The astronomical object of Kartoosh was located in the Mid Rim Territories on grid square I-16 of the Standard Galactic Grid. Through a hyperspace route, Kartoosh was connected to the planets Riflor and Cerea. In the aftermath of the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and Confederacy of Independent Systems, Kartoosh was devastated and orbited by a cloud of debris, which was made up of destroyed vessels and everything they had once contained.
The shipyard over Kartoosh saw superseded ships, such as the Venator-class Star Destroyer (pictured), dismantled or modernized.
In 23 BBY, a massive shipyard known as the was being designed over Kartoosh. Galactic Republic engineer Orson Callan Krennic helped to develop it. The galaxy was then faced with the Clone Wars, a galaxy-wide war between the Republic and Confederacy of Independent Systems that lasted from 22 BBY to 19 BBY, until the advent of the Imperial Era. Kartoosh and its shipyard were left devastated in the war's wake. A debris field originating from destroyed starships was left to orbit the astronomical object. Nevertheless, the newly-formed Galactic Empire still made use of intact hangar bays in the ravaged overhaul facility. Former Separatist starships and other outdated craft, including Venator-class Star Destroyers, were retrofitted or dismantled above Kartoosh. Loading such armaments into transports, the facility also became a waypoint for war matériel and other arsenals destined for storage in faraway star systems.
After the Empire launched a campaign against Separatist holdouts in the galaxy's Western Reaches, the Empire used the facility to repair vessels damaged in the operation. In 18 BBY, after taking damage in the campaign, Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin's Imperial-class Star Destroyer was sent to undergo repairs above Kartoosh, leaving Tarkin and his crew to simply wait out the monotony of repairs. At that time a Lieutenant Commander, Krennic returned to Kartoosh for business on its surface, which he traveled to via a shuttle. Rather than immediately return to his main ship, however, Krennic had his pilot take him to Tarkin's Star Destroyer, where he had a meeting with the admiral about the status of a massive battle station project. During their discussion, both watched the inaugural launch of a , which had been completed in less than a standard year yet already was being seen as a placeholder for the Imperial Navy.
Kartoosh was orbited by the massive construction and overhaul facility, which saw heavy damage in the Clone Wars as the target of turbolasers and missiles. Nevertheless, its surviving hangar bays saw use into the Imperial Era.
Kartoosh first appeared in the 2016 novel Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel by James Luceno.