How many planets did the Death Star destroy?
Last updated: December 4, 2024
The Galactic Empire poured all of its resources and manpower into building a space station the size of a moon that could destroy an entire planet with a single blast to squash any hope of rebellion. We see the Death Star in action very early on in the first “A New Hope,” but just how many planets does this doomsday weapon destroy in all of Star Wars?
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The answer is: One
While it devastated a few other planets (and erased a few moons), Alderaan was the only true planet to be reduced to space dust by the station’s super laser. When you really think about it, maybe the Death Star wasn’t that great of an investment.
The Death Star may be the size of a small moon, but, as Obi-Wan says, “That’s no moon.” The Death Star itself was mostly designed by the Geonosians and started way back in the days of “The Clone Wars.” Its primary weapon was its Superlaser, which focuses three beams of energy into a single destructive laser.
Being so big, the weapon also doubled as a moving Empire army. The station required over a million military personnel to operate, so it had to double as a fully functional base.
This is the most massive, ambitious, and deadly super weapon in Star Wars history. It took years and millions of workers forced to work on it before it was completed, but it would all be worth it, right? Wrong.
After seeing the Death Star blow Alderaan to bits, the Rebels knew they only had one last shot to take it down before the Empire used it to rule the galaxy with no hope of fighting back. Thanks to the team in "Rogue One," the Death Star plans were stolen and handed off to Leia and the Rebels so Luke could take that one fateful shot.
Sure, the Death Star was rebuilt suspiciously quickly after Luke obliterated the entire thing (and millions of soldiers stationed there, apparently), but it never fired on another planet again. Poor Alderaan was the one and only planet to feel the full weight of the Empire’s wrath.