that the Stormtroopers are clones. The Clonetroopers could be the precursors to some as yet unknown process for making Stormtroopers.) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/operating-cost-of-the-deathstar/239862/53 "2004-04-15T19:11:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Perhaps the aircraft carrier is the wrong model. Anyone want to extrapolate the numbers from the ISS? That’s more like it: in space, built by government contract. If anything, that’s probably an even worse comparison than the aircraft carrier. The biggest cost for the ISS is the cost of getting the materials into orbit, but in the Star Wars universe, access to space is cheap. And the next-biggest source of costs for the ISS is all the international politics and diplomacy, which the monolithic Empire wouldn’t have to worry about. And I think it’s safe to assume that the Death Star has mass far less than that of a planet, since it’s described as orbiting around Endor (itself only a moon), and not vice-versa. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/operating-cost-of-the-deathstar/239862/54 "2004-04-15T20:36:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Anyway, back to the death star, I don’t think it would be heavier than several planets as SPOOFE said. Perhaps not. However, its hollowness is well balanced out by the density of the various reactants that it carries. The fuel would be so dense as to be orders of magnitude heavier than the rest of the station itself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/operating-cost-of-the-deathstar/239862.md?page=2)