Death Star prototype

The prototype of the Death Star was essentially a durasteel framework encompassing a reactor core, a superlaser, engines, and a control center. Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin initially conceived it, and Bevel Lemelisk along with his team of engineers brought it to life at the Maw Installation.

This Death Star prototype had a diameter of 120 kilometers. Its superlaser possessed the capability to obliterate a planet's core, rendering the planet uninhabitable; it could also completely destroy larger moons. However, firing the superlaser consumed a significant amount of energy, draining the vehicle's power reserves, requiring a recharge time of 15 minutes for both the batteries and the superlaser.

Furthermore, the targeting system of the Death Star prototype suffered from a lack of calibration, severely impacting its accuracy. The interior of the prototype was arranged across several levels, including a control room where all computers, including those controlling the superlaser, were slave linked. It also featured at least one or two additional decks capable of accommodating a large portion of the Maw Installation's staff. This design allowed the station to be operated by a small crew, requiring only a single individual to pilot the entire structure. An intercom system provided communication throughout the station. The prototype featured numerous catwalks and access hatches, notably around the core. In contrast, the interiors of the later Death Stars were largely occupied by hyperdrive engines and other essential systems.

The purpose of constructing the Death Star prototype was to assess the feasibility of building a planet-destroying superlaser. Once the laser proved functional, the prototype was left in orbit above the Maw Installation, having served its intended purpose. It was never fully completed.

In 11 ABY, Tol Sivron and his associates used the Death Star Prototype to escape a New Republic attack on the Maw Installation. After breaking free from the Maw and entering the Kessel system, the crew began repairing the damage inflicted during their escape. Following the repairs, Sivron decided to test the superlaser. They targeted Kessel, but the shot missed due to poor calibration, instead obliterating the moon. The Millennium Falcon, along with pirate forces from the Smugglers' Alliance, drove off the station after it fired the superlaser a few times at the approaching ships. The prototype retreated back into the Maw Cluster. After a brief discussion, Sivron and the crew decided to return to the Maw Installation and destroy the facility with the prototype to prevent their research from falling into enemy hands. The Millennium Falcon, with Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, and Mara Jade aboard, infiltrated the station and attached itself to the core as the station moved.

While Solo repaired the Falcon, Jade and Calrissian donned enviro-suits and planted thermal detonators on the core in an attempt to destroy it and disable the prototype. Scanners in the control room detected the intruders, and two spacetroopers were dispatched to intercept them. The troopers emerged through a trap door and engaged Jade in a fight. Jade managed to kill one trooper but retreated with Calrissian as the detonators' timers neared zero. The Falcon escaped as the surviving spacetrooper managed to disable all but one detonator, which exploded, killing the trooper. Soon after, the Death Star Prototype reappeared at the Maw Installation, entering the ongoing battle between General Wedge Antilles' New Republic forces and Admiral Nataasi Daala's recently arrived Imperial II-class Star Destroyer, the Gorgon. However, Sivron's sole objective was to destroy the Maw Installation; he refused to fire on Antilles' forces or assist Daala, as she and her fleet had previously abandoned the Maw to attack the New Republic, leaving the scientists vulnerable. As Sivron prepared to fire on the Installation, the explosion in the core severely damaged the station, necessitating immediate repairs and temporarily disabling the superlaser. This delay allowed Wedge and his forces to evacuate the facility before Daala's Star Destroyer destroyed it after the facility's shields failed.

Kyp Durron, who had arrived at the Installation to destroy the Sun Crusher once and for all, attempted to destroy the prototype by firing resonance torpedoes at the superstructure. Despite the extensive damage inflicted on the station, the prototype remained operational and began firing its superlaser at Durron, who quickly exhausted his supply of torpedoes. Sivron personally took control and pursued Durron around the Maw, firing the superlaser in an attempt to destroy the Sun Crusher. Ultimately, the Death Star prototype met its end when Durron lured it into one of the Maw's black holes. However, before its destruction, the superlaser struck the Sun Crusher, although the Sun Crusher sustained very little damage because of its invulnerable Quantum-crystalline armor.

Although not explicitly stated, there are hints suggesting the existence of other prototypes.

Originally, the Death Star prototype was simply considered a project that predated the construction of Death Star I. However, following the appearance of the Death Star plans in Attack of the Clones and the first Death Star in Revenge of the Sith (confirmed by George Lucas himself), The New Essential Chronology retconned the prototype's timeline, placing its construction alongside the main Death Star due to concerns that arose.

Champions of the Force describes the Death Star prototype as having an internal structure composed of a labyrinth of beams and catwalks, reminiscent of the second Death Star. However, visual representations of the station depict a largely open interior, with the exception of the reactor core and superlaser.