# Question About The Death Star **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 18, 2015, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-death-star/712981 "2015-02-18T06:47:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-death-star/712981/41 "2015-02-19T01:21:13Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > As usual, Palpatine was full of shit. Or his minion _told_ him it was fully operational and Palpatine, being the trusting manager that he is, believed him. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-death-star/712981/42 "2015-02-19T01:24:29Z")
Most likely, the emperor swishes his lightsaber (i.e., electric wand) and apparates the whole death star. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-death-star/712981/43 "2015-02-19T02:06:26Z")
By the end of ROTJ, I was pretty sure the Emperor DID swish. ---
**Author:** ![Lemmytheseal2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@Lemmytheseal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemmytheseal2)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-death-star/712981/44 "2015-02-19T02:35:58Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > I liked this answer: Sure, but there are other, in-universe answers on the page. > [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > The Death Star wasn’t firing at full power in ROTJ. It was firing with just enough power to blow up a ship, which takes considerably less time to charge than a planet smashing blow. Yeah, I should have mentioned that. > [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > This makes sense to me in-universe as well. I would imagine people learning to fly in atmospheric conditions and the banking and turning would feel natural in flight even while in space. Banking also pushes the pilot into the seat where a flat turn would push them off to the side. I would imagine that’s easier to endure. > > Helicopter pilots don’t necessarily have to bank but I know they do. Good point. Plus, space is so vast, ships would only encounter one another close to a planet anyway, when they’re within the gravity well and traveling in realspace. Starfighters and the like would probably operate in-atmosphere more often than out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-death-star/712981/45 "2015-02-19T02:46:37Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Oh, the _diet’s_ pretty obvious… they eat small freighters. It’s not that simple: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_s0MqYcOOjY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_s0MqYcOOjY) ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-death-star/712981/46 "2015-02-19T03:07:41Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > The Death Star wasn’t firing at full power in ROTJ. It was firing with just enough power to blow up a ship, which takes considerably less time to charge than a planet smashing blow. Much more economical when you’re doing your energy allocation step at the start of the turn. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-death-star/712981/47 "2015-02-19T07:24:06Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Air and oxygen aren’t necessarily the same thing. If it doesn’t have oxygen, it isn’t air (since air is _Earth’s_ atmosphere). Now, it could be very _low-pressure_ air, I grant you. But then the sound wouldn’t carry as well, would it 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-death-star/712981/48 "2015-02-19T07:27:51Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > If it doesn’t have oxygen, it isn’t air (since air is _Earth’s_ atmosphere). Huh. I’ve always thought air was basically interchangeable with “gas.” Looks like I was wrong about that. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-death-star/712981/49 "2015-02-19T14:44:41Z")
It was taken on rail by the Galaxy Express. ---
**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:** [February 19, 2015, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-death-star/712981/50 "2015-02-19T15:03:53Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **muldoonthief** : > > You can leave your ship for several minutes to shoot Mynocks, wearing only an air mask and not suffer any vacuum-induced injury, so there’s some kind of pressure out there. [It’s been addressed](http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/1029.html). ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-death-star/712981/51 "2015-02-19T18:09:46Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > This makes sense to me in-universe as well. I would imagine people learning to fly in atmospheric conditions and the banking and turning would feel natural in flight even while in space. Banking also pushes the pilot into the seat where a flat turn would push them off to the side. I would imagine that’s easier to endure. > > Helicopter pilots don’t necessarily have to bank but I know they do. I’m mildly annoyed that I know this, but this is partially addressed in one of the X-Wing books. It’s mentioned that X-Wings are equipped with an inertial dampener that limits or eliminates inertia felt by the pilot. The reason given is so they can make extremely fast turns without the blood draining from their head and rendering them unconscious. Granted, I don’t recall seeing any maneuvers like that in the movies, and since this is in the Expanded Universe, it deserves a large grain of salt. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-death-star/712981/52 "2015-02-19T18:12:27Z")
_Star Trek_ has made reference to inertial dampers, as well: [Inertial damping system | Memory Alpha | Fandom](http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Inertial_damper) ---
**Author:** ![Lemmytheseal2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@Lemmytheseal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemmytheseal2)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-death-star/712981/53 "2015-02-19T21:28:45Z")
> [@oft\_wears\_hats](#): > > I’m mildly annoyed that I know this, but this is partially addressed in one of the X-Wing books. It’s mentioned that X-Wings are equipped with an inertial dampener that limits or eliminates inertia felt by the pilot. The reason given is so they can make extremely fast turns without the blood draining from their head and rendering them unconscious. > > Granted, I don’t recall seeing any maneuvers like that in the movies, and since this is in the Expanded Universe, it deserves a large grain of salt. Plus, that part of the EU is now non-canon. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-death-star/712981/54 "2015-02-19T21:37:29Z")
> [@oft\_wears\_hats](#): > > I’m mildly annoyed that I know this, but this is partially addressed in one of the X-Wing books. … I’m mildly disturbed that anyone knows this. Something like a third of the entire sci-fi collection of the state elibrary that I use consists of Star Wars Books. I am _hoping_ that someone is donating them, but if not then the purchasing of the library’s collection is being grossly mismanaged. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-death-star/712981/55 "2015-02-19T21:38:28Z")
> [@Lemmytheseal2](#): > > Plus, that part of the EU is now non-canon. [Nothing to see here. Move along](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lrXA8LBX34). ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-death-star/712981/56 "2015-02-19T21:41:30Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > That’s one thing that bugged me about ROTJ: the Emperor may have said that the station was “fully operational”, but it wasn’t, really - it certainly couldn’t generate its own shields, and we can pretty much assume that its hyperdrive wasn’t working yet, either. The sole fully operational part of it was the main gun, and even there, the only thing we saw it destroy was a cruiser. There was nothing to indicate that it was capable yet of taking out a planet. > > As usual, Palpatine was full of shit. Also the railings around the bottomless pits hadn’t been installed. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-death-star/712981/57 "2015-02-19T21:45:24Z")
Details, details. As long as the big gun goes pew pew pew, it’s “operational” enough for the purposes of that battle. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-death-star/712981/58 "2015-02-19T21:51:18Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Also the railings around the bottomless pits hadn’t been installed. If they installed railings, people would be leaning all day. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-death-star/712981/59 "2015-02-19T21:56:58Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > By the end of ROTJ, I was pretty sure the Emperor DID swish. Huh. The SFX reminded me more of a FWOOOSSHH! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-death-star/712981.md?page=2)