When Did the Second Death Star Begin Construction - Star Wars Explained

Were both Death Stars under construction at the same time? Will the second Death Star appear in Rogue One?
After my last video I got some comments suggesting the second Death Star began construction before the first was completed. In this video I'll lay out the evidence both for and against that argument.
See the first video: • How the Second Death S...
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Adam Amaya

[@GonzoTehGreat]

Rogue One explains why the FIRST Death star took a lot longer than it should've to build. Initially, Galen Urso didn't want it completed until he'd found a way to sabotage it, then later on, he needed to delay completion again, to buy time to introduce a design weakness without it being spotted. He also suspected that (to maintain secrecy) everyone involved in the project would be killed once the weapon was operational, so by delaying completion he was keeping his co-workers alive for as long as possible.

[@prepperal4677]

1st Death Star was built in secret from the Senate. If Senate found out there would be all out rebellion as no world/species could allow this threat to exist. Death Star took so long to build as resources had to be siphoned off on small scale to avoid suspicion. Second death star built so quickly as Emperor dissolved senate. Gave power to regional governors and thus could divert whatever resources needed to build second death star so quickly.

[@Cybermat47]

Dude, the Senate literally ordered the Death Star to be built. As for him being dissolved, he was on the Death Star II, and even came back to life in the last movie.

[@prepperal4677]

No. I said in episode 4 the SENATE was disolved, not Palpatine. And in episodes 2 when the leader of the geonosins said with regards to the death star: "they [the republi c] better not.find what we 're building [the seperatist] " this the rebublic did not.order it's construction.

[@Cybermat47]

Prepper Al’ Palpatine says in Episode III that he is the senate, though.

[@prepperal4677]

But does that mean he has the approval of the SENATE or he has unilaterally secretly authorised its construction. But. The separatists were building it.

[@adambfdx104]

Mike DeMarco nope only half the plans were finished not even the full interior or laser power source

[@s2kkyle404]

Its easier to build something the second time. boom.

[@joeiorio9654]

s2k kyle Make it four Or thousands idk how many ships were in the Final Order

[@kb-tm2hm]

Joe Iorio Sidious had 33 years to build that fleet

[@bradyking9778]

Except when it's lego

[@PhilDrury]

Or the 5th time. No boom today. Boom tomorrow.

[@Julian-pw5mv]

@@kb-tm2hm yeah, but not an entire galaxy to provide manpower or material.

[@AlexeiRamotar]

First rule in government spending: why build one when you can have two at twice the price? - Hadden (Contact)

[@SimonStewart75]

Nice :)

[@galexeqe]

WW2 Scientists: We can build two different kinds of nuclear bombs. What type would you like US Government: We want them to work......build both

[@justme98316]

Haha. I was headed to google to look that line up..!!

[@thegt3clickcrash329]

Aw yea. Contact was a great movie. I loved the character Hadden in that film.

[@chrisbrown6168]

Alexei Ramotar underrated character

[@purehevol]

as a kid i always thought that was the repaired original death star lol

[@youngboysnation]

Aaron Viktil same

[@oldmanretro949]

Aaron Viktil as did i !

[@Karms-xr1pk]

Aaron Viktil I'm not the only one, wow....

[@TheCastellan]

same here....though I later realized, the first was atomized, so there would not be much to salvage

[@chancepaladin]

It could be *shrug*

[@TheVCRTimeMachine]

The second Death Star's construction began when George Lucas and Lawerence Kasdan decided that the original ROTJ script wasn't going to work.

[@johnd.obrien6838]

This. This is pretty much the real answer.

[@jyatsko89]

2K16 What was originally going to happen in ROTJ?

[@TheVCRTimeMachine]

Justin Yatsko Well, honestly the first draft of the script actually had the Empire building TWO new Death Stars above the Imperial main planet (Which was called Had Abbadon or something like that.) Endor was a moon of that planet that the Empire was clear cutting the trees to turn into a new city planet for the Empire. The rescue of Han Solo comes nearer to the middle of the movie while Leia is on a mission to destroy the shield generators that protect the two new Death Stars. The Emperor's throne room is deep within the planet Had Abbadon among a lake of fire and lava. Ben Kenobi and Yoda actually materialize to help Luke fight off the Emperor and Vader. When the Emperor shoots lightning at Luke, Vader jumps and tackles the Emperor and they fall into the lava pit and both die, but Vader rematerializes at the end having saved Luke and redeemed himself. The second draft abandons the Imperial city planet and includes only one Death Star where all the action at the end of the movie takes place.

[@dyhall]

2K16 Jeez, that sounds like an over complicated and terrible movie. I'm so glad they decided to change it.

[@Jotari]

But Vader dying in lava would have contained some sweet irony on retrospect.

[@yurimyszkowski]

Well, in the last movie the second Death Star ISNT finished, after 4 years it was just a cask, we dont know for sure how many years they need to finish it completely

[@-_Nuke_-]

E X A C T L Y

[@afonsoguedes2663]

The first Death Star took so many years to be complete because Gallen Erso abandoned the project and without him they didn’t know how to finish the Super laser, then when the empire find him again some years later, he delayed its construction as much as he could. I know that your comment came out before Rogue one but Hey 😃...

[@mizz1970]

It couldnt have just been a cask, if it was mobile and operational.

[@Urkinorobitch]

It wasnt unfinished it was botched by what was left of the science community after they got purged. Imperials main flaw was their bad habit of backstabbing each other in the back and stealing each others merits. Tarkin killed anyone who could have refuted his claim that the death start was his achievement and that also happened to be the people who could build it properly.

[@FreakAboutSims3]

Palpatine said it was functional.

[@WardyLion]

I'd wager that to create something like the Death Star for the first time would need a massive amount of infrastructure to be put in place before construction on the original Death Star could even begin, which could take a lot of time and effort. Plus there would have to be a huge amount of shakedown time to iron out the many bugs and glitches that such a massively complex construction would surely have. When it comes to to second Death Star, the infrastructure is already in place, as is the knowledge gleaned from the shakedowns and trials run on the first one, vastly reducing the amount of time needed to get it built.

[@EvolutionArtsllc]

I agree, also in the return of the jedi you will notice the focus was on the weapon being fully operational and not the construction of the station being complete.

[@WardyLion]

Seeing as the laser is so vast, I'd imagine that it was constructed very early on, if not first, and the rest of the station built around it.

[@legoman6124]

It’s also very possible they had prebuilt the laser portion of the second Death Star as future upgrade or replacement to the initial Death Star seeing how in rogue one it was a removable object. So that may have been finished with only a need to build parts of the exterior shell afterwards.

[@marckyle5895]

It was like building the US Navy's escort aircraft carriers. The first ones took around a year or so from keel to launch. Two years later, Henry Kaiser was launching one a week.

[@harryjackson2215]

I just think George Lucas was in such a rush to write ep 6 he didn't think about the construction speed :/

[@luxy9530]

Harry Jackson Episode 3 wasn't even out then. The construction time wasn't known back then.

[@harryjackson2215]

Luxy well you still need to think they built a space station the size of a moon so that's gonna take a while.

[@jplegend98]

Harry Jackson t

[@thebigsquad1232]

Harry Jackson true

[@TroyUlysses]

No he was just lazy. There was supposed to be one Death Star. But because GL used it in ANH he had no imagination to come up with anything else for Jedi so just reused the same ending. So glad he sold the franchise.

[@eskall222]

Alex. I just wanted to say that your content is so masterly put together. This video is one of many that proves both your love and gigantic knowledge of the Star Wars universe, but also your ability to transfer that knowledge via the internet. The structure of your content, the visual presentation, the sound quality (which unfortunately is overlooked by many youtubers) and the rate at which you put out your videos is just magnificent! Keep up the fantastic work, and I hope I get to meet you in person at Celebrations 2017

[@StarWarsExplained]

Wow, thank you so much! I will be at Celebration, and I hope to see you there too! I'll definitely organize some sort of meetup. :)

[@eskall222]

That sounds fantastic!

[@twstf8905]

I fully agree with Milad Amouzegar.

[@CaptainGeronimo]

2'nd death star took 4 year to complete.. or for laser to become operational? 2'nd death star wasnt finished as structure

[@nobreyner60]

20 years to build the station without the weapon being the focus. The second Death Star's weapon was the priority and the station was built around it. I think that's what 'made operational" meant.

[@mitchellhayward6492]

I think the movie actually makes it obvious, even though people don't seem to notice it. I mean, the super-laser works. And Lando himself says "that thing's operational". But the thing that people somehow manage to miss is that Rebels are able to fly straight through the superstructure into the reactor, specifically *because* the super-structure itself is only half-assembled; as opposed to the super-laser, which yes, was the priority. And just looking at the Death Star II, you know it's not even finished yet.

[@usswat66]

About the Death Stars. In the beginning there must of had R&D time it took to test the Star wars super laser. That might explain why the first one took so long.

[@StarWarsExplained]

That's what my original video was about haha

[@anthonyw6895]

jack black it's not even a maybe, you can see how much of a pain it was to build the first one just on Krennic's expression from the rogue one trailers

[@Damious100]

Rogue One i think leads us to believe it took 19 years because they had trouble making it work

[@Shinytrooper]

Logic also that the scientist ran away and slowed down the work and tricked the empire into putting a weakness in its ultimate weapon

[@Damious100]

Shineytrooper Yeah which makes perfect sense completely. Also explains how they ALMOST built the second one in 4 years (It still obviously wasn't finished) They didn't have Galen slowing them down and they already had the recipe

[@ariesstorm9577]

What if the Emperor secretly commissioned the second Death Star before the completion and destruction of the first because he foresaw the possibility that Tarkin and the other high ranking officers would use the first Death Star to destroy Palpatine and Vader, maybe even Coruscant itself. With the improved second Death Star the Emperor could destroy the other with all the ambitious moffs in one swoop. Palpatine has no qualms about killing thousands of innocent loyal soldiers to kill one man nor would he care much for the cost. In my personal opinion, I think the second was being constructed during the events of A New Hope. Or another way to look at this topic is "what was happening on Endor four years before the destruction of the second Death Star?"

[@VGLounge]

But then the officers in charge of the second can use this new SUPER super weapon to kill Hillary Clinton I mean Palpatine

[@evancollins4458]

subtle

[@MrNeutralizer]

Agreed. Death Star II was an insurance policy

[@PaladinGuy]

I honestly never considered that Tarkin might turn on the Emperor. Not likely, but certainly a possibility with that kind of firepower. Even more likely if he could have convinced Vader to back his coup.

[@SantomPh]

Star Wars Lore Keeper Tarkin is in line with the Emperor's will, which is why he is one of the few people who can confidently order Vader around.

[@jamiebraswell5520]

Rogue One made it clear that the Empire was having great difficulty in getting the weapon to work, hence why they went to find Galen Erso. Many years passed and Jynn grew up, so it took at least fifteen years for Galen to work through the issues, not to mention including a design flaw in time for it to be built into the superstructure. There is the reason for why the Death Star took 19 years to build. Death Star II already had the development out of the way and a basic plan for how to do it.

[@darthsavage4025]

"Yo, we just spent gazillions of credits building a tomb for millions of our followers because of a design flaw... what's our next move?" "Let's build another one!"

[@purefoldnz3070]

They had a special: order one Death Star and get one half price.

[@guacamole9199]

When I was a child around 8 or 9 in mid 90's I always assumed the death stars where the same one, 2 just being the remains of the 1st explosion made sense to me rather in episode 6 seeing a new unfinished station I just looked at it as the damaged one from episode 4, I mean even though the explosion of the 1st was so massive things explode all the time and only receive 20-30% damage. All made sense, It wasn't for like 5ish years until I was a teenager I found out they where 2 separate ones. I mean If you had a mostly working shell after episode 4 would make sense the first priority get the laser working again, then get it air tight and moveable. All made sense down to the damaged or rather unfinished look of it in episode 6.

[@gelozyg1732]

Thats what I thought as well and it made more sense story wise.

[@CheezDoodlezz]

Yeah Same I would say why is the death star gone it survived the explosion

[@swaggerog7284]

palpatine didn't even finish paying off the first death star Robot Chicken

[@raph2954]

*Robot Children*

[@swaggerog7284]

@@raph2954 aw shit my autocorrect was on hahah my bad

[@TheCreativeMind]

Do you have any idea what this is going to do to my credit - Palpatine

[@alneri8327]

@@TheCreativeMind go for Papa Palpatine

[@tiannjerjerrod6744]

Oh just rebuild it? Well that’s real XXXXing original!

[@Britton_Thompson]

I don't have any Star Wars canon material to base this statement upon, but I can offer you tons of real world context. A 4 year construction timeline for the Death Star II is not only plausible, but likely. Compare the Death Star's construction to other top secret govt projects such as the atomic bomb, aircraft carrier, satellite, and the space shuttle. The hardest part is always successfully building the original. First, multiple designs have to be submitted, prototypes have to be selected, funding secured, and the labor force secretly raised in such a way that it doesn't take away from the standing military enlistment numbers. You don't want to tip off enemies that something big is happening behind the scenes. No, you want to keep them thinking nothing is out of the ordinary. It always takes time, and a certain amount of creativity to secretly move your assets around. Next, solving the construction hurdles in the process which goes from blueprint to prototype to finished product is where the difficulty really lies. With the first Death Star already completed, the experimental science projects required to build such a structure have already been conducted; the materials to be used determined; and the most efficient building methods identified. Now, all you have to do is rebuild the new one using only the successful construction techniques you established during construction of the first one. This phase here is where the most ground is always gained because you're no longer wasting time experimenting with various aspects of construction and can instead go straight to using what you know works. It took the USA's Manhattan Project over three years to build the first successful atomic bomb, and a few weeks to finish the 2nd one. It took the Nazis 7 years to build the first successful ICBM rocket, and 6 weeks to amass a considerable stockpile. You get the idea. I hope this explanation clarifies things for you....

[@tenn_ore]

It's doable when you've got Vader stopping by all the time to oversee things, you can find more ways to 'motivate' them. And they probably doubled up anyway, knowing that they didn't want to spend ten or twenty years working on it since they kind of needed it now. (Especially with a Rebel Alliance out there that received a second wind after Yavin) And, just in case Palpatine hadn't got the immortality thing locked down, he wanted that thing built in his lifetime.

[@foxtweeg]

I'm always thinking of that quote from John Hurt's character in the 1997 sci-fi drama film Contact - "First rule in government spending: why build one when you can have two at twice the price? Only, this one can be kept secret". I like your vids, man! Keep 'em up!

[@btly-wing6531]

That image of 5 Death Stars at once is now part of my desktop background

[@FriedStu]

In Battlefront 2 during the Yavin missions, you can see the Death Star debris floating around in space. The objectives of these missions were to punish the rebels for their destruction of the station, but also to drive them from the system. It was possibly so the empire could set up a large scale salvage program to rebuild the Death Star without fear of another rebel attack.

[@ScuffyP]

After seeing Rogue One (twice, yes I'm a geek) it's clear, to me to least, there was only one Death Star and the reasons for the lengthy build compared to the second was a combination of Galen Erso stalling and the time needed to collected enough kyber crystals to power the laser. Plus,as the RotJ tet crawl states _"Little does Luke know that the Galactic Empire has secretly begun construction on a new armored space station even more powerful than the _*_first_*_ dreaded Death Star_. FIRST being the operative word.

[@jasonfischer8946]

When I was a kid, I thought that the second Death Star was just the first one that had damage and was being repaired.

[@dasturschloss8679]

same.

[@kolbybenthin]

Jason Fischer That's quite a bit of damage

[@jasonfischer8946]

Kolby Benthin True, but I thought that the massive explosion of the first one explained the extreme damage.

[@smittenthekitteninmittens2679]

plus the second was a lot bigger

[@davids1854]

FLEX TAPE

[@sokagofferenginar8669]

I think the second Death Star was already under construction before the first was destroyed.

[@ralfromer9161]

Daniel Turpin why do you think that?

[@sokagofferenginar8669]

Just think too far along in construction to have been started as soon as the predecessor was destroyed.

[@karhedin]

what if there was a superlaser prototype built for research and developpement before the first deathstar. using such prototype as basis to build a second deathstar would reduce the amount of work needed and, as bonus, the superlaser would be operational from the start. the construction of the Superlaser needing special materials it's hard to believe that the empire was able to gather all the required materials to build a second superlaser with the increase of rebels activities that happened after the destruction of the first death star. Which lead to the point that the rebels didnt expected the death star to be operational in "return of the jedi".

[@VIKDR1]

The time frame seems like it makes it harder, but I imagine the first one took time to figure out how to build everything, and how to source the materials. So building a second one should have been a breeze comparatively. Using a real world example, it took 5 years to design the first iPhone, and once they had it figured out, they can then make enough to sell 48m in the final quarter of 2015. If you do the math, that means they had to create over 500,000 a day to keep up with demand. So copying the first one, with tweaks and upgrades, the Death Star 2, and Death Star 2s, should be able to be built in a much shorter time frame. Also looking at it, I would say it is about 66-70% done, and that is assuming the insides that you can't see are finished. We have to include the idea that it used as a trap, so it could have been built just enough so that the laser worked, while the outside could have been partly a facade, without the inside as finished.

[@LEE-337]

Well we know about that exhaust port now. Rogue One is AWESOME!

[@dirtyharry205]

Lee Bays minor oversight

[@aaronsalentine7876]

"Revolutions and rebellions are built on hope and a stock pile of weapons" end quote from me 😇😂👌

[@edenton1974]

It would make sense if Palpy wanted a Death Star orbiting each systen.

[@jedidragonking5070]

Eric Denton To me that seems a little much for the Empire to afford. Maybe one for each oversector would be more plausible.

[@paulcoy9060]

do they ever say or show what size and shape the Star Wars galaxy is, or do we just assume it is similar to ours ? A spiral arm can be divided into quadrants or sectors (slices of a pizza), but what about a spherical one, or some other shape ?

[@arekusa1234]

yes look at The old republic mmo that was what the old cannon us to be,or Star Wars Empire at war or google it, it does not look like our galaxy

[@chancepaladin]

Heh that's basically what happens in swtor kotfe

[@usaalways]

Not possible. That would mean too much taxing of the rich. Eventually they would stop producing, like Galen Erso did with farming, and not enough for all systems.

[@pseudonym9599]

I think the answer lies in RotJ: "[The Emperor] asks the impossible. I need more men!" Completing a 20-year project in 3-4 years sounds impossible to me.

[@brianreed1859]

I think he meant having the Death Star armed and operational on time. Palpatine knew the entire project would take much longer.

[@tanyakasim3988]

I agree.

[@chrismc410]

Not really when you have spare parts and 20 years of now proven technology that you don't have to develop and test again. Yes, I know the second was meant to be bigger and more powerful than the first. That doesn't mean the spare parts meant to repair or replace assemblies and superstructure on the first are useless. Quite the contrary. They probably used what direct replacement without modification they could, made or already had computer models of what had to be modified. Adding more real estate to the station, more turbolasers, warhead launchers, Armor were all relatively simple matters

[@Aussiefan12345678]

The death star's super structure could of been built in 5 or so years and work on the super laser took longer as Galen Erso deliberately stalled work on it. In rogue one we see the laser being installed to a complete Death Star. We don't know how long it's been completed for.

[@roshango125ab]

Well after watching rogue one and then mentioning all the setbacks and issues they had, a long with what we know, my headcanon is....the death star construction started with the plans from geonosis, but flaws with the design, particularly with the main reactor, didn't become immediately clear until after it was constructed. My guess is it ethhier wasn't orginally powered by Kyber, or couldn't use the crystals in the way they intended. Massive redesigns and remodels where needed over the course of years, which is what took up the majority of that almost 2 decade construction time. Pressure mounted from tarkin and the emperor. Ultimately Gaylan Erso's expertise was needed to finish the project. Erso finished the project and layed his trap. When it came to the second death star they already had the perfect designs, they just needed some slight modifications to cover weakness and make it more efficient. My guess is it was another year or so from 100% completion. But as long as it's main reactor was operational it would be prepared to destroy the rebel fleet at the battle of endor

[@jamesricker3997]

The original Death Star designer was able to sabotage the plans before Anakin was able to break into the room and kill him

[@Urkinorobitch]

You've seen rogue one so... it should be abvious by now why there were setbacks ;)

[@RTL2L]

Alex, we need a second Rogue One trailer breakdown ASAP )

[@StarWarsExplained]

Working as fast as I can!

[@suchti5188]

Work faster pls xD

[@epicurusone6897]

+Star Wars Explained Faster! Faster! Lol

[@RTL2L]

Love you, man ) Thanks a lot!

[@ThatJohnKillion1970]

Seeing as how the second Death Star was a such a rush job, is it any wonder they desperately needed that force field?

[@jamesricker3997]

They had the infrastructure necessary the produce a Death Star along with Salvage raw material from the first Death Star as well as access to ample supplies of Rare Minerals from the planetary core of Alderaan.

[@Nicholas-kn9eb]

One more fantastic video! Thanks for all the hard work Star Wars Explained!

[@Cyberwolfman]

First rule in government spending: Why build one when you can have two at twice the price? Only this one can be kept secret....

[@theFORCEismyallie]

According to the "Legends" material, there were multiple Death Stars being constructed all at once at a secret Imperial military installation. One for each star system. Admiral Daala was in charge of of overseeing construction of secret super weapons (see the book "Jedi Search"). I'm curious how the new cannon will explain this.

[@PutItAway101]

Does it really need any explanation why the first one took longer? Try making any complicated thing for the first time, then try making another, the second time will always be a lot faster, just because you already know how to do it. Especially if it's something that no-one has ever made before. With the first Death Star there would've been a lot of R&D and testing, a lot of mistakes made along the way that had to be re-done, a lot of time waiting for new technology to be developed. When they built the second one, that was all done already, they could have got it done much more efficiently.

[@clemboy500]

Along with political Issues that come from draining that much money from the economy. With the Senate dissolved, It would have been much easier for them to acquire the funds, thus greatly speeding it up.

[@TheRealCartman1]

Yep! Take any military project in our world, the first one (the prototype) always take longer because you learn so much as you go and overcome issues.

[@DrLeroyGreen]

The first rule of government spending: Why have 1 when you can have 2 at at twice the price? -Carl Sagan

[@lmjones7716]

Once you've learned how to make 1 Death Star making more is easy as pie.

[@Awesomewolfpic]

just make sure remove the flaw in the first one

[@coolertuep]

yup im making those on a daily basis now a days

[@aaronsalentine7876]

LM Jones yea you need the funding first must ask hillary Clinton's donors for some funding lol and the rebellion gets 27 dollars a pop lol

[@NoirBeard]

As long as you don't accidentally blow up the plans I would imagine...

[@lmjones7716]

Didn't they have the technology to make copies in the Star Wars universe? Never understood why the Rebels only had 1 copy of the plans.

[@rational_uppercut1392]

“Infer what you want” that came across hella rude tbh lol loved the video

[@darthmaul9191]

At the end of the return of the Jedi, when Vader throws the emperor down the shaft, what's the blue mist that comes up?

[@30907bng]

Dark side force energy leaving his body.

[@351cleavland]

That's Palpatines' Depends letting loose!

[@tranceofdances]

lolololololololololol!!!!!

[@30907bng]

The ultimate wiz Dark side energy leaving his body.

[@yvesheinrich5013]

Somebody flushed the energy core of the Death Star while Palpatine was thrown down by Vader.

[@chconly6700]

7:44 feel the powah, of the edit side.

[@Gottiinan]

Good detail and narration, sub earned.

[@kitfisto4574]

Nice editing in this video.

[@QrazyQuarian]

Let's also talk about the cost of each Death Star. Just one is astronomical. It costs more money than there is on Earth. The United States government actually calculated the cost of building the Death Star after people requested that they build one (excellent use of taxpayers dollars). Though we don't really see it in Star Wars canon, building a moon-sized battle station costs considerable resources and would realistically strain the galactic economy. In fact, it's actually quite amazing that the beginning of the original Death Star's construction wasn't discovered (as this likely was happening before Palpatine assumed his role of the Emperor). Now, if we were to look at this from a top-ranking official from the Empire, speaking only in absolutes regarding the number of Death Stars (that is, one), it's highly-unlikely that if a second one was in development that they wouldn't know about it. In fact, it's highly-unlikely that this project could be kept such a secret. The galaxy's big and a lot of people from a lot of planets pay taxes. But even so, just building one would leave a MASSIVE paper trail that the higher-ups can't feasibly keep a lid on. Logically-speaking, building 1 Death Star alone is a huge undertaking that leaves a massive dent in the Empire's finances. A second simultaneously would likely result in financial problems for the Empire.

[@courtneywaller9468]

Psionic Phazon Honestly it may not have left a dent at all. 1). Palpatine had secured the most prominent galactic bank under his control while he was Supreme Chancellor. 2). Darth Plagieus was by far one of the richest if not the richest men in the ENTIRE galaxy. He single handedly funded the clone wars, the creation of the clones, the weapons, armor, research and development. Plagieus also bought 2 planets, one to give to his apprentice Darth Sideous as a gift and bribed a majority of the Senate to elect Palpatine to "Supreme" chancellor and then bribed them vote Palpatine as Emperor if and when the time might arise. Upon his "demise" by Palpatine everything money wise could have gone directly to Palpatine. Before the EU was made non cannon, Plagieus was a Muun, and they would've had wills made, however, Plagieus had no living relatives and viewed Sideous as more of his son than his own apprentice. Just saying, financially the Republic/Empire had all the necessary funds to build MULTIPLE death stars. Giving an example of 🌎 (one planet) versus a galaxy with thousands of star systems with an almost infinite number of tax payers.........You have enough 💰 to make Bill Gates look like a starving Ethiopian child.

[@QrazyQuarian]

Courtney Waller Hmm... that does make sense. I'll concede you the logical victory.

[@vendsoin]

Still, you have very good point here. As emperor would have had no financial problems the main issue would have been secrecy. After all, these enormous weapons were quite vulnerable before construction was completed. That is why it makes sense there were numerous death stars built in unison, and then stall the other(s) at some point. If the first one would have been enough, fine, no need to complete the other(s). If one of them would have been discovered and destroyed, then with the common knowledge about ONE Death Star the other project(s) would have been safe. At the same time a half-finished project would have been a good starter if something went wrong - it would have been easier to fix the mistakes with the unfinished construction . In a way this bigger one is different enough to have it's own problems that needed fixing, it needed extra materials etc. Also, a weapon like this might have been a lure for power-hungry minions, so I would say they would have needed a project 2 just in case mr. Tarkin would have decided to turn his weapon against the imperial forces. I believe, that in this way the construction of the second Death Star began may be months after the construction of the first one began, but it was presumed not to become a Death Star.

[@76Natti]

not forgetting they took what they needed to, and not paying anything.

[@Revan2908]

This is one aspect of the EU that should have been kept: the Maw. That would have been the perfect place to keep such a massive undertaking pretty secret, with a fair bit of help by way of information compartmentalization.

[@nbrikha]

Rogue one pretty much confirmed your thesis that the second one started after the first was destroyed. Tested for the first one was just barely done and it was all just theory until Jeddah was destroyed.

[@Alacritistic]

Well thought out and researched. Thanks!

[@ChristianHansard]

Remember the movie 'Contact'? "First rule in government spending: why build one when you can have two at twice the price?" -S.R. Hadden I think one probably was being built as backup, the Emperor doesn't seem like someone who would hedge his bets on just one.

[@stardude2006]

Christian Hansard But that Transit System was for the purposes of Exploration Not Cold blooded murder

[@ConorCarlisle]

Is it possible that The Empire might have salvaged some of the wreckage from the original Death Star after it was destroyed that sped up the construction of the second one? Was there even any wreckage at all?

[@onlypeaceindeath]

Nothing but dust.

[@asomewhatdecentperson9190]

Carlisle the Cinephile Most of the wreckage was salvaged from surviving Alderanians into forming the New Alderaan.

[@aaronsmith7946]

Is that on a moon or is the New Alderaan one big pile of space garbage cobbled together?

[@willpartridge6899]

Carlisle the Cinephile I don't think so as in ep 4 the explosion vapourises everything around

[@floseatyard8063]

No because 1 Death star is 120 km long in diamater or so meaning the debris you see in a new hope are flying at over a hundred km/s meaning most of it will just burn up into Yavin gas giant and 2nd Death star 2 was bigger by 40 km (160km wide) so the parts and superlaser itself looking the same size as it did on the Death star wouldn't fit the size.

[@BlakeHoffmeyer]

I love how >90% of your stuff is regarding the in-universe perspective as opposed to relying too heavily on production notes and the like. I think production stories are cool for side trivia, but I hate when they're used to try and explain things. Great video, thanks!

[@maldicientin]

I always assumed that it took much less time to build the second Death Star because by then the Empire already had the experience and know-how to build it.

[@jaredjohnson7960]

I believe what you believe. I always have. I honestly don't like the idea of a bunch of Death Stars floating around at once. Like having too many Grand Moffs or Super Star Destroyers, it kinda diminishes the sheer power of it.

[@onlypeaceindeath]

There were many Super Star Destroyers though. According to Han Solo there where "a lot of command ships", referring to the Executor in Return of the Jedi.

[@frankcarusi6357]

Jared Johnson

[@sammy094sbiggestfan2]

Somewhere around 18 Super Star Destroyers existed at once. 19 including the Eclipse and more were under construction. Think of it like this, if one day you woke up to a soldier patrolling your house, you would be concerned, the next day a tank was there too pointing its cannon at your house; scared. Then there's a bunch of them all around the street... Yeah, more doesn't make them less scary since you can travel more and not be able to escape them.

[@NoDawnComes]

18? Legends series maybe. New Cannon says 6(around that) including the executor. We've seen 2(the second upside down on Jakku) dreadnaughts and unless they appear in new movies(Executor and Admiral Sloane's final ship not counted) then they are done(I hope not too - rather take that than the Death Star!). Also - what does the first order call it's version of the Star Destroyer?

[@sammy094sbiggestfan2]

***** Star Destroyers aren't a name, it's technically a type of ship. Venator Star Destroyer, Imperial Star Destroyer I and II and the First Orders, Resurgence Star Destroyers; it dates back further but the point is Star Destroyers are based on heritage, size and basic shape.

[@ratlover523]

Honestly I always thought that the length of time it took for the first Death Star to be completed was just a plot hole, along the same lines as Padme dying shortly after giving birth, while in the original trilogy Leia remembers her mother.

[@dyhall]

ratlover523 Couldn't Leia just have been referring to her adoptive mother? That's the only mother she could have known.

[@ratlover523]

That wouldn't make sense. She knew Luke wasn't asking about her adoptive mother, since he (granted, using incorrect lingo) specified her birth mother. Not to mention, I imagine Leia didn't lose her adoptive mom when she was very young. There isn't much on the Organas though, even in Legends, is there?

[@dyhall]

ratlover523 She could've been misremembering. Memories are vague as a young child... maybe she just had a random memory of some random woman and assumed it was her birth mother? Or maybe force-sensitive children have much better memory. (Of course, we both know the real answer, but part of the fun of Star Wars lore is trying to fill in Lucas' mistakes.)

[@ratlover523]

Can't argue with you there. I'm sure that's why the Legends books spanned through so much. Filling in the gaps is the best part of any fandom.

[@dominicomucci3014]

leia doesn't know she's adopted. so she's talking about her adopted mother.

[@KnightFire919]

There actually is stories (now which wouldn't be considered canon) that suggested that the first Death Star we see is actually the second and the first was a demo that Kyp Durron and company found later in the Maw Installation where the Death Star originally began being built.

[@theyoutubemonkey6636]

i always figured it took so long the first time because the empire was new and had other things to dedicate their time and money too, along with the massive power gap and the fact that the empire never really had a reason to build it immediately outside of intimidation, (also this was their first SuperWepon so they were still learning how to make one.)

[@ridic1926]

this is great quality content!

[@1Tim2man1]

If the empire was as tyrannical as they were perpetrated to be, with an entire galaxy of resources and all the lessons having been learned from building the first, 4 years could be very feasible.

[@chrismc410]

And spare parts meant for the first re-purposed to help build the second probably helped significantly. In Legends, didn't they also build a much smaller, much less powerful prototype station powerful enough to destroy a sizable asteroid or a very small moon to show proof-of-concept? If so, a cannibalizing the prototype would help or heavily refitting the prototype to build the second, literally on the bones of the prototype. In real life many vessels have gotten refitted like that

[@KlunkerRider]

From what I remember in various discussions, it took 19 years to build the first Death Star because it took a very loooong time to sort out the enormous engineering challenges to find materials and supply chain to build such a massively unparalleled large project (a small moon). It also took a very long time to sort out the engineering, construction, and troubleshooting of the super-laser itself. As you stated in this video, it only became fully operational with the destruction of Alderan. Planning for the second improved Death Star 2 may very well have started before the Battle of Yavin, but with materials and supply chain still being established construction didn't yet start or was very early in the construction phases. Also the DS2 benefited enormously from the lessons learned on the DS1, as they didn't have to sort out the construction problems of the station sphere or troubleshooting problems of the super-laser. they already knew exactly what they wanted and how to build it, so they could fast-track the construction process. Also the DS2 was never intended to wait until full completion before becoming operational, therefore huge swaths of station building and station elements could be completely eliminated from the primary construction schedule. Palpatine's plan to draw out the rebellion onto the DS2 doorstep meant they only had to focus on the very core items of the super-laser itself, the power core, and a portion of the station and its weaponry, again a massive time saving over the DS1. Given all that its certainly no surprise that the DS2 only took a few years.

[@averagesnailgodpraiser3840]

If you look at history, like with the dreadnaught, it was completed per Jackie Fishers orders in record time (at it’s construction time), was a leep in tech ahead of other battleships of its time which came to be known as pre-dreadnaughts, and bb’s afterwards we’re post dreadnaughts. The construction of the dreadnaught was around half of smaller less technologically advanced unit, so the construction time of the second Death Star is certainly a valid time point, and not completely out of the realms that where likely.

[@kennyteeology3526]

There's also a theory that Palpatine was building multiple super-weapons because he foresaw aliens invading from another galaxy, which we saw in the old expanded universe.

[@courtneywaller9468]

Kenny Teeology The Ulong Tvong (or however you spell it) Palpatine did a lot of things in preparation for that forseen war. I wonder will they reintroduce that into the current cannon.

[@maxbaugh9372]

*Yuuzhan Vong

[@FlutterMouse]

Kenny Teeology I don't know if you've ever read Dune which Lucas clearly borrowed some of the content from, but the whole super weapons subplot to protect from possible alien invaders was a plot device in the Dune universe. I suspect one of the EU writers was on deadline and hoped no one noticed.

[@Wehavecrashed]

Nobody gives a shit about Dune.

[@FlutterMouse]

AKeaneBean Fight me!

[@dastardlydoofus8757]

I still think that Palpatine had the genosians build ONE of the Death Stars, while he kept the other as a top secret project being built ALSO during the Clone Wars. The only way I think it makes sense is because Palpatine was so manipulative and very powerful, so he could have somehow foreseen the destruction of the first and so he would want to be prepared. And besides, if the second was 8 times the size of the original, and there isn't much technological advancement in the past 4 years, you couldn't have made a second Death Star operational that quickly. Those are just my thoughts, but great video Alex!

[@321gman3]

DS1 is 120 km and DS2 is either 160 or 180 km. stated in the SW Vehicular guide

[@dastardlydoofus8757]

321gman huh... I swear somewhere in the movies they said the second one was 8 times the size... oh well, thank you! :)

[@321gman3]

that was DS2 to Starkiller base I think

[@dastardlydoofus8757]

321gman ahh, you're probably right...

[@321gman3]

yes, but it isn't portable like the DSs, and its destruction severly weakened the 1st Order, the lost of the first DS was insignificant, only Tarkin was of real importance, and the 2nd was a similar idea, Vader and Palpatine the real losses, the Empire probly could've build quite a few more DSs, and even a few Starkiller-like superweapons.

[@AnakinSkyobiliviator]

Is there a video explaining why we saw a superlaser disc being installed on the Rogue One trailer when we already saw the frame of the superlaser on Episode 3?

[@connerclark3678]

Anakin Skyobiliviator Palpatine wanted it to be a FULLY ARMED AND OPERATIONAL BATTLE STATION! by the time the Rebels arrived. The first DS didn’t install the disk until Galen’s work had been finished in theory.

[@ccchhhrrriiisss100]

I've always believed that the original Death Star was built as little more than a mobile space station (something akin to an aircraft carrier that could quickly mobilize to dispatch storm troopers, tie fighters, etc.) UNTIL the secret weapon was further along in development and could be added to the station. Remember: Galen Erso (played by Mads Mikkelsen in Rogue One) was conscripted into the Empire -- but the Empire did NOT exist until the events depicted in Revenge of the Sith. So, his conscription had to occur sometime after ROTS -- when clones were discarded in favor of a storm trooper conscription requirement. Hence, there was less haste in its initial construction but much greater haste in the construction of a replacement. Here's a timeline: UNKNOWN TIME - Galen Erso is a scientist who discovers the untapped power behind Kyber crystals and theorizes how it could be used for various purposes (sort of like Oppenheimer & Co with the atomic bomb). ATTACK OF THE CLONES - Count Dooku receives the plans from the Geonosian leaders. REVENGE OF THE SITH - The Empire rises with Palapatine as its emperor. The Jedi order collapses and Anakin falls and becomes Darth Vader. Sometime after his transformation into Vader (in the black suit) and after the death of Padme Amidala, the Emperor, Vader and Tarkin view the construction of the station. Now, how long has the Empire been around to the point that Galen Erso is already conscripted? It is possible that Palpatine and others were already planning this AND building this behind-the-scenes with the idea of adding Galen Erso's potential research to it for power UNTIL they released that it could indeed be used as a weapon. However, the Empire would have already existed by this point. Thus, it had to -- in the very least -- have happened some time after the rise of the Empire and conscription of officers. This would be the point in which he (Galen Erso) realized what his research is becoming and flees. If this was happening behind-the-scenes (prior to the takeover of the Republic by the Emperor), then it is possible that this happened during the events of ROTS. Otherwise, there could have been lengthy gaps -- including between the time that Galen Erso was conscripted and fled as well as the time that he was recaptured.

[@brettgb1314]

Here's a thought. The Rebels blow up the 1st Death Star. Saving the Rebellion. Woohoo! *As they have their victory party* Vader: Good thing we have a spare! *Empire rolls out 2nd Death Star* *They blow up the Rebel base* *Star Wars ends*

[@thatguyoverthere468]

I always though the second Death Star was just the remains of the first I was 6 when I made that theory

[@darthjerh12]

I agree with the video. There is something to be said for creating a prototype versus the following duplicates thereafter. The prototype will take longer as trial and error are constantly in play. After successfully completing the first death star, using the same specifications, it is quite possible that it would only take a fraction of the time to complete a second, third, fourth and so on. good video, i enjoyed it!

[@takashi0100]

Now that Rogue One's come out, I think you were right in your first video on the topic where you stated that the First Death Star ran into multiple snags in development (one of which being needing Galen Erso's cooperation), but the Empire having more resources and knowing more about what they were doing led to the second being operational within a much smaller time frame.

[@goldenfiberwheat238]

6:16 that further confirms the rakata are still canon

[@Fanboy327]

Or the Celestials

[@goldenfiberwheat238]

Joseph Sabus nope...Disney released of the map of the Galaxy a while back and it had rakata prime on it

[@Fanboy327]

I mean, it could be that both are still canon since it was the Celestials who technically invented hyperspace first.

[@goldenfiberwheat238]

Joseph Sabus that's legends though

[@Fanboy327]

at this point so are the actual Rakata :3c Idk, my personal philosophy concerning legends is that if new canon doesn't contradict it, it's still canon.

[@darthmop1]

I say, the frst Deathstar from ANH and Rogue One is actually the second construction but first completed one, while the 2nd Deathstar over Endor has always been the unfinished(at first abandoned) first prototype! Let's assume this. You make a new version of a superweapon that destroys a whole Planet. Why add an additional central laser beam, while one less worked already fine? Why make a bigger station, while you can have the more efficient weapon in a more compact body with less need for ressources? Okay, now you say "but why would the so called better version have the exhaust port weakness? Actually, my guess is the 2nd one had those too, just that the data discussed at the Rebell assembly focused on less obvious attack options. The empire won't let another fighter slip through on the same way as it happened in ANH. Besides, it was the Emperor's trap anyway. Then you say "In Rouge One we probably will see the first test shot fired by the actuall (2nd) Deathstar. Well, we never knew of the powa(imperial for power) of the RotJ 2nd Deathstar laser except it destroyed some capital ships. Maybe it was nothing more capable off in the first place. How else was the emperor going to destroy the rebells? Ground battle on Endor, laser evaporating the fleet in space and seducing Skywalker. Not destroying them by blowing up Endor. Maybe far fetched but why not?

[@339Jackscarify]

Brian h actually it does make sense

[@courtneywaller9468]

Brian h Makes sense. You make some very valid points. Also the death star in episode 3 (Revenge of the Sith) could be a protype/1st death star. Meaning ANH that is actually the second death star.

[@courtneywaller9468]

Brian h Makes sense. You make some very valid points. Also the death star in episode 3 (Revenge of the Sith) could be a protype/1st death star. Meaning ANH that is actually the second death star.

[@darkamora5123]

In the original novelization of RotJ the commanders orders were to destroy Endor if the shields came down. If I recall correctly it was only the Executor being brought down and crashing into the second Death Star, damaging the maneuvering systems that kept him from actually doing it. Though when he got the order he did ask, "What about our garrison?", the response was essentially what about it and he was like ok that's that.

[@leodouskyron5671]

Darkamora the bigger question is or would have been why destroy Endor. If it was still the Wookiee homeworld I can see that they seem to have tech and ships and would have been an issue to fight. But mine you none that is true of Ewoks. They are the tiny space teddy bears. They had no space ship or conception of the empire as a threat? They thought C2PO was a god for crying out loud. Blow it for the 10 soldiers that could fit on a shuttle were tooo dangerous for the crew of a Superstar destroyer? This just does not seem like something that made story sense and feels more like a bad joke.

[@peridoodle2644]

I have a comment about you saying that the death star II would have had the same design flaws as the first if it has begun construction before the first was destroyed. At the point the deathstar I was destroyed, the deathstar II would just barely have begun construction. Most of it would have remained unbuilt as of that time, so they could have changed the plans as they where building it.

[@Bravo.Buzzard]

Considering that at the end of Episode III, the frame of the Death Star was already constructed, the point that the DS wasn't 'OPERATIONAL' is important. The entire superstructure could have been constructed in 4 years, but was basically a floating apartment for starmtroopers until Krennick could get Errso back to the drawing board to complete the weapon portion (with flaw and all). The super laser was being installed days before ANH started. In R1, Jinn was a child when they took her father away to complete. It is mentioned that there were constant delays. I think the Empire started the 2nd construction immediately after the 1st was destroyed. I think the timelines are solid. The 2nd wouldn't run into the delays like the first was, because Jinn's dad wasn't the lead engineer. If you remember, when DV arrived at the 2nd DS, he tells the officer that the emperor had sent him to get them 'back on track' to complete the 2nd.

[@Skyman08]

Technically the death star took 20-23 years to build considering construction began during the clone wars.

[@andrewstrongman305]

Why do TIE (Twin Ion Engine) fighters appear to have one exhaust port rather than two?

[@GavinMorris1]

Because it's only an outlet. Same reason a V-8 can have one exhaust pipe.

[@willpartridge6899]

andrew strongman the main outlet is the thrust and if you look closely the ties have to pink spots the ion engines used for manuevering

[@ephidel285]

One reference in Tarkin or Catalyst (I cannot recall which) that suggests a second being made was that Tarkin heard rumors of the separatist movement making their own super weapon. It was likely only partially completed, just to be retrofitted with the Erso designed super laser. We do know from the clone wars that the separatist movement did have a death star plan.

[@travelswithsi8932]

A great video and I like the fact you give options rather than opinion. Its possible that the second DS was planned before Yavin, tech upgrades designed in but didn't et implemented until after. With all of the lessons learned gained from DS 1 - DS2 would def take less time to build

[@jonathancarter1826]

Thinking logically, how many military regimes would have ‘just one’ of any military asset

[@rebelndirt8830]

Just one no... But Hitler kept investing money in one technology that would give him an advantage. He ended up with a powerful battleship that sunk, A Jet airplane that came too late, and ballistic Missiles that also came too late. OK so he did 1 thing before the war and 2 during. Just think... If he had invested money in known technologies that were proven we may have a different look at the world today.

[@jonathancarter1826]

Presumably there would be a military weapons industry that would need new contracts, look at the US and UK military machines, our strength comes through never ending research and design creating advantages for our servicemen and women followed by new contracts to the defence industry.

[@mickdwyer4254]

It takes 7 years to build an aircraft carrier, so how long to build something the size of the moon?

[@N7mudkip]

Mick Dwyer a small moon* but yeah when you have a galaxy’s worth of resources, an aircraft carrier is like an ant in comparison..

[@Urkinorobitch]

It's maybe 1/20th the size of the moon.

[@tacticalderpy2077]

what if there were some larger chunks of the first death star that were scavenged and used in the construction of the second death star?

[@jamesricker3997]

The trillions of tons of metal salvaged from the orbit of Yavin would have greatly sped up Construction. Along with access to the metals that used to be in the planetary core of Alderaan.

[@VestedUTuber]

There's one thing I have to admit I never see people take into account... It takes a LOT longer to build the first one of ANYTHING because there's a lot of R&D still taking place. Plans have to be redrawn and adjustments have to be made whenever something goes wrong. But once you get all that stuff working, you know how to do it again should you need to. My current 1lb combat robot, REV 2, had undergone THREE revisions before I was confident enough to take it to an event, and even at that point it didn't work and I needed to make a fourth version - which is still in the works. But with every revision, I find myself making smaller and smaller tweaks to the design. Version 1 didn't have enough clearance for the weapon motor on the top plate. Version 2 proved that a 3mm weapon deadshaft is too fragile. Version 3 had an issue with the weapon motor mount flexing, letting the outer shell of the weapon motor bind against the top plate (it's an outrunner, so the outer shell of the motor spins). Version 4 will fix that by switching the top and bottom plates from Alloy910 Nylon to 6061 Aluminum, as Aluminum is a much stiffer material than thermoplastic nylon. I went from having to completely redraw parts in my CAD software to simply having to make them from different materials.

[@trisF1981]

maybe it was all done because the emperor foresore it and thefore carried it out

[@trisF1981]

*therefore

[@iamjuice101]

First rule of Galactic Government Speading: Why buy 1, when you can buy 2 at twice the price.

[@blublefish5083]

7:47 well Aldorons really dead now

[@CJ-442]

I thought that I read somewhere (in legends) that the Empire was planning on having at least a dozen with the original Death Star was being referred to as DS-1. And that most of the resources were being diverted to DS-1 to get it up and running while the others’ constructions were running on minimal resources. Then when DS-1 was operational the other 11 or so would be built simultaneously.

[@lastguyminn2324]

Death Star II was simply a lazy plot device...just like Starkiller Base.

[@1701spacecadet]

It started when J R Haddon decided to copy the first one. Oops, wrong movie! Move along, nothing to see here.

[@StarWarsTheory]

lol

[@sempa2698]

I believe that we can take some evidence from Rogue 1. (very minor spoilers ahead) I think it was Grand Moff Tarken that states they didn't want the senate to know they were creating in fear that planets would flock to the rebels, which means that they would be more careful and thus things would be slower. However after the first's destruction as you said their grip on the galaxy was loosening, they went all out building it as fast as possible and bypassing former problems that slowed the first's construction they were able to build most of the new one in a quarter of the time.

[@lunarpollen]

It's all in the canon novels leading up to Rogue One. It was being built meticulously and carefully in stages in extreme secret, and there were problems and setbacks with construction, Geonosian labor issues, etc. But the thing that really made it take so long to complete was that creating a functional superlaser was problematic. The superlaser was the last thing to be installed in the Death Star. And once Galen Erso finally figured out how to do it, he fled and went into hiding, leaving the Empire without the most important resource it needed to complete it. Once the superlaser was finally installed and tested on Jedha, Sacrif, and Alderaan, the technology was proven, and it was relatively easy for them to build another superlaser (it still took a few years though). For the second Death Star, they prioritized construction differently, with the superlaser, reactor, etc. being the most urgent things, and the rest of the station structure being a lesser priority. It probably would have taken at least a few more years for the entire structure to have been completed if it hadn't been destroyed at Endor.

[@IamLegoman13Pepp]

The fact that they only ever referred to the death star in singular terms is not a very strong argument. If you look at it in terms of being a movie, George Lucas thought that starwars was going to be a flop, when he was working on a New Hope he never imagined that there would be two, three, or even 9 movies. So I doubt that he planned the second death star that early on, so it makes sense that in the script they would have only used singular terms. This does not prove or disprove anything, I'm just stating my opinion on one of the arguments presented.

[@ShadowBlazer3000]

That is a good point but considering all these movies do exist in lore and canon now we do have to separate behind the scenes logic versus the logic set up by the universe so it makes sense to consider the Star Wars story as a whole and use it.

[@IamLegoman13Pepp]

ShadowBlazer3000 Also a good point.

[@coolertuep]

yes it would be extremly weird if they would be speaking about multiple death star and in the end there would just be 1 single movie and dozens of open question

[@ithinkmynameismoo5e]

You can't use 'legends' aka bad fan fiction as rational for a canon explanation.

[@leoschautvideos]

ithinkmynameismoose you triggered every Legends fanboy. That’s okay.

[@name-vf6ku]

The reason that the second Death Star wasn't being built at the same time as the first, because think how many workers you would need, and how many res courses it would take, you can't keep something of that scale a secret between a few officers.

[@CueBall909]

There's a lot of info in Catalyst that supports the "one at a time theory". The first Death Star took a ton of effort to acquire the materials needed to construct it and the power source took years of Galen Erso's life to design and implement. A second battle station would be faster to construct because they already have the power source and weapon designed, they already have all of the mines and refineries constructed, and they've already harvested the raw materials (the Death Star was blown up, but the material would still be floating in space, already refined and ready to smelt and re-use). Even though the second Death Star was larger, all of the leg work was done, so it stands to reason it would be faster to construct.

[@somemaycallthisjunkmeicall133]

Well they had enough knowledge on how the Death Star would work therefore making a second one would be faster

[@mr.DorianJames]

I agree. The second would be easier to build then the first. They wouldn't have to invest nearly as much time in design and they may even still have the tooling. i'm sure the beginning phase would require remote manufacturing plants until they built their facilities on-site. Chances are, that first stage tooling would be still around as backup. So even though they may not have the tooling from the death star's on-site manufacturing facilities, they would have the tooling to make the tooling. I'm sure it was more about assembly at that point.

[@wolfepackhub]

The death star seen in ROTS was a smaller prototype, and it took years for them to get it right (as seen in Rogue One). However with the second they already had the first to build up on, so it would take less time to build.

[@docbrown7916]

One of the SW novels I was reading before the 84 flood in north NJ mentioned plans for multiple death star platforms, sadly that novel was lost in the flood but copies may exist somewhere. Also, the name of Vader's super destroyer wasn't Exeter it was Executor and first of the Executor class destroyer, several were planned. Small details but we do seem to love them. Keep up the good work.

[@lukasevert6114]

Another thing that has to be taken into account is that by the time ANH rolled around, the Death Star was completed. The second one, on the other hand, did not have most of the insides done. The essentials were there, but not a lot of other stuff. Consider a finished house, complete with wallpaper and furniture, vs a frame with the beginnings of the walls. It takes a lot longer to fill the inside than make the outside.

[@dababcock9]

Just talking from the standpoint of someone who has been designing commercial airliners for a living... When anything of significance is designed and constructed the timeline is longer than most people think. And everything is done as a team. You have the concept phase, a design phase (also the point where you start to realize what concepts have a better likelihood of working better than others), you have a certain level of planning that happens all along, but as much as everyone wants to make the final product, it's a while, sometimes a long while, before you start physical construction. And once construction starts, you'll start finding all sorts of places where things didn't go exactly as plan. There's all sorts of evidence from just "A New Hope" to say that it was taking a while to "iron out all of the bugs". In the airplane business, that first one is referred to as a prototype. And you spend the VAST majority of your R&D as well as the overall cost of the program getting that prototype in the air. But once you have your design complete, and once you've worked out a good bit of the bugs, comparatively it takes hardly any time to build the next one...

[@OP-mo1fm]

The first Death Star was in construction at the end of Episode III (presumably 19 BBY). The ending shot is this picture, with only small portions of the superstructure completed: 19 years later, the Death Star has only been recently completed (the novel Death Star places the completion about 1 BBY). So we assume it took about 18 years to build, and that's with tons of Wookies working on it. Fast-forward to Return of the Jedi in 4 ABY, and the second Death Star is significantly built, and is "fully operational". They had learned from their mistake on the first Death Star, and had covered up the thermal ports. Presumably they did not just make a patchwork fix, but re-engineered that portion. Anyway, it seems unlikely the progress made on the second Death Star occurred in only 4 years. Both Death Stars cost huge amounts of money and resources, and having two in construction would have been much more difficult to hide. So were both in construction at the same time?

[@twstf8905]

Either way, the first one took longer because it was the first one. When they built the second one, they obviously had the benefit of having already built one, naturally expediting the process. When you build a prototype of anything, you spend most of your time making improvements and adjustments, all in the natural course of development. So, by the time you're ready to, or forced into, repeating the process, you have already worked out all the bugs. That means you can just look at the blueprints, gather the materials, and begin. I feel like this should all go without saying lol it's such a fundamental part of the human experience. Anything you create is by definition going to take more time and energy the first time. By definition meaning; "prototype." or, "first attempt." You know, "Trial and error," lol the first draft is always in pencil so inevitable mistakes can be corrected. Duplication can only occur once the final draft has been satisfactorily improved upon. And the subsequent construction is naturally expeditious.

[@LorenzoJimenez]

It's easy to see that the first death star took 19 years because it was designing it. Remember in Rogue One movie, that the message of the father to his daughter about how he put his vengeance on the plans. The second death star was faster to build because the design was already made and the construction can begin immediately only fixing the weakness.

[@andrespolanco3182]

You see the death star already being built on ROTS, so it really took 19 years to build.