The Torpedo Sphere represented a colossal mobile battle station produced by Loronar Defense Industries, which itself was a subsidiary of Loronar Corporation.
Loronar Corporation, via its subsidiary, Loronar Defense Industries, engineered the Torpedo Sphere. Its singular purpose was to disable and ultimately eliminate a planet's protective planetary shields. These shields were a critical defense, preventing the deployment of soldiers for planetary invasions unless first neutralized. They also shielded planets from orbital attacks launched by Star Destroyers. The Torpedo Sphere was created to circumvent these defenses. While not available for purchase, each Torpedo Sphere demanded a construction cost of 327,830,000 credits.
The Torpedo Sphere, with its 1,900 meters diameter, was a truly massive, nearly spherical, mobile battle station distinguished by an equatorial trench. Thousands of dedicated energy receptors covered the battle station's outer hull. These DERs were programmed to constantly analyze the power emissions of a target planet's shield, seeking out vulnerabilities. Like any mechanical system, planetary shields were subject to power fluctuations. The Torpedo Sphere's DERs were designed to identify any weak points, specifically targeting power drops of around twenty percent.
Each Torpedo Sphere was equipped with a formidable arsenal of five hundred proton torpedo tubes, arranged in an inverted cone formation within the vessel's equatorial trench. These tubes were engineered for simultaneous firing in a single, devastating salvo. The complex calibration and coordination required for firing these tubes necessitated teams of skilled technicians, preventing automated fire-linking and synchronization against targets smaller than a planet. However, it was feasible to link up to fifty tubes together using fire-link controls adapted from other weapons systems, enabling engagement of standard starships. Surrounding the torpedo tubes was a protective ring of ten heavy turbolaser batteries.
To fulfill its primary mission, the Torpedo Sphere would enter orbit around a target planet. It would then scan the planetary shields to identify weak points and locate the deflector shield generators. Once a vulnerability was detected, a team of one hundred heavy weapon technicians would spend several hours calibrating and coordinating the proton torpedo launchers. The resulting salvo would be directed at a target area of no more than six square meters, creating a temporary breach in the shield. This breach, a fleeting power surge lasting only a few microseconds, would then be exploited by the turbolaser batteries, which would fire through the opening to destroy the planet's shield generators. If the turbolasers failed to capitalize on the shield weakness in time, the entire process had to be repeated. The most challenging aspect of the Torpedo Sphere's mission was pinpointing the location of the target planet's shield generators. Onboard sensors were unable to penetrate the shield to directly locate the generators on the surface. Instead, technicians analyzed the shield's power waves to trace the energy flow back to its source, thus determining the generators' positions. For self-defense, at least two Loronar DS-13 projector deflector shield generators were integrated into the vessel's design.
Torpedo Spheres were capable of reaching speeds of 930 kilometers per hour. They also possessed a Class 3 hyperdrive for interstellar travel, supplemented by a Class 18 hyperdrive as a backup. The Sphere's sublight drives were positioned in the equatorial trench at the rear of the vessel, directly opposite the proton torpedo launchers. The hyperdrive was located just above the sublight engines. A Sienar Fleet Systems model served as the navigation computer.
Each vessel had a cargo capacity of 3.8 million metric tons, and could carry enough supplies to sustain its crew for four years. Torpedo Spheres did not carry any starfighters for support, relying instead on escorts provided by Star Destroyers or other capital ships. However, they did feature hangar space capable of accommodating cargo shuttles, Lambda-class T-4a shuttles, and MT/191 drop-ships.
The reactor core chamber was dominated by a colossal metallic Sphere, complete with coolant conduits and heat sinks. Approximately one hundred and fifty meters above the reactor itself, a metallic platform encircled the reactor wall. The reactor, a twenty-meter Sphere encased in coolant coils, emitted ultraviolet purple light from ports along its sides. The entire core was uncomfortably warm due to the radiation emanating from the reactor.
Operating a Torpedo Sphere required a crew of 63,275 individuals: 61,245 regular crew members and 2,030 dedicated gunners. In emergencies, a skeleton crew of only 20,415 could manage the vessel. In addition to the crew, the Sphere could transport 8,540 troops. The main bridge was situated at the northern pole of the Torpedo Sphere. A massive viewport at the front of the bridge provided the command crew with a direct view of the target, while a tactical display on the starboard side presented real-time battle information. Systems operations were handled on the port side, and two crew pits positioned in front of the viewport were occupied by technicians analyzing and updating tactical and systems operation data. Computerized console seats for the Sphere's captain, first officer, and tactical officer were located on a raised command platform in the center of the bridge. A holobooth for sending and receiving holocomm transmissions was located at the port rear. Opposite the bridge on the starboard side was the navigation nook, dedicated to operating and maintaining the sublight and hyperspace engines. At the rear of the bridge were two separate rooms: a general meeting room for conferences, equipped with a small holoprojection unit, and the captain's office. The bridge required twenty-four technicians for full operation, with an additional eight technicians manning the navigation nook. Twelve stormtroopers provided security for the bridge. The captain commanded the day shift, while the first officer oversaw the night shift.
A dozen separate hangar bays were positioned along the Sphere's equatorial trench. Each hangar featured a sixty-meter opening to space, sealed by a magnetic field to prevent atmosphere loss. Each hangar could accommodate four mid-sized shuttles, with lower storage bays accessible via a pair of vehicle lifts. Two walls were equipped with power cell rechargers, and each bay could be sealed off from the rest of the Sphere by a pair of blast doors. Two cargo skiffs were assigned to each bay for cargo handling. The bay's control room was located fifteen meters above the hangar floor, accessible by a turbolift. A transparisteel viewport overlooked the hangar, and the technicians in the control room were responsible for activating the magnetic field, opening the blast doors, and operating the vehicle lifts.
Crew quarters were divided into five distinct areas. At the center was a communal circular chamber housing a mess hall, along with consumables storage and a droid-staffed kitchen. Four corridors extended from this central chamber, leading to crew quarters. Each corridor contained four separate crew quarters with refreshers, clustered around a central common area. These five crew sprawls were collectively known as a Crew Cluster.
Twenty security stations were scattered throughout the Sphere, providing barracks and sanitary facilities for Imperial Navy troopers and stormtroopers. Armories stocked blasters, blast helmets, and blast vests, and offices were provided for security personnel. The command station was located in the center of the security station, and its computer system was connected to the Sphere's holocam network. Technicians working in the computer pits controlled the Sphere's blast doors and security features. Typically, each security station was manned by twenty-four soldiers and twelve security technicians. Some security stations were reserved for use by the Imperial Security Bureau.
Gun-metal gray corridors, illuminated by glowrods spaced fifteen meters apart, provided access throughout the Sphere. Clusters of turbolifts were positioned every one hundred meters, with blast doors every twenty. Maintenance Access Shafts ran throughout the volume of the Sphere. They were typically two hundred and fifty meters long and twenty meters in diameter. Each access hatch from the maintenance bays was flanked by a pair of ladders leading up and down the shaft.
Torpedo Spheres contained one hundred and twenty DER targeting control rooms. Each control room housed four computer stations dedicated to targeting and launching the Sphere's primary weapons. Two computers were dedicated to targeting and tracking the energy output of the target planet's planetary shields. The third computer analyzed the information collected by the other computers and saved the information onto the system database, which was the fourth computer. The computers were linked to their own dedicated power generators, located in separate rooms off the control room. A holoprojector dominated the center of the room, displaying a hologram of the target planet. Each DER targeting control room was connected to four torpedo launching stations, for a total of four hundred and eighty in the Sphere. The launching stations were responsible for the targeting and firing of the proton torpedoes. Maintenance hatches in both locations linked to the torpedo launch tubes that ran from the outer rim of the Sphere to the torpedo storage center. A retractable ladder in the tube allowed manual access from the control room down the tube.
Turbolifts from the launching stations led to the loading area of the torpedo storage centers. At one end of the chamber was a cluster of twenty-five launch tubes. And the other end was a set of retractable blast doors leading to the torpedo storage. The storage chamber took up most of the storage center, which was made up of quadruple strength walls containing six racks loaded with thousands of proton torpedoes. The strengthened walls were to prevent collateral damage from an accidental explosion. Twenty-five B1-series worker droids staffed the storage center, and were responsible for retrieving and loading the proton torpedoes into the launch tubes.
Serving as a precursor to the infamous Death Star, rumors suggested that the Yaga Minor weapons range hosted early testing of the Torpedo Sphere prototype. Within the Imperial Navy Order of Battle, a torpedo line consisted of two Torpedo Spheres. A bombard squadron comprised two torpedo lines and a pursuit line, while three bombard squadrons and a light squadron formed a system bombard. Finally, two system bombards and two force escorts constituted a bombard fleet. Despite this organizational structure, only six Torpedo Spheres were actively in service around 0 BBY, although the Empire had initiated construction on hundreds more. Due to their mobile, spherical nature, members of the Alliance often referred to them as "pocket Death Stars." The two-wave gravshock superweapon was contained within the shell of a Torpedo Sphere.
During the Galactic Civil War, an Alliance team commandeered the Field Secured Container Vessel Black Ice and transported it to the Mortex sector HQ at Fangol. Unfortunately, the Black Ice's automated systems transmitted a distress signal, summoning Imperial forces to Fangol. Over the course of a week, the Imperial forces launched a blitz against the Alliance base in multiple waves, culminating in the arrival of a Torpedo Sphere in orbit. The Black Ice was then used in a suicide run, ramming and destroying the Torpedo Sphere.
During the Galactic Civil War, a Torpedo Sphere was undergoing upgrades at the Tallaani Shipyards. Temporarily disarmed and manned by only 1,200 security personnel (eight hundred navy troopers and four hundred stormtroopers) along with 13,000 work crew personnel, the Sphere became a target for various factions, including the Justice Action Network and the Pelagia Freedom Force, who sought its destruction. This incident provided the Empire with the justification needed to exert greater control over the Tapani sector. Starlyte Station, a space station orbiting Tshindral III, was constructed with a spherical design reminiscent of the Torpedo Sphere.
By the time of the Battle of Endor, a Torpedo Sphere was deployed defensively to protect the crucial shipyards at Corellia. A few months after Endor, Grand Admiral Danetta Pitta seized control of this Torpedo Sphere, bribing the Corellian Diktat to appoint him as protector of the Corellian sector. Pitta adopted the Torpedo Sphere as his flagship, leading it into battle against the forces of Grand Admiral Josef Grunger at the Battle of Tralus. Pitta gained the upper hand through skillful application of the Torpedo Sphere's combat capabilities, prompting Grunger to, out of spite, ram his own flagship, the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Aggressor, into the Torpedo Sphere, resulting in the destruction of both vessels. Another Torpedo Sphere was stationed at Chasin during the Imperial Civil War, and met its end in the Battle of Chasin when the captain of the Vengeance-class dreadnought Javelin deliberately rammed his ship into it amidst the fighting.
In 10 ABY, New Republic historian Arhul Hextrophon observed that, due to the presence of Super Star Destroyers and Torpedo Spheres, accurately assessing the strength of the average Sector Group in the past had proven impossible. He shared this insight during a guest lecture at the Brionelle Memorial Military Academy on Chandrila, shortly after the Battle of Calamari.