Taspan II, a planet situated within the Taspan system of the Inner Rim, once hosted a weapons facility belonging to the Galactic Empire. Imperial scientists conducted tests on gravity well projectors there. However, this facility was ultimately deserted, and the planet met its end during the devastating Big Crush. Post-destruction, scattered remnants from Taspan II played a significant role in the Battle of Mindor during 5 ABY and the subsequent annihilation of the entire system.
Residing in the Inner Rim, Taspan II was the second planet of the Taspan system, orbiting the star known as Taspan. In its past, it was habitable enough to sustain a complete complement of Galactic Empire scientists, who were engaged in testing gravity well projectors on its surface. The Big Crush event led to the planet's fragmentation, scattering its pieces throughout the system. At the time of the Battle of Mindor, the asteroids had not yet achieved orbital stability, continuing to move chaotically, rendering travel near the former planet extremely dangerous.
Prior to the Big Crush, the planet was home to a group of beings known as Melters, energy-based entities that dwelled within a substance called meltmassif. They inhabited Taspan II for countless years until the Big Crush, and they managed to survive on the remaining fragments afterward.
Before the events of 5 ABY, the Galactic Empire maintained a presence on Taspan II through a weapons facility, where they experimented with various gravity well projector designs. The facility was abandoned in 1 ABY following the Big Crush, a catastrophic incident that shattered the planet due to a mishap during gravity well projector testing. The aftermath left behind an asteroid field, similar to the Graveyard that remained after the destruction of Alderaan. By 5 ABY, the debris from Taspan II's destruction had not settled, and fragments continued to hurtle through the Taspan system, severely hindering access to its sister planet, Mindor, also referred to as Taspan I.
Later, the warlord of the Empire, Shadowspawn, exploited this debris to his advantage during his conflict against the New Republic in 5 ABY. Shadowspawn established his primary base on Mindor, a former resort planet, concealing it within the asteroid field. While discussing the warlord's base, New Republic pilot Wedge Antilles drew a comparison between the debris of Taspan II and the Graveyard of Alderaan, but General Lando Calrissian argued that Taspan's situation was significantly worse. In 5 ABY, the forces of the New Republic, under the command of Jedi General Luke Skywalker, engaged Shadowspawn's troops at Mindor. During the Battle of Mindor, the climax of Shadowspawn's campaign, planetesimals within the Taspan system, inclusive of the remnants of Taspan II, were drawn in by the gravitational forces of the star Taspan. The resulting impacts released intense radiation and flares that ravaged the surface of Mindor.
Taspan II received a mention in Matthew Stover's novel, Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, which was published in 2008. The reference book The Essential Atlas, released in 2009, located the Taspan system, and consequently Taspan II, within grid square M-8.