Inside Look At Haynes ‘Imperial Death Star Owner’s Workshop Manual’

In their Imperial Death Star Owner’s Workshop Manual, author, Ryder Windham, and publisher, Haynes, reveal more details of the inner workings of the Death Star than the plans the Rebels stole from Scarrif!  It is as if Galen Erso wrote the guide himself.

Death Star Cutaway Upper Hemisphere Copyright Haynes Publishing and © TM 2016 LUCASFILM LTD
Death Star Cutaway Upper Hemisphere
Copyright Haynes Publishing and © TM 2016 LUCASFILM LTD

This manual is the most thorough and technical guide to the Death Star we have ever seen, with its content covering everything from the stations history, development and prototyping, superstructure, energy and propulsion, weapons and defensive systems, all the way through to the crew facilities!  Every possible detail that the Rebel Alliance could have possibly dreamed of are in this manual, and if they had it in their hands it would have made the Rogue One mission obsolete!

Death Star Cutaway Lower Hemisphere  Copyright Haynes Publishing and © TM 2016 LUCASFILM LTD
Death Star Cutaway Lower Hemisphere
Copyright Haynes Publishing and © TM 2016 LUCASFILM LTD

Written by Ryder Windham, author of so many wonderful Star Wars publications over the years, and illustrated in stunning detail by artists Chris Reiff and Chris Trevas (the very same team behind the wonderful Millennium Falcon Owner’s Workshop Manual.)  This manual gives us an astonishing range of computer-generated artwork, floor plans, cutaways, and exploded diagrams.  The level of detail is just stunning, and the perfect accompaniment to Rogue One.

Death Star Elevation Plan  Copyright Haynes Publishing and © TM 2016 LUCASFILM LTD
Death Star Elevation Plan
Copyright Haynes Publishing and © TM 2016 LUCASFILM LTD

To understand the level of detail provided in this publication we have selected five facts direct from the manual:

  1. “An equatorial trench divided the Death Star into two hemispheres, each of which was subdivided into 12 bridge-controlled zones for a total of 24 zones. Each zone was similar to a sub-battle station, and had its own food replicators, hangar bays, detention blocks, medical centers, armories, and command centers.”
    (Taken from P21, Haynes Imperial Death Star Manual)

  2. “The Death Star was built to defy all planetary defences, and have the ability to destroy an entire world with one devastating stroke. The upper hemisphere housed the superlaser, and all Imperial estimates indicated that a single blast would equal the combined firepower of the entire Imperial fleet.”
    (Taken from P21, Haynes Imperial Death Star Manual)

  3. “35 kilometers in diameter, the superlaser focus dish was the Death Star’s most prominent feature.”
    (Taken from P22, Haynes Imperial Death Star Manual)

  4. “The Death Star’s armament featured 1 superlaser, 15,000 Taim & Bak D6 turbolaser batteries, 2,500 Borstel Galactic Defense SB-920 laser cannons, 2,500 Borstel MS-1 ion cannons, 768 Phylon tractor-beam emplacements and 11,000 combat vehicles.”
    (Taken from P23, Haynes Imperial Death Star Manual)

  5. “The Death Star was home to 342,953 (285,675 operational staff and 57,278 gunners) and 843,342 passengers. It could also carry over one million kilotons of cargo and 3 years’ worth of consumables.”
    (Taken from P23, Haynes Imperial Death Star Manual)


Star Wars Imperial Death Star Owner’s Workshop Manual, s priced at £16.99 and available from www.haynes.co.uk.  The ISBN number is 9780857333728.

Brian Cameron
Brian is an obsessive collector of Star Wars books, comics, and magazines. With a collection extending into the tens of thousands, he is obsessed by variants, and the more obscure a publication the better! Brian was the Literature Editor for Jedi News, and was also host of the podcast Take Cover on the Jedi News Network. He stepped down from Jedi News in August 2017 citing personal reasons. Two months later, he was part of the team that launched Fantha Tracks.