# Questions about Death Star MKII **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 10, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-death-star-mkii/665891 "2013-08-10T19:35:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [August 10, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-death-star-mkii/665891/1 "2013-08-10T19:35:16Z")
[ol] [li]When did it become canon that the second Death Star was substantially larger than the original? At least watching RotJ I didn’t see anything in story to support that.[/li] [li]Why make the second one bigger, _especially_ when it was a plot point that the Empire was struggling desperately to get the superlaser online in time. Didn’t the original work just fine? (well, except for that little oversight with the emergency reactor vent).[/li] [li]Is there a rationale for the Death Star’s design? That is, why does it have a polar axis with latitudinal decks? What’s the conspicuous equatorial trench for? Why is the reflector dish centered neither on the equator, the poles, or exactly inbetween?[/li] [li]Does the large-scale patterning on the surface mean anything?[/li][/ol] ---
**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:** [August 10, 2013, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-death-star-mkii/665891/2 "2013-08-10T19:45:05Z")
And why couldn’t those guys get a railing? Because they’d be _leaning_ on it? Geeze…! ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-death-star-mkii/665891/3 "2013-08-10T19:54:43Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Why make the second one bigger, _especially_ when it was a plot point that the Empire was struggling desperately to get the superlaser online in time. Didn’t the original work just fine? (well, except for that little oversight with the emergency reactor vent). The first Death Star could fire only once a day, and only at full power; the second could fire more often, and at low powered levels for shipkilling purposes instead of just smashing planets. The larger size probably was required for the higher power production. From the Star Wars Wiki [Wookipedia](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_II): > [@](#): > > The second main advancement in the second Death Star battlestation was the improvement of its superlaser. Still located in the northern hemisphere of the battlestation, the much improved superlaser equipped in the second Death Star was much more powerful than its predecessor, and took only three minutes to recharge, in comparison to the 24 hour recharge required for the first Death Star’s superlaser. In addition, while the first Death Star only had the capabilities to fire on very large targets, such as planetary bodies, the improved superweapon was upgraded with additional lower-power weapon fire options and targeting systems that were more suited for fine-tuned accuracy, while still maintaining great destructive power, in order to fire the powerful weapon on enemy capital ships. The increased external surface area of the new station also allowed for larger amounts of conventional armaments, such as turbolasers and other defense batteries, to be placed, further increasing the already impressive Death Star’s defenses. > > The third main advancement in the second Death Star battle station was that it now carried three hypermatter reactors, two of which were used solely for the Superlaser Mk. II, making it immensely more powerful than the Superlaser Mk. I used on the first Death Star, which had to share its one hypermatter reactor between all the systems aboard it ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-death-star-mkii/665891/4 "2013-08-10T19:58:45Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > ]Is there a rationale for the Death Star’s design? That is, why does it have a polar axis with latitudinal decks? What’s the conspicuous equatorial trench for? Why is the reflector dish centered neither on the equator, the poles, or exactly inbetween? Why not have decks if you have gravity? And a spherical design gives the most volume for the least amount of material. I believe your other questions all should be answered by the Imperial School of Space Craft Design. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-death-star-mkii/665891/5 "2013-08-10T20:32:21Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Why make the second one bigger, _especially_ when it was a plot point that the Empire was struggling desperately to get the superlaser online in time. Didn’t the original work just fine? (well, except for that little oversight with the emergency reactor vent). It was a plot point that the Empire _wasn’t_ struggling desperately to get the superlaser online in time. What the Rebels thought they knew was a deliberate fabrication meant to lead them into a trap. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-death-star-mkii/665891/6 "2013-08-10T20:35:52Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > And why couldn’t those guys get a railing? Because they’d be _leaning_ on it? Geeze…! That was my thought all through “The Hobbit” (part I.) Doesn’t anybody around here believe in safety railings? ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-death-star-mkii/665891/7 "2013-08-10T21:09:39Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > That was my thought all through “The Hobbit” (part I.) Doesn’t anybody around here believe in safety railings? No OSHA in Middle Earth ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-death-star-mkii/665891/8 "2013-08-10T21:14:30Z")
Railings where? In the goblin mines? Goblins are cannibals. No rails means more meat. ETA- also, neither dwarves nor elves need safety rails. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-death-star-mkii/665891/9 "2013-08-10T21:45:43Z")
So here’s my question: Whose large capital ships was the Death Star Mk II going to target? Who, in the Rebellion, was in possession of a stolen Star Destroyer, or worse yet, was building them? My memory is pretty sketchy, and I only saw it on TV, so I might not have notices, but I didn’t notice the Rebellion fielding any large capital ships. Maybe something big fled Hoth and I missed it, but I don’t recall anything jumping out of hyperspace around Endor that squads of Tie fighters couldn’t handle ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-death-star-mkii/665891/10 "2013-08-10T22:11:20Z")
The EU explains a lot of that, of course. There were forces outside the Empire that quite powerful ships and weapons. The Mk II was designed to take on them after the rebellion was crushed. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-death-star-mkii/665891/11 "2013-08-10T22:34:36Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > So here’s my question: Whose large capital ships was the Death Star Mk II going to target? Who, in the Rebellion, was in possession of a stolen Star Destroyer, or worse yet, was building them? My memory is pretty sketchy, and I only saw it on TV, so I might not have notices, but I didn’t notice the Rebellion fielding any large capital ships. Maybe something big fled Hoth and I missed it, but I don’t recall anything jumping out of hyperspace around Endor that squads of Tie fighters couldn’t handle Rewatch the ROTJ space battle: There are several large cruisers in the rebel fleet that seemed to rival the Star Destroyers (though certainly not the Super Star Destroyer) in size. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-death-star-mkii/665891/12 "2013-08-10T22:36:42Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > Whose large capital ships was the Death Star Mk II going to target? Who, in the Rebellion, was in possession of a stolen Star Destroyer, or worse yet, was building them? Watch the space battle at the end of RotJ. While the Rebellion may not have had anything quite as large as a Star Destroyer, they had a number of [Mon Calamari capital ships](http://starwars.com/explore/encyclopedia/technology/moncalcruiser/), and a bunch of other mid-sized capital ships – some possibly stolen from the Empire, others either refitted civilian craft, as the Mon Calamari ships were, or out-of-date craft (because beggers can’t be choosers). Edit: ninjaed! ---
**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:** [August 10, 2013, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-death-star-mkii/665891/13 "2013-08-10T23:04:29Z")
The trouble with using Mon Calamari ships is all the bureaucratic hassle in getting them. You think you’ve filled out the the last requisition form and there’s always one last regional governor to placate. Yeah, yeah, yeah… it’s satrap… ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-death-star-mkii/665891/14 "2013-08-10T23:24:27Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The EU explains a lot of that, of course. There were forces outside the Empire that quite powerful ships and weapons. The Mk II was designed to take on them after the rebellion was crushed. Ohh. OK. Could you name a few, and I’ll go read on Wookiepedia about them? Then I can find the others. I am kinda sucked into the whole canon/fanon backstory of the Empire. The only real enemies I heard of to rival the Empire are the Yuuzhan Vong and they shouldn’t be known to the Empire at this point … or were they? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-death-star-mkii/665891/15 "2013-08-10T23:54:48Z")
Well, the Empire definitely knew about the Chiss Ascendancy, for one. Not to mention the Vagaari Empire. Of course, the real reason the Mk II was bigger and badder was that the contractors had lobbyists in the Senate who padded the shit out of the defense contracts. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-death-star-mkii/665891/16 "2013-08-11T00:05:17Z")
“Spherical” because that’s the most economical shape for an object that large. Both in terms of maximizing volume and in terms of minimizing it’s own gravitational forces. The strategic purpose of the Death Star was it’s deterrent value as a planet destroyer, not as an anti-capital ship weapon. IOW, if your system gets too much out of line, forget a blockade of star destroyers and an invasion of storm troopers. The Empire will just destroy your planet. > [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > And why couldn’t those guys get a railing? Because they’d be _leaning_ on it? Geeze…! The contractor was coming in on Tuesday. ---
**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:** [August 11, 2013, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-death-star-mkii/665891/17 "2013-08-11T00:34:02Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Is there a rationale for the Death Star’s design? That is, why does it have a polar axis with latitudinal decks? What’s the conspicuous equatorial trench for? Why is the reflector dish centered neither on the equator, the poles, or exactly inbetween? > [@aNewLeaf](#): > > Why not have decks if you have gravity? And a spherical design gives the most volume for the least amount of material. > I believe your other questions all should be answered by the Imperial School of Space Craft Design. What I meant was why wasn’t the Death Star built as concentric spheres with decks parallel to the surface? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-death-star-mkii/665891/18 "2013-08-11T00:53:52Z")
It was. Quoting from the Technical Manual: _The Death Star had been designed to operate and behave much like any planetary body. The majority of the “habitable” areas were on the surface or within the two to four kilometer thick crust. The rest of the vast interior consisted of machinery, engines, nearly-bottomless access and ventilation shafts, banks of computers, and the power core._ _Gravity within the battle station was handled by omni-directional gravity boosters built into decks, walls and ceilings. These gravity boosters changed orientation as easily as flipping a switch, and they were designed to allow the gravity orientation to be altered from sector to sector, or even from corridor to corridor. While hangar bays imposed gravity perpendicular to the Death Star’s core, adjoining corridors shifted the gravity orientation to coreward._ ---
**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:** [August 11, 2013, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-death-star-mkii/665891/19 "2013-08-11T00:55:03Z")
The bit about using the superlaser against capital ships isn’t just some bit of glorified fanwankery that made it into one of the official technical manuals-- We actually see it being used in exactly that manner on-screen in _Return of the Jedi_. Sure, its primary purpose is to destroy planets so you can threaten them into staying in line, but if an enemy fleet shows up while you’re trying to do that, you want to be able to fight them off first, and zap the planet after you’ve taken care of that detail. The planet isn’t going anywhere, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-death-star-mkii/665891/20 "2013-08-11T01:07:40Z")
[All you ever wanted to know about the second Death Star.](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_II) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-death-star-mkii/665891.md?page=2)