DS-1 Orbital Battle Station

The DS-1 Orbital Battle Station, or mk. 1 deep-space mobile battlestation better known as the Death Star or Death Star I, and known to the public as the Imperial Planetary Ore Extractor, was a massive Imperial battle station and superweapon with a diameter of 120 kilometers designed to enforce law and order throughout the Empire with the threat of planetary destruction. It started off as the Separatist Ultimate Weapon before becoming the Expeditionary Battle Planetoid Development Initiative or Project Death Star after it ceased to be a Separatist project and became an Imperial one in 19 BBY.

Its design origins lay in the Raith Sienar's Expeditionary Battle Planetoid. Sienar, who had become disillusioned about the project due to its impracticalities, nonetheless shared the design with Wilhuff Tarkin in 29 BBY. Tarkin, claiming the design as his own, shared Sienar's ideas with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Palpatine ordered Bevel Lemelisk and Tol Sivron to work with Poggle the Lesser's Geonosian hives on the design. During the First Battle of Geonosis, Palpatine's secret apprentice, Dooku, brought the improved design back to Palpatine.

Around 19 BBY, near the end of the Clone Wars, construction of the first Death Star had begun at occupied Geonosis, and construction continued after the rise of the Galactic Empire. Under the Empire, the projects headquarters moved mulitple times from Geonosis to Seswenna and then to the Patriim system. In 3 BBY, the project was moved to its final location, the Horuz system.

Text and facts from the “DS-1 Orbital Battle Station/Legends” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.