The transport starship model known as the StarSpeeder 1000 was utilized by the interstellar travel company Star Tours, as well as the five other travel agencies that comprised the Galactic Tourist Bureau. These vessels could carry forty passengers in seated positions and only needed a crew of three for efficient operation. Although all StarSpeeder 1000s displayed the Star Tours emblem, the specific colors and markings of each individual ship were dependent on its intended destination. The StarSpeeder 1000s preceded the nearly identical StarSpeeder 3000 models that became prevalent soon after the Battle of Endor.
The Starspeeder 1000, boasting a robust and trapezoidal design, had the capacity to accommodate up to forty travelers simultaneously. Five automatic doors were integrated into each side of the Starspeeder 1000, facilitating entry to the rows of seating. Furthermore, the cabin's height was tailored to comfortably accommodate Wookiee passengers. Despite the Star Tours travel company's marketing of the transport as "the most advanced and opulent spaceliner in its category," the interior of the Starspeeder 1000 was relatively austere. It mainly consisted of a passenger seating area and a compact piloting station featuring a front transparisteel viewport—occupied by a pilot droid and a systems analyst. Adjacent to the cockpit screen was a small monitor. This monitor could display either the feed from the IC-360 camera or show the astromech droid co-piloting the ship, along with other pilots in their respective ships. An astromech droid was also positioned in a designated slot on the exterior of the vessel. In addition, each StarSpeeder 1000 was outfitted with its own IC-360 camera droid, which would venture outside the transport to capture and transmit close-up visuals of hazardous creatures or exotic locations to the passengers inside. The viewport also incorporated an automated cleaning mechanism.
In spite of these perceived limitations, the transport was fitted with a state-of-the-art hyperdrive and deflector shields, and all passenger seats had personal safety belts, referred to as gravitic harnesses. The cabin also featured ray shielding, and the front of the vehicle was equipped with two flash cannons, heavy-duty plasma cannons, and two concealed laser cannons, a defensive array intended for use in potentially dangerous situations; the hidden cannons were unusually powerful for a passenger liner, as one was seen inflicting significant damage on the bridge of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, engulfing it in flames, and could also obliterate a TIE/LN starfighter with a single shot. The StarSpeeder 1000 was engineered to function in aquatic environments as well. Its front end was even equipped with a pair of headlamps, enabling navigation in the dark, murky waters such as those found in Lake Paonga on the planet Naboo. It also had suborbital thrusters and multi-terrain skids, along with shielding and protection against dark matter and temporal anomalies.
A holographic projector was also installed on the roof of the starspeeder, near the cockpit window. An astromech droid could activate this projector to transmit urgent messages to the ship's crew.
The most common design featured a red, white, and blue color scheme on the hull, with red dominating the dorsal area, white in the central portion, and blue on the ventral side. However, there existed five alternative hull designs in addition to the standard one, each tailored to the model's primary destination.
The hyperdrive of the StarSpeeder 1000 was a Nubian-compatible T-14 hyperdrive generator. It included Null Quantum Field chargeplates, 14 pairs of plasma focusers, alluvial dampers of the VGL KKC type, coolant arrays, antimatter transpactors, two cabin coolant arrays, tandem control dampers magnetic stabilizers, inertial dampers, a chargeplate with overflow safeties, a tri-valent array, an induction assembly, a class 4 shielding, a fusion injector array, and a gravic recorder.
Sacul Aerospace, located on the Core planet of Corellia, designed the StarSpeeder 1000s. The inhabitants of Corellia were well known for their skill in creating swift star cruisers. Hutt Space certified the ship, Coruscant waived its tech requirements, and Mandalore assessed its security.
These resilient transports were employed by Star Tours from 1 to 0 BBY. During this period, five other spacelines, connected to Star Tours through the Galactic Tourist Bureau, also utilized the StarSpeeder 1000. Nevertheless, the Star Tours travel agency promoted these ships as its exclusive property, asserting its sole right to their use.
Sometime after the rise of the Rebel Alliance and its establishment on Yavin 4 in 1 BBY, the Star Tours Flight 1401, en route to Coruscant, was attacked by agents of the Galactic Empire, who had identified a Rebel spy aboard. Regrettably, the StarSpeeder of Flight 1401 was piloted by the protocol droid C-3PO, who exerted every effort to evade the Imperials and successfully deliver the spy to safety.
By 4 ABY, shortly following the Battle of Endor, the StarSpeeder 1000 had been replaced by the largely analogous StarSpeeder 3000. However, the new 3000s were short-lived, as the Star Tours company was forced out of business several months later due to a series of accidents.
The StarSpeeder 1000s were initially featured in Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, a Disney simulator ride theme-park attraction situated at Disneyland in California and Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida. The Adventures Continue was a 2011 modernization of the Star Tours experience, which originally opened in 1987.
Preliminary teaser material for Star Tours: The Adventures Continue indicated that a segment of the ride would involve the StarSpeeder 1000 dramatically entering the Boonta Eve Classic pod race. A high-resolution image capturing this scene, which was distributed to numerous media outlets, clearly displayed the "1000" designation on the speeder.
The StarSpeeder 1000's computer model was subsequently incorporated into The Force Awakens, appearing in the backdrop of Niima Outpost on the planet Jakku.