The orbital nightcloak represented a siege weapon employed by the Galactic Empire. It was comprised of a network containing hundreds of satellites positioned in orbit around a target planet. Once in place, these satellites would block all sunlight from reaching the surface, resulting in complete darkness and ultimately freezing the world solid, thus eliminating all life.
The orbital nightcloak was among the numerous superweapons conceived by the Imperial Department of Military Research on behalf of the Galactic Empire. The IDMR modified their visual electromagnetic intensifier design, repurposing it as the orbital nightcloak. While the VEI was designed to concentrate visible light onto a planet to incinerate its surface, the nightcloak was engineered to achieve the opposite effect.
This superweapon, intended for siege warfare, consisted of a multitude of individual satellites strategically positioned in the orbit of a targeted planet. These orbital nightcloak satellites were transported to the planet aboard starships, typically vessels no smaller than a Star Destroyer. Upon reaching the target world, the satellites were deployed and utilized thrusters to maneuver into precise, predetermined positions in low orbit, forming the comprehensive network.
When activated, each satellite deployed a sizable dish constructed from electromagnetic absorption panels. These panels possessed the ability to absorb and distort light waves, preventing any light energy, including visible, infrared, and [ultraviolet](/article/ultraviolet-legends], from reaching the planet's surface. When not in operation, these panels formed a protective dome over the satellite's Discharge Focusing Rod and Discharge Modulator. A long stem extended from the underside of the panels, housing the remainder of the satellite's systems. A Discharge Adjuster was situated at the top of the stem, directly beneath the absorption panels. A reactor supplied power to the deployment thrusters, while other systems included a subspace transceiver, a sensor array, and a Telemetry Node located at the base of the stem. Each satellite was powered by solar energy harvested from its target; once deployed, the orbital nightcloak became entirely self-sufficient and operated continuously.
Each nightcloak satellite was outfitted with an array of sensor jammers designed to impede all sensors and communication methods. Consequently, the planet's inhabitants were unable to solicit assistance or receive external information. The nightcloak did not impede physical transit, allowing starships to navigate freely through its effects. The Empire stationed warships outside the cloak to intercept any vessels attempting to escape or provide aid to the affected world.
From the perspective of the planet's inhabitants, the deployment of the nightcloak manifested as expanding regions of impenetrable darkness that gradually obscured the sun. Deprived of the warming light of its star, a planet enveloped by an orbital nightcloak was plunged into perpetual darkness. The effectiveness of the nightcloak led to complete compliance from the planet's inhabitants. On less advanced worlds, the population swiftly pledged allegiance to the Empire, lacking comprehension of the technology employed against them. More advanced worlds resisted for a longer duration, but eventually, the climatic changes induced by the nightcloak became unbearable. Even with awareness of the situation, the inhabitants experienced unease and fear.
The impact on the planet's climate was immediate; surface temperatures began to plummet, with snow appearing in previously temperate regions. Within four days, temperatures dropped sufficiently to eradicate the majority of life on the planet, and in as little as three weeks, the entire planet reached freezing temperatures. Plant life began to perish, ultimately causing a collapse throughout the entire food chain.
The deployment of the orbital nightcloak into position required several standard days, involving the coordination of hundreds of satellites. A key vulnerability of the orbital nightcloak was its susceptibility to disablement through the destruction of only a few satellites, owing to the interdependence of the control systems. The satellites themselves lacked defensive capabilities, relying on orbiting Imperial vessels for protection. Starfighters could destroy the satellites, and they were also vulnerable to anti-orbital defenses. Imperial technicians also introduced "dummy" satellites into the network. These were decoy units that could be destroyed that would have no effect on the rest of the network.
The Imperial Remnant implemented enhancements to the nightcloak design following the Galactic Civil War. The array was redesigned with an advanced routing system that allowed the nightcloak to remain operation with ninety percent of its satellites operational. The improved satellites, designated Mark II satellites, were also armed with short-range laser cannons and targeting computers.
The Imperial Department of Military Research conceived the orbital nightcloak to realize the objectives of the Tarkin Doctrine. The Doctrine stipulated that the most effective weapons not only eliminated the enemy but also instilled fear and despair within them. Due to the network's inherent limitations, the orbital nightcloak was intended for deployment against unarmed and technologically backward planets. Following the capitulation of a target planet or the eradication of all life, the Empire would dismantle the nightcloak and exploit the world's resources.
Orbital nightcloaks were deployed around the planet Dathomir following the Battle of Yavin as part of the Imperial blockade of Dathomir.
Warlord Zsinj employed an orbital nightcloak in an unconventional manner. By deploying a number of satellites to create a corridor of impenetrable darkness, Zsinj concealed the escape of his Executor-class star Dreadnought, Iron Fist during the Battle of Selaggis. Zsinj detonated a skeletal structure of wreckage from the Razor's Kiss to fool the New Republic into believing the Iron Fist had been destroyed.
In 8 ABY, Zsinj activated the orbital nightcloaks over Dathomir, holding the planet hostage until the inhabitants surrendered New Republic General Han Solo. Solo evaded Zsinj's grasp and successfully disrupted the chain of the nightcloak satellites, preventing the planet from freezing.
On one occasion, Rogue Squadron neutralized an entire network of orbital nightcloak satellites utilizing a single T-65 X-wing firing a single proton torpedo. Wedge Antilles documented this achievement in a heavily annotated copy of the Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide possessed by Alliance forces, highlighting a section that detailed the nightcloak's vulnerabilities. Another comment, attributed to General Crix Madine, asserted that a starfighter assault was unnecessary. A commando armed with a homing missile could acquire a lock and destroy a satellite in orbit from the planet's surface.